Making Godly Decisions

Here are my notes from a message I heard by John MacArthur titled “The E’s of Godly Decision Making”.  You can download all of John MacArthur’s messages from Grace to You by clicking here.

We are not in the dark about what God says about sin. We know what’s explicitly right and wrong in the Bible.  The challenge is: what about all the things that fall in the middle, to which the Bible doesn’t explicitly speak.

How do we make decisions about the things Scripture doesn’t explicitly address?  How do we live with a biblical mindset?  What are the principles of godly decision making?  How can we know what the Lord would have us to do in a given situation that isn’t explicitly addressed in the Bible?

We can make the hard decisions easy by having a sound, biblical perspective!

• Principle of Expedience – Will it be spiritually profitable? (1 Cor 6:12)

All things not unlawful are lawful to me, but they aren’t profitable to me.  Will this cultivate godliness?  Will it be to my advantage?  Will it be to my spiritual benefit?

• Principle of Edification – Will it build me up? (1 Cor 10:23)

Will it put me on the path to spiritual growth/strength/stability?  Will it allow me to keep myself under control?  Can I maintain my self-control and my self-discipline?  Cultivate self-control.  Learn to say ‘No’ when you’ve got every right to say ‘Yes’

• Principle of Excess – Will it slow me down in my quest for spiritual growth? (Heb 12:1)

“Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race”  Weight here means bulk; needless diversions; unnecessary things.  We need to restrict some things in our lives because they hold us back and are needless wastes of our time.  Don’t let ourselves become encumbered with these types of weights/bulk

• Principle of Enslavement – Will it bring me into bondage? (1 Cor 6:12)

Don’t allow non-moral things to become my master.  Don’t be brought under the power of these things.  Don’t yield up my sovereignty to things like TV/internet –inherently, they take control of me

• Principle of Equivocation – Will it hypocritically cover my sin? (1 Peter 2:16)

Am I doing it to pander to my own lustful desires?  I need to be honest with myself.  Am I speaking about “freedom” as a cloak/veil to cover over my evil intent?  I need to look at and consider my true motives — don’t lie/falsify (i.e., equivocate) to myself

To God Be The Glory!