Free To Be Me - Morality
Scripture Reading - 2 Peter 1:3-5 ISV (International Standard Version)
3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through the full knowledge of the one who called us by his own glory and excellence.
4 Through these he has given us his precious and wonderful promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, seeing that you have escaped the corruption that is in the world caused by evil desires.
5 For this very reason, you must make every effort to supplement your faith with moral character, your moral character with knowledge,
In the world there is always a geological comparison made between people. In other words people of the same community will compare every person of that community with the “so-called” norm. Thus, the norm is acceptable while the abnormal is not. The problem is who defines what the norm is and does such a defined norm exist for all the people of that community? This comparison usually involves at least seven different issues (characteristics and/or topics), age, career, gender, morality, religion, ethnicity and income. So the people with similar characteristics will always be drawn to a closer relationship then those who think, act and sometimes look differently than them. This week we will briefly discuss how the characteristic of “Morality” relates to our freedom in Christ Jesus. “Morality” in its general form means that a person has a clear sense of right and wrong and they choose to do right. In the scripture above we see that “morality” is directly tied to character because it is understood that people who have a reputation of good character are typically “moral” people. They receive this positive feedback because they consistently display good decision making when it comes to doing what is right and doing it for the right reasons. It only makes sense that the people who live by a “moral code of ethics (morality)” will have more respect for those same individuals who live by their same code. Yes, “morality” cannot be tied to a certain religion because there are “moral people” all over this world. There are world leaders of various religious backgrounds that share a “moral” commonality of people in their own nation but their “morals” sometimes conflict with our “morals” based on God’s Word. You could defend the nation of America as a great solder of superb “military morals and conduct” but that does not mean your “morals” are divinely inspired by God. Yes, as Christians, we tend to adopt “the morality of Christ” which is basically saying that we emulate the “morals” taught in God’s Word. For the believer this is not limited to just the Holy Word of God but it is also demonstrated by our Heavenly Father, our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit Himself. Yes, often times even when we don’t know the exact scripture in the Holy Bible the Holy Spirit will bear witness with your born-again spirit about what is right and wrong for your life. Now of course everything that is truly authentic from God will also be inside of God’s Word because the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ are all consistent about upholding God’s principles, precepts and plans. However, there are some times when we need to rely upon the witness of God for right and wrong when it comes to walking out God’s plan for our life. Since the Holy Bible does explicitly state that Tom should work in Company A or B we must rely upon the witness of God in those specific situations to determine what is right or wrong for our life in the sight of God. Yes, all believers do live by a “moral compass” guiding us to do what is right and pleasing in God’s sight. Our “morality” will be different than those of the world and that is perfectly alright. If God and the world looked at everything the same way there would be no major conflicts between the two systems of influence. Likewise, if you and your neighbor looked at life the same way both of you would live peacefully and in harmony with each other. However, strife between people creates wars between nations and the major war is still between Heaven and Hell. The problem is that often times we (all people) don’t agree on major topics that have to deal with “moral” issues. For instant we believe our “morality” comes directly from our Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus but many non-believers think that “morality” is already inherit in man. Therefore, we will never agree on that subject so don’t waste time trying to convince them otherwise. We (ihlcc) believe all Christians should focus on getting people saved first then their perspective on life and “morality” will automatically change because the Lord Jesus will open their eyes to divine truth and spiritual realities. All sincere Christians know without Christ we are nothing, therefore any “good morals” we have all came from God through Jesus Christ, the Savoir of the world. So please enjoy your “moral freedom” in Christ Jesus because He paid the ultimate price to give you “a strong moral fiber of love” and righteousness. No one can ever take away your sense of right and wrong once you are in Christ Jesus. Why, because as long as we stay close to God Mr. Right, the Lord Jesus Himself, is living big within you every day to keep you on the straight and narrow path of all righteousness. Remember, all that is good, decent, pure, holy and right is in Christ Jesus, therefore in Jesus you have “moral character”, so don’t let any man take it away or corrupt your clear conscience in Christ. Never let anyone call-out (question, judge) your “morality” in Christ because what some peoples conscious will allow them to do may be forbidden by God for you. Let each man serve God by His own faith in Christ Jesus not (apart from) the convictions of another. Amen.