How would you change the “rules” of defining right and wrong if you had the power—if you were emperor for a day? Would they be different from the standards in the Bible? If we are truthful, we, like Adam and Eve, would sadly and tragically do things differently than God.
Since the fall of creation, humanity has consistently used their flawed personal lenses in deciding what is moral and ethical. A foundational element of faith is suspending our judgement of what is fair and right when it conflicts with biblical standards of righteousness. In Luke 13, Jesus healed a woman who had been bound by an evil spirit for 18 years. The Pharisee leader failed to suspend his own judgement by stubbornly staying indignant that Jesus had healed her on the Sabbath day. “There are six days of the week for working,” he said to the crowd. “Come on those days to be healed, not on the Sabbath.” (Luke 13:14, NLT)
This hardness of their hearts kept the Pharisees from grasping the higher Great Commandment principle of agape love, to do good and relieve suffering, as the only true response. As Jesus stated: “You hypocrites! Each of you works on the Sabbath day! Don’t you untie your ox or your donkey from its stall on the Sabbath and lead it out for water?”
Jesus responded, “This dear woman, a daughter of Abraham, has been held in bondage by Satan for eighteen years. Isn’t it right that she be released, even on the Sabbath?” (Luke 13:15-16) Hence, it requires great humility to repent over positions held close to our hearts but are contrary to God’s standards of righteousness. Will we have the courage to say, yes, God You are right, and I was wrong?
A personal example that I face is divorce. Christian denominations have various standards for divorce, with only the Catholic church with an absolute prohibition. I personally believe that my divorce was allowable under the condition of spousal abandonment, but that does not matter as ultimately God will decide the true circumstances and motives of my heart. If my divorce was not justifiable, I must be willing to admit that my second marriage is adulterous and that my children are illegitimate, a very painful realization. If I repent, and ask forgiveness, then I believe that Jesus will forgive and “cover the sin” that had such serious consequences for my family. If I stubbornly refuse to accept God’s standards, I am saying I love my sin and standards of righteousness more than God, which I believe will lead to great pain at the final judgement seat of Christ.
This example can apply to any of the many disputed aspects of modern morality such as unmarried co-habitation, sex before marriage, and same-sex marriage. My prayer for myself and all our readers is that our hardness of heart will not be a stumbling block to our repentance. Hence, I urge us all to engage in ongoing self-introspection through prayer, confession, and seeking wise counsel to gain the Holy Spirit’s guidance to uncover those areas of our lives in which we stubbornly hold our own our standards of morality and righteousness—and sin against the Lord. The first step to repentance is to ask God for the strength to be “willing to be willing” to see the situation from His perspective. A second key recommendation is seeking insight from wise counselors such as your pastor or accountability partner to gain added perspective. When we truly understand that God earnestly wants to free us from the illusion that freedom comes from setting our own standards, we are on the road to obtaining deliverance from a serious stronghold.
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Scripture is quoted from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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