FBC Morning Light – March 21, 2022

Faith Baptist Church

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Well, a good Monday morning to you. So here we are in the third week of March and spring is upon us.

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Aren't you grateful for that change of seasons? I know I sure am.

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I appreciate the warmer temperatures we've had in the last few days and I just look forward to a nice spring.

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Well, today we're reading in 1 Corinthians chapter 6 and there's a couple of principles that come out in that passage that really help us deal with the matter of what am

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I free to do? Now, Paul tells us in the book of Galatians that basically the exhortation, don't let anybody rob you of your liberty.

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You are in Christ Jesus, there is great freedom and you are at liberty. And he's dealing in Galatians with the problem of Jewish legalism, the idea that you have to obey certain laws of the

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Old Testament scriptures in order to be saved. And so it's not enough simply to believe in Jesus, to have faith in Christ, but you also have to be circumcised and you go through all these other law requirements in the

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Old Testament under Old Testament Israel. And basically in Galatians, Paul argues, no, that is not true.

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You are free in Christ Jesus. But are there limits to that freedom?

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Am I free to do anything I want to do? Well, in 1 Corinthians chapter 6, he provides for us some very helpful principles regarding our freedom, our liberty that we have in the

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Lord Jesus Christ. So I just want to look at a couple of these. A lot of people say, even today, that everything is lawful for me.

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And he refers to that in verse 12, where he says, all things are lawful for me. He makes that statement twice.

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He's quoting a statement that was commonly said in order to justify any kind of behavior that one wants to do.

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All things are lawful for me. But then Paul says, but all things are not helpful.

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All things are not helpful. So here's a good first question to ask myself when it comes to my liberty to participate in something.

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Is that really helpful? Is that thing helpful to me? In what way is it helpful?

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How will it help me to grow in Christ? How will it help me to be a better Christian?

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How will it help me to, in my walk with the Lord, how will it help me to be a better husband or father or wife or mother or child or church member or brother in Christ?

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Is it helpful? And it's an important question to ask. And if you have to come to the answer that, well, it's not really helpful, it's not really helpful, then maybe you need to think about whether or not it's something you should regularly participate in, if at all.

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The second question comes up as he continues. He uses that statement again, all things are lawful for me.

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But then he says this, but I will not be brought under the bondage or under the power of any. I will not be controlled by anything.

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So there are many things that you may think are lawful for you, but if they become addictive to you, then perhaps, well, no, perhaps about it, but that's something that you really need to get under control and it must not be addictive to you.

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Paul says, I will not be brought under the power of any. And usually we think of things like cigarette smoking or drugs or even alcohol abuse and things of that nature.

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And those are all legitimate things to be concerned about. But I don't think most Christians struggle with most of those things.

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Some do, I admit, I acknowledge that. But those aren't the areas where most

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Christians, especially serious Bible -believing Christians, where they struggle and are brought under the power of those things.

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But what about other things? I think, for example, today of the addictive power of our electronic devices.

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I'm actually in the middle of reading a book entitled Stolen Focus. And the book is really fascinating in what it brings out in the power of these devices.

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And not only the readily availability of these things in our hands all the time, but what the software developers and so forth are doing to try to keep us addicted and keep us focused or not focused, as the case may be, but to hold our attention on the device.

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For example, Facebook has a whole algorithm designed to keep you looking at Facebook.

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So if you ever had this happen to you, if you're a social media user, you say,

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I'm just going to check Instagram for a second. I'm just going to check my Twitter feed for a second. I'm just going to check Facebook for a second.

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And you open it up and you look at it. And before you know it, a half an hour has gone by. Why is that?

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Because that's exactly what Facebook wants to do. Or those other platforms, that's what they want to do.

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Because the longer you look, the more money they make. That's the whole thing. And the net result is, on their end, they want to get your attention.

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They want to get you focused on their application. But on your end, it becomes an addictive thing, where you can't even go a half an hour or an hour without checking your phone.

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So what we have to think about is, this thing is certainly lawful for me.

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It's not unlawful. It's not unbiblical to have a Facebook account or Twitter account or these things.

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It's not unbiblical to have a smartphone. But what I want to ask myself is, have

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I allowed myself to be brought under the control of these things, of some application or applications?

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And if so, then what steps can I take to break myself, to free myself from that control?

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And fortunately, there are some applications and there are some things that you can do, but it isn't easy. Nevertheless, that's a principle to consider.

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And then at the end of the chapter, in verses 19 and 20 of chapter 6,

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Paul brings up yet another principle that we have to keep in mind when it comes to these things that may be lawful for us.

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At the end of the thing, he says, Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?

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For you are bought with a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are

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God's. So the third principle I just want to throw out this morning from this passage is the question, am

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I behaving in a way that suggests I own me? Am I reflecting in my behaviors and in my choices that God owns me, that I'm not my own person, that I am subject to the desires of my master, of my owner, of my

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God? And fortunately, our God is not like a cruel slave master. He's like a loving, merciful, and gentle father.

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And Jesus calls himself the good shepherd, a shepherd that cares for his flock. So this ownership of God, it's not a slavish thing where God just wants to make our lives miserable so that we do what he demands of us.

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No, he lays out for us pathways that are pleasant. And as his people, as his children, as the sheep of his pasture, he wants to lead us in pleasant pastures.

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Well, am I taking ownership and taking my life in my own hands and insisting that I go my way and do my thing without considering what would my shepherd have me to do?

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I think we need to keep in mind our ownership, who owns us as believers in Christ, as children of our

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Heavenly Father. So these are three simple principles for us to think about as we consider things that are not prohibited in Scriptures, things that aren't commanded in Scripture, things that may be lawful.

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Are they helpful to me or to others? Do they end up controlling me?

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Am I behaving or allowing these things to take control away from my

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God who loves and cares for me and wants what's best for me? So good things to meditate on.

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Our Father and our God, we thank you for this very practical passage of Scripture. I pray that as your people, that we would stop and consider when it comes to these things that are lawful, whether or not they're helpful, whether or not they are controlling, or whether or not they rob you of the control that you rightly have over us.

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So Father, let us think on these things. We pray this in Jesus' name and for his sake, amen. All right, well, have a good rest of your

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Monday and I trust your spring gets off to a good start. Good day.