Quote:
Originally Posted by OldPathsII
I appreciate that. Here is the approach I take on these things. Can a person make a biblical case that a pair of shorts are literally themselves a sin? Probably not. But it can open the door to things and it can lead us down a path that ends in sin. I believe these principles were established by those before us with wisdom and there isn't a sacrifice I could ever make that would be too much to stay away from the things that would bring damnation to our souls. Therefore, I refrain from and encourage others to refrain from some of these things. Sin costs too much at any price.
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my approach is a bit different even while respecting yours... which is very traditional.
as a general rule, I look at all things with the question "can I make a biblical case". I generally stop when I get to "no"
I proceed where the answer is "yes".
I do agree that there are some things that can be doorways to sin "if thy eye offend thee". These things may not be sin themselves but we should guard ourselves very closely.
I teach this very strongly. What I do not do is give examples. I don’t say "like wearing shorts". I don’t do this for multiple reasons.
1. giving a list leads those I am teaching to expect me to define all things they should avoid or do.
2. giving a list will eventually lead to my defense of the unbiblical.
3. giving a list will in all cases cause debate where none should be.
4. giving a list will require someone who has no jeopardy to some item on the list, to make a choice to obey and not do something that makes no sense to them
but more importantly providing a list of do's and don’ts prevents saints from growing and maturing and working out their own salvation.
I spent the better part of an entire Sunday school lesson hitting the necessity of personal boundaries. dealing with the fact that we each had better have limits to our liberty that is well within the boundary of where sin is. Because those boundaries we set save us from reaching the place of sin.
It caused more than a little discomfort and soul searching in all of us.
But I did not give any examples. my examples limit people from gaining their own spiritual understanding of their walk with God.
When you teach people to look at their own life, and listen to GOD as he moves in them, you build Christians that are stronger and who will be far more committed to the things of God and who will develop personal convictions that are vastly stronger than any list we can hand out.
This is where I diverge from many that I walk along beside (maybe even you) but this is a result of having grown up in a moderate, down the middle church that taught people to be grown up Christians instead of handing out a rule book.
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