01/01/26 FOUR QUESTIONS

01/01/26 FOUR QUESTIONS

Four questions that help us understand CHRISTIAN, BIBLICAL Faith and Practice.

Does God Command it?
Does God Condone it?
Does God Commend it?
Does God Condemn it?

Though the entire Bible is God's infallible revelation, Christians are not required or allowed to practice everything that God has revealed to His people throughout history.
Christians are not required, or even expected, to keep the sacrificial laws, the dietary laws, the ceremonial laws, which God gave to Israel in the Old Testament.
There are also specific commands God gave to certain individuals, which do not apply to other people.
Therefore, the principles I suggest apply to Divine directives for those who live in the Church period.

Here is an example of how to use these questions when considering a subject.
Does the God of the Bible command Christians to sin?
Does the God of the Bible command Christians not to sin?

Does the God of the Bible condone Christian's sinning?
Does the God of the Bible condone Christians not sinning?

Does the God of the Bible commend Christians for sinning?
Does the God of the Bible commend Christians for not sinning?

Does the God of the Bible condemn Christians for sinning?
Does the God of the Bible condemn Christians for not sinning?

I am not claiming that this is a failsafe approach to understanding Scripture and the Christian life, but it is a valid tool. In finding the will of God, we must make certain that we are not reading our own bias into God's word. We should look for clear and supported Biblical answers to these questions. We should eagerly seek God's view on these questions.

A good working definition for sin and sinning is, "willful disobedience to the known will of God."

Obviously, there are Divine directives which are binding on all people, but sometimes there are personal directives given to specific individuals, which other people are not obligated to follow. This is why the Bible says, "he that knows to do good, and does not do it, to him it is sin."

Every person needs the redemptive grace of God, at all times. Believers come into a right relationship with God with a certain level of knowledge and understanding of truth. As believers grow in grace and knowledge, they acquire greater light, knowledge, understanding, responsibility, opportunity, accountability and ability to do that which God calls them to do.

In seeking God's will, these questions relate both to God's written revelation and to personal awareness of God's will and His leading. With God's light comes God's enabling power to do that which is pleasing in His sight. Greater light brings greater liberty. Spiritual liberty is deliverance from sin and the law of sin and death. Spiritual liberty is not freedom to disobey God or live a life separate from His Lordship.

Remember, God intends for us to live in righteousness and holiness all the days of our lives. Clean hands and a pure heart are not rules and regulations that enslave us: they are acts of God in our lives that set us free from the law of sin and death.