“You may believe there’s nothing wrong with what you are doing, but keep it between yourself and God. Blessed are those who don’t feel guilty for doing something they have decided is right. But if you have doubts about whether or not you should eat something, you are sinning if you go ahead and do it. For you are not following your convictions. If you do anything you believe is not right, you are sinning.
Romans 14:22-23 NLT
Paul wraps up his discourse on food offered to idols with another word of encouragement. In it he appeals to our consciences. Perhaps a glass of wine might illustrate the point he is making. As a Christian, I might decide that a glass of wine with a meal is not a problem to God, or me. A second or third glass might be, but one on its own is not. But we know that another Christian thinks that all glasses of wine are from the devil, thoughts probably initiated by being brought up in a family where their father regularly got drunk and came home to beat up their mother. So drinking that glass of wine in front of the other believer would cause them difficulties in their faith. The result is that, knowing the sensitivities of the other believer, I will not drink a glass of wine in his or her company, instead sticking to fruit juice or plain water. But Paul said that I am blessed to be able to think there is nothing wrong with that single glass of wine, because I have satisfied myself that, through my relationship with God, I am doing nothing wrong.
However, if I now venture to having a second glass of wine with my meal, that might be something that I know I haven’t settled with God. Or, for a change, I might take a liqueur with my last coffee. Both situations where my conscience might kick in, because my previous conversations with God haven’t resulted in His approval. So I have now ventured into the realm of committing a sin. The doubts I may have about adding to my alcohol input have become sin.
There are areas of the Bible where we don’t have a clear black and white set of rules. But neither should there be because we walk with the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:16-18, “So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses“.
If I am tempted by that second glass of wine or the end of meal liqueur then I might feel a prompt, a nudge, from the Holy Spirit. This is because when I became a Christian, I gave God permission to place His Spirit within me. Yes, I can overrule Him. But it wouldn’t be very wise. My conscience will only allow me a single glass of wine, and no more. Anything else wouldn’t be right and I’d be sinning. Paul wrote, “Blessed are those who don’t feel guilty for doing something they have decided is right”. We are blessed indeed to have a conscience and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. There is no other religion that can claim their adherents have God Himself living within them. Something precious. Something unique. How can we violate something as wonderful as this?
Being a Pilgrim 