the answer to all gray matters

August 20, 2011

On the Holy Spirit -

Ephesians 4:30 - Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. (NASB)

How many a young man is kept back from doing things that he would otherwise do, by the thought that if he did them his mother might hear of it and she would be grieved beyond expression. ... But listen, there is one holier than the holiest mother that you or I ever knew, one who loves us with a more tender love than our own mother loves us, and He sees everything we do, not only in the daylight but under the covers of the night. He hears every word we utter, every careless word that escaped our lips. He sees every thought we entertain; yes, every fleeting fancy that we allow a moment's lodgment in our mind. And if there is anything unholy, impure, immodest, uncharitable, indecorous, unkind, harsh, bitter, censorious, or unChristlike in any way- in act, word, or thought - He sees it and is grieved beyond expression. ...

Bearing this thought of the Holy Spirit in our mind will help us to solve all the questions that perplex young believers in our day. For example, the question,"Should I as a Christian go to the theater or the movies?" Well, if you go the Holy Spirit will go, too, for He dwells in the heart of every believer and goes wherever the believer goes. Were you ever in a theater or moving picture show in your life where you honestly thought the atmosphere of the place would be congenial to the Holy Spirit? If not, do not go. "Should I as a Christian go to dances?" Well, here again, if you go the Holy Spirit will surely go. Were you ever at a dance in all your life where you really believed the atmosphere of the place would be congenial to the Holy Spirit? ... So with all the questions that come up and that some of us find so hard to settle, this thought of the Holy Spirit will help you to settle them all, and to settle them right (if you really desire to settle them right and not merely do the thing that pleases you, even though it may grieve the Holy Spirit). (The Holy Spirit - Who He Is and What He Does by R.A. Torrey)

May I remember this fact of my Christian life - the Holy Spirit is with me wherever I go, and I am commanded to not grieve him (why would I want to grieve one who loves my soul so dearly anyway? why would I want to grieve the one who is equally the God that I serve and love?). May I apply the aforementioned condition/questions to every activity - TV shows, gambling, drinking, dress, hang out, etc. - and obey fully and to do the right thing, and not just what I want to do. A lot of times, the question isn't so much 'what is the right thing to do?' (for if we really asked ourselves, we already KNOW what the right, best thing to do is) but 'do you actually want to know and DO the right thing?' For we are told in James 4:17 - Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.

One more point on gray areas -

1 John 1:5 God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.

Gray areas are neither black nor white. But, we're called to live in light - in the white areas. There is no darkness at all with God. To make gray, you need a bit of black, it's not purely white. There's no 'a little bit of white, a little bit of black' with God. It's either you walk in the light, or you do not.

The New Living Translation puts Ephesians 4:30 in this way:

And do not bring sorrow to God's Holy Spirit by the way you live.