Hey Gang,
This new study series looks at five issues facing our culture. It's not too difficult for Christians to see that Americans today live in a culture that has drifted off course. Many adults base their thinking and lifestyles on what the popular culture endorses. This study tackles five issues head on and shows us the biblical counterpart to a culture gone awry. Adults can stand for Christ and what is right in the midst of a culture that no longer understands truth.
Lessons in this series:
January 1 - Thriving in a Fast-Food Culture – Make the best use of the body God gave you.
January 8 – Seeking Purity in a Sensual Culture – Embrace people-treating actions you, God, and others can be proud of.
January 15 – Caring in an Expendable Culture – Participate in God’s plan and purpose for each individual.
January 22 – Loving in a Divided Culture – Identify your prejudices and compare them to God’s Word.
January 29 – Giving in a Greedy Culture – Identify needs of people around you.
Lessons in this series:
January 1 - Thriving in a Fast-Food Culture – Make the best use of the body God gave you.
January 8 – Seeking Purity in a Sensual Culture – Embrace people-treating actions you, God, and others can be proud of.
January 15 – Caring in an Expendable Culture – Participate in God’s plan and purpose for each individual.
January 22 – Loving in a Divided Culture – Identify your prejudices and compare them to God’s Word.
January 29 – Giving in a Greedy Culture – Identify needs of people around you.
Why should we be concerned with our bodies? Or, why are we overly concerned with them?
- Some fall into the trap of self-worship, focusing entirely too much on food, weight, and appearance. Others swing the pendulum to completely ignore those actions that enable a healthy lifestyle. These two extreme attitudes toward our bodies – obsession and neglect – could not be more different. But neither attitude is what Christ desires for us.
Our lesson this week says that we should make the best use of the body God gave us by aligning with Christ, avoiding the harmful, and adopting the beneficial.
I. ALIGN WITH CHRIST – ROMANS 13:12-14
12 The night is nearly over, and the daylight is near, so let us discard the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk with decency, as in the daylight: not in carousing and drunkenness; not in sexual impurity and promiscuity; not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no plans to satisfy the fleshly desires.
Paul urged believers to seize every opportunity to represent Christ in daily life. What a perfect focus on this first day of the New Year!
In verse 12, Paul spoke of the night and darkness. He says that deeds done in darkness are actions we want to hide. Whereas deeds of the daylight bring clarity, togetherness, and solutions. They are based on truth, knowledge, purity, and solidity. There are no pain-causing or secret motives. Daytime activities reflect the light of Christ (John 1:4-5). They show love, as defined by God. We don’t mind people seeing us do them or knowing we do them. We assume they’d be proud of us for those.
Consider a time in your life when you were living in darkness. Was it caused by a secret sin or a stubborn rebellion or something else? How did Christ bring that to light? How are you living in light now?
Paul continued by listing the different types of dark behavior. For many boomers, these first four sins seem to belong to the younger generations, but Satan will find a way to yank us toward something like these. Plus, few believers of any generation can pretend that the last two in Paul’s list – quarreling and jealousy – do not apply to our own lives.
What sins of darkness mark our generation? In what ways do we pretend they don’t matter?
So how do we escape darkness and enter into light? Action by deliberate action. We simply – but intentionally – put on the Lord Jesus Christ. We accept His rule, His power, His protection. Like many aspects of the Christian life, this is not a one-time decision. It is a day-by-day, situation-by-situation mind-set to choose actions of light when we are tempted to escape into the darkness.
What situations tempt you to live in darkness? How are you allowing Christ to bring you into His light?
It all begins with our relationship with Christ. How can we put Him on if we don’t know Him? And if we don’t get to know Him, how are we going to have a closer relationship with Him? Without that relationship, we cannot possibly live in the light; the darkness of our world is simply too strong. Are you savoring His Word? Do you call on Him throughout the day? Do you listen to His guidance? This is how we put Him on.
Why would Paul use the metaphor of getting dressed to illustrate our relationship with Christ? How might we let the treatment of our bodies get out of control on one extreme or the other? How can we regain control?
- Probably the greater problem isn’t that we make plans to get out of shape physically and spiritually but that we don’t have any plans to get and stay fit.
- We must discard anything – leisure activities, food, situations, and relationships – that promotes sin or unhealthy activities in our lives.
- We can identify areas where we are not thriving and make plans to battle those weak areas. We start by making a wholehearted commitment to line ourselves up with Christ and His standards. Out of that relationship flows the strategy and strength to thrive.
Points:
1. Christ-likeness is a Christian duty.
2. Believers are to lay aside sins related to drunkenness, sexual immorality, and strife.
3. Believers are to put on Christ as their lifestyle as if putting on a new garment.
II. AVOID THE HARMFUL – PROVERBS 23:20-21
20 Don’t associate with those who drink too much wine or with those who gorge themselves on meat. 21 For the drunkard and the glutton will become poor, and grogginess will clothe them in rags.
Most of us assume that we’re strong enough to resist anything. So we foolishly form alliances with people who drag us down. It’s a simple fact: We become like those we spend time with. If we truly want to align with Christ, we must choose to avoid harmful relationships and actions. Many Christians avoid illegal and immoral activity (1 Cor. 6:19-20). But few take seriously what may be legal and customary but not wise and good.
What would most Christians label off-limits for managing their bodies? Which activities might they treat as a gray area? Which might they embrace?
In Proverbs 23:20-21 Solomon identified two specific activities that harm our bodies: abusing alcohol and overeating. These two can easily lead to legalism and division between believers. Christians must focus not on “How much can I indulge?” but “In what way am I using body and health to glorify God?”
Though this passage does not explicitly prohibit the use of alcohol, it also does not give permission for “responsible” or “social” drinking. Believers must consider the full counsel of Scripture to answer: How would consuming alcohol glorify God? To what extent does Christ call me to avoid alcohol (Luke 1:15)?
Where do you draw the line for consuming alcohol? What factors led to your decision? In what ways did Christ lead you to make this decision?
Though many Christians are careful about the stand they take on consuming alcohol, few adhere to the same care when considering what they eat or how much they eat. In fact, according to a 2006 study by Purdue University, church members tend to be more overweight than the general population. Many of the arguments used against drinking, such as health and addiction, apply equally to overeating. Solomon coupled the two harmful activities together for a reason.
We know with our heads that overeating is bad for us. Why do we do it anyway? What is emotional eating? What would the Spirit guide us to do about that? In what ways does overeating demonstrate self-glorification instead of glorifying Christ?
We don’t want to let our lack of discipline in regards to alcohol, food, or anything else hinder our ability to live and love and glorify God. It is for this very reason that God gives us a loving church and relationships within it to lead, encourage, and walk along beside us.
How did the bad habits Solomon described reflect a fast-food culture even in that ancient time? How might Solomon step all over some self-righteous toes? Why would he equate drunkenness with overeating?
- Some boomers who wisely refrain from drinking alcohol may still not be thriving in this fast-food culture because they are abusing their bodies with poor eating habits.
- Both drunkenness and gluttony harm the body and show a lack of self-discipline and restraint.
- Don’t get caught in a debate about drinking alcohol. Use the Bible commentary to enforce the value of abstinence and get back to the focus of avoiding all things that are physically harmful. If anything, focus on overeating or refusal to set good eating habits.
Points:
1. Don’t drink alcoholic beverages.
2. Don’t eat too much.
3. Glorify God with your body.
III. ADOPT THE BENEFICIAL – DANIEL 1:8, 11-16
8 Daniel determined that he would not defile himself with the king’s food or with the wine he drank. So he asked permission from the chief official not to defile himself.
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11 So Daniel said to the guard whom the chief official had assigned to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12 “Please test your servants for 10 days. Let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then examine our appearance and the appearance of the young men who are eating the king’s food, and deal with your servants based on what you see.” 14 He agreed with them about this and tested them for 10 days. 15 At the end of 10 days they looked better and healthier than all the young men who were eating the king’s food. 16 So the guard continued to remove their food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables.
Daniel’s homeland was Judah, but the Babylonians captured him. All he had known – family, home, and heritage – had been ripped from him. Even in this incredibly lonely and difficult situation, Daniel chose not to harm his body with the Babylonian king’s food and wine. The Hebrew word for “defile” refers to moral or ceremonial defilement. Two possibilities could have caused defilement in Daniel’s situation: First, the king would not hesitate to serve foods identified as unclean by the law of Moses (see Lev. 11:7-8; 17:10-14). Second, the food and wine served at Nebuchadnezzar’s table may have previously been associated with the worship of heathen gods. The Bible doesn’t specify the reasons, but Daniel chose to respectfully request a different diet. Daniel and other Israelites proposed eating only vegetables and water. This seemed unorthodox to the official in charge of them; he gave them only 10 days to display that the vegetarian menu was beneficial. Choosing purity and holiness resulted in evident change in the men’s’ physiques.
How did Daniel demonstrate courage in his request for a new diet? How did he demonstrate respect? What else is needed to please God in the ways we adopt a beneficial way of eating and living?
Note that the original inhabitants of earth were vegetarians until after the flood (see Gen. 1:29; 9:3). But Daniel’s example does not insinuate that followers of God should avoid meat. Daniel’s choice was based on what he understood to be God’s standards, which resulted in a heart, mind, and body that remained undefiled.
Instead of seeking the best-tasting or most-filling, we would be wise to ask, “Which foods would make me feel and live my best?” Jesus will reveal those things in our diet and lifestyle to be accepted or avoided. What beneficial foods can you easily add to your breakfast, lunch, and dinner this week?
Rather than fret about what you will eat and don’t eat, take on food as a worship adventure: How can I best honor God through what I choose?
How were Daniel and his friends surrounded by a type of fast-food culture? What were keys to Daniel’s success in adopting beneficial habits? How did Daniel demonstrate his determination at least three times a day? What happens when we exercise resolve on a continual basis?
- Sample: keys, determined, enlisted the support of friends, made the changes respectfully.
Points:
1. Believers need to develop moral convictions based on God’s Word.
2. When confronted by choices, we should act in light of these Biblical based convictions.
3. We should act with courage no matter what the consequences.
4. Living in this way involves self-control with the help of the Lord.
5. Self-control leads to a happier and healthier life than self-indulgence.
6. Those who discipline their lives when they are young can give their whole life to the Lord.
Prayer of Commitment
Lord, when I am tempted, may Your Spirit give me strength to exercise self-control. Amen
Well, there's nothing like getting right down to a Baptist point at the beginning of a new series. Next week our discussion gets even hotter as we look at sexual immorality as one of the issues taking our culture off course today. Some questions out there are: "Why does the church make such a big deal with sensuality in the culture, is it really any of our business?" and "Can't you stay away from sexual immorality if you just stay true to your wife?". Maybe your thoughts are that this is just too embarrassing and improper to talk about in church or maybe you're thinking, we're too old to worry about sensual temptation. Well, (I've already said that) this is our second in a series of cultural challenges to discuss - so we'll see you next week!
In His Love,
David & Susan
Happy New Year!
