Seeing as how our context is really different from those who lived in Bible times, sometimes it’s hard for us to navigate God’s will through modern culture. For current issues like watching pornography, working for someone under the table or having an abortion, Christians usually agree on the same response. But in other areas, Christians can disagree which makes finding God’s will more of a thoughtful process. In any case, the New Testament shares several principles that can guide us through tricky situations.
LETTING GOD LOOK OVER YOUR SHOULDER
One of those principles is learning how to do everything in God’s sight. At first glance this sounds redundant, since everything anyone does is always known by God. But in the Bible, the concept of “doing things in God’s sight” means a little more than just His awareness of what’s happening on earth. The Apostle Paul, among others, uses the phrase frequently in his letters. Primarily, He uses it when appealing to the innocence of his motivations or actions.
Let’s look at 2 Corinthians12:19, “All this time you have been thinking that we are defending ourselves to you. Actually, it is in the sight of God that we have been speaking in Christ; and all for your upbuilding, beloved,” or Romans 1:9-10 “God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times …” In verses like these, God’s sight, or His being witness to something, is not referring to His awareness of what’s taking place, but being aware of His awareness and not fearing.
When our first ancestors sinned in the Paradise of Eden, their first reaction was to run and hide from God, “Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden” (Genesis 3:8). Now that their face to face fellowship with Him had been distorted, their guilty conscience forced them to push everything they did and said out of His sight.
In the same way, when we have a clean conscience regarding what we are doing or about to do, we are not afraid to invite God into our situation. We happily let Him, as it were, look over our shoulders. Reversely, if we are inclined to remove the thought of God from our minds in the midst of a certain action then perhaps we should stop and think about what it is we are engaging in. Usually when we want to ignore God’s presence, or feel fearful of His judgement, it means we are not doing something in “God’s sight,” and likely will condemn ourselves later—consciously or not.
BEING CONSCIENTIOUS IN COMMUNITY
The Apostle Paul addresses the issue of disagreement among believers and shares the following response. He says some might think eating certain foods or not celebrating a certain holiday, could be sinful whereas to him, rituals like that could not truly taint one’s conscience. He summarizes his response by reiterating the principle above while encouraging those with stronger consciences not to hurt those who may be “weak.”
In other words, love those you disagree with and do nothing to disturb their peace, “If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died” (Romans 14:15). Those who understand the fundamentals of salvation and experience greater freedom, need not condemn or lecture those whose consciences are more easily disturbed. Instead, we are to ensure our own safety with God and build each other up in love, “Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food … So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves” (Romans 14:19-20, 22).
IN CLOSING
The believer’s peace with Christ is what truly matters. Ultimately, we cannot look to the culture, or anywhere beyond HIs Word for direction. And so, we must ensure that our line of connection and communication with Christ remains paramount in navigating today’s world. Those who find peace through the cross and understand how grace works can find more freedom in a world of confusion. Whereas others may take longer to get there. But as Paul says above, the main concerns of Jesus are the masterpieces that He’s building, be it me or you. It is through this lens, not the spectacles of Law-like rigor, that make discerning His particular will in complex situations a more peaceable process. For ourselves and those around us.