By Russ Atmore
We make choices everyday.
Some of them are good and some of them are bad. We make choices about
all kinds of things. We decide on education for our children. They
decide which university they would like to attend or not attend. We
decide which groceries to buy or not buy. We decide to meet with friends
or not meet with them. The list goes on and on. We make ethical and
moral choices. You either make the right one or you make the wrong one.
There’s no in-between position. To take no position either, on moral
matters indicates that you have taken a position. Life is full of
choices. You will make either the right ones or the wrong ones.
The Bible asks men and
women, boys and girls to make the right choices. The Bible never
suggests that you can abstain from clear ethical or moral issues. I
don’t know of many fuzzy moral areas, if any. God is perfectly clear in
His communication to us. The Bible is the written revelation of God.
This revelation is complete, final, sufficient and full of authority. It
is God’s authority. You either obey or disobey. To disobey brings death.
When Adam sinned in Eden he died spiritually. Physical death and eternal
death are the results of spiritual death. The consequences of Adam’s sin
are crucial. We are all born with sin natures, therefore, our choices
are sinful. You cannot escape this. It’s part of you. When you became a
Christian, God implanted within you, a new nature – a nature that can
make the right choice every time. Sin is a subtle enemy. It lurks where
you least expect it. It traps you when you least expect it.
Part of our problem is that
we don’t take seriously the consequences of the choices that we make. We
are blind to the fact that some choices have life-long consequences as
well as eternal consequences. Marriage is a major choice. You go wrong
here and your life can be a misery. Divorce has soared to all time highs
which simply points out that some made a wrong choice and then decided
not to live with the consequences. All sin has built-in consequences.
For young people marriage is a big choice. For Christian young people
the criteria is clear from God – you can only marry a Christian.
Don’t just accept that because the person you like says that they are a
Christian, that they are. Test them – measure their profession by the
Bible. What career to pursue is another big choice that young people
face. Dependence upon God is the key. Spend time asking God for guidance
– don’t leave Him out of the picture.
The Bible has placed
boundaries upon moral choices. The Law of God in Exodus 20 is the
expression of God’s borders. As a Christian keeping the Law of Christ
(Galatians 6:2), is keeping the Law of God. God’s moral law has never
changed. God requires that you obey, not merely from a sense of duty but
from a heart that is overcome with love and gratitude to Him. Joshua
decided to choose God over everything else in life. He made that
statement as an old man (Joshua 24:15), but it was the reality of his
whole life. When he and Caleb gave a good report about the land of
Canaan, he was just giving evidence of his great choice to serve his
God. When he waited on the mountain of God (Exodus 32:17), for Moses to
come down, he was there because he had made this choice. He would stay
behind in the tabernacle after Moses had left because he hungered for
God (Exodus 33:11). He made his great choice, and he lived his life in
the light of that choice. Ruth decided to follow Naomi – her marriage to
Boaz meant that King David would be born as her great-grandson, and from
this line came our Lord Jesus Christ – the greater David. Yes! Choices
have consequences.
We need to make the right
choices in life. Life is too short to make the wrong ones. Even the Lord
Jesus Christ made choices. He set his face as a flint to go to Jerusalem
– it meant crucifixion. He determined to do the will of His Father, no
matter the cost – He went through Gethsemane. He resisted the devil
three times with the Word of God – it meant constant assault, and
ultimately Calvary. Jesus accomplished the will of God by making the
right choices. He has gained a people given Him by the Father from
before time began. What a plan worth dying for! The people certainly
were not worth it – they were rebellious sinners. It was simply because
He loved these sinners. To love and die for a friend is one thing, but
to love your enemies and die for them is love beyond compare.
You need to make your choices based on the
Bible. Don’t read the “You” magazine to get your insights into living.
Read the Bible. Depend upon God. Ask Him for direction at every
crossroad in life. Take the Lord Jesus Christ as your example. Follow
Him. Study His life.
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