Christian Liberty: What does it mean?

Posted on October 26, 2024 by Heart of the Matter

 

 

 

 

I was raised Southern Baptist, not the strict fundamentalist kind of Baptist, but the “drinking and tattoos are sinful” kind. Our church didn’t ascribe to as many rules as some Baptist churches did. My parents, faithful believers, played cards with friends every Friday night, and I went to the prom and danced. You wouldn’t catch us drinking or getting a tattoo, though. Ours was a typical Southern Baptist church of that era, the 1960’s and 1970’s. There wasn’t much preaching or teaching on the idea of “matters of conscience” (personal belief choices that are not strictly prohibited in the Word of God). Matters of conscience would include things like: what version of the Bible to use, what type of music is appropriate, hairstyle and clothing choices, homeschool vs public school, worship style—hymns or contemporary, whether to drink alcohol, or get tattoos, even particular eschatological views (like whether Christians will experience any of the tribulation).

All of these are issues on which believers may disagree. None are specifically prohibited or mandated in God’s Word and most importantly, they have nothing to do with salvation. When scripture is silent on an issue or doesn’t specifically address it, believers have the freedom in Christ to use discernment, guided by the Holy Spirit, to decide what to do. It’s what’s referred to as Christian liberty.

In Romans, chapter 14, Paul is writing to the church in Rome, made up of both Jews and Gentiles. There was disagreement on what rules must be followed to please God. The Jewish believers observed Holy Days, refrained from eating leftover meat from pagan sacrifices, and believed in circumcision. The Gentile believers didn’t follow Jewish customs and were convinced that all food was clean. Interestingly, Paul refers to the Jewish believers as the weak ones and the Gentiles as the strong. Because of these different views, there was division between the groups and there was a tendency to judge one another. Paul made the point that believers should love each other more than they love their personal convictions. Christians today should take note.

So how do we decide where we’ll stand on these issues of Christian liberty? Scripture does offer some guidelines. Here are three helpful things to keep in mind:

  • Paul tells us in Romans 14:13, that we are not to be a stumbling block to a brother or sister in the faith. In other words, if we know that our brother doesn’t share our opinion about an issue, we shouldn’t flaunt our choice in his face thus, causing him distress or hindering his chances of coming to the Lord. Love for our fellow man should take precedence over our personal rights. That’s a hard one for so many of us today, especially in America. We’ve become a self-centered, me first, people, not wanting anyone to take advantage of us.

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. Everyone should look not to his own interests, but rather to the interests of others.” Philippians 2:3-4 (CSB)

  • There is no room for judgement or contentious arguing in the church over matters of conscience. Paul reminded the Romans that one day we’ll all have to stand before God and that He is the only righteous judge. (Romans 14:10-12) Again, love must take precedence over the desire to be right. We should never argue over non-essential facets of faith. Our wise pastor repeats a particular phrase often from the pulpit. He says, “We must not let our convictions become condemnations” I love that so much, don’t you? We want our church to be a welcoming place where love is felt, and salvation is primary. Salvation, my friend, is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Nothing more.

“So then, let us pursue what promotes peace and what builds up one another.” Romans 14:19 (CSB)

  • Every believer has the Holy Spirit within to guide them in making decisions on matters of conscience. We can read the Word for ourselves, pray, and listen to the Spirit’s voice, as we seek to know what to do on these issues. The Lord led my husband and I to make certain choices because they were wise choices for our young family. We had Christian friends who made different choices, and that’s ok. As parents, we all want the same thing—for our children to be safe and healthy, and to come to know the Lord as their Savior.

“Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask of God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given to him.” James 1:5 (CSB)

In a nutshell, as we make choices on matters of conscience, we must not intentionally offend others with our choices. We’re not to argue with fellow believers over minor issues and we shouldn’t make choices that are physically or spiritually harmful to others. We wouldn’t want our choice to inhibit someone from coming to Christ. God gave us minds to think and reason, and offers wisdom to help us do the right thing.

“For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding. He stores up success for the upright; He is a shield for those who live with integrity so that He may guard the paths of justice and protect the way of His faithful followers. Then you will understand righteousness, justice, and integrity—every good path.”

Proverbs 2:6-9 (CSB)

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Hope for Those With Election Anxiety

Posted on October 20, 2024 by Heart of the Matter

There is panic among the masses in our country at this moment—among liberals and conservatives. Election 2024 is happening in two weeks and there is much anxiety about which candidate will be steering the ship for the next four years. We worry about the loss of our freedoms, the future of our children and grandchildren, the economy, and other important issues.

Each side of the political spectrum believes that if the other candidate makes it into office, the world as they know it, will come to an end. They believe their hopes and dreams, their security, their very lives, depend upon which candidate gets into office. There is rampant fear across our country. When the election is over, there will be devastating disappointment, sadness, and shock, for many.

No doubt, the stakes are high at this point in our country’s history. But as believers, we can be assured that no matter which way the election goes, there is hope and solace in God and His Word.

In Romans 13:1, Paul writes, “Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.”  (NASB, emphasis mine)

God is in control, my friend. He is now and has always been. No one holds an office except that God allows it. God is the one who established an authority structure to begin with—for our own good—so that anarchy would not reign supreme, and to highlight sin and our need for a Savior. If the opposing candidate of your party wins the election, God will still be on the throne.

At this point, you may be thinking: Hold on, Paul was in a much different time and place. He had no idea when he wrote those words, the type of candidates who would be running nor the sorry state our country would be in today. 

 To the contrary, when Paul wrote this letter to the Roman church, Rome had one of the cruelest dictators to ever walk the planet—Nero. He murdered his mother, beat his pregnant wife to death and set Christians on fire to light the city. Yet, Paul called them to submit to his authority unless they were asked to do something contrary to the Word of God, in which case, they would stand up in obedience to God. The same goes for us.

Lest you think I’m advocating apathy in the voting process—absolutely not. I believe we must vote according to the Word of God. There are certain subjects on which the Bible could not be more clear—marriage and the value of human life being two of them. In addition, we must always stand for religious freedom, so that we can continue to worship as we see fit and share the gospel at home and abroad. We certainly must exercise our right to vote.

I hope I have lessened your anxiety a little bit with this post. God already knows who our next president will be. Regardless of the outcome, we must say with Paul:

“Brothers and sisters, I do not regard myself as having taken hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Phiippians 3:13-14 (NASB)

The world will go on until Jesus comes again to reign in power and truth. We can have hope, joy and peace until that time, no matter our political circumstances. If you do not know Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, now is a great time to make that life-changing decision.

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My 9/11 Experience: A Fateful Weekend in the Big Apple

Posted on September 13, 2024 by Heart of the Matter

On the morning of September 11th, 2001, I walked into the office of my son’s elementary school, tired, but anxious to report for duty as a parent volunteer at the school. My husband and I had just returned the night before from visiting New York City. It was my first visit there—my birthday trip. Being from a small town in the south, I had always wanted to see it and the Big Apple had surpassed my expectations.

It was 8:55 when I walked into the office that day and noticed everyone staring at the TV mounted on the wall. Glancing up, to my shock and horror, I saw the north tower of the World Trade Center on fire, smoke billowing out, waves of bizarre confetti falling to the street below. It was surreal. This couldn’t be happening, I thought. We were just standing atop that tower, enjoying the expansive view, less than 48 hours ago. It had been a highlight of our trip.

As I tried to make sense of it all, another plane slammed into the south tower right in front of our eyes. There was an audible and collective gasp from the teachers and office personnel who had congregated there. We listened and quickly realized that it must be a terrorist attack.

 It would not be a normal day at our little elementary school. In fact, nothing in our world would ever be the same.

 I’d decided to take my son home so I hurried down to his first-grade room. Like many parents that day, I wanted my children huddled safely under my roof. After leaving the school, I picked up my one-year-old daughter who was with my parents and headed home to turn on the TV. I picked my older middle school son up a little later in the day as his school was discouraging parents from showing up en masse and causing a panic.

Meanwhile, my husband was already at home. He’d taken that day off from his job as a manager at the local hospital because our original plan had been to fly home on September 11th. We’d changed our plan last minute so he’d decided to go ahead and take the day off anyway. When I realized we almost flew home on September 11th, it gave me chills. If we’d flown home then, we would have been on a plane when every aircraft in the country was forced to land.

 I arrived home just as the towers were falling, live on TV.  I thought back to our time in New York. We’d visited the Statue of Liberty on the ferry and taken amazing photos of the New York skyline and the iconic twin towers. We’d gone to a Broadway show, eaten great food, attended a Yankees game, and visited the financial district and Wall Street. It was the trip of a lifetime. We had stayed in an older hotel just off Times Square, close to all the action of the city.

On our last day, September 10th, before heading to the airport, we took a walk around the port area. I stopped in front of a fire station and took a photo of a ladder truck with firemen milling around and two firemen in the front seat of the truck. Since then, I’ve often thought about that fire crew and whether they survived the horrific day. It occurred to me that while we were having the time of our lives, there were evil individuals plotting the largest terror attack in the history of our country.

We never know what is coming around the corner in our lives, or what will be our last day on this earth, but God does.

When we know Jesus Christ and have placed our trust in Him, we need not fear the future. He is with us, leading, guiding, protecting, until our last appointed breath on earth, then he takes us to our heavenly home for eternity. I’m grateful that God preserved us and that, as close as we were to the tragedy, it wasn’t our time on September 11th. Since then, we’ve raised our kids to adulthood, witnessed all three come to know Jesus Christ, experienced the births of 4 beautiful grandkids, traveled the world, reveled in glorious family time and been present for our parents at their deaths. Although not without its challenges, life has been a blessing and a joy.

We continue to pray for the thousands who lost family members on that tragic day as we commemorate the event each year and will never forget our fateful trip to the Big Apple on my birthday.

“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:26 (CSB)

“Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand or marked off the heavens with the span of His hand? Who has gathered the dust of the earth in a measure or weighed the mountains on a balance and the hills on a scale?. . .Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the whole earth. He never becomes faint or weary; there is no limit to His understanding.” Isaiah 40:12, 28

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Never Too Old!

Posted on August 8, 2024 by Heart of the Matter

 

A few years ago, my children gave me a pickleball paddle for Christmas. I was so excited. I had recently noticed some people my age playing the sport as I strolled by a local court and had mentioned to my kids that I’d like to give it a try. I wasn’t new to racquet sports. I’d played a lot of tennis in my life and even some racquetball when I was younger, so I felt I could master this new (to me) sport. Sure enough, as I practiced more and more with my husband and family, I began to improve and could hold my own. My favorite thing is playing doubles with my 24-year-old daughter who’s an excellent athlete. Needless to say, we dominate! Our family isn’t competitive at all (wink, wink).

The point is: You are never too old to learn something new or to dive deeper into something familiar.

I’ve recently experienced this not only in a physical endeavor like pickleball, but in a more cerebral way, as well.

Last year, our church began a new program that offered college level Bible classes to anyone in our church who would like to dive deeper into God’s Word and Christianity, in general. There are classes on hermeneutics, church history, New Testament, Old Testament, theology, and evangelism/discipleship. It really piqued my interest, however, I wasn’t sure I could do the work. It had been many years since I’d finished college. I told the teacher (one of our pastors) that I’d like to “audit” the class. In other words, go to the class and listen but not have to do the work for a grade (cluck, cluck).Well, he immediately told me he knew I could do it and talked me into signing up fully—tests, projects and all.

Our first semester was Old Testament Survey and then it was on to Hermeneutics, the study of the principles of Biblical interpretation. I learned so much in those classes and couldn’t wait to get there each week to hear more. I made an ‘A’ in both classes. I guess at this age I had better focus and more motivation than in my college days (where I’d much rather have been out playing tennis than studying). I’ve signed up for the new year of classes at the Bible Institute and am looking forward to learning even more.

Getting older doesn’t mean giving up. It doesn’t mean becoming stagnant, or ceasing to learn new things. In many ways, the senior years of life allow more time for learning and practicing new skills, whether they be physical or intellectual.

Most importantly, we are never too old to learn more about God’s Word as we seek to understand it and to accurately teach it. If you have the opportunity to get involved in a deeper study of God’s Word, do so. You may find that many of the things you thought you knew, weren’t true at all. Sometimes we believe and promote ideas we’ve heard throughout our lifetime that may not be accurate. We’ve not studied the Word deeply for ourselves, in context, with precision and care.

There’s no question that as we read the Word on our own, the Holy Spirit illuminates its meaning and allows God to speak to us and move us to a closer relationship with Him. Reading the Bible on your own is essential to the Christian life. Studying the Bible in an intellectual setting does not diminish or negate this fact. But God also created our amazing brains to reason and to think in an organized and methodical way, as we bring context, cultural setting and logic into our study.

My late-life journey is as exciting as ever as I continue to learn and grow and to experience new things. I hope yours is, too.

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a worker who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the Word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15 (NASB)

“Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. I have sworn and I will confirm it that I will keep your righteous judgements.” Psalm 119:105-106 (NASB)

“For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, even penetrating as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12 (NASB)

“Open my eyes that I may behold wonderful things from your Law” Psalm 119:18 (NASB)

 

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6 Facts About Forgiveness

Posted on July 17, 2024 by Heart of the Matter

 

Forgiveness is hard. It’s hard when it’s family. It’s hard when the ones who’ve wronged you don’t believe they’re at fault. It’s hard when the same person offends again and again.  There have been times in my own life where I’ve had to humble myself and ask forgiveness for some pretty grievous things. Thankfully, those I hurt forgave me and there was healing. I’ve had to forgive others over the years, as well. I’ve learned that a peaceful life is only possible as we seek forgiveness when we mess up and extend that same forgiveness to others—offering grace and mercy.

Unforgiveness is like a backpack full of heavy rocks weighing us down with every step. It’s a burden many people carry for years. We hold on to grudges for so long we don’t even remember what upset us in the first place or realize how it’s affected our life and well-being. It takes a lot of energy to maintain a wall of defense—to shut someone out, for days, months, or years. It’s emotionally draining. Unforgiveness makes us angry, bitter and depressed. It shatters families and destroys friendships.

The fact is: It’s impossible for the believer to live a peaceful, joy-filled life while refusing to forgive. Make no mistake, deciding not to forgive someone is a choice. Maybe it’s time to lay down our weapons of emotional punishment, to tear down our walls of defense, and to drop our heavy burdens of unforgiveness. I hope today you’ll decide to do just that.

Here are 6 facts about forgiveness:

  1. Forgiveness is mandated by the Word of God. We are to forgive because, at great sacrifice, through the death of His only Son, God forgave us.

“So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so must you do also.” Colossians 3:12-13

2.  Forgiving others is a matter of obedience, an essential component of every believer’s life. Obedience is a marker of our love for God and our faithfulness to Him. It’s an intentional choice we make every day in a million different ways.

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” John 14:15

3. We cannot wait for the offender to see the error of his ways before we forgive. Even if they’ve not come to us seeking forgiveness, we must forgive them anyway. Forgiveness is about you and your own heart condition, not about them. They may never come to you and ask for forgiveness but that has no bearing on your responsibility to forgive.

“Hatred stirs up conflicts, but love covers all offenses.” Proverbs 10:12

4. There are no limits to how many times we forgive someone, as evidenced by the interaction between Jesus and Peter in Matthew 18. We must forgive those who wrong us as many times as is necessary.

“Then Peter came up to Him and said, ‘Lord, how many times shall my brother sin against me and I still forgive him? Up to seven times?’ ‘I do not say to you up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven times.’” (in other words, countless times) Matthew 18:21-22

5. Forgiveness is not a one–time thing. It’s something we’ll need to do again and again in life. As a matter of fact, we need to live in a constant state of forgiveness—always ready to forgive everyone for everything. There will never come a day when you’ll have nothing to forgive or no one in your life who offends—not until Jesus comes again and takes us to a perfect heaven. This earth is imperfect, and every inhabitant is a sinner. Like the Scout motto says: “Always be prepared”… to forgive.

“If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all people. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written: ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay’, says the Lord.” Romans 12:18-19

6. The sin of unforgiveness forms a barrier between us and God. Although it doesn’t affect our salvation, it hinders our fellowship (as do other entrenched sins in our lives). It also opens the door to Satan’s meddling as we move out from under God’s umbrella of protection and continue in disobedience. When we confess our sin, forgive the offenders and seek God’s forgiveness, our fellowship and protection are restored.

Don’t let unforgiveness ruin your life. Let go of grudges. Make room for peace, joy and blessing by forgiving those who’ve sinned against you. Remember, we can only control our own attitudes and reactions. We have no control over what others do. If they’re believers, they’re responsible to God for their own behavior. It’s not our job to “make them pay” by giving them the cold shoulder or worse. We must love and we must forgive. God commands it. Let go of any unforgiveness today. The Holy Spirit will give you the strength you need to do it. Enjoy a renewed sense of peace and blessing as you go forward prepared to forgive everyone for every offense, big and small.

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