Living in the Center or on the Edge?

Living in the Center or on the Edge?

Romans 16:19

I'll celebrate 39 years of vocational ministry this month. Most of those years have put me in local churches much like the one I currently
serve. Some things in those churches have remained pretty much the
same, and that's not always a bad thing. Biblical truth shouldn't change, so our doctrinal statements ought to remain stable.

Other things have changed way more than I think is healthy. Almost forty years ago many people in evangelical churches concerned themselves with lifestyle issues. They were concerned about avoiding "worldly"
things that could harm their walk with Jesus and their testimony. It's no secret that those concerns led, in some church groups, to legalism that became judgmental and self-righteous.

In our current efforts to avoid legalism, the pendulum has swung far in the other direction. I believe it has swung too far, and that complicates the lives of every man who pursues freedom. Our current environment makes it far too easy for men who want and need freedom to engage in behaviors and activities that rob us of freedom.

The Apostle Paul urged us to avoid those entanglements that steal our freedom. He may have said it no more simply than in Romans 16:19: For your obedience has become known to all. Therefore I am glad on your behalf; but I want you to wise in what is good, and simple concerning evil. In essence, Paul urges us to live in the center of what is good, and stay far away from the edges that lead us into evil.

This instruction is positive and negative. Those who long for freedom pursue wisdom in "what is good." They also avoid any knowledge of that which is "evil." All of us who read Freedom Fighter have responsibility for how we pursue and avoid. What do we watch on television? What kinds of movies do we attend? What kind of music catches our fancy? Does the literature we read push us toward good or pull us to the edges of evil?

I invite you to join me in choosing the center of that which is good. I also invite you to choose staying far from that edge that exposes us to evil. The wiser we are in "what is good," the more likely we are to know freedom. The less "simple [we are] concerning evil," the more likely we are to know bondage. Let's choose wisdom in "what is good!" - Pastor Strain is Senior Pastor of First Baptist Toms River

God's Word for Today: 1 Samuel 1-3; Luke 8:28-56

Think About This: Somebody once asked a Christian believer, "How is it that you seem to have such peace, while I, although I go to church, do not have peace?" The Christian replied, "I think it is because yours is a religion of DO, mine is a religion of DONE - done once for all in my place by Christ Jesus on Calvary.