Tag: Holiness

Choose Friends With Care

One of our strongest influences is our friends.  The friends we choose will help us draw closer to God or go farther away from Him.  There are good examples like Cornelius in Acts 10 who invited his friends to hear the gospel.  There are bad examples like the friends of Rehoboam, in 2 Chronicles 10, who gave Rehoboam bad advice which cost him most of the kingdom.

Proverbs 12:26 and 22:24-25 warns us to choose our friends carefully since the wicked can lead us astray.  Most people are familiar with 1 Corinthians 15:33:  “Evil company corrupts good habits.”  When our closest friends are people who do not share our faith, priorities, and principles, we create the potential for many conflicts and unnecessary tests of our faith.

 We should not abandon friendships with non-Christians, but should make our closest companions (who are in greater positions of influence) those who share our values and priorities.  Some have lost their faith by associating with very worldly people thinking, “I will change them.”  However, it is often the child of God who is changed, and usually for the worse.  Paul prefaces his “evil companions” warning of 1 Corinthians 15:33 with “Do not be deceived.”  It is easy for us to deceive ourselves and think that others cannot corrupt us.

Good friends can greatly strengthen us.  Proverbs 27:17 teaches that good friends can improve one another as iron sharpening iron. We should choose our closest friends from the children of God.  They understand the trials that we face, the importance of service to God, and the principles that guide our lives.  By our mutual associations, we can encourage one another to do what is right, Hebrews 10:24-25.

Beware What Entertains You!

Although we may not realize it, the things that entertain us can greatly influence us. Their influence is more subtle, like the gradual erosion of a rock by rain, wind, and heat. Yet, gradually the entertainment industry can shape our minds. Many women have poor self-esteem because they cannot look like television stars or models. However, the stars and models do not look perfect either! We see the final product, filtered by editing rooms and touch up artists. There are no perfect looking people and, as the Bible teaches, these transitory features must not be our focus anyway, Proverbs 31:30.

The media culture will try to convince us that we do not have enough.  It teaches that unless we have certain labels on our clothes, certain jobs, elite neighborhoods, and the like, that we will be miserable.  Therefore, we must continue to shop and continue to buy.  Proverbs 27:20 warns us: “Hell and Destruction are never full; So the eyes of man are never satisfied.”  We must be content, 1 Timothy 6:6.

The entertainment industry often teaches values that are not in harmony with the Scriptures.  The popular culture approves of many things contrary to sound doctrine (Romans 1:18-32; Galatians 5:19-21).  We can desensitize ourselves to the abhorrent nature of these sins by exposing ourselves to it a little at a time.  The gradual assault on our minds can erode our good morals and godly principles.  Sadly, we have opened the door for these influences, sat them down in our houses, and parents have even placed them before their children.

Positive entertainment, when shared by godly friends, can draw people closer together.  We can do many activities as Christians.  Our joy is enhanced when we can do those activities with our fellow brethren and families.  There are some movies and TV shows, though rare, that provide positive lessons and exemplify good principles.  Some songs extol the marriage relationship, the parent-child relationship, and doing the right thing.  We can properly use what is good but must shun evil.

Getting Started With Personal Bible Study

Preparing to Study

  • Make time to study.  Study time will not “just happen.”  There are too many things that can help us waste time.  We must set aside time every day to focus on God’s word.
  • Have a place to study.  An ideal place will have adequate lighting, minimal interruptions, and study resources available.
  • Have a plan for study.  The plan should be realistic and flexible.  It may be the study of an issue or a section of scripture. This will help us focus your study.

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  • Get help when needed.  Don’t be afraid to ask someone for help in understanding a passage.  Check the answer with other scriptures to make sure that it is true.
  • Pray to God for wisdom, James 1:2-8.  We are told to pray to God for wisdom for He gives liberally and without reproach.  Knowledge comes from study, wisdom is the ability to use what is studied.  We cannot hope for wisdom if we do not study.  When we study we should not neglect to ask our benevolent God for wisdom.
  • Study with an open mind.  We must be willing to do what God commands.  We must have a “speak Lord, Thy servant hears” attitude.  James likens it to a man looking in a mirror, examining what is pleasing and what must be changed.
  • Use common sense.  The Bible is written in logical language and was written to the common man.  We can understand it.

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Approaching the Text

  • Rightly divide the word.  Realize the difference between the Old and New Testaments, the physical and the spiritual, etc.  The context will help determine the difference.
  • Read, re-read, ponder, and read again.  Take time to just read the scriptures and absorb the ideas.  Think about what is being said.  Some passages will become clearer later in the day, in a sermon or class where the text is discussed, or much later through increased knowledge.
  • Be patient.  Some passages are difficult to understand the first couple of times they are read.  Be patient with yourself.  As you know more you will understand more.
  • Look at the context of the passage.  Examine the previous paragraphs and sentences to get the gist of the message.  Ask the probing questions: Who, to whom, what, where, why, how.  Some things are not applicable to us today (i.e., build an ark) but teach important principles.
  • Notice the “little” words and connecting words.  Little words like “if (then),” “so,” “for,” “and,” “but,” etc. are significant for understanding a passage.  Some words like “except,” “therefore,” and “because” link thoughts and arguments.  The omission of these words can drastically affect the meaning.  This part of study cannot be overemphasized.  It is critical to understanding the word of God.

Choosing God Over The World

Paul stressed to the Romans, in Romans 13:11-14, the importance of casting off the works of darkness and walking in the light.  We have spent enough of our life sinning and now we are closer to our salvation than when we first believed.  Since there is much to do and little time in which to do it, we must be diligent to put away the works of darkness and put on the armor of light and get to work for the Lord.

Some Christians are ineffective in the service of God because they are not totally dedicated themselves to God.  They are keeping some things of the world with them: lust, evil speaking, covetousness, worldliness, etc. These things are weighing them down and they cannot grow properly in the Lord and are useless in his service.  The Hebrew writer urges us to “lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us” so we can run with endurance, unencumbered by the world, Hebrews 12:1.

We must either grasp God completely or the world completely.  We will fail if we try to serve both, Matthew 6:24; 1 Kings 18:21.  We can deceive ourselves into thinking that we are serving God while our hearts are devoted to the world.  We must examine our thoughts and our actions to see if we are bearing fruit to the world or to the Lord.

Joshua urged the people to decide whom they would serve, Joshua 24:14-25.  They needed to make a decision that day and stick with it.  When they answered that they would serve the Lord, Joshua rebuked them telling them that they could not serve the Lord because they were too fickle. A brief study of history would confirm Joshua’s assessment.  They frequently declared their dedication to God only to murmur against Him and His chosen leaders soon afterward.  Like that audience, we must choose today whom we will serve and then follow wholeheartedly.

Respecting A Brother’s Conscience

When I love my brethren as Christ loved me, I will not do anything that might cause them to stumble and be lost.  To accomplish this we must have true love for our brethren, forbearance, longsuffering, and patience developed in our lives.  Though it is difficult, I may have to refrain from doing something that I know is not condemned in the presence of a brother who, because he does not have knowledge, would be offended.

Consider the issue of eating meat offered to idols in 1 Corinthians 8:1-13.  The issue was not whether it was right to eat meat offered to idols or not; eating meat was not condemned.  The real issue was that if I have a brother in Christ who does think it is wrong to eat meat offered to idols and I, knowing this, eat meat that is offered to idols (since I know that it is not condemned), that I may encourage my brother to eat in violation of his conscience.  I have used my liberty to cause my brother to stumble.

It is not wrong for me to eat meat that has been offered to idols, but my brother who does not have this knowledge, if he eats, will be condemned because he has violated what he believes to be commanded by God.  I must not put my brethren into that situation.  Note the strong language of Paul in verse 12:  “But when you thus sin against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ.”  When doing something that is not wrong, but doing it in the wrong circumstance, I sin against my brethren and Christ.  My brother and I may be lost through my knowledge!

Paul’s solution to the problem is if an action will cause my weak brother to stumble, I will not do it.  My brother’s conscience is more important than food or anything else that would make him stumble.  This sacrifice is a practical application of bearing with one another.