​Whenever we are deciding whether we should do something, the common question that we ask ourselves is, “Does the Bible say that it is wrong?” Or, when we ask another brother or sister about a certain behavior that they are approving of or are involved in, they may answer by saying, “Show me in the Bible where it’s wrong! Show me where it’s condemned!” We get into discussions and debates asking questions, such as, “Is it wrong to gamble? Is it wrong to smoke? Is it wrong to have one alcoholic beverage? Is it wrong to dance or go to the prom? Is it wrong to be involved with politics or not to vote? Is it wrong to skip our Bible studies or the 9am Sunday sermon?” While the question, “Is it wrong?” certainly has its place, we need to consider the fact that there are other questions which need to be asked as well. There are more questions that need to be asked than just, “Is it against the rules?”
 
Christian living is about walking by faith (2 Corinthians 5:7), walking by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-26), and walking in the light (1 John 1:7). These passages show that we are called to a higher standard, and we have to ask more mature questions than just, “Is it wrong? or, “Is it lawful?” or, “Is it against the rules?” Paul shows this when he was interacting with the same kind of responses from the Corinthians. Since the law of Moses was done away with and they were now under the grace of Christ, they would say things like, “All things are lawful.” Paul responds by showing that even if things are permitted (or not explicitly condemned), this does not mean one should do them. Paul responded by saying, “But not all things are helpful” and, “Not all things build up” (1 Cor. 10:23). Paul shows them (and us) that there are other questions that need asked before engaging in a certain behavior. These questions would include (but are not limited to):

• Is it wise? – What does the book of proverbs say about this behavior? What do mature and wise believers you know think about it?
• Is it helpful and edifying to others? – (see 1 Cor. 10:23-30; Rom. 14-15) May this action lead someone to stumble in their faith? Does it help someone grow or mature?
• Is it loving? – (see 1 Cor. 13) Does this behavior show that I am devoted to showing love, especially towards those who are weaker in the faith or more restrictive than I am? Does it show that I am concerned for their soul?
• Is it God-glorifying? – (see 1 Cor. 10:31-33; Gal. 5:16-26) Does this action display the fruit of the Spirit that glorifies God or does it display a work of the flesh? Is it similar to the works of the flesh?
• Does it reflect purity and holiness? – (see 1 Thess. 4:1-8; Eph. 5:7-21) God desires His people grow in holiness. Does this action show I am working to mature and to be more like Jesus?
• Does God show that this behavior pleases Him? (see 2 Cor. 5:9-10) The only way we know a certain behavior is pleasing to God is if He tells us in His word. If we have made it our aim to please Him, will we do that which is “questionable” or presumptuous? Would we do things that may not be pleasing just because we want to do them?

 
We have to get better at asking questions like these. We must understand that just because we can do something, doesn’t mean we should do it. There are many things we can do, but fewer things we should do. We have to start asking, “What is the likely outcome of this course of action?” and then only proceed if people will be helped, God will be glorified, and purity and holiness will be reflected.
 
But even when these questions are asked, this does not mean we will all come to the same conclusion about all of these behaviors. In this case, I believe there are at least three principles we must keep in mind:

1. We must not condemn people based on our own reasoning when there is not a scripture condemning a practice (Romans 14:1-12).
2. It is not “judging” to encourage people to act with wisdom and love and in a God-glorifying way as scripture teaches.
3. Be willing to always discuss these kind of issues with reasonableness and gentleness. Don’t be afraid to share your opinion, but as you do so, be ready to show that something IS pleasing to God, helpful to others, loving, and God-glorifying. Don’t just air your opinion and give no justification from scripture for it.

 
Many subjects are a matter of wisdom and discernment. We need to in these areas work to distinguish between good and evil, using God’s word to do so (Hebrews 5:13). We need to have our minds renewed so that we can “discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2). We see in Romans 12:2 a different kind of thinking. Instead of thinking, “is this wrong,” we need to ask, “is this behavior good, acceptable, and perfect?” Let’s help each other to be wise. Let’s help each other ask better questions. And let’s learn to love each other even when we arrive at different conclusions.

Hundreds of thousands of people are talking about a certain news story on Facebook today, including many brothers and sisters in Christ. They are talking about a headline that reads 'Niners QB Kaepernick refuses to stand for the national anthem'. All of the responses to this story on Facebook have left me scratching my head and wondering, "Do we know how to respectfully disagree with those we disagree with?" or "Do we know how to show love to those we disagree with?" In the posts/articles that I have seen brothers and sisters in Christ share, I have seen the burning of this man's jersey, attacks on the man's character, mocking the man because of his upbringing, and accusations of being "un-American" and even "disrespecting and hating our troops"...  

Should a Christian be posting such things? Should they be showing their approval of these kind of hateful and disrespectful attitudes when they post articles and videos showing these things? I believe when Christians share these kind of posts, they are showing the world a few things:

1. They are showing that the world (not scripture) has trained them how to treat those whom they disagree with. Instead of showing tolerance (respect and patience to those whom we disagree with), they are led by the world to be quick to criticize, mock, belittle, and attack this man made in God's image for sharing his opinions and beliefs (which we do by sharing posts and articles that do so)
2. They are showing in this instance that they may have a pride for this country, it's flag, and it's national anthem that is idolatrous in nature. Our emotions can be a good indicator of how much love we have towards our place of earthly pilgrimage, and at times, our emotions can show that we have made this earthly nation a competitor to God for our hearts. (I would encourage you to read these articles on how we can make America our idol)
3. They are showing hypocrisy because they claim to be disciples but are not loving their neighbor (Kaepernick in this instance) or treating others the way they would want to be treated if someone disagrees with them. Should not love demand kindness and patience and not rudeness and irritation (1 Cor 13:4-5)? Our King, the Lord Jesus, has given us His royal law to love God and neighbor. It is a law that we will be judged by (James 2:7-13). When we fail to show compassion and love to those who we disagree (or agree) with, we are putting ourselves at odds with the law of the Great judge, and we are in need of repentance. 

We need to consider how we should respond to those whom we disagree. This should be done, not just regarding current events regarding our nation and it's celebrities. It also needs to be applied to our disagreements with our brothers and sisters in Christ. When we have a doctrinal disagreement, a difference in opinion/conscience regarding what a particular Bible passage is teaching or whether a particular practice is right or wrong, how should we respond? Should we not respond by:

• Being respectful and patient with those whom we disagree? We often are too quick to throw out statements like: "you are in sin because you believe _______", or "Your "church" is not sound because they don't believe ________", or "You are not a Christian if you agree with __________", or "You are a liberal/legalist/etc because of this belief." Instead of throwing out judgments that assume we believe someone is a lost sinner because they disagree with us, should we not leave this kind of judgment to the Lord? I am not saying there are no areas where we should not take a stand, but I am saying that we need to show caution in being so quick to condemn and judge. We may be putting ourselves at odds and into disagreement with the judgments of Christ Himself. We only know someone is lost and in sin if scripture states it to be the case, and most of our disagreements and condemning attitudes are based on things that are not as clearly defined in scripture as we would claim. 
• Check our own hearts to make sure we don't have an idolatrous level of love for our own opinions or traditions - traditions that may be only one way of submitting to the commands of Christ. Make sure we are standing on the teachings of the Apostles, not on our own opinions and traditions we are lifting up to be "Gospel truth".
• Showing love to those who are made in God's image and members of the bride of Christ? 

​I believe Romans 14 would demand these kind of responses instead of what we normally see among God's people. My prayer is that as you disagree with those who are inside or outside of the church, you will think about how you can respond in a way that best reflects the Gospel (Philippians 1:27) and shows light to this dark world (Philippians 2:15).

Grace and Peace,
​Jason

I received a question about the sin of partiality that went like this: “Is it showing partiality to have a preference to spend more time with certain people or groups of people (such as physical family) compared to others?”

We all have those who we may prefer to be around, or those we are more comfortable spending time with because we have more in common. We may spend more time with our physical family than we do other people. We may spend more time with families in our congregation with children the same age as ours. We may spend more time with those who have some of the same interests as ours. I do not believe this, in and of itself, is partiality. There are some scriptures in which we are commanded to show preference in some areas, which I believe do show that preferring to spend time with certain people (or groups of people) is not partiality.

For instance, in Galatians 6:10 we are told to “do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” I believe this verse is showing that we need to go out of the way more in order to do good deeds for our brothers and sisters in Christ compared to those who are in the world. If I have a choice to spend time with or to do a good work for a nonChristian or a Christian in the same exact time slot, I believe a passage like this shows that I should choose the brother or sister in Christ.

Another example of a passage that shows we should show some judgment (or preference) in who we spend time with is 1 Corinthians 15:33 where Paul says, "Bad company ruins good morals." This passage shows the danger of surrounding ourselves with those who can impact us in negative ways spiritually. The context of this passage shows that it is primarily referring to false teachers, but I believe this can be applied more broadly to anyone who can have a negative impact on our spiritual well-being. We should prefer to spend more time with and to surround ourselves with those who can help us to get to Heaven.

There are more examples I could give, but these two go to show, I believe, that there are some instances where we should, and even must, show some kind of preference in regards to company we keep, and when we do so, we are not showing the partiality that is condemned in the Bible.

But we do need to be careful though that our preferences do not turn into partiality. If our preference to spend more time with certain people got to the point where we would be completely neglecting certain groups of people (ex. those who are not in our physical family or those who are not Christians), then it can get to the point where our “preference” becomes partiality. We need, as disciples of Christ, to be willing to spend time with those who are different from us so we can "love our neighbor" (all of our neighbors) as Jesus commands. Jesus’ command to love is not just for those who we prefer to spend time with. It is for everyone! 

One of the biggest struggles we have in being impartial is that we often only like to be around those who we are “comfortable” being around. We have a certain type of person we prefer to keep company with, and it is usually people who are just like us. This, in and of itself, is not a bad thing. But it can become a bad thing if it leads us to neglect serving everyone else, especially those who are in helpless situations physically and spiritually. James says that pure and undefiled religion is this: “to visit orphans and widows in their affliction.” James is telling us what we need to do if we want to have “pure and undefiled religion”: we need to serve those who are helpless. James also challenges us to get out of our comfort zones to do so. We need to do more than just make a phone call. We need to do more than just send a card, flowers, or money. Those things are “easy” compared to what James encourages us here. James is challenging us to actually leave our houses and associate with those who are in need. This is what James means when he tells them to “visit.” It is going to the person, showing concern for their welfare, and doing what you can do to meet whatever need there is. The word ‘visit’ is used elsewhere in the Bible. It is used in Exodus when we are told that God “visited” His people in Egypt to deliver them (Gen 50:24; Exo 4:31). Also, Jesus “visited” mankind in bringing them the hope of salvation (Luke 1:68, 19:44). It was much more than a social call. It was much more than just coming to say, “hi, how are you doing.” It was all about coming to those who are in need and making sacrifices to meet the need. This is not usually the most comfortable thing for us to do, and at times, being around those who are in affliction can feel awkward. But those with a “pure and undefiled religion” feel compassion for the helpless, and this compassion helps them to overcome the awkwardness and the discomfort they feel in spending time with those who are different then them. They will learn to go out of their way to meet a need no matter who is in need, just as their Lord and Teacher did (cf. Romans 5:6).

​Are you striving to have an impartial, pure, and undefiled religion in the sight of God?

Just fill in the blank. What is the most important Bible verse regarding marriage? What about the most important Bible verse regarding parenting? How about the best verse for being an employee, a leader, or a member of a church family? We need God’s wisdom for all of these areas. We need it for every relationship we have. What would you say to me if I told you that there is ONE verse that is the best verse to go to in order to get God’s wisdom for EVERY single position we may find ourselves in and EVERY relationship that we have? You may think, “there just can’t be one ‘silver-bullet’ verse for them all!” But there is! That passage is Philippians 2:3-4:

"3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; 4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”
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This is God’s wisdom and direction for Christians no matter where they are and no matter who they are dealing with. If you want to know how to get along with your spouse, your children, your brethren, and your worldly friends, remember this verse. If there is friction in one of your relationships, consider whether or not you are striving to obey this scripture. It will usually be the case that this passage helps us to see that WE unfortunately may be the reason why a relationship is not going well. This verse may show that we are being too selfish, and the “other guy” is not to blame for disagreements and disunity within our relationships.
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What Paul commands us to do in this passage and its context is challenging. To be like Jesus is a high standard to shoot for, indeed. But God deserves nothing less after what He has done for us!
Go to this verse if you need help in your relationships. It will not let you down. It will always humble you and show you that you need to look for more ways to serve and be like Jesus.