What Christians Shouldn’t Ask
If you do anything you believe is not right, you are sinning. - (Romans 14:23)
A question believers never should ask is, “Can I do this and still be a Christian?” That is a dangerous thing to be asking. Instead, what believers should be asking is, “As a Christian, what can I do to be closer to God?”
Paul said, “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any” (1 Corinthians 6:12 NKJV). It is not so much a matter of whether we can technically do something as Christians and still be saved. Rather, these are the questions we should be asking ourselves: “If I do this thing, is it possible that it could bring me under its power?”; “If I do this thing, is it possible that I could be a bad witness to others?”; “If I do this thing, can I still give glory to God?”
If you have a working conscience and understanding of the Scriptures, then you will know whether a Christian ought to be doing something. You will know there are certain things that you should not do.
Then there are times when one believer will have a conviction that another believer doesn’t necessarily have. The Bible says in Romans 14:23, “If you do anything you believe is not right, you are sinning.” Or, as The Living Bible puts it, “Anyone who believes that something he wants to do is wrong shouldn’t do it. He sins if he does, for he thinks it is wrong, and so for him it is wrong. Anything that is done apart from what he feels is right is sin.”
There always will be the temptation to lower our standards in order to extend our reach. But if you compromise now, you will regret it later.
Copyright © 2016 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
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