CHC Business Breakthrough Word

Right from the beginning in the Garden of Eden, God has given mankind the right of free choice. Liberty is one of the most cherished and fundamental of Christian values, yet just because we are human, we can all too easily let our liberty slide into licentiousness.

Jesus tells us in John 8:31, 32 and 36, "If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free ... So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed!"

The truth of God's Word is available for us, and we can avail ourselves of it anywhere and anytime. But how often do we, when we are faced with the pressures and temptations that typically face us daily in the hurly-burly of the marketplace?

Many times every day we are faced with choices; we have to make instant decisions, some seemingly trivial, and some large and life-changing. But the fact is that every choice we make has consequences, whether big or small.

Jesus tells us that we are to be the salt and the light, and that we are to let our light shine before men (Matt. 5:13-16). But He understands that our salt can lose its "saltiness" and we can choose to "hide" our light. That is our choice. We lose our saltiness and hide our light every time we compromise our integrity and follow the "worldly" way of doing business.

It is so easy, and the justifications and rationalizations are always so easily within our reach. "Everybody else is doing it," so what does one little lie or one little act of dishonesty matter? And Satan doesn't always stomp around like a roaring lion, "seeking whom he may devour" (1 Pet. 5:8). More often than not, he is like the wily serpent in the Garden of Eden, using sweetly insinuating words like he used to Eve, "Did God really say...?" (Gen. 3:1).

The answer to Satan's question is easy—YES, God did really say that! He speaks to us, warns us, encourages us, guides us and leads us every moment of every day. If we listen to Him—and trust and obey Him—He will protect us from every danger and temptation, and bring us into success and prosperity. But there is that great big IF!

Obedience is a Decision

In Matthew 5 and 6, Jesus covers most of the issues that will beset us as we go about our daily lives. We have no earthly excuse, He tells us in advance. He talks of murder (which can be just hatred and anger in our hearts), adultery, taking revenge, greed and covetousness, judging others, worrying, dishonesty and temptation. But He gives us answers—love, prayer, forgiveness, generosity, integrity and faith.

For every temptation, He has an answer—we will never be tempted beyond our limit, and He will always give us the means to avoid or defeat any temptation (1 Cor. 10:13). Jesus Himself was tempted in exactly the same ways we are tempted (Heb. 2:17, 18; 4:15). But He has given us the ability to CHOOSE whether to resist or surrender.

We can choose to act in godly integrity, or let ourselves be corrupted, decision by decision, and choice by choice. We can choose light, or we can choose darkness (Acts 26:18; Matt. 4:16). We have free will, intelligence, and are accountable for our choices (Matt. 16:27; Gal. 6:7, 8; 2 Cor. 5:10). We will always—ultimately— reap what we have sown.

Paul tells us that while Christ has set us free, we are not to use that freedom to trample God's grace underfoot by claiming the freedom to sin. "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery—you were called to be free, but do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love" (Gal. 5:1, 13).

God gives us powerful weapons to defeat the temptations thrown our way by the devil—the whole armor of God, buttressed by prayer and faith (Eph. 6:10-18). Clad in God's armor of truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith and salvation, we can take up the Sword of the Spirit (the Word of God), pray in the Spirit "with all kinds of prayers and requests" and stand strong in our God-given victory.

The Choice is Ours

Determinists of varying flavors say that human beings have little or no free choice—that our decisions are effectively predetermined by our genes (nurture), our environment (nature), or even the economic class, race or nation into which we were born. But God says we can choose. Adam and Eve had the power to choose between obedience and rebellion (Gen. 3:1-13), and so do we:

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	Breakthrough Word 2005 Issue 9

		Freedom Is A Two-Edged Sword
		By John Gagliardi
		Right from the beginning in the Garden of Eden, God has given mankind the right of free choice. Liberty is one of the most cherished and fundamental of Christian values, yet just because we are human, we can all too easily let our liberty slide into licentiousness. Jesus tells us in John 8:31, 32 and 36, "If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free ... So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed!" The truth of God's Word is available for us, and we can avail ourselves of it anywhere and anytime. But how often do we, when we are faced with the pressures and temptations that typically face us daily in the hurly-burly of the marketplace? Many times every day we are faced with choices; we have to make instant decisions, some seemingly trivial, and some large and life-changing. But the fact is that every choice we make has consequences, whether big or small. Jesus tells us that we are to be the salt and the light, and that we are to let our light shine before men (Matt. 5:13-16). But He understands that our salt can lose its "saltiness" and we can choose to "hide" our light. That is our choice. We lose our saltiness and hide our light every time we compromise our integrity and follow the "worldly" way of doing business. It is so easy, and the justifications and rationalizations are always so easily within our reach. "Everybody else is doing it," so what does one little lie or one little act of dishonesty matter? And Satan doesn't always stomp around like a roaring lion, "seeking whom he may devour" (1 Pet. 5:8). More often than not, he is like the wily serpent in the Garden of Eden, using sweetly insinuating words like he used to Eve, "Did God really say...?" (Gen. 3:1). The answer to Satan's question is easy—YES, God did really say that! He speaks to us, warns us, encourages us, guides us and leads us every moment of every day. If we listen to Him—and trust and obey Him—He will protect us from every danger and temptation, and bring us into success and prosperity. But there is that great big IF! Obedience is a Decision In Matthew 5 and 6, Jesus covers most of the issues that will beset us as we go about our daily lives. We have no earthly excuse, He tells us in advance. He talks of murder (which can be just hatred and anger in our hearts), adultery, taking revenge, greed and covetousness, judging others, worrying, dishonesty and temptation. But He gives us answers—love, prayer, forgiveness, generosity, integrity and faith. For every temptation, He has an answer—we will never be tempted beyond our limit, and He will always give us the means to avoid or defeat any temptation (1 Cor. 10:13). Jesus Himself was tempted in exactly the same ways we are tempted (Heb. 2:17, 18; 4:15). But He has given us the ability to CHOOSE whether to resist or surrender. We can choose to act in godly integrity, or let ourselves be corrupted, decision by decision, and choice by choice. We can choose light, or we can choose darkness (Acts 26:18; Matt. 4:16). We have free will, intelligence, and are accountable for our choices (Matt. 16:27; Gal. 6:7, 8; 2 Cor. 5:10). We will always—ultimately— reap what we have sown. Paul tells us that while Christ has set us free, we are not to use that freedom to trample God's grace underfoot by claiming the freedom to sin. "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery—you were called to be free, but do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love" (Gal. 5:1, 13). God gives us powerful weapons to defeat the temptations thrown our way by the devil—the whole armor of God, buttressed by prayer and faith (Eph. 6:10-18). Clad in God's armor of truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith and salvation, we can take up the Sword of the Spirit (the Word of God), pray in the Spirit "with all kinds of prayers and requests" and stand strong in our God-given victory. The Choice is Ours Determinists of varying flavors say that human beings have little or no free choice—that our decisions are effectively predetermined by our genes (nurture), our environment (nature), or even the economic class, race or nation into which we were born. But God says we can choose. Adam and Eve had the power to choose between obedience and rebellion (Gen. 3:1-13), and so do we:
		I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses, Now choose life, so that you and your children may live, and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to His voice, and hold fast to Him (Deut. 30:19, 20) Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve ... but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord (Josh. 24:15) How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal is God, follow him (1 Kings 18:21).
		It is in our choices that we sin or live righteously. To be tempted is not a sin (even Jesus was tempted by the devil—see Luke 4:1-13), but it is how we react to the temptation, whether we choose to act it out or not. Sin begins with the choice and grows into its fullness with the act. James puts it this way: "When tempted, no one should say, 'God is tempting me' ... Each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when it is full-grown, gives birth to death" (James 1:13-15). The basic choice we have is to choose obedience to God, and make decisions based on integrity, or to choose rebellion against God, and made decisions based on corruption. Integrity and corruption are as opposite as light and darkness, and "as far as the east is from the west." Both relate to our character, and are matters of free choice. God will encourage us and lead us, but He will never force us to move in either direction—to force us would be to negate the very free will He endowed us with, in His image, and as part of His creation. The Value of Integrity "Integrity" is defined as "moral soundness; an unreduced or unbroken completeness or totality; steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code." It is about honor, goodness, honesty, probity, righteousness, sincerity, straightforwardness, candor, completeness, entireness, perfection, purity, soundness, stability, totality, unity, wholeness, cleanliness, innocence, morality, virtue, congruity, consistency, faith, fidelity, trustworthiness, truthfulness, obedience, respect, reverence, decency, loyalty and love. "Corruption" is defined as "the lack of integrity or honesty; in a state of progressive putrefaction; moral perversion; impairment of virtue and moral principles; moral degeneracy followed by intellectual degeneration". It invokes words like decadence, degradation, dishonesty, depravity, evil, immorality, impurity, sinfulness, viciousness, vulgarity, wickedness, inhumanity, debasement, defilement, rottenness, savagery, brutality and atrocity, infection, cancer, pollution, plague and pestilence. For ministers in the marketplace—Kingdom business professionals—it does not seem like a difficult choice. But we are dynamically balanced between two opposing worlds—the kingdom of man and the Kingdom of God . And while we are in the former, we are eternally of the latter. We must understand that we are aliens in this corrupt and fallen world, and that our real home is in heaven, with Christ. Once we are born again and have the Holy Spirit living within us, and as long as we let His "still, small voice" into our consciousness, the choices are not hard. Indeed, while we are "of the world," we have no true freedom. We are bound to act as our fallen or sinful nature dictates. It is only when we receive Christ and move into His Kingdom, that we are truly free. Philip Yancey and Tim Stafford, writing in notes to the Zondervan Student Bible, put it this way: "Obedience to God liberates us by freeing us from the destructive impact of sinful behavior and by introducing us to the mind-expanding realm of God's wisdom." We have the liberty to obey God and choose integrity , and we have the equal liberty to obey the devil and our own sinful natures and to choose corruption. To choose the former is to choose life; to choose the latter is to choose death. "See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, to keep His commands, decrees, and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess ... This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life ... Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified ... The lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged" (Deut. 30:15, 16, 19; 31:6, 8).

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