Scripture and Truth

"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer. If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained. But refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness" (I Tim. 4:1-7). This is a really powerful and vastly overlooked passage of scripture from the apostle Paul. The Lord has been showing me that too many of his people are just too 'tight' about too many things that have subtly been imposed upon them; both by traditions in the body of Christ, and by the societies we live in. There are a lot of things that we have all been influenced about, including subtle forms of the things mentioned above, that have left us with less freedom and joy of spirit than what Jesus has purchased for us at the cross of Calvary. There are many other things beyond those listed in our text passage, that are having an effect of strain and tightness on the spirits of God's children, that he doesn't want to be there.Too many commandments of men and custom of society have left too many born again believers hesitant to move one foot in front of the other, for fear of falling into sin and displeasing God. Also there are far too many believers having far too much religious pride because of things that they don't do, when in fact many of these things are not sin, as the apostle stated.

This spiritual malady also cultivates a judgmental spirit in those who pride themselves like that, toward others who aren't as 'strict' as they are about such things. If something is not in a category of things that are straightly called sin in the Bible, then chances are it isn't sin. Not only so, but if something isn't in a category of things in the Bible that are called commandments of God, then it probably isn't. What a lot of folks need to think about is that everything that one can do in his life is not either a commandment of God or sin either. There are a lot of things that we can do if they aren't done to excess. The scripture says, "And they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away" (I Cor. 7:31). He didn't say that we CAN'T "use this world," but rather not to excess. Everything in this world, in terms of all that God created, is good. In fact the Bible tells us that after God finished the creation of heaven and earth, he didn't see one thing that was not good: "And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was VERY good (Gen. 1:31). The only thing that this can mean is that there is nothing in this world that we can't use and enjoy, as long as it doesn't become an obsession and have power over us. Addressing these same kinds of issues in another place, the same apostle Paul said, "All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any" (I Cor. 6:12). Paul made it clear in another place that God wants us to enjoy our lives in this world without living to excess: "Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy" (I Tim. 6:17).

The bottom line is the commandment that Paul gave to those in Philippi about the whole issue of using and enjoying the things of this life: "Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand" (Philip. 4:5). There is nothing bad about decent food for example, and we all love to eat something good when we're hungry. Yet if we eat to excess or if we consistently eat because of nervousness when we aren't hungry, then we have sinned, and have thereby defiled our body which is the temple of the holy Ghost: "For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags" (Prov. 23:21; I Cor. 6:19). You may note that gluttony is put in the same context as drunkenness in this verse. Again, the problem is with excess, not with eating. Paul confirmed this point in a figure in another place: "And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible" (I Cor. 9:25). So what we need to do is to honestly examine a lot of these things that either Christianity or society has labeled as morally wrong, and decide honestly by the scriptures whether indeed these things are sin, or whether they have just been imposed upon us by the misguided judgment and consciences other people. The same is true as well about things that so many of us have been made to feel that we are supposed to do. All I can say is that there is a lot of freedom of spirit in facing down a demon that is trying to intimidate you into believing that you won't be 'right' until you do the thing that it is trying to make you believe that you have to do. Search things out and come to a sensible conclusion by the scriptures whether a thing is a commandment of God, or sin, or if it's just a thing that is neither one. God has given us liberty in our lives in this world and we can't afford to let the devil strip us of our God-given rights to live our lives and give God thanks in all things. Amen.