Making Biblically Sound Decisions
Proverbs 14:12
Last week, we began our study on the topic of choices. We discovered that we are free to do practically anything we want, but the one thing that we are never truly free from is making decisions based upon the choices we are presented with. We kicked off the series by discussing the power of choice. We looked at the book Galatians where the Apostle Paul discusses that our natural desires and God’s desires are totally opposite. And our choices are never free from that conflict. If you missed last week’s message, we have a tape available in the tile room located through the double doors.
Because this topic is so important and can have such a lasting impact on not only our lives but also the lives of others around us, I believe that it is something that we should take a closer look at. In the upcoming weeks we will discuss how to recover from a bad decision, how our decisions affect other people and finally taking responsibility for the decisions we make.
But for just a few moments this evening (morning) I would like for us to center on how to make Biblically sound decisions. Like we stated last week, some decisions we face are trivial, but they are still a selection between two or more choices nonetheless. While other decisions consist of major life choices that can yield either a positive or negative result in our life and / or the lives of those around us.
Often times when we are faced with a major decision, we seek out those who we have deemed to be wise. This morning, I want us to look in the book of Proverbs that was penned by the wisest natural man who ever lived: King Solomon. God appeared to Solomon in a dream and asked him what he wanted. Now, how many of you wished God would come and ask you that? Actually He does, but often we don’t get it because of our motive for asking. But that’s another sermon for another time. But out of all the things that Solomon could have asked for, he requested an “understanding heart” or wisdom. Because of his request, God granted Solomon wisdom beyond human capability. But, to be such a wise man, he made some very poor decisions. And perhaps that is what caused him to write this proverb, which will be our topical Scripture.
"There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death." – Proverbs 14:12 NLT or “There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.” NKJV
What prompted Solomon to write this? See, Solomon had everything any man would want: money, power, women, fine houses, you name it he had it, including as we said earlier, divine wisdom. But with all that understanding that God had imparted to Solomon, he did some very unwise things. Going back to what we talked about last week in Galatians 5 where the flesh, or our sin nature, and the Spirit of God are opposite of one another. God wanted Solomon to use the wisdom He had given him to better Israel, but because Solomon gave in to his flesh, he divided a nation. Those decisions that Solomon made while he was under the allurement of his flesh seemed right to him at the time. But I believe that in Solomon’s later years he looked back and realized that a part from God, all of humankind’s natural tendencies, even though they appear right, will eventually and ultimately lead to destruction.
Just as Solomon refers to the path in our Scripture passage, the Bible often likens our life here on earth as walking along a pathway. Jesus also taught in this manner when describing entering the Kingdom of God.
"You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose the easy way. But the gateway to life is small, and the road is narrow, and only a few ever find it" – Matthew 7:13-14 NLT
It is our human nature to want to follow the easy path. This true with running water, it will flow downhill where there is the little resistance. The same holds true for electricity. Electrons flow in the path of least resistance. People by nature are the same way. But the easy way isn’t always the right way. Often times choosing the right “pathway” means following a course that is narrow.
That is why I believe that we should make any “life altering” decision based upon God’s Word and His will for our lives. So, here are some practical steps to making Biblically sound decisions.
The first thing that you want to ask yourself when faced with a life choice is -
· What does the Bible say about it?
Since the Bible parallels our life here on earth as walking along a pathway, we need to make sure that we can see where we are going. Driving at night at 65 MPH with the lights off on a rural road could be deadly. The same could be said by living life without the illumination of the Word of God.
"Your Word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path." – Psalm 119:105 NLT
ILLUS: Making major life decisions without referring to the illuminating Word of God is almost like trying to put something together without referring to the manual. Men are especially prone to do this, I know I am. The words “some assembly required” makes some women shutter at the thought of what is about to ensue. We get it all put together and looks great, but then we realize we have all these parts left over. What that should tell us is that it isn’t put together the way it was designed to, and it will be UNSTABLE.
Making life choices without consulting the Bible can lead to a very unstable life because you are not following the Creator’s instruction manual. There are many things in this life that aren’t 100% guaranteed, but I can tell you with 100% assurance that if you are faced with a choice that contradicts the Bible, then it is NOT God’s will for your life. God’s will for you and His Word will never contradict themselves.
So what happens if I don’t find a solid answer in the Bible? Maybe you are faced with a decision to buy or rent a house. Will you find “thou shalt not rent, thou shalt buy”? Probably not. So what should you do in those cases?
· Pray about it – wisdom is available for all who ask
"If you need wisdom – if you want to know what God wants you to do – ask Him, and He will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking." – James 1:5
Let me just say first, praying and searching the Bible should go hand in hand. God recognizes that we don’t know everything. But God is omniscient, which means He knows everything. The reason some of us don’t know what to do is because we never took the time to ask God.
ILLUS: Ladies perhaps you have experienced something similar with your husbands. You are driving around in an unfamiliar area, you are lost, but your husband insists he knows where he is. He will spend 2-3 times longer trying to find the way himself instead of pulling over and asking someone who knows.
If you don’t know the answer ask. As our Scripture verse here reads, God doesn’t look down on you for asking. To Him, the only “dumb question” is the one you don’t ask.
· Do I have an uneasy conscience about it?
Before we really get into this area of conscience, we need to understand what our conscience is. It is not Jiminy Cricket or an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other that helps us weigh our choices. And it is vitally important not to confuse our conscience and the Holy Spirit. Everyone has a conscience, but only those who have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior have the Holy Spirit.
Our conscience is an internal mechanism that God implanted in us to provide some kind of moral restraint upon His creation. Our conscience functions upon a value system that we have adopted for ourselves. What do you mean? Someone who goes into a 5-year-old kid’s front yard, abducts her, sexually assaults her, and brutally murders her doesn’t have the same value system I do. If he did, his conscience would have prayerfully thwarted him from doing such a horrendous act.
That’s why seeking God in prayer and in His Word is so important, because it is His value system that we will learn as a result. But our conscience again isn’t the Holy Spirit. It can be faulty. That is why Paul says:
"My conscience is clear, but that isn’t what matters. It is the Lord Himself who will examine me and decide." – 1 Corinthians 4:4
So after seeking God in prayer and in His Word you have an uneasy conscience about something could be an indicator not to choose a particular pathway.
· Could this decision have a negative affect on me or someone else?
This is a major issue. As we will see later in our series, the decisions and choices we make not only affect us, but those around us. The Bible clearly teaches that we should always be mindful of other people.
"If what I eat is going to make another Christian sin, I will never eat meat again as long as I live – for I don’t want to make another Christian stumble." – 1 Corinthians 8:13 NLT
Paul is willing to sacrifice something for sake of someone else’s spiritual development. Like I said before, we will look at this subject in depth in the upcoming weeks.
· Think it through by
– Being patient
"It is better to be patient than powerful; it is better to have self-control than to conquer a city." – Proverbs 16:32 NLT
Snap or impulsive decisions are not always the best decisions to make. Some of us including myself, are of the mentality that when you want something, you want it NOW. But the Bible teaches that it is better to be patient and have self-control than power. But the lack of patience has made its impact on many pocketbooks. See if this sounds familiar:
ILLUS: You leave home, intending just to go buy some groceries, but on the way to the store, you have to drive past the shopping mall. You decide on the spur of the moment to go "window" shopping in the mall. As you walk through the halls, enticing displays from the stores catch your eye, and you feel almost driven to check them out. Two hours later, you walk out of the mall carrying bags of items that cost you $200.
After the mall trip, you head on over to buy groceries. You had in your mind what you intended to purchase, and therefore did not make out a list. As you walk up and down the isles, items catch your attention, and you put some of those into the shopping cart, thinking this cannot really hurt anything. After all, the munchies sure do sound good and you have to eat. You come out with lots more groceries than you meant to get, spending $150 rather than the $70 you’d planned on.
Now you are hungry, having been gone hours longer than you anticipated. So you go through the local drive through and get lunch. You give the Fast Food Spot $15 and head for the house.
When you get home, you get everything put away and check out what you’ve brought home. Looking at the receipts, you are shocked at the amount you spent in just one day! You start worrying about how you are going to pay your other bills, and have enough money left to do until the next payday.
This happens to a lot of people all the time, and they wonder how they get into financial trouble and into debt so quickly.
Another thing you need to do in thinking this through is
– Checking your motive – is my motive pure?
"For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and motivated by the Devil." – James 3:15 NLT
Is the decision you are about to make one with a pure heart, or you are trying to “settle the score” with someone who hurt you? Our court system and jails are full of people who made a bad decision with impure motives. Because they didn’t step back from their emotions and think things through they have forevermore altered their life. Many of you could perhaps shake your head because you may have done something similar.
ILLUS: When I was in North Carolina about a month ago, I had the opportunity to preach in the state penitentiary. After the service I had one man come up to me and give me a hug, and he began to tell me a little bit of his life’s story. He told me that he had a good career and family. Everything seemed to be going his way, but he said, “I made one bad decision” and glanced down at his prison uniform.
Remember our Scripture verse that said that there is a path that looks right to man, but leads to destruction. That brings me to the next and final point:
· Can I live with the consequences?
" A prudent person foresees the danger ahead and takes precautions; the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences." - Proverbs 22:3 NLT
Just as we are never free from choices, we will never be free from the repercussions or consequences of those choices. If you will remember to the account of when Christ was crucified He hung between two thieves one on the left and one on the right. One thief spoke and told Jesus that if He truly was the Son of God to rescue all of them from their impending deaths. Then the other thief spoke and said
“We deserve to die for our evil deeds, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.” And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.” – Luke 23:41-43 NLT
In other words, the one thief was saying to the other, we deserve our punishment, or the consequences for our actions. Then he asked Jesus to remember him; in essence he was acknowledging Jesus as Lord. But notice Jesus forgave him on the cross, but He didn’t take the thief off of it. Whatever the thief did to deserve crucifixion, he made a choice and he had to pay the consequence.
It is my prayer that this teaching was helpful to you. Remember that all that glitters in not gold. There will be paths that look easy and smooth, but there’s a dead end waiting for you. Without the Lord guiding and leading you, your life could be riddled with making poor choices and then have to reap the consequences of those actions.
If you are here this evening (morning) and you have made some bad decisions, you can seek forgiveness from God. You, like the thief, may still have to pay the consequences of those actions, but your soul can be in good standing with God through Christ Jesus.
