Kingdom Hearts

What heavenly music steals over the sea!
Entrancing the senses like sweet melody!
‘Tis the voice of the angels born soft on the air
For me they are singing; their welcome I hear

On the banks of old Jordan, here gazing I stand
And earnestly longing, I stretch forth my hand
Send a convoy of angels, dear Jesus I pray!
Let me join that sweet music; come, take me away

Though dark are the waters and rough is the wave
If Jesus permit, the wild surges I’ll brave
For the heavenly music hath ravished me so
I must join in that chorus! I’ll go! let me go!
I must join in that chorus! I’ll go! let me go!

I am so glad that being a Christian and having confidence in God’s presence in my life can make life easier. Especially with a week like this one.

As most of you know at this point, this has been that proverbial “week from hell” for the Brownings. Last week the boys went up to East Texas to stay with Cody’s mom for a few days. The plan was for them to come back this past Wednesday. Well, early Monday morning Aaron got sick; throwing up, diarrhea, etc. After this happening most of the day, and it not stopping, Cody’s parents finally took him to the emergency room and he had a stomach virus of course. But when they took his blood work they also noticed his blood count was a bit high. So they did some chest x-rays as the doctor suspected pneumonia. And sure enough, Aaron has it….apparently it had been developing for a while. He is doing somewhat better now but is still very weak and the stomach virus now at least seems to be a thing of the past.

Meanwhile, Cody went up there on Monday evening and has been there since. We knew it might be a while as Aaron was unfit to travel home obviously. Well, on Wednesday evening Chase started throwing up and having diarrhea. Sigh! They took him to the doctor yesterday morning and he has the same virus Aaron had but thankfully he doesn’t have pneumonia like Aaron does.

I am thankful for in-laws like Cody’s parents. Obviously this has been a crazy week for Cody at her parents taking care of two sick boys without me there. But Cody’s mother is amazing and I am so glad that the boys were around her, someone they feel very safe with, as they got so sick. We are hoping that Kathy and Cody don’t get this mess. From the way this week is going however, we’re all planning on that happening. Cody’s sister, Brooke has been a big help this week also, going to the house to help Cody and Kathy.

The elders here in La Grange where I preach are so gracious. They offered to let me go up there and be with the family. I would have taken them up on the offer but due to circumstances here on the homefront, I was unable.

This has been an incredibly tough week on a lot of levels. And it is all capped off by what I don’t want to do this afternoon….bury Hank. I dread it.

On Tuesday, the day after Cody left for East Texas, when I went outside to feed the dogs before work, I noticed Hank, our rottweiller, did not want to get up for his food. He was just laying there by the fence. I finally called him and he did get up and come, but it was more out of loyalty. He clearly did not want to eat. And I could tell he was hurting. I didn’t think too much of it at the time. I was extremely busy and needed to get to work. I checked on him again that afternoon and clearly knew something wasn’t right. So Wednesday morning, I got him over to the vet. Ironically he has pneumonia. He also has hip dysplasia. Because his blood count is so high, the doctor thinks he could possibly have cancer. There is no hope for him at this point, so we are going to put him to sleep this afternoon after lunch.

Tough! I love this dog. It is amazing that we get these pets, knowing at some point we’re going to have to say “goodbye.” Yet we still put ourselves through this. Hank is a good dog. I blogged about him recently. You can see the post here. He removed all myths about how “all rottweillers are mean and bad.” He was so gentle and had no clue as to what he could do if he wanted. He is about as loyal a dog as one would find. Earlier this morning I went to see him at the clinic. He is in obvious pain and discomfort, and can’t get up. Yet when he saw me he was wagging his tail and reaching his paw to me.

I know this is a dog. I certainly don’t want to minimize the other things that are more pressing. I love my 2 boys more than life itself and am so thankful that they are on the mend, finally. I hope they soon get their strength back so they and my wife can come home. I miss them. And I am quite sure their illness and absence is adding to my emotions right now; sadness, some grief, guilt and helplesness. I imagine the week has been even tougher on Cody. She is obviously tired from not much sleep and no one likes to see their children sick…especially this sick.

So why did I write all this? Not real sure. Perhaps many will not read it or care too much. But it has been therapeutic for me. I am thankful for the opportunity to vent. Ha! Now you all know why I REALLY blog!

Thank you all for your prayers, e-mails, calls, texts, and cards regarding the boys, especially Aaron. It has been overwhelming actually, and it is good to know we are loved and cared about. All the kids at church made Aaron a card Wednesday night. It was really sweet. Please keep praying for them. Chase will be fine. He just has to ride this virus out like Aaron did. Aaron is obviously still down with his pneumonia, but we think he is pretty safe at this point. He is getting lots of rest, and most importantly, lots of love and support from his mom and grandmother.

I’m sad but I am also upbeat. I think we all have to keep in perspective that we know things like this are going to happen. It’s life. And again, I know this is a dog but I can’t help but be reminded that everyone of us are going to one day “go to sleep.” I am so thankful that because of my relationship with God, I don’t have to fear it. In fact, I look quite forward to it. There, I won’t have to have weeks like this one,

Have a good weekend!

And Hank, you rest in peace my buddy! Thank you so much for the fun 7 1/2 years we had.

This is a question that Jack Cottrell raises in his Romans Commentary and I think he does an excellent job in addressing it. I will do my best to convey to you his thoughts on the matter.

Let’s first look at what the Bible says in portions of Romans 2:

“He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek…” (Romans 2:6-10).

“…For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified” (Romans 2:13).

“…So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision?” (Romans 2:26).

On the surface, this sounds consistent with the general idea of “keep God’s commandments” that we were taught from childhood–that is do good and go to heaven–or– do bad and go to hell. That’s fair, right? Pretty simple it seems. This is also consistent with what we talked about before. What are the principles of law?

BREAK THE COMMANDMENTS AND SUFFER THE PENALTY
KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS AND ESCAPE THE PENALTY

This is difficult to argue with. And for the record, let me emphasize that I do whole-heartedly believe that we are to submit to God’s ways and obey Him. Please, make no mistake about that. But there lies the problem with taking these scriptures I just quoted at face value without considering them in their proper context. Paul indicates some other things in his theology that on the surface, seem to contradict what he says here in Romans 2. Let’s look at a few examples:

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘the righteous shall live by faith’ (Romans 1:16-17).

“For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:20).

“For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law” (Romans 3:28).

So we have what looks like two opposing views from the pen of the same inspired apostle. But we know that can’t be the case, right? Surely Paul is not contradicting himself. There has to be an explanation. We have to search for the way that the Bible harmonizes both of these concepts to form what we know as Truth. Once again, keep in mind that Paul is speaking in the overall context of law-keeping in this section of scripture, making the point that it falls short as a means of salvation. Under this type of salvation system, we fall short; all of us do. No one is exempt from this. Therefore Paul is actually speaking here about the conditions or terms of salvation if law-keeping were it—but we know that is not the case. But if it were, Paul is saying, this would be the description. And not one of us meets the terms of this type of salvation. This is the only viable explanation in light of its context; otherwise we have Paul, an inspired apostle, directly contradicting himself and sounding like a hypocrite. I don’t think any of us believe this about Paul or his writings.

Notice Dr. Cottrell’s explanation of this. He does a much better job than what I am able to convey:

“In the texts in question (vv.6-10, 13, 26) Paul is not talking about the judgment of Christians under grace, but about the conditions that prevail within the sphere or system of law, or about how a person is judged for either justification or condemnation under the provisions of God’s law. As already explained, the subject of this whole section is law, and especially its inability to save sinners.

As we also saw earlier, the principles of law are this: ‘Keep the commandments, and therefore escape the penalty; break the commandments, and therefore suffer the penalty.’ Within the context of law, anyone who does not keep its commandments will be condemned. Likewise, anyone who persevered in good works, who is a doer of the law, who keeps its commandments, will be justified. This is a statement of fact. Any Jew or Gentile who completely obeys the law available to him will be justified.

But as a matter of fact—and this is Paul’s whole point in this section—there is no one at all in this category; everyone has sinned. As a formal principle it is true that the doers of the law will be justified. But in view of the universality of sin, it is only theoretically or hypothetically true. Not one single Jew and not one single Gentile will in fact be accepted by God in the final judgment because of his good works or his obedience to law. Thus, vv.7, 10, 13, 26 should not be taken as referring to any actual state of affairs.

The actual state of things is given in (Romans-JB) 3:20, that by works of law no one will be justified, since the law judges everyone to be a sinner.” (Jack Cottrell, Romans, pp.100-101).

Everyone has flaws. In theory, if one is able to keep the law perfectly, then sure that person is justified. But Paul’s point in the context is that this theory (law-keeping as a means of salvation) falls short because none meet this standard. The only way to meet the criteria is to keep the law perfectly (Galatians 3:10; James 2:10). In other words, because of the universality of sin, law keeping as the means of salvation can only be in theory (or hypothetical). There really are only two alternatives to being saved: “nonexistent perfect obedience [law] or the gospel reality of righteousness through faith [grace]” (Cottrell, p. 101).

I do think it is important that we seek and make application from all of this. The lesson here is so strong that we can ill-afford to miss it. Its application is actually two-fold: on one hand, when sin enters our lives, we become desperately in need of God’s grace. And we need to rely on that grace. Trust in God and His righteousness more than we do our own. Relying on it means submitting to it—understanding that it is a much better way than our own way, and so we trust that it is powerful enough to save us although we don’t deserve it. This is humility. This will lead to true repentance–hopefully. On the other hand, keeping this in context with the overall Romans letter, if we think this means we can stop serving God and start living immoral lives, and somehow withdraw our responsibility to submit to His will, then that makes a mockery of His grace (Romans 6:1ff). God forbid that anyone define God’s grace as a license to sin.

*I apologize to those following my study on Romans for the lengthy time period between chapter 1 posts and chapter 2. I have a lot going on. I will try and do better.

As chapter 1 of Romans closes, Paul is discussing the sinfulness of man. He makes the case that the Gentiles are without excuse and are therefore not an exception to the general rule that no one will be or can be accepted by God according to the terms of law. Although most commentators or “experts” seem to agree that Paul was making reference to the Gentile readers (those that were not given a special revelation-i.e., Law of Moses), there is also little doubt that every point he makes is applicable to all man.

And so this brings us to the beginning of chapter 2, where Paul is continuing to talk about mankind’s sinful ways.

WHO SPECIFICALLY IS PAUL WRITING TO HERE?

This question often comes up at this juncture of studying this epistle. Many agree that here in chapter 2, Paul transitions from the Gentiles as his focus to the Jews as his focus. But the question is at what point? Some believe it is in v.1. Others believe it is in v.9. Either way, Paul’s whole point here is that no one is left out. All are susceptible to God’s wrath and therefore fall short. Every person is in dire need of something greater than law. Personally, it seems to me that v.1 marks the beginning of Paul’s transition from speaking primarily to the Gentile reader to the Jewish reader. See also v.4. By the time he gets to v.17 there is certainly little doubt that he is speaking to the Jew.

I think it is important to mention here also, that it is possible to get so “bogged down” in this that we miss Paul’s point entirely. Regardless of who thinks what as for who Paul is specifically talking to and when, it doesn’t change the overall message, which is summed up quite well in Romans 2:11; for God shows no partiality. Paul states in Romans 3:9, “What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin.” Let’s not miss this overall point of the section.

This first overall section (1:18-3:20) is emphasizing that law as a means of salvation falls short. Because we are less than perfect, we cannot be right with God in terms of a system of law. Therefore because of our inability to keep the law perfectly, law is unable to save us. If our ability to keep law is our means of salvation, then salvation becomes impossible (Mark 10:27; Romans 3:20).

MAN UNDER GOD’S WRATH (vv.1-5)

In reading the first verse, let us remember that the Jews were especially notorious for being arrogant and judgmental. Jesus’ ministry attests to this fact as well. This is one reason why I think Paul seems to be shifting his focus on the Jews at this point, especially when you consider vv.3-4. It is no secret that the Jews took their status as “God’s chosen ones” to an absurd extreme. They thought that because of their status as God’s special people that He would just forgo the standard concerning them—the standard they were so apt and quick to place on everybody else. They assumed that their status as God’s people was an automatic ticket to heaven. Can God’s elect find themselves guilty of this today? I think this is clearly our application. Paul wants them (and us) to realize that God’s grace, mercy, and kindness is never something to be taken advantage of. These wonderful gifts from God are actually designed to lead us to live righteously. God’s goodness is not for the purpose of excusing sin, but rather to stimulate a response of active and submissive faith.

Repentance as it is used here means to change one’s mind about God and especially about one’s own sin. It is when the sinner admits to the awful nature of his/her sin that this person begins to see the fruits of repentance. Like all of us when we become Christians, it must start with our recognition of (1) the seriousness of sin, (2) the fact that we are deep in it, and (3) we unequivocally need help from One greater than ourselves to get us out of it. Paul completes this thought by suggesting that if things don’t change with them, they are going to be just as “condemned” as those they are criticizing (v.5).

A large part of Paul’s message here, and we will see this even more as we continue through the epistle, is that God’s bringing judgment really takes a lot of pressure off of us feeling like we have to do it. This letter to the Romans is really quite a liberating message when you think about it. It is God’s judgment that really counts, not ours. Paul will elaborate on this extensively in Romans 14. Also note that “judgment” as it is used in this text does not mean merely discerning right from wrong. Obviously we can’t help but do this (Matthew 7:20; John 7:24). But this term “judgment” carries the idea of “passing off condemnation” or “passing off a sentence.” This is not our role and we shouldn’t do it (Matthew 7:1-5). It is one thing to lovingly address sin as it stares us in the face; it is quite another to assign motive when we do not know all the details. We are not detectives. God has not called us to be private investigators. And we certainly should not criticize others for something with which we are guilty ourselves. Paul wants these Christians to understand that if they condemn others while they themselves do what these others are doing, then this necessitates their own condemnation.

GOD DOES NOT SHOW PARTIALITY (vv.6-11)

As we read this, keep in mind the overall context of what Paul is conveying. Law falls short. If we are saved by law, then what Paul is saying here applies to all of law and we therefore have no hope of eternal life because of the truths revealed in Romans 3:23, Galatians 3:10, and James 2:10.

I believe the essence of Paul’s message here, keeping it in its proper context, is that if we are saved by law-keeping, then we are all doomed. None perfectly keep the law so as to be saved by it. No one will stand before God on Judgment Day and be justified due to his/her law keeping. I will elaborate on this more tomorrow, as I will make a separate post on this section. But for now, I will just say that I do not believe Paul is teaching justification by works here in Romans 2.

On the other hand, something else that Paul is demonstrating here is that it does indeed matter what we do. For example, in applying this to us, if we are baptized that is great, but are we living it too? In essence, Paul is confirming to these elitists here, Yes you will be treated like all others. And no, you will not be given special consideration on Judgment Day just because you are “my people. And here’s why…”

Dr. Jack Cottrell states it well when he discusses in his commentary on Romans how these Jews were confusing their “election” with their “salvation.” These are separate entities and the Jews were treating them as if they were synonymous concepts. Just because they were God’s chosen people did not necessitate God not holding them to the same standard of judgment. Likewise for us today, we are God’s elect, but our status as Christians does not mean that we are automatically saved, or that we have a free ride to heaven based on our status as the called out by God. Paul wants these Jews to understand, In the same way the Gentiles fall short in these areas and in the same way they sin, so do you. You too are deserving of eternal punishment.

WHO DO WE THINK WE ARE?

Verse 11 is a strong statement for a lot of reasons. It is terse but definitely falls under that proverbial “dynamite comes in small packages” category. When you keep what Paul says here under its proper context, this is extremely powerful in teaching us how to deal with others, isn’t it? I am not suggesting that we should not lovingly correct error when the opportunity arises. In fact, often times when we do not want to, we still should. This is reality and it is Biblical. But the point here is that all of us, regardless of what our imperfections are, are still imperfect, nevertheless. We need to realize that we are just as much in need of God’s grace as the person we are often tempted to condemn and criticize. We must approach things in a humble way, realizing that we ourselves are unworthy. We are all doing something wrong. None of us are flawless. Also, don’t forget the meaning behind how “judging” is used in this context. When we are harsh and critical of others, we could very well ask ourselves, “Who do we think we are? This is undoubtedly the essence of Paul’s message to these folks here and among other places in this letter (i.e., Romans 14:4, 10-13, 17-19). In fact, isn’t this also precisely the question James raises in James 4:12?

In the next post, we will look at the question, “Does Romans 2 teach justification by works?”

Preparing for the future has become a way of life for us in so many ways. I am not sure how we would survive without planning at least somewhat. We plan for our retirement and our children’s college, among other things by saving money. We plan for our future in the “working” world by going to an institution of higher learning to get an education. We send our kids to school (or homeschool) with the intent of preparing them to be well-rounded and productive citizens for when they become adults. Preparation for what we know is to come in future years is very important. It is vital!

Perhaps an aspect of our future that we do not give enough consideration to is our spiritual future. Currently on Sunday mornings I am going through a series of lessons designed for our youth. This past Sunday morning I talked about some things our younger generation can start doing now that will hopefully help ensure their faithfulness in 10, 20, or 50 years from now. Obviously there is a lot we as adults can take from this also. Interestingly, these are examples of some things we see in a young Timothy as Paul helped to prepare him for a life serving God. There should be little doubt that these qualities helped ensure Timothy’s own faithfulness as he grew older.

Develop your own faith.
As adults, many of us can look back at our childhood and remember so much of what our parents did for us. We lived off of them. They provided for us and we should always be grateful for that. We should do what we can to instill gratitude into the hearts of our young people. It is God’s design that parents provide for their children. Children live off of parents (1 Timothy 5:8). However, with this said, children cannot live off their parents’ faith. We must develop our own faith. Faith must be sincere and genuine, and it cannot achieve this status if it is not our own. I think it is good when children develop the same faith as parents, especially when that faith involves truth. But it needs to be their own. And as parents, hopefully we are instilling this in them. This seems to be the case with how Timothy developed his own faith through the strength of his family’s faith (2 Timothy 1:5). This is Biblical. But a faith that is not genuine will eventually be a weak one that crumbles in the midst of adversity once a child leaves home. As adults we can help by not getting “up in arms” when our young people have questions. We should encourage that. I can’t think of anything worse than Aaron and Chase growing up claiming faith in God only because mommy and daddy say that He exists. We have too many kids leaving home for college without a clue as to why they believe what they believe.

Study your Bible.
All living things, whether plants, animals, or humans, must be nourished properly in order to grow and flourish. God specifically designed food for our nourishment and growth. He also gave us His living word, the bread of life so that we can be nourished spiritually. It is not uncommon that God uses “spiritual food” as a metaphor to indicate our need for growth. See Matthew 4:3-4; John 6:26-27, 32-35; Hebrews 5:12-14; 1 Peter 2:2. God’s word is certainly in great part attributed to young Timothy’s steady growth and spiritual strength (2 Timothy 3:14-15). We cannot learn what God wants of us as His people without giving attention to the guide He provided us. See also 1 Timothy 4:13.

Practice what you preach.
In other words, the gospel is not merely to be taught, but it is to be lived. Jesus taught that Christianity is an active faith. He taught and provided an example of how kingdom living entails getting out and making a difference in the lives of others; teaching people things that really and actually matter; helping them; associating with those that the rest of society will not hang out with; assisting the needy, the sick, the poor, the jailed, the widows. Jesus taught it and He lived it, thus providing for us the perfect example. The Bible also gives us the example of Timothy as a young person who actually cared about others. His love and sincerity is what compelled him to live and teach the gospel. He carried out the same message he taught. See Acts 16:1-3 and Philippians 2:19-21. There should be little doubt that his living out the gospel message is what gave him opportunity to effectively teach it.

Christianity is not merely about facts and rules. It is absurd to think that one will stand before God on judgment day, knowing full well that they did not love and serve others, never tried to impact others for good, and never helped others, yet somehow because they were “sound” on all points of their doctrinal positions that they have an automatic ticket to heaven. This is essentially what the religious elite of Jesus’ day thought and Jesus told His followers “…unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20). In other words, life in the kingdom is better than that. The Bible mentions nothing of a doctrinal quiz to be taken at judgment. While doing our best to adhere to pure and healthy doctrine, let us remember that Paul says it is the things we do and practice that will actually determine how we are judged (2 Corinthians 5:10). Service to God, that is, practicing what we preach is what matters.

I just wanted to express my gratitude for the many men and women who have sacrificed their lives on our behalf and in defense of our great country. May this be a day of thanksgiving and reflection. And to all of our living vets as well as those currently serving in the armed forces, “thank you” for your service.

Have a happy holiday!

I have never looked at this song the same since October 2, 2002, the day Aaron was born. Obviously it was an exciting time for us as our first child was born. But it was a rough journey as he was forced to come 5 1/2 weeks early due to Cody’s pregnancy induced high blood pressure. Aaron was tiny (3 lbs. 15 oz.). The doctors assured us he would be fine. So we were thankful and we certainly counted our blessings. But it was still difficult because he had to be on a respirator and had wires attached to so many parts of his body. He had to live in the “glass box” for a few days. It was tough to see. Well, I digress!

I remember the next morning, we were with Aaron behind a curtain. Cody had him close by and was rocking and nursing him. And Aaron was crying and having a difficult time. Then she began to sing this song to him and it was so incredible to see him so soothed and at peace. I am not sure if there has been a day that I loved my wife more. I still to this day cannot sing or even hear this song without getting choked up.

Tempted and tried we’re oft made to wonder Why it should be thus all the day long, While there are others living about us, Never molested tho in the wrong.

(Chorus) Farther along we’ll know all about it, Farther along we’ll understand why; Cheer up my brother live in the sunshine, We’ll understand it all by and by.

Faithful til death said our loving Master, A few more days to labor and wait; Toils of the road will then seem as nothing, As we sweep thru the beautiful gate.

(Chorus) Farther along we’ll know all about it, Farther along we’ll understand why; Cheer up my brother live in the sunshine, We’ll understand it all by and by.

When we see Jesus coming in glory, When He comes from His home in the sky; Then we shall meet Him in that bright mansion, We’ll understand it all by and by.

(Chorus) Farther along we’ll know all about it, Farther along we’ll understand why; Cheer up my brother live in the sunshine, We’ll understand it all by and by.

According to a poll that came out about 4 years ago (I wish I still had the source—sorry), here are the top 10 complaints by women regarding their husbands:

1. Often selfish and inconsiderate
2. Unsuccessful in business–not bringing in enough money
3. Not always honest
4. Complains too much (focuses more on what is negative)
5. Only showing affection/romance when he wants sex
6. Lack of communication and sharing how he feels
7. Too harsh on the children
8. Overly-sensitive (too thin-skinned)
9. Lack of quality time spent with the children
10. Not doing things to help out around the house (bills, cleaning, cooking, etc)

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”

–John Fitzgerald Kennedy (35th U.S. President)

Have a great day!

I have gotten to a point where I do not like arguing about “issues,” like I once did. For the most part, I think they are often counter-productive (Titus 3:9). So I don’t mind admitting that I avoid them when I can. However, because our young people often ask questions that are so pertinent to their lives, sometimes the subject of moral issues must be addressed. Some of the young people in the congregation where I preach have recently asked me about questions of this nature.

It is not uncommon that we are faced with dilemmas in life, many of which are moral ones in nature. Granted, many are easy for us to decide “no.” For the most part, Christians are already resolved (hopefully) to not engage in things that the Bible explicitly forbids. For example, the Bible is clear on how God feels about sex outside of marriage, lusts, drunkenness, violence, theft, sowing discord, etc. But what about some of these “issues,” that aren’t so clear? Those things where the Bible doesn’t explictly give us a “thou shalt…” or a “thou shalt not…” We are left wondering (1) Does the Bible really condemn this? (2) How far is too far? and (3) why? Some examples of this might include things like whether or not to watch a certain movie, whether or not it is really sinful to use tobbacco products, what really constitutes immodest clothing, etc. How really do we know?

Here are a series of things to consider when attempting to answer these questions for ourselves:

Have a great day!