Important Question to Consider

[thebiblicalway]

So, the question of the year is here for you to ponder for the years to come:

If we feel that something is acceptable to do but cannot discern what the Bible teaches regarding it through its principles and teachings and patterns and precepts, are we at liberty to do it?

Relevant to this question, consider Romans 14:23, "But, the one doubting, if he

Comments

[arcticfidelity]

Well, this is a good question! I thought I would share my own personal thoughts on the matter. Firstly, I think we cannot and should not take the Bible as a list of can-dos, should-dos, and don't-dos. We should not regard the Bible as a book of how-tos. Rather, we should look at the Bible as the Will of God revealed to us, specifically, that God is showing us his heart and his own wisdom and intentions throughout the year.

Also taking this, we are called to two commandments in the Bible: Loving our God, and Loving our Neighbors. Under these two commandments is the entire Law, and there is one additional commandment that Jesus gave, that we should love our brothers and sisters as Christ loved us.

In all this, I believe that the right attitude to take when dealing with issues in the scriptures is to pray fervently, and to try to perceive and listen to the Spirit of God. Specifically, we ought not to think of things as "Are we allowed to do this, or not?" Rather, we should look at things with the attitude of, "How can I best serve, honor, and please my Lord?" Now, we ought to also understand that serving and honoring our Lord is not about man-made piety. Too many people today equate very little with the Love of God. We ought to have on our minds at all times, what the Lord would have us do in any situation. Likewise, we ought not to think of His Will as some list of exact "I want you to do this and think this." I don't think this is accurate in the Scriptures. In general, God provides us with his heart, and we ought to be of one mind and spirit with Him. We ought to seek to let our lives come into perfect harmony with his design.

To this end, Morality is about doing what is Right, and doing what is Right is doing what best serves our Lord. Granted, this can be very hard to understand, but I believe that if we stop trying to let ourselves "figure things out" then we will find that the Lord provides us the answers that we need, whether through the revelation of his Word, or through a personal revelation in our hearts, when we open ourselves to the Holy Spirit's guidance.

So, My Answer is simply that you are asking the wrong question. It's not about what you can and cannot do according to God, but about what will best honor and glorify Him according to the Will that He has set forth before us.

[delightinginhim]

I totally agree with you! I dislike it very much when people look at the Bible in that light instead of as a guide, as God's will revealed to us. And instead we should be asking as you said, "How can I best serve, honor, and please my Lord?"