Gray Areas (4-17-12)

Ephesians 4:1-3 - "Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."

This idea that Paul brings out about "being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" has been on my mind a lot lately, and so has his exhortation in Romans 12:18 which says - "If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men." The body of Christ is supposed to be one, as the name implies. When we think of a body we don't think about it as a bunch of segregated pieces, but we think of it as one unit working together for one purpose. And the church, the body of Christ as we're called in Ephesians, should work the same way, as one unit, all striving together with one mind, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.

One of the main reasons for disunity among believers is a difference of opinion when it comes to what are commonly referred to as "gray areas." These are things that the Bible does not specifically speak to. It could be the type of movies that I watch, the places that I go, whether I'm allowed to smoke or drink, or get a tattoo, the kind of clothes that I need to wear to church, the kind of music I listen to, etcetera. All these things and more are issues that divide the body of Christ, and depending on where you go and who you talk to you have varying opinions on each and every little thing. Of course with some of the things I mentioned the Bible my speak about to an extent, but not expound on it, such as drinking. The Bible is very clear that it is a sin to be drunk, but does that mean that you can't even taste alcohol? There are all kinds of opinions on that subject. Another one is the way we dress. The Bible is very clear that we need to dress with modesty, but how far do we take it? The Bible doesn't give us a dress code, and so we make up our own rules and our own standards and expect everyone else to conform to them.
I think that in these places, these gray areas we need to seek Gods heart in the issue, not look for rules. The Bible is very clear that Christ has set us free from the law. Paul said in Galatians that it was for freedom that Christ set us free. And he said in 1 Corinthians 10:23 - "All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify." God has a standard, and anything inside that standard, Paul declares, is lawful. In other words, the things that the Bible clearly speaks about we need to observe, such as "thou shall not steal" and "thou shall not commit adultery", but as far as these gray areas go, Paul says, "all things are lawful" but then he goes on to say "but not all things are profitable." As Christians who desire to grow up into spiritual men and women in Christ we shouldn't be going around and seeking out what we can do and what we're allowed to do, we should be seeking out those things that are truly profitable, those things which will draw us closer to God. And we can't judge other people based on our desires or our convictions.

The apostle Paul deals with this subject of gray areas in Romans chapter 14. In the early church when there was a large mixture of Jewish and Gentile believers all meeting together as one body there were some major conflicts because of the different ways that the people were raised. And two of the conflicts that Paul brings up in this chapter are food, and holy days. And in these things the point that Paul is trying to get across is that we as believers should not be judging one another in regards to these gray areas. This is what it says in Romans 14:1-12 - "Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions. One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only. The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God. For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For it is written, “AS I LIVE, SAYS THE LORD, EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW TO ME, AND EVERY TONGUE SHALL GIVE PRAISE TO GOD.” So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God."
Paul makes it very clear in this passage that we have no right to judge one another in regards to these gray areas. In the first few verses we're told that we need to accept our brother in Christ, not judge him, and at the end of verse 3 we're told why - "for God has accepted him." Even though he may have some different opinions than I do, if God has accepted him then who am I to judge him?
Rather than looking at everyone else and trying to make sure that they're doing everything right, I need to look at myself and strive to please the Lord in the things that I am doing, not judge His servants. We need to learn to leave that to Him, because each one of us will give account of himself to God. You're not going to give account for other Christians, your going to give account of yourself, so let's not judge the servant of another.

In verses 7-8 it says - "For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s." Everything we do, in life or death is done, or should be done, for the Lord. Our lives should be given completely to Him. This is a good test when it comes to some of these gray areas. Before participating in them just remind yourself, "I'm doing this for the Lord." If you can't say that then I suggest that you shouldn't participate in it. Verse 10 says - "But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God." This is another good thing to keep in mind in regard to the gray areas, and that is that we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. This is the judgment talked about in 1 Corinthians chapter 3. This is where God will judge our motives, not just what we did, but why we did what we did. And in that day our works will be tested by fire. - "Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire."

If we're going to strive to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, as the Lord exhorts us to do through the apostle Paul, then we need to learn to leave the judgment to God. Obviously, if someone is disobeying the clear teaching of God's Word we need to approach them out of love and seek to turn them from the error of their ways. But when it comes to gray areas, we each need to be fully convinced in our own minds and stick to our convictions, but we can't press our convictions on others and we can't hold them to our standards.

Ephesians 4:1-3 - "Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."