Our Convictions: Our Defense - Part 2

Welcome to the In Touch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Friday, March 11th. It's important to be sure of your beliefs before you face temptation. Stay with us and learn how to build a strong defense system. You have a belief system, a belief system that you have developed over a period of time by things that you've listened to, things that you have observed and things that you've experienced. And now this belief system is governing and guiding your life. Every day you make decisions, your behavior, all affected by what you believe. Well, we all have beliefs. The issue is how strongly do we hold these beliefs? Where do these beliefs come from? Are they a result of other people's opinions? Is it because of what we desire that we believe these things?

Or can we say that our beliefs are the result of looking into studying the Word of God? Well, what I want to talk about in this message is this. I want to talk about our convictions.

And the title of this message is simply this, Our Convictions, Our Defense. Now it's interesting to me, I listen to the talk shows. I listen to them not because I believe ninety-nine percent of what I hear, but I like to listen to what other people believe.

But here's what you find. Oh, we want to hear your opinions. And so as long as you give an opinion that's a little weak and wavy, that's fine. When you start talking about absolute truth, you bring up the Bible, bring up Jesus Christ, and you've got a fight on your hands. And oftentimes when you bring up absolute truth, we live in a day when absolute truth's out. They don't want to believe that.

Because it's too confining, too convicting, and it doesn't fit. And I think about how oftentimes people want to redefine the truth. And so here's what people say.

And this is a major issue. It is a philosophical idea. It is an idea that is permeating our society.

And that is simply this. Truth is what truth is to me. Not what is absolute truth, but truth is what is truth to me. Now if truth is only what is truth to me, then I can believe most anything is true.

That is if it's convenient, if it'll get me what I want, where I want to be, achieving and accomplishing what I want. In other words, if truth is only truth to me, what truth is to me, then let me ask you a question, what kind of a society do we have? What kind of a society are we going to raise our children in who are taught that truth is whatever truth is to you?

Well, that's the world's way. Well, you have a right to your belief, and that's what you say. You see, the issue is this. I want to say now, read this verse of Scripture.

This verse of Scripture says, For by grace are you saved through faith, that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. What does that mean? Well, here's the response of the Preference people. Well now, what it means to me is, that's not the question. The question is, what does it mean?

Well now, to me it means, no, what did it say? It says you're saved by the grace of God, the goodness and love of God, not by works. Same person says, well, here's what I believe. I believe when I get to heaven and I think about all the good things I've done. God knows all the good things I've done. He's going to take me in just like He's going to take everybody else in. He's just going to weigh the good against the bad.

And more than likely, our good's going to outweigh our bad. I'm a good person. Don't steal, lie, cheat, commit adultery, pay my income tax, all these things. I go to church every once in a while. Now, why isn't God going to accept me?

I mean, after all, I'll tell you why. Because you have a sinful nature. Your sins have separated you from God. And only by the cross can you be forgiven. That may be what you believe.

It may be what you feel. But the question is, where's the absolute truth? The absolute truth is in the Word of God. This is the absolute truth.

This is the truth of the living God. The issue is how do you live your life? Do you live it by courage? Of your convictions? You can be loving and gentle and kind. You just stand.

You walk away when dirty stuff goes on. You give it a full day's work because you have a conviction. You have a conviction that somebody hired you and they said, five days a week, forty hours a week, give it your best. You have a conviction that as long as you're working there, they deserve your best. Somebody else says, well, yeah, you know what?

I work five days a week and forty hours a week. But you know what? They got plenty of money. They're making money hand over fist. They're making so much money. And look what I make.

Yeah, I know I agreed to it, but. So therefore, I don't feel like I have to give them all of my time. They just, you know, I'm just spending my life here and they're getting rich and I'm just working. You agreed five days a week, forty hours, forty hours a week.

And eight hours a day and you do your best. Then what changed? Are you living by feelings? What's true to you? What's right? What's right according to the living Word of God? Now, with that in mind, let's ask the question, how do we build a defense?

Let's think about it for a moment. Biblically based convictions are the most powerful defense we have against a subtle, very deceptive and very destructive, listen, drift away from the absolute truth. Out of our convictions, our greatest defense. So you say, well, how do I build this defense? Well, I want to give you some things. Let me just say two things right up front. Number one, you can't build it quickly and you can't build it without effort. So here's the first thing you do to build a defense.

So I want you to jot them down. Now, let me just say this before you start. If you're a parent, you have a responsibility to teach your children, instruct them in the principles of scripture to build into their life basic, unalterable, unchangeable convictions in their life so that when they leave home, they will live by the absolute truth of the Word of God, not by what some professor says and convince them because they got four or five degrees behind their name. That's not an issue.

The issue is, what does the Word of God say? It is your responsibility. So here's the first thing you do. Number one, you make a list of those areas of your life that require a moral conviction on your part. You make a list of those areas. Now, I'm going to give you a list. You make a list of those areas of your life that require a conviction about how you live by them.

So let me give you some. You can just jot them down. Number one, the first one is this. The first area which you need to have a basic conviction about is this. What is this book? The Bible. The Bible is the inerrant, infallible, divine revelation of the living God, which is to be, listen, our God book for conduct, for our behavior, for our life and every aspect of our life. What is the Word of God? That's the first thing you need to have a conviction about. If your conviction is, well, the Bible has some good things in it. I believe most of it and I'm sure it's got errors in it.

Is that what you believe about the Bible? So number one, you need to decide what are those areas of my life which I need a conviction. First of all is the Word of God. That's number one. Secondly is your theology. Write it down. You say, well, it's theology business.

Now watch this. What do you believe about God? What do you believe about Jesus? Was He the Son of God?

Is He God or is He just a man? What do you believe about the Holy Spirit? What do you believe about salvation? What do you believe about forgiveness? What do you believe about the resurrection of Christ and your resurrection?

What do you believe about the second coming of Jesus Christ? What do you believe about how you to live daily? So you have to make some decisions.

The third thing is this, and that is marriage. What do you believe about marriage? Is it a trial and error matter? Maybe it works, maybe it won't. Is that the way you go into it?

Or do you go into it for life? What's your convictions about marriage? What are your convictions about your children? That they're a trust from God or they just came along?

That you have a responsibility to train them in a godly fashion? What's your conviction about your children? What is your conviction, for example, about your relationships with other people? Honest, loyal, devoted, moral relationships, otherwise? What are your convictions about sex?

Is it open game for anybody and everybody at any age and every age? Or is it confined to that which God has required? What's your conviction about that? What is your conviction about finances? Is your conviction, well, carry as much debt as you can? Or is your conviction, stay out of debt? Is your conviction that the tenth belongs to God? What's your conviction about your finances? What's your conviction about your church?

Is it a place you go once in a while? Or is it a place that you worship Sunday by Sunday by Sunday? Receiving truth, building up the truth into your life. What's your conviction about your church, your support of your church, your prayer for your church and your staff? What's your conviction about your purpose in life? What's your purpose in life? What's God's purpose for your life? What's your conviction about your goals? Are the goals that you've set for your life God-given goals?

Or these things you came up with? What is your conviction about your government? Is your government an organization that's to provide your needs and take care of you no matter what?

Or is it to protect your freedom and your liberty? What's your conviction about, for example, about social issues? What's your conviction about capital punishment, homosexuality? What's your conviction about abortion and racism and all the rest? What's your conviction about crime? What's your conviction about these things? What is your conviction about your work? Is it God-given? Are you responsible?

Are you giving it your best? That's just a few. The truth is you and I should have a conviction about every single one of those things.

Because if you don't, a violation of any of them can get you in all kind of trouble. So first of all, you make a list. Secondly, after you make your list, here's what you do.

Remember what I said, it wouldn't be fast and it wouldn't be without effort. You get in the Word of God and you find some verses of Scripture that relate to those areas. You say, well, now I don't think the Bible's got all the kind of every single issue that deals with life, the answers right here.

You say, well, how do I do that? Get your concordance. And for example, you say, well, okay, what about labor?

What about work? Then find labor in the concordance and read those Scriptures. And oftentimes one Scripture will lead you to another till you'll find them. And then what you do is you ask yourself this question.

Now watch this carefully. Not, what does this mean to me? But what does this mean? What is God saying in this passage of Scripture? He says that I am to labor for those who are overseers over me as if I am laboring for the Lord. I'm to do my work as if Jesus is my boss.

That's what it says. Well, now you don't, man, you don't know my boss. That's not the issue. The issue is what's the absolute truth? The Word of God says I am to work as unto the Lord.

So you can take any one of those subjects, finances, sex, marriage, children. And you know what? There's a passage of Scripture, there are verses of Scripture that'll give you direction in God's of what, what is God's viewpoint about these things? Then, having done that, the third thing you do is you decide what do I believe? On the basis of what I read, what do I believe? Do I believe exactly what He said?

And the next thing is this. If you believe that, you make a commitment, that's the way I'm going to live. That is my conviction. You accept that as a conviction, a strong belief about what you are committed to, having examined it, argued it out in your own mind and heart, and looked at the evidence, that is my conclusion. You commit yourself to that.

And then what you do, having made that prayerful commitment, you ask the Lord in prayer by the Holy Spirit to enable you to live by the absolute truth of His Word in each area of your life. Now there are four requirements I believe. Listen, once you've done that, there are four requirements that I want you to jot down. If you're going to live a life by conviction, there are four things that are absolutely necessary.

And number one, here they are. Confidence that you know what you believe. And this is the problem with so many people, they don't know what they believe. That's why I'm saying you need to develop some convictions. Number one, confidence that you know what you believe.

That's number one. Secondly, the courage to stand in the midst of conflict. That no matter what you, no matter what they say about your beliefs, no matter how they criticize you or what's demanded of you, you don't give in, you don't give up, you don't walk out, you stand firm and strong. This is what I believe no matter what, not changing. Confidence, courage, consistency in living out those convictions. Our convictions won't be worth much in the eyes of the world if we don't live by them. Consistency in living them out, the things that you say you believe in with all of your heart.

And then the fourth one is this. Consideration for people who do not agree with you. What's our responsibility?

With gentleness and kindness and understanding. We don't blare back. We don't fight. We stand poised, confident, absolutely assured, no matter what the consequences. Our sovereign God will take care of us no matter what. God is looking for people who have conviction, not preferences.

Our nation needs people and the world needs people who are men and women of conviction, not preferences. They know what we believe, why we believe it, where we stand, why we stand, and don't expect us to move off of that absolute truth which has come to mean a conviction to us. Now, one of those convictions that is very, very important, listen carefully. This is not my opinion.

This is not my opinion. This is the teaching of the absolute truth of the Word of God. Here's what Jesus said. Except a man or woman be born again, they will not see nor enter the kingdom of heaven. What does it mean to be born again? Somebody said, well, they all come.

No, no. To be born again means a new life. Why a new life?

Because the old life is not adequate. You see, every single one of us came in this world with a sinful nature. That sinful nature has separated us from God.

And that separation can only be bridged, not by my good works. He makes it very clear. He says, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saves us. That's the law of God. That's the Word of God. That's the absolute truth. It's not my opinion.

It's the absolute truth. And what is that mercy? That mercy is God's forgiveness of our sin, which came about by the death of His Son at Calvary. God the Father sent His only begotten Son, Jesus, placed upon Him all of your sin and mine. Jesus died and bore the sin debt that you and I owe. He took our penalty.

He paid it in full. And the moment we're willing to accept Him as our personal Savior, as sins are forgiven, we become new creations, born again, children of the living God, sealed by the Holy Spirit. Our name's written in the Lamb's Book of Life, forever and ever and ever a child of God, enabled by the Holy Spirit to live a godly life.

That isn't my opinion. That is the absolute truth of the Word of God, that we live and die by that. And I'm simply saying that God loves you. And He loves you more than you'll ever be able to understand.

And He loves you so much that you may have lived a wicked, wild, godless life. And in those last moments of your life, if you recognize genuinely, sincerely your sinfulness, and you genuinely repent of your sins before the living God, is He willing to forgive you? Yes. Should you wait that late? Forever? No. Why?

Because you don't know that you're going to live another thirty minutes. There's a loving Heavenly Father who's willing to forgive you of your sins, change your life if you let Him do it. That is the absolute, undeniable, irrevocable, unchangeable, unalterable, eternal truth of the living God. And if you're wise, you will accept it as truth. Thank you for listening to Part 2 of Our Convictions, Our Defense. If you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or In Touch Ministries, stop by InTouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of In Touch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.