Pastor Brent McQuay preached at my church last Sunday. One point really rang true to me and I think you might find it familiar to you as well. He told about a rich man who wanted to hire a chauffeur to drive family members from place to place. He met the applicants near a dangerous cliff and asked them how close they could drive to the edge safely. Several of them got so close the front tire was on the edge. Then one of them put the car in reverse and back away, explaining that he didn’t feel safe anywhere near the edge. He got the job to safely transport that family. Pastor Brent then told us many of the questions he gets as a pastor have to do with the location of the line between good and evil, between obedience and sin. Then how close can you get to it without sinning. An example he gave was an engaged couple asking how far can they take their physical relationship before their wedding. The question should not be how close can you h[ get to the line without sinning. The question should be how close can you get to God, because you won’t find God anywhere near that line.
The Old Testament laws drew that line through physical actions. Jesus teaches us in the sermon on the mount, in the fifth chapter of Matthew, that line between obedience and sin also runs through our minds and our hearts. If we lust in our minds, we have committed a sexual sin (in answer to the engaged couple). If we hate someone in our heart, we have committed murder. That makes it even more important for us to avoid that line between obedience and sin.
Paul wrote, “You say, ‘I am allowed to do anything’ – but not everything is good for you. You say, ‘I am allowed to do anything’ – but not everything is beneficial.” (1 Corinthians 10:23) To make things even more complicated, the line isn’t exactly the same for each of us. God knows what we need as His unique son or daughter. Jesus turned water into wine at the wedding feast and served wine at the last supper in the upper room. The Bible simply says not to be drunk with wine. My wife and I enjoyed a glass of wine together after dinner without any warning, but to someone who is prone to alcoholism one glass could drag them over the edge, so the Holy Spirit will warn that person not to drink a drop. Some Christians feel that if they are told to refrain from something, all Christians should refrain as well. That is why I would never drink wine in front of them because it might be a stumbling block to them.
As I have drawn closer to God by following the promptings of the Holy Spirit into prayer, worship and Bible study, I feel safer and no longer worry about that line I don’t want to cross. Instead, I concentrate on God’s will and mission for my life.
I hope you are not living on the edge as you are reading this. The barrier God constructs along that line in the life of each Christian is not a fence to confine you, but a guard rail to keep you from danger. If you feel too close to the line, move away from danger and into the safety of God’s loving arms.