Three Laws for Enjoying Creation

Genesis 1:31 “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good…”

Introduction

I perceive that it is quite natural for serious-minded Christians to see the utter wickedness of calling that which is evil good. Whether it be the celebration of the murder of unborn children or the praise of sexual perversion of all sorts, it is clear to all Christians that these things are abominations and have nothing good in them. Yet it is regrettable that some Christians in both the past and present have so often failed to equally detest the practice of calling that which is good evil. Some Christians have talked about sex as if it is a necessary evil. Others have detested the consumption of any food or drink that is pleasurable. Still others have outlawed dancing, going to the movies, drinking a beer, and smoking a cigar.

Certainly, people have sinned in various ways while participating in these things, but that is not the fault of the things themselves. It is the user for misusing them.

In the sermon, then, we are going to look at three laws regarding for the proper enjoyment of creation: the law of goodness, the law of liberty, and the law of love.

The Law of Goodness

This is the Law of Goodness: that what God created is not merely neutral, but inherently good, and only becomes bad when it is misused or perverted in some way.

In last week’s sermon, as we worked through the six days of creation, we saw the its impressive order and beauty: a golden sunrise, the silver shimmer of the moon against a calm sea, a cool breeze on a warm beach, the tune of songbirds harmonizing, bear cubs wrestling in a grassy field, and the pure, passionate, selfless love between a man and woman. All of this, God declared was very, very good.

The Sin of Calling Good Evil

It is difficult to imagine someone beholding the beauty of creation and then calling it anything less than good, let alone evil. So demented the mind of a man must be to see such glories and yet declare them follies. And yet this very sin is what St. Paul warned pastor Timothy about in his first letter to him.

1 Timothy 4:1–3 “1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, 2 through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, 3 who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.

In other words, it is demonic to look at the good things God created and call them evil. Only the serpent and his twisted demons could connive of such an unnatural perspective on creation. They despise God and therefor hate what God loves and love what God hates. It is utter madness. So demented and crafty was the serpent in the garden when he declared as worthless the fruit of a thousand glorious trees and precious the forbidden fruit of a single tree. This was his tactic in the garden and it is still his tactic today: convincing us that evil is good and that good is evil.

But the scriptures says:

Isaiah 5:20–21 “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight!”

What we learn from this is that there are two fronts on which the armies of the enemy seek to destroy us: convincing us that good is evil and that evil is good. Yet he is content to convince us of only one of these. He is happy with the rebel who calls evil good, and he is equally happy with the pharisee who calls good evil.

But how does one get to the point of being so perverted in their perception or moral truth; especially those who are religious and have the light of God’s revelation in the Scriptures to guide them? The answer is a seared conscience.

Seared Consciences (1 Tim 4:2)

1 Timothy 4:2 “…through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared…”

Your conscience is your capacity to perceive, feel, and act towards right and wrong. What then does it mean to have a seared conscience? It means that it is apathetic, dull, and insensitive towards hearing and obeying God. It is someone who no longer senses the seriousness of their sin, though at one time perhaps they did.

How does someones conscience become seared, then? Through unrepentant sin.

Think of sin like plaque on teeth. If you brush your teeth regularly and thoroughly, you are removing the plaque before it has the chance to harden. However, if you fail to brush your teeth regularly, the plaque hardens and you are often unable to get it off by yourself and need to go to a dentist for professional help. In the same way, if you continue in sin, failing to repent and fight against it, then it will harden your conscience. Listen to the warning that the Bible gives to those who harden their hearts through unrepentant sin:

Hebrews 3:12–13 “12 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. 13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”

How do you prevent your conscience from being hardened in the first place?

Through keeping a short account of sin by regular repentance, looking to Christ for forgiveness, looking to the Holy Spirit for power to fight sin, meditating on the word of God regularly, and praying specifically for your conscience to be soft towards God’s commands.

Also—though often neglected—we keep our hearts soft through regular fellowship with Christian friends who you can confess your sin to and are bold enough to correct you if you are unrepentant.

How do you break free of a conscience that is already hardened?

As mentioned earlier, if plaque is hardened around your teeth, then a toothbrush likely won’t do the trick. You need to take more drastic measures and go to the dentist. In same way, if your heart and conscience are already hardened by sin, then you need to take more drastic measures.

Certainly begin to repent, seek Christ, pray against sin, and fellowship with mature brothers and sisters.

However, you also need to dedicate time to fast and pray for deliverance from this.

You also need to find a wise mentor who can help guide you through this process of chiseling the stone from your heart.

You will also need to cut out things from your life that may not be sinful in themselves, but distract you from the urgency of repentance. This could mean temporarily getting rid of all forms of regular entertainment like your TV, your computer, or phone. This could mean cutting out comfort food. This could mean avoiding certain friends who may not be bad influences, but certainly aren’t good influence.

What I have just described is the process of “casting off” sin. Removing the sins and weights that hinder you from sprinting towards Christ.

However, you must remember that just as important as casting off sin is putting on Christ.

Lots of people seek to reorder their lives through self-discipline and self-denial. This is good to an extent, but ultimately worthless if they don’t also replace their sin it with faith Christ.

One of the most important realizations you can come to in your fight against sin is this: sin is fundamentally disordered love, which means the way out of sin is rightly ordered love.

It isn’t enough to stop loving sin and start hating it instead. You have to replace your love for sin with a greater love.

Grow in your love for Christ and you will grow in your hatred for sin.

How do you stop loving lust and pornography? By loving the glory and purity of Christ more, by loving your spouse more, and by cultivating pity and compassion in your heart towards the men and women who are enslaved to the sexual exploitation found in the pornography industry.

How do you kill greed? By loving what you already have.

How do you kill lying? By loving the truth.

One very important way to grow in your love for Christ is to be grateful for the blessings and liberties he has provided for you. This takes us to the Law of Liberty.

Law of Liberty

The Law of liberty is the principle that Christians have the freedom to properly enjoy everything that God created.

Titus 1:15 “To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure…”

The Scriptures plainly teach that everything God created is good and because of this, there is no material or substance that is inherently evil.

Everything God Made is Good, but can be used for evil

This means that alcohol is not evil, tobacco is not evil, meat is not evil, marijuana is not evil.

These are all good things that God created for us to harness and use for good and fruitful purposes. But like all good things, they can be misused for evil.

And it is at this point that we run into difficulty. Because these substances can be used for evil, some Christians treat them as automatically evil, regardless of their use.

In this way, some well-meaning Christians throw the baby out with the bathwater, so to speak, when they flatly forbid the use of certain substances, regardless of the way in which it is used.

Principles for determining permissibility

1. Clear Conscience

If you participate in an activity or partake of a substance that bothers your conscience, then you should refrain.

Romans 14:22–23 CSB

22 Whatever you believe about these things, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves. 23 But whoever doubts stands condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith, and everything that is not from faith is sin.

This means that if you doubt the permissibility of a particular action—meaning you are unsure if it is sinful or not—yet you do it anyway, it then becomes sinful for you, regardless of if the action was actually sinful.

For example, in the context of Romans 14 that we just quoted, if you were fairly confident that eating meat was sinful, yet ate it anyways, that would be a sin for you. Why? Not because eating meat is sinful, but because you thought it was sinful and did it anyways. Thus, disobeying God in your heart.

Thus, we see the necessity of having a clear and confident conscience if we are to enjoy God’s creation properly.

2. Gratitude

If it is something you couldn’t in good conscience thank God for while doing, it is a sign you are misusing it.

3. Self-Control

If it is something you can’t control yourself from doing or control yourself while doing, it is a sign you are misusing it.

4. Witness

If your use of a substance is something that believers and unbelievers alike in your society associate with evil, it is a sign you should not use it in that way, and if you do use it, you need to do so very wisely.

5. Love

We are going to unpack this one at the end of the sermon, so I will not spend much time on it here, but essentially, if your use of a substances becomes unloving towards another person, then it is a sign you are misusing it.

Case Studies

1. Alcohol

I grew up in a Church that taught that any use of alcohol was sinful. And while I have never tried it—and have no desire to—I have come to understand that I was taught incorrectly. The Scriptures are certainly full of warnings about the misuse of alcohol, but the same Bible also speaks of alcohol, such as wine, as a symbol of joy and prosperity.

Isaiah 25:6 “6 On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.”

Clearly wine cannot be inherently evil if the Lord is going to be giving it to all nations at this great feast.

And lest someone argue that the wine God blesses in the Bible is not alcoholic, listen carefully to these passages:

John 2:7–10 (CSB) “Fill the jars with water,” Jesus told them. So they filled them to the brim. 8 Then he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the headwaiter.” And they did. 9 When the headwaiter tasted the water (after it had become wine), he did not know where it came from—though the servants who had drawn the water knew. He called the groom 10 and told him, “Everyone sets out the fine wine first, then, after people are drunk, the inferior. But you have kept the fine wine until now.”

The headwaiter of the feast explicitly says that people can get drunk off of fine wine and then proceeds to declare the wine Jesus made as “fine wine”. In other words, it was alcoholic.

Consider this other well-known passage regarding Paul’s instructions about the Lord’s Supper.

1 Corinthians 11:20–22 “20 When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat. 21 For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not.”

Here, Paul is rebuking the church for celebrating the feast of the Lord’s supper in such a way that some people are over-indulgent while others are going without any food or drink. And some of those who are indulgent are drinking so much that they actually getting drunk. This clearly indicates that the wine being used during the Lord’s Supper was alcoholic, otherwise people couldn’t get drunk when over-indulging in it.

And realistically, non-alcoholic grape juice would have been nearly impossible to market. There were no refrigerators back then. Turning grape juice into wine was the only way to preserve its shelf-life.

So then, if drinking alcohol is not inherently a sin, at what point does it become such?

1. If your conscience is bothered at the thought of drinking it.

2. If you partook without being grateful to God for it.

3. If you drank without self control.

4. If in your particular context, unbelievers viewed it as sinful for a Christian to partake of alcohol.

5. If it causes another your Christian brother or sister to stumble.

But if you can partake of alcohol with a clear conscience, with gratitude, with self-control, with a good reputation, and in a loving way towards your fellow Christians, then by all means, enjoy it to the glory of God.

2. Tobacco

Story of Charles Spurgeon and cigars

Argument that is isn’t healthy for you and therefore shouldn’t smoke it.

Rebuttal: cake and ice cream aren’t healthy for you, nor is fast food or anything deep fried.

Certainly if someone lacked self-control, was over indulgent, and was on a fast-track to destroy their body, then it would be sinful, but that isn’t because of the tobacco. Someone could just as well do that with chips, candy, or ice cream.

Can someone smoke tobacco with a clear conscience? Yes. With gratitude towards God? Yes. With self-control and soberness of mind? Yes. Maintain a faithful Christian witness? Maybe not in certain parts of our nation and world, but certainly here in Maine.

3. Marijuana and other Drugs

Now I am sure some of your have questions about other drugs and substances, such as marijuana.

Certainly marijuana is the most relevant substance to speak of, since our towns here in Maine quite literally have more pot shops than gas stations.

It is important to know the difference between the two compounds found in the cannabis plant: CBD and THC.

CBD is non-psychoactive, meaning it wont make you intoxicated or “high”.

THC on the other hand, will, because it is psychoactive and also addictive.

This would make the personal use of THC forbidden, since it makes you intoxicated, which according to scripture, is wicked, unless in a controlled, medical environment, such as a hospital, under the supervision of others.

On the other hand, if your doctor prescribes taking CBD for treat pain—which doesn’t intoxicate you or cause addiction—then in principle, I don’t see a problem with that. At least based upon my current knowledge. I have never tried CBD or THC and have no desire to do so, thus my knowledge is based on research, not experience.

Having made that distinction, lets consider two of our principles in relation to marijuana and other substances.

SELF-CONTROL:

You fill in the blank regarding the substance: are self-controlled in your use of it?

Well, are you addicted to it? Do you spend an inappropriate amount of money on it? If you don’t have it, do you go off the rails in anger?

If the answer was yes to any of those questions, then you are not self-controlled and thus it is a sin for you to partake of that substance.

WITNESS:

How do unbelievers in your context view your use of a particular substance?

Does your use of it make them associate you with depravity? Does it make them lose respect for you? Do the laws in your area make the use of the substance illegal?

If the answer is yes to any of those questions, then it damages your Christian witness and is sinful for you to partake.

Now, when I laid out the five principles for properly enjoying God’s creation, I mentioned that we would look at the fifth principle—love—separately. This is because it is both the most important principle and the one most often neglected.

Law of Love

The Law of Love is that Christians must use their liberty as a means of loving God and loving others, not as means of selfishness and self-indulgence.

In other words, Christian Liberty exists for the sake of love.

Romans 15:1–2 CSB

1 Now we who are strong have an obligation to bear the weaknesses of those without strength, and not to please ourselves. 2 Each one of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.

The scriptures speak of those who are weak in faith and those who are strong in faith. “Weak” and “strong” refer to their consciences. We spoke earlier of a “seared” conscience, and are now introduced to two more categories: weak and strong.

Seared Conscience vs Weak Conscience

There is a distinction to be made between someone with a weak conscience and someone with a seared conscience.

Someone with a seared conscience is someone who is insensitive to that which is right and wrong, and therefore regularly twists them for their own selfish gain.

Someone with a weak conscience, on the other hand, is someone who is unnecessarily sensitive or you could say “overly-anxious” regarding what is right and wrong.

These are very different things.

Strong Conscience vs Weak Conscience

There is also a distinction to be made between someone with a strong conscience and someone with a weak conscience.

Someone with a strong conscience is someone who is properly sensitive to right and wrong, is confident in their liberty to enjoy God’s creation, and who’s heart is grateful towards God while doing so.

Recipe for Disunity

The fact that there are often Christians with both weak and strong consciences in the same local church presents a major difficulty for pursuing unity.

Case Study: Meat Sacrificed to Idols / Shopping at Target

Context of the 1st century problem in the church of meat sacrificed to idols.

Meat sacrificed in pagan temples would go “on sale” in the markets and some Christians would take advantage of the discounted groceries.

Other Christians were appealed at the thought of buying—let alone eating—meat sacrificed to an idol.

These prohibitionists argued that (1) meat sacrificed to idols was unclean since it was used in pagan worship and (2) it funded pagan worship when you purchased it.

Modern example may be shopping at store like Target that promote unbiblical ideologies

You may recall that several years ago there was a big push in Christian circles to boycot Target because of their transgender bathroom policy.

Now I am not opposed to people boycotting businesses who use their money towards promoting wicked things. Go for it. And I’m generally going to avoid shopping at places that don’t share my values.

However, what we cannot do is cast judgement on a mom who shops at Target because they have good deals or because its the closest store around. She has the liberty to do that.

If you can shop there with a clear conscience, with gratitude, with self-control, with a faithful witness, and without intentionally causing one of her brothers or sisters to stumble, then by all means, go for it.

The Path Toward Unity

Navigating the path toward unity can be perilous at times, but thankfully, the Scriptures given us the roadmap for unity. Amongst other places, a clear example is found for us in Romans 14. We are going to work through it and see

Romans 14

1 Welcome anyone who is weak in faith, but don’t argue about disputed matters. 2 One person believes he may eat anything, while one who is weak eats only vegetables. 3 One who eats must not look down on one who does not eat, and one who does not eat must not judge one who does, because God has accepted him. 4 Who are you to judge another’s household servant? Before his own Lord he stands or falls. And he will stand, because the Lord is able to make him stand.

5 One person judges one day to be more important than another day. Someone else judges every day to be the same. Let each one be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 Whoever observes the day, observes it for the honor of the Lord. Whoever eats, eats for the Lord, since he gives thanks to God; and whoever does not eat, it is for the Lord that he does not eat it, and he gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives for himself, and no one dies for himself. 8 If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 Christ died and returned to life for this: that he might be Lord over both the dead and the living. 10 But you, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. 11 For it is written, As I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow to me, and every tongue will give praise to God. 12 So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.

We are not to quarrel about matters that faithful Christians dispute over.

The tendency for christian’s with weak consciences is to judge those with strong ones.

But this ought not to be so. The solution is for those with weak consciences to understand each Christian is accountable to the Lord directly, who is their master. If drinking alcohol or eating meat is sinful, but your brother or sister with a clear conscience is convinced it is permissible, then they will be accountable for God for that, not you.

And amazingly, it says that “he will stand, because the Lord is able to make him stand.” Meaning that the Lord is able to save, justify, and adopt someone who is in error on matters such as these. Thus, we ought not make this an issue of salvation.

13 Therefore, let us no longer judge one another. Instead decide never to put a stumbling block or pitfall in the way of your brother or sister. 14 I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself. Still, to someone who considers a thing to be unclean, to that one it is unclean. 15 For if your brother or sister is hurt by what you eat, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy, by what you eat, someone for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore, do not let your good be slandered, 17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 Whoever serves Christ in this way is acceptable to God and receives human approval. 19 So then, let us pursue what promotes peace and what builds up one another. 20 Do not tear down God’s work because of food. Everything is clean, but it is wrong to make someone fall by what he eats. 21 It is a good thing not to eat meat, or drink wine, or do anything that makes your brother or sister stumble.

It is interesting that Paul explicitly says that eating meat is not wrong, yet allows for people in the church to believe otherwise if their consciences are weak.

This is a beautiful example of how Christians with strong consciences must not use their liberty as an occasion to intentionally offend to those who are weaker.

Beware the Tyranny of the Weaker Brother

The key word here is “intentionally” when prohibiting causing your brother or sister’s conscience to be bothered.

We aren’t supposed to be manipulated by someone who goes around saying they are offended by you. Listen to this Scripture, also from the apostle Paul:

1 Corinthians 10:27–30 ESV

27 If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. 28 But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience— 29 I do not mean your conscience, but his. For why should my liberty be determined by someone else’s conscience? 30 If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks?

In other words, don’t intentionally offend someone who is in front of you. If there are people in your congregation who believe drinking alcohol is sinful, then don’t invite them over to your house and drink a beer around them.

22 Whatever you believe about these things, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves. 23 But whoever doubts stands condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith, and everything that is not from faith is sin.

Some convictions, if divisive, are better left between you and God. Just be sure you have carefully searched the scriptures and hold to those convictions with a clear conscience.

All Christians must be convinced in their own mind about our convictions and not partake in something they think may be sinful.

The Law of Love as most important

The law of love is the most important to remember, because love is the perfect bond of unity; it is the glue that holds a church, a family, and a society together.

So strive to take more joy in your fellowship with your fellow Christian than in your enjoyment of some other created thing.

And strive to consider as more important your fellowship with your christian brother or sister as more important than your opinion on a disputed matter.

Conclusion

May the Lord help us all be thankful for his abundant blessings in creation. May we use these blessings for his glory. And may we use them in such as away that promotes unity within the church.