Love Worth Finding

Guest (Male): What’s the difference between a rule and a principle? Listen to Adrian Rogers.

Adrian Rogers: The Bible is not so much a book of rules, but principles. Now again I want to say that if you are an immature Christian, you’re going to be looking for little rules because you want to find loopholes in laws.

You take these principles and live by these principles, and I believe when you meet the Lord Jesus Christ, you’ll hear him say to you, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

Guest (Male): Welcome to Love Worth Finding, featuring profound truth simply stated by Adrian Rogers. First Corinthians chapter six reveals six positive principles to live by every day.

In part one of this insightful message, we learned that when making daily decisions, we should begin by asking ourselves, "Does this bring me to my appointed goal? Or does it hinder me? Am I brought under the power of anything other than Jesus Christ? Even if this doesn’t hurt me, will it hurt somebody else?"

If you have your Bible, turn to 1 Corinthians chapter six. We'll begin in verse 12 as Adrian Rogers reveals the final three principles in Six Positive Principles for Proper Practice.

Adrian Rogers: As you go through life, don’t let your head run away with your heart. Knowledge puffs you up, but love builds up. And we’re here to operate by love. There are some things that I don’t do, not because I think in the doing of them, I would be harmed.

There are certain things I don’t do because in the doing of them somebody else would be harmed. Somebody else would be caused to stumble. Somebody else may think less of me than they would have if I didn’t do it.

So, you can’t just ask yourself about anything, "Well, will it hurt me? Will it hurt me?" You have to ask yourself this bigger question, "Will it hurt somebody else?" It's very selfish simply to ask, "Will it hurt me?"

Now let me give you a couple of verses for your margin. Put in the margin Romans 14:13. Listen to it: "Let us not therefore judge one another anymore." You’re not to judge me, and I’m not to judge you about doubtful things. "Let us not therefore judge one another anymore: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way."

Now what that means is, I'm to be very easy on you, and I'm to be very hard on me. I'm not to judge you if you do something that I think you ought not to do, but I'm not to do anything that would cause you to stumble.

Listen to it again: "Let us not therefore judge one another anymore, but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way." Now most of us do just the opposite, don’t we?

We’re very easy on ourselves and very hard on others. But this scripture says we’re to be very hard on ourselves and very easy on others. Now I want you to listen to Romans 14:21, and this is a key verse. Listen to it: "It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor anything whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak."

That settles the issue of social drinking for me. Right there. You’re wondering about social drinking. Is it right or wrong to socially drink? Well, the Apostle Paul says here, "It is good neither to eat meat, nor drink wine, or do anything whereby your brother stumbles, or is offended, or is made weak."

Now in America, the problem of alcoholism is a big problem. We’ve got an army of walking dead, millions who are, apart from the grace of God, incurable alcoholics. We’ve got homes that have been turned into hellholes, highways that have been turned into slaughterpens because of beverage alcohol.

Now the liquor people, they will tell you moderation is the answer. Just be moderate. Be a moderate drinker. But they never say that everybody starts out a moderate drinker. They say, "Well, you know, moderation, it’s just like overeating. You ought not to overeat; you ought not to overdrink."

Well, it's not just like overeating. I’ve heard of people been arrested for driving drunk; I’ve never heard of anyone arrested for driving fat. There's a difference. And they know there's a difference. But now you listen to me. Moderation is not the answer to the liquor problem; it’s the cause of it.

If everybody who drank got skunk drunk, then you could do something about it. But you see, it’s the man of distinction who drinks, who encourages other people to drink. Do you know why I don’t drink? Well, a lot of reasons.

One man said when he was a little kid, he saw a drunk trying to get in a car, and he said the drunk had one leg outside the car door and he kept slamming the car door on his leg. He couldn't get it. He said, "I didn't know anything about the Bible or anything else, but I made up my mind I would not do anything to make me that stupid." William Shakespeare said, "What fools men are to put that in their mouths that steals their brains away."

But now suppose I said, "Look, I can handle it. I cut the grass, I want to come in and knock back a cool one. I want to sit and watch the ball game, the World Series, and I want to have a six-pack there. I just want to enjoy it, have some buddies over. Or we go out to dinner, we like to have a cocktail. Or you know, wine goes good with this food or that food. We’re not drunkards; we’re not bad people, pastor. We’re just good folks. We drink in moderation. We don’t believe in drunkenness anymore than you do."

Well, suppose I did that. Suppose I would go to a restaurant, order some beer, some wine, keep a little in my refrigerator, keep some up in the shelf for Christmas and holidays and New Years. Now let’s suppose you’ve got a boy or girl that comes to this church. And that boy or girl says, "Mom, Dad, should I drink?"

"Honey, I don't think it's a good idea for you to drink." "Well, Mom, Pastor Rogers does. He’s a good man. Pastor Rogers never gets drunk. Pastor Rogers loves God. He does. I believe I will." And then that child becomes one of those alcoholics. Now nobody knows who’s going to become one.

Everybody thinks somebody else will. Nobody ever knows. No one ever starts out to be one. First the man takes a drink, then the drink takes a drink, and then the drink takes the man. Nobody ever knows who’s going to be what. Now as far as I’m concerned, I’m not going to drink the stuff. You know why?

Let me just give you this verse. Listen to it: "It is good," the Bible says, "neither, neither, listen to it, it is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor anything whereby thy brother stumbles, or is offended, or is made weak." See, that's the principle of example.

It grieves me to see these athletes. You know, these athletes that have this God-given ability. Wonderful men with muscles that ripple, minds that work, they’re coordinated. And then the beer people say, "Would you get on television and talk about our beer for us?"

Do you know what that is? It's a form of prostitution where those marvelous athletes prostitute their God-given ability to somehow get in children's minds that there's a link between being an athlete and drinking beer, which is sheer unmitigated stupidity. No link between that at all.

But you see, the world’s very clever, isn’t it? The world wants these kids to associate drinking beer with that success. They never show them a drunk in a back alley covered with vomit and flies and rats running over his nose. They never show that. Of course not.

Now why don't I do it? I'll tell you why I don't do it. Now you may say, "I'm free to do it," and indeed you are. As a matter of fact, you might search the Bible and try to find, "Ah, there’s where somebody made Jesus turn water into wine."

You don't even know what kind of wine that was. That’s a generic word which simply means drink; it does not necessarily mean that it was intoxicating at all. I don't believe it was. But you're looking for a loophole. Why don't you live by principle?

Why don't you just simply take a principle and say, "This is a principle. I won't do anything that'll cause somebody else to stumble." Now is your life going to be ruined if you say, "I'm not going to drink this or this"? No, your life will be enhanced. But I'll tell you whether your life is hurt or better, there'll be a lot of other people be better if you'll just simply leave it alone.

Now, there's the first principle of expediency: Does it bring me on my way? There's another principle: the principle of enslavement. There's another principle: the principle of example. Now here's the fourth principle, and it's the principle of edification. Look if you will here in 1 Corinthians chapter 10.

First Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 23: "All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient." We’ve already dealt with that. "All things are lawful for me, but all things edify not." Now what does the word "edify" mean? Well, what are we in? We’re in an edifice.

To edify means to build up. An edifice is a building. Everything that you do is either building you up or tearing you down. Now you have to ask yourself about anything that you do, "Does this build me up? Or does this pull me down? Does it tear me down?"

So every film you watch, you have to say, "Does this build me up, or does it tear me down?" Every program that you enter into, "Does this build me up, or does this bring me down?" Every friendship—do you know what a real friend is?

A real friend is somebody makes you a better person. Anybody that does not make you a better person by being in their midst is not truly a friend. Anybody that pulls you down—every conversation has to pass this test: "Is this something that builds, or is it something that destroys?"

Now entertainment is legitimate. If you think that I'm one who doesn't enjoy entertainment, you don't know me. You think I'm one that doesn't enjoy sports, a good joke, a picnic, going fishing, a rollicking with my kids or anything like that? I love that!

Vacations? Wonderful! That's a part of life. God made us that way. Recreation literally means re-creation. That's where we get the term. You see, what does true entertainment do? It relaxes, refreshes, renews, and restores. It re-creates. And you need that.

That's one of the reasons we’re building a Family Life Center right here. Now there's some people who say, "Well, I don't believe in all that entertainment down there." You know your problem? You don't know how God made human beings.

Boys and girls have a God-given instinct, and if we don't meet those needs, somebody else will in a different context. And I'm grateful that as a church that we can help kids to have legitimate recreation that builds character and becomes a laboratory where we can work out what we teach in the Sunday School.

Thank God for that. And it's not just kids that need it; adults need it. But I'm going to tell you something else. There's a so-called kind of entertainment that debases and degrades. The devil is very clever. Do you know what most of your sitcoms are about today?

You know what they’re about? What? Sex, alcohol, drugs, and now abortion and sodomy. That’s come in. And in the context of all of that, holy things are being laughed at. Do you know why? Do you think that just happened? No. That’s a part of a plan.

Whose plan? Satan’s plan. Why? Because the devil knows that if he can get you to laugh at something, it’ll be very hard for you to take it serious again. And so we have a generation that is laughing its way into hell. Laughing its way into hell!

Laughing at that which God has condemned. Laughing at sodomy, laughing at adultery, laughing at fornication, laughing at drunkenness. And you can laugh your way into hell, but you can’t laugh your way out once you get there.

You watch certain things; they don’t build you up. You feel kind of dirty after you’ve watched it. Kind of grimy. It doesn’t edify you; it doesn’t renew you. It doesn’t refresh you; it doesn’t restore you. It doesn’t relax you. It degrades you. It debilitates you. It drags you down.

Now Paul said, "It may be lawful, but it doesn't edify." See, there's the principle of edification. Now let me give you another principle. Look if you will in chapter 10 again and verse 31: "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."

Here's a big principle; it's the principle of exaltation. Exaltation. Does this thing exalt the Lord Jesus Christ? Or you say, "Well, Pastor, we’re not talking about church now; we’re talking about daily life." That's exactly what Paul is talking about.

He says, "Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." Everything you do either honors or dishonors the Lord. Everything. Every conversation, every friendship, every vacation, every meal, every business transaction either honors or dishonors the Lord.

You have to ask yourself this question: "Is God glorified by what I’m doing? Is God glorified by what I’m doing? Whatever you do, in word or deed, do how what? A-L-L to the glory of God." The way you dress. Do you dress for the glory of God?

Some girls go out on a date in things they ought not to even come downstairs in. One of these gown-less evening straps. I mean, would you go out if Jesus Christ were your escort? Is that the way you'd dress? I mean, would you tell that story if Jesus Christ were one of the guys in the crowd?

Can you say, "Lord Jesus, this is what I'm doing for your glory"? Whatever you do, in word or deed, do all to the glory of God. Now I know there are people listening to me right now, you say, "That man is a fruitcake. He doesn’t know what life is all about."

I know that. I mean, you’re coming from a different paradigm than I am altogether. See, I’m a Christian. I’m a believer in Jesus Christ. Christ is Lord. Christ is Lord. I’m not trying to teach billy goats not to butt. You don’t have any understanding what I’m talking about.

I am talking about people who know God, who love the Lord Jesus Christ, who are looking for practical principles for proper practice. I said it! All right, now listen. Listen. There's the principle of exaltation; whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Now let me give you the last one, and it's the principle of evangelism. Continue to read. I'm in chapter 10, verse 32, look at it: "Give none offense, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God: Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved."

The last principle is the principle of evangelism. The principle of evangelism. Now, what determines how I’m going to live? Well, is there anything that keeps me from bringing somebody else to Jesus Christ? Then for me it's wrong.

Now Paul said, "I'm not going to offend the Jews. I'm not going to offend the Gentiles. I am not going to offend the church of God. I'm going to try to be as pleasant to all of these as I can possibly be, not that I'm going to compromise my convictions."

But listen: "Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit." I am not asking what is best for me. But he says I am doing this, "for the profit of many, that they might be saved." Every man, every woman, every boy, every girl that I meet, I ought to be moving them closer to Jesus.

And I can't do anything, say anything, give anything, buy anything, go anywhere, eat anything, drink anything—anything—that keeps me from somehow bringing those people closer to Jesus Christ. See, that's a guiding principle.

I’ve told our people this. There's a man in Nashville where we have our denominational headquarters. He loves God. He went into a laundry to have his shirts done. He's one of these fellows had his collars had to be just right, cuffs just right.

I don't know whether he liked a lot of starch or a little starch or starch here and no starch there or whatever, but he had it just right; I mean, he had a formula. He took his shirts into this cleaning establishment and said, "I want you to do these shirts this way."

When he came back to pick up the shirts, they were not done that way. So he just smiled and he said, "Hey, would you redo these shirts? You didn’t do them like I asked you to do them." They said, "Yes, sir, we’ll redo them."

When he came back the next time to get his shirts, they’d messed up again. He said, "Look, I brought them in the first time; I told you how. I brought them in the second time; I told you how. Now you’re wasting my time. Let me explain it to you. This is what I want. Is that clear? Can you do this, please?"

You know how we talk. Please? They said, "Yes, sir, we’re sorry. Yes, sir, yes, sir." Later on, this same man living in that town, a member of a church that had a visitation program just like ours, went for visitation, and he got a card. And on the card was a name, and the name matched the name of the cleaners.

He called the person over who was distributing the card. Said, "I want to ask you a question. Are these the people that operate a certain cleaning establishment?" They said, "Yes." Well, he said, "Do you know them?" He said, "Yes, I know who they are."

He said, "Well, may I ask you another question? Do they know me?" They said, "Well, yes, they do know you. Have you ever talked to them about me?" He said, "Yes, I have." "Oh no, you want me to go see them?" "That's right."

Well, he said, "I want to ask you the big question. What do they think about me?" You know what the answer was? He said, "They think the most important thing on earth to you is the way your shirts are done." Do you know what I want people to think of when they think of me?

That the most important thing in life to me is Jesus Christ. That's what I want people to think. That the most important thing on earth to that man is Jesus Christ. That's a principle to guide my life.

Now again I want to say that if you’re not a Christian, if you don’t know the Lord Jesus Christ, or if you are an immature Christian, you’re going to be looking for little rules because you want to find loopholes in laws.

But these are six practical principles. You take these principles and live by these principles, and I believe when you meet the Lord Jesus Christ, you’ll hear him say to you, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

No one can behave himself into the kingdom of God. I’m not telling you to live this way so you can go to heaven. You go to heaven by repenting of your sin and receiving Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord.

Christ carried your sins to the cross, and he died there for you, and he paid your sin debt, and your sin has been paid for with his precious blood. And the Bible says, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved."

And if you would pray a prayer like this: "Oh God, I’m a sinner and I’m lost and I need to be saved, and I can’t save myself. But right now, like a little child with all of my heart, I trust you, Lord Jesus, to save me." I promise you, Jesus will save you today if you trust him.

Lord Jesus, seal the word to our heart. Lord, may many today come to Jesus. Draw them, Holy Spirit. In your holy name I pray. Amen.

Guest (Male): Amen. And if you have prayed to receive Jesus Christ just now, let us celebrate with you. Go to our "Find God’s Love" page at our website and you’ll discover answers you may need about your newfound faith.

The website address is lwf.org/radio and click the tab that says "Find God’s Love". Welcome to his forever family; we can’t wait to hear from you today.

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