No one understood grace the way Paul did. Yet no one demanded good behavior the way Paul did.*
But Paul is not merely concerned with behavior. He knows that not only are there all sorts of temptations in your path, there are also wrong ideas and controversies that may draw your focus off of Jesus.
Perhaps even more than he warns readers of the sins of the body, Paul warns of the distractions of the mind.
Paul is concerned about your ACTIONS. Paul is equally concerned about YOUR THOUGHTS.
Look at these verses in which Paul encourages us to be careful what we think about:
“Avoid the “sick interest in disputes and arguments over words” 1 Timothy 6:4.
“Do not pay attention to myths and endless genealogies” 1 Timothy 1:4.
“Don’t participate in the fruitless works of darkness but expose them” Ephesians 5:11.
“Have nothing to do with irreverent and silly myths” 1 Timothy 4:7.
“Be careful no one takes you captive through philosophy and deceit” Colossians 2:8.
“Do not worry” Philippians 4:6
“Watch out for those who cause dissensions” Romans 16:17.
“I want you to be wise about good, but innocent about evil” Romans 16:19.
“Avoid foolish debates” Titus 3:9.
“Reject foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing they breed quarrels” 2 Timothy 2:23.
“Be alert, stand firm in the faith, act like a man, be strong” 1 Corinthians 16:13.
“We take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” 2 Corinthians 10:5.
We understand the risks of wrong actions: cheating, gluttony, laziness, adultery.
Yet most of us ignore the risks of wrong thoughts.
Bad thinking may not be a sin in every case, but the Bible frequently condemns it as foolishness. And foolishness is Paul’s concern: he knows that when we spend our time thinking about foolishness, we will be drawn away from Christ.
But what is foolishness? How do you know it when you see it?
First, foolishness is anything that distracts you from Biblical truth.
If your obsession with some controversial political cause is taking up so much of your time that you no longer read the Bible, then that obsession is probably foolishness; even if it is not wrong, perhaps it is a wrong use of your time at the present.
A second rule is that foolish thoughts question the word of God.
For this reason, worry is often foolish: because worry causes you to doubt God’s provision and protection. In addition to worry, many topics can cause people to doubt the Bible. Books by history’s atheists and famous skeptics come to mind. Second might be controversies and conspiracy theories that leave you doubting everything you ever believed. (If this crazy idea has you questioning God, your faith, your parents, and your salvation, it is probably foolish.)
Third, foolish thoughts may be motivated by a “sick interest in disputes and arguments” 1 Timothy 6:4.
Are you more interested in the back-and-forth of the argument than you are in finding the truth? Are you hyped-up and on-edge all day and all night, trolling the internet looking for that next argument or debate? Or do you put your head down at night and sleep in peace? Contentment in Christ, motivated by true faith, will be able to find peace even when an answer to the controversy of the day does not appear. But if you are enjoying the dispute more than finding a true answer, you will never be content. True answers have a way of being deceptively quiet and simple. There is peace, but often little fanfare. By contrast, false ideas are as exciting as a bomb going off. And that’s another clue that you have gone astray: if you find yourself unwilling to accept a simple answer, the still, small voice, and are desperately searching for a tornado and an earthquake, then the controversy is probably based on foolish thoughts. “God is not a god of confusion, but of peace” 1 Corinthians 14:33.
A fourth sign of foolish, dangerous thinking is whether it is almost sinfully enticing.
Sometimes an intriguing, sinful question can draw you in like a moth to the flame. If the argument holds an almost sinful allure, if it drew you in with a power you could not resist, that may be a red flag, a sign of evil. Paul encourages us to be “innocent” in these “works of darkness” that can “take you captive.” The conversation, the debate you are having, may seem innocent enough to you. After all, it’s only words, right? Well, no. These are ideas, and ideas have consequences. You can be drawn into foolish ideas and suffer “the shipwreck of your faith” 1 Timothy 1:18-20. What you think about matters. Your thoughts matter. How do you guard your thoughts? You watch out for wrong thinking, and you stand on your faith, strong in the word.
“Be alert, stand firm in the faith, act like a man, be strong” 1 Corinthians 16:13.
You must examine your thoughts. THINK about them. And evaluate them in light of the scripture. Are these godly thoughts? Are my thoughts OBEDIENT to Christ?
“We take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” 2 Corinthians 10:5.
God, remind us—WARN US—to stay away from wrong, foolish thinking.
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P.S. I write about Paul’s passion for grace and his equal passion for good behavior (or following the law) here: https://dadsdailydevotionals.com/2024/08/21/is-there-tension-between-law-and-grace-titus-214/
Household Words: 