Our Footsteps: How to Know Right from Wrong

Friday, September 5, 2008

How to Know Right from Wrong

The first 'Christian Living' book I ever read the whole way through is called 'The Pursuit of Holiness' written by Jerry Bridges. A pastor of a church I had attended gave it to me about 15 years ago or more. It laid in a dresser drawer for awhile... and then on a bus trip to Detroit I decided to take the book with me and read it. I couldn't put the book down. At every food and bathroom break along the way, I remained in the bus to read my book.

I credit this book for sparking my love for reading and to develop my own pursuit of God. I decided to re-read the book and it is wonderful for my mind to go back to that time when I first read the words that helped lead me to a closer relationship with the Lord. For that, I owe Jerry Bridges a great debt of gratitude.

Last night, I read a page that poses questions to help in determining what is right and what is wrong. I'll share part of it here:

1). Is it helpful- physically, spiritually and mentally? (Everything is permissible for me - but not everything is beneficial - 1 Corinthians 6:12)

2). Does it bring me under its power? (Everything is permissible for me but I will not be mastered by anything - again 1 Corinthians 6:12)

3). Does it hurt others? (Therfore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall - 1 Corinthians 8:13)

4). Does it glorify God? (So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God - 1 Corinthians 10:31)

The Pursuit of Holiness: 153 pages, packed with encouraging conviction.

No comments:

Post a Comment

I Believe...

1). I believe that there is one God. I believe God consists of three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
2). I believe that God is holy, righteous, loving, and just.
3). I believe that mankind is separated from God by sin; that sin entered the world through Adam and death through sin.
4). I believe that, because of sin, man is condemned. Because of God’s utter hatred for sin, there is an eternal conscious punishment in hell for all those who do not come to God on His terms, dealing with their sin.
5). I believe that confessing our sins and confessing Jesus Christ as Lord is the only way to properly deal with the sin that has infected everyone. Jesus Christ paid our sin debt on the cross; reconciliation by substitution. There is nothing we can do to add to the finished work of Christ.
6). I believe in the security of the believer, that once he is truly born-again, there is nothing that would cause him to lose his salvation.
7). I believe that upon the death of a true believer in Christ, that he is ushered immediately into the presence of the Lord, where he will live in everlasting joy in Heaven, experiencing eternal fellowship with God.
8). I believe in believer’s baptism by immersion. I don’t believe baptism is necessary for salvation, but it is a beautiful outward profession of an inward possession.
9). I believe in a literal 6-day creation where God created the heavens and the earth and then rested on the seventh day.
10). I believe that the words written in the Bible are truth. I believe that the Bible is inerrant in its parts and in its whole. I believe that the 66 books that make up the canon of scripture make the Bible complete and that God inspired the words written therein. The things that were written down in the Bible are sufficient for every need we have. Not only is God’s Word sufficient, but it is far superior to any other method of handling the problems that man faces, since He has given us all things pertaining to life and godliness.