Do You Have Any Advice for Christian Conduct as a Guideline for Those in Ministry?

Question from a reader:

Do you have any advice for Christian conduct as a guideline for those in ministry?

Answer from Randy Alcorn:

What you don’t want in Christian ministry is check-off-the-boxes Christian morality in which spirituality is measured in terms of a list of do’s and don’ts. This has happened in countless churches and Christian ministries, so any effort to avoid and resist it is worthwhile.

Here is one Statement on Christian Liberty from the Wesleyan Church (found at this link). I am not Wesleyan, but it is the beginning of a good statement that could be edited and utilized:

Christ, through His death on the cross, has freed His followers from sin and from bondage to the law. Christians are "called unto liberty" (Galatians 5:13 KJV), and are not under the law as a means of salvation. They are rather exhorted, "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage" (Galatians 5:1 KJV).

This liberty, however, is not to be construed as license (Galatians 5:13). Rather, love for Christ constrains the Christian to live righteously and holily as God demands. By the Spirit of God, His laws are written on the heart (Hebrews 8:10). So Christians resist evil and cleave to the good, not in order to be saved, but because they have been saved. Within the bounds of Christian liberty, there will be differences of opinion. In such cases, the believer seeks to avoid offending other believers. The stronger one is mindful of the opinions of the one with the weaker conscience (1 Corinthians 8 and 10), and is careful not to put a stumbling block in another's way (1 Corinthians10:24; Galatians 5:13). On the other hand, the weak does not criticize the strong (1 Corinthians10:29-30), for the conscience of the weak may need instruction. The recognition and exercise of that liberty which Christ affords will glorify God and promote the unity of the Church.

Randy Alcorn (@randyalcorn) is the author of over sixty books and the founder and director of Eternal Perspective Ministries

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