Trusting in Christ to redeem us does protect us from the permanent consequences of sin (eternal death and separation from God) and provides us with eternal life with Christ and all our loved ones who have equally trusted in Christ. But that eternal salvation will not protect us from the negative consequences of making wrong choices here on earth. As Christians there are guidelines to follow and a process of making godly choices that we have called the “4-Cs.” To help understand this process better we have created two “case studies” that give practical examples of the 4-Cs process. Discuss these with your family and friends and make the 4-Cs process a pattern of life.
“Your Loss Is My Gain”
Terry had bought a fan at the local hardware store. The first time he plugged the device in and tried to turn it on, it would not work. He took the screw out of the casing, took the casing off, and looked inside to see if he could spot any problem in the wiring. He was not a mechanic and knew nothing about electricity, so without touching any of the mechanisms or wiring he simply replaced the casing. He took the fan back to the store and asked for a replacement or a refund.
“I’m sorry, sir,” the supervisor said. “We just can’t replace a fan that has been damaged this way. It is clear that this screw has been tampered with. That indicates internal tampering, which no doubt caused the electrical short.”
“I’m telling you,” Terry persisted, “I didn’t tamper with anything! It wouldn’t work the first time I tried it.”
“There is nothing more I can do,” the supervisor responded. “We can repair the fan, but there will be a service charge.”
“Forget it,” Terry angrily retorted and stormed out of the hardware store.
A few weeks later, Terry was checking out at the same hardware store after purchasing $50 or so worth of various items. As he walked to his car he looked at his receipt and recounted the change the clerk gave him. The clerk had undercharged him by $10. What should Terry do? What would you do?
Consider the choice. It would be easy for Terry simply to disregard the clerical error and go on his way without another thought. Especially since the clerk’s error would seem to balance the cheating he had suffered earlier from the same store. But there is a choice to be made here, and it is important for Terry to pause and consider the choice. Either he can a) go back inside and return the $10 he received in error, or b) keep them as partial repayment for the money he lost when the store cheated him.
Compare it to God. Terry’s natural impulse is to keep the money. But he needs to stop and think how that choice compares with God’s character. He could ask himself, If this store had cheated Jesus and then later had accidentally given him too much change, what would he have done? Terry must remember that God’s very nature is true. Regardless of the circumstance, God does not deviate from his character, which is the standard of all rightness. Out of God’s character of absolute truth comes the principle of honesty, which includes not cheating someone out of something that belongs to him. Comparing his options to God means Terry must return the $10 to the hardware store.
Commit to God’s ways. Now Terry must make a decision, but he has a problem. Under ordinary circumstances he would return the money, but he figures his present situation is a special case. The hardware store has cheated him out of the cost of a fan repair. So really, keeping the $10 mistake helps to settle the score. So Terry convinces himself that he is justified in keeping the extra money. He pockets it and goes on his way.
Is Terry right? Or is he rationalizing? He wants to be honest, but in this situation does the store’s apparent greed outweigh the need to return the undercharge? Let’s look at Scripture to see what Terry gained or lost by the choice he made.
Count on God’s protection and provision. What does Terry gain in justifying his action? Well, it seems that he has gained two things: He is $10 richer, and he has the satisfaction of knowing a greedy hardware store didn’t get away with cheating him.
What did Terry lose by his action?
Scripture says, “Don’t repay evil for evil…Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God wants you to do, and he will bless you for it…Remember, it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is what God wants, than to suffer for doing wrong” (1 Peter 3:9,17).
• According to Peter’s principle, paying the money back would have brought a blessing to Terry. It would also have provided him a clear conscience and protection from guilt. Terry lost out on those blessings. “Choose a good reputation over great riches, for being held in high esteem is better than having silver or gold” (Proverbs 22:1).
• Paying the money back provides a reputation of integrity and protects from shame. Terry lost out on that.
King David said that the righteous “keep their promises even when it hurts” (Psalm 15:4). Paul says it’s better to be cheated than to cheat. He told the Corinthians, “Why not just accept the injustice and leave it at that? Why not let yourselves be cheated?” (1 Corinthians 6:7). Even though Terry believed the hardware store had done him wrong, and the $10 error could have helped pay for their misdeed, in the long term, God’s way of integrity brings honor to him and blessing to us.
“What Goes Around Comes Around”
Geena, a bank loan officer, was grocery shopping on her day off. As she was loading her trunk with groceries in the parking lot, a woman put a bad scrape in Geena’s car with a cart.
“Excuse me, ma’am,” Geena said, “you just put a big scratch in my car with that cart.”
“You shouldn’t have parked so close to the cart return,” the woman replied. “It’s your problem, not mine.”
“Now wait a minute,” Geena responded. “I want this taken care of. Please give me your insurance information.”
“I’m out of here,” came the reply. “My insurance won’t cover that.” And she walked quickly to her car and drove off. In her frustration, Geena failed to write down the woman’s license plate number.
A week later Geena was on the job at her bank processing a car loan application that was on the borderline of being approved. The bank manager told Geena it was her call. The applicant came in to determine whether she was approved for the car loan. When she sat down in front of Geena’s desk, Geena was surprised to see it was the same woman who had put the scratch in her car. The woman, however, didn’t recognize Geena.
Consider the choice. It would be very tempting to deny the “car scratcher” the loan. The woman had been discourteous and irresponsible in not repairing the damage she had caused to Geena’s car. Geena had a choice to consider—show mercy, forgive the woman, and approve the loan or give her a taste of her own medicine. What should Geena do? What would you do?
Compare it to God. “This is what the LORD Almighty says: Judge fairly and honestly, and show mercy and kindness to one another” (Zechariah 7:9). Mercy is right and a virtue because it comes from the very nature of God. As Micah declared, he is one who “delight[s] to show mercy” (Micah 7:18 NIV). King David said that God’s “mercy endures forever” (Psalm 107:1 NKJV). Paul noted that “God is so rich in mercy” (Ephesians 2:4).
If Geena is to reflect God’s nature of mercy, she must show mercy.
Commit to God’s ways. Geena has a problem. Showing mercy to this woman would, in effect, be rewarding an irresponsible person who showed no mercy on her. The interesting thing is that the car scratcher doesn’t even recognize Geena and doesn’t know she offended her. So Geena could deny the loan and no one would be the wiser.
Geena chose to approve the loan. What did she gain by showing mercy?
Count on God’s protection and provision. Jesus promised, “If you give, you will receive…Whatever measure you use in giving—large or small—it will be used to measure what is given back to you” (Luke 6:38).
• By showing mercy Geena can count on God to protect her from want. “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you” (Matthew 6:14).
• Showing mercy protects us from God’s judgment and provides for forgiveness. It’s relatively easy to show mercy on the merciful. But it requires a commitment to God’s ways to show mercy on the undeserving. But Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy” (Matthew 5:7 NIV).
We are born in sin, and even though God forgives us of our wrongdoing we are still faced with the desires of the sin nature. The 4-Cs process is a means of training ourselves to resist the natural impulse to follow our nature and commit instead to God’s ways. Paul said, “I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should” (1 Corinthians 9:27). And as we do we can count on God’s protection and provision.
God’s Truth Declaration:
I am the God of Creation—The God of Relationships
• We believe the truth that an infinite, personal God exists, and that there is sufficient evidence to allow us to believe that truth with confidence.
God’s existence is relevant to us specifically because we were created in his likeness. That likeness gives us the capacity for loving relationships.
When we explore our relational capacity to know and be known, we discover our true identity as a child of a real and relational God. This discovery allows us to know who we are.
• We believe the truth that the Bible is God’s revelation of himself to us, which in turn discloses his character to us. From his character emanate his ways, which, the Bible declares, are the pattern for us to follow in all our actions.
Because the Bible has been reliably passed down from one generation to another we can believe with confidence that it reflects an accurate revelation of God and his truth.
When we follow God’s ways and live out the truths of Scripture we can experience God’s protection and provision and live the life of joy that he meant for us to live.
• We believe the truth that God created humans to relate to him lovingly, but that relationship was destroyed because of original sin.
Sin was passed to the entire human race, and consequently all are born spiritually dead and utterly helpless to gain favor with God. We can believe this truth with confidence because historically we see the devastating consequences of sin.
Our sin nature prods us to follow our own ways. When we resist our sin nature, compare our attitudes and actions to God, and commit to his ways, he empowers us to make godly choices. Right choices will enable us to enjoy God’s provision and protection in life.
The Christian faith puts forth the truth that a relational Creator God exists, that he reveals himself through his reliable Word, and that sin has destroyed the God/human relationship. If that were where the human story ended, it would be tragic beyond words. But the story doesn’t end there. In part III we lay out what we believe about the solution to the great human dilemma of sin and death: the truth of the incarnation.