For if someone with a weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge, eating in an idol’s temple, won’t that person be emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols? S o this weak brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. You are a part of a community, and what you bring to it should build it up, so if the way you speak or the actions you do tear the community down, you need to change.īe careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak. One of the New Testament authors, Paul, writes about being incredibly aware of the people he is around and making sure he is not causing them to stumble. Ask yourself, “ Am I looking to this substance for comfort?” Does it benefit the community I’m in? Slow down and examine where you turn for comfort. They almost fill the void that only God can fill, so we keep using them. And the thing about these actions or substances that is so difficult is that they almost work. When it comes to alcohol, Netflix, social media, CBD, or really anything, are you turning to it for comfort when you could turn to Jesus?Ī relationship with Jesus where you find rest, replenishment, and refilling is possible, but when you turn to things to fill a void that only God can fill, it becomes idolatry. In that light, the action or substance becomes an idol in your life. As a Christ-follower, you are asked to bring your very best to every situation, so ask yourself, “ When I do x, can I be my best self?” Am I looking to a substance for comfort?Īn action may not inherently be a sin, but you could be turning to it for comfort instead of Jesus. One of the best questions you can ask is, “ Is this making me my best self?” There are a lot of things that aren’t exactly bad, but they may not be helping you or the people around you. There are certainly actions you take, substances you consume, movies you watch, or words you speak that may not be bad but aren’t all that beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”-but not everything is constructive. “I have the right to do anything,” you say-but not everything is beneficial. Maybe you can’t see the problem with your actions, but maybe in 30, 40, or 50 years, you will understand why that action was not beneficial.
Of course, we know now, there’s a lot of consequences for eating from that tree, but in the story, Adam just needed to trust God’s “ no.” In our relationship with God, we are asked to trust God’s boundaries, or as we like to say, “trust God’s ‘no.'” Some of the first words God spoke to man were “no.” In the Garden of Eden, God tells Adam, “You can eat from any tree, just not this one.” Why can’t Adam eat from this tree? In the story, there’s not a ton of explanations why. So, how do you navigate the gray areas? 1. But there are other actions that the Bible doesn’t come right out and say, “ Don’t do this.” Our technology and culture have changed significantly since the Bible was written, so some areas weren’t even a problem for the first followers of Jesus. Think about the 10 Commandments those are pretty clear. 3 questions to ask when examining the gray areas of sinĬertain sins are obvious in the Bible. In this episode, Whit and Adam talk about the areas in the Bible that can sometimes seem a little gray.
Have you ever wondered how far is too far? Like, where does God draw the line on sin? You probably desire to do good, but isn’t it hard to understand what good is? There seem to be more and more gray areas, so how do you know if it’s okay to take a hit, smoke, drink, or cuss?
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