"Adorn The
Doctrine Of God Our Savior In All Things"
Titus 2:10
We proclaim with
tenacity the believer's absolute freedom from the law. We are not children of
bondage. And we refuse, because God requires us to refuse, to be brought into
bondage to any religious custom, tradition, or rule invented by men (
THE GLORY OF CHRIST is
more important than my indulgence in any liberty he has given me. THE NEEDS AND
OPINIONS OF MY BRETHREN, ESPECIALLY MY WEAK BRETHREN, are more important than
my freedom to say, do, or use anything, be it ever so innocent or indifferent.
THE SALVATION OF SINNERS is more important than the exercise of my personal
liberty. And THE HONOR OF THE GOSPEL is more important than the indulgence of
any freedom I may have to use this world without abus- ing it. May God give me
grace, and give you grace, to govern our actions, our speech, and our
attitutdes by these things. Neither say,
nor do, anything before men that might ill-serve the cause of Christ's glory, offend
his people, keep sinners from hearing the gospel, or mar the beauty of the
gospel in the eyes of others.
We practice restraint in
all other areas of life. Why not here? There are many things I discuss with my
wife,which I would not discuss before my daughter, many things I might say to
an adult that I would not say to a child, and a few things I do in private that
I would not think about doing in front of anyone. To behave otherwise would be
crude, rude, offensive, and foolish.
LET US TAKE GREAT CARE
THAT, IN ALL MATTERS OF OUTWARD APPEARANCE, WE ADORN THE DOCTRINE OF GOD OUR
SAVIOR BEFORE MEN. We must take care that we do not give the enemies of God an
occasion to blaspheme, offend any of those dear saints for whom Christ died, or
place a stumbling block before any sinner. As much as possible, be all things
to all men, accomodate yourself to the weaknesses of others, and seek the good
of others. Use your liberty. Do not abuse it.
Don Fortner