Chris R. Quinlan

2 Peter 1:10b-15 "For if you do these things, you will never fall, 11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 12 So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. 13 I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, 14 because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. 15 And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these thing s This verse needs to be understood with care. If one isn't careful, a conclusion could be drawn that would be in opposition to the truth that the verse is proclaiming. Verse 11 is key, but I included the end of verse 10 so that the entire thought could be seen. The reason this is so critical to understand is because what we see here in verse 10-11 is what, at first glance, looks like a

2 Peter 1:9-10 9 For he who lacks these qualities ( moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love) is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; I included the qualities from verses 5-7 to remind you of the most important qualities that a Christian can strive to make a part of their lives. Moral excellence - Striving to live a life free from sin. Knowledge - Placing a priority on reading and studying the Scriptures. Self-control - Disciplining yourself to say "No" to temping desires, even when no one is looking. Perseverance - A determination to stay true to your faith, no matter what the circumstances. Godliness - A desire to learn what God is like and adopt those characteristics into your own life. Brot

As we began this look at the subject of entertainment, I said that the key verse for this study would be: 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 “Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.” The articles that I have written up to this point have been concentrating on the last part of that verse, ( Avoid…evil ). The reason for this is because I believe we are surrounded and bombarded with worldly entertainment that is numbing us to immorality. You may have noticed that there are more and more “reality” type shows that encourage us to become addicted. Video games are designed to be addictive and music, by its very nature is addictive. I’ve already said that I don’t believe that all entertainment is sin, but I do believe that it’s time Christians took a fresh look at the entertainment we consume and put all of it to the test of scripture. This final “filter” that we will look at today is, I believe, the best way to evaluate entertainment. It’s almost as if this was put in the bible

THE STUMBLING BLOCK FILTER As we consider the “filters” that a Christian should apply to entertainment, one of the most often forgotten, or perhaps the least known about, is the “stumbling block” filter. Many times when we are engaged in some sort of entertainment, we are experiencing it with another person or a group. In any relationship, there usually is someone who has more influence than the others. This “leader” will usually set the standard for the group. The “followers” will quite often follow along with whatever the leader does. If you ever find yourself in this “leader” position (even if it’s just one other person following) you need to consider whether or not your actions are placing a ‘stumbling block’ in the path of your ‘followers’. If you are a parent, or have a position of influence on children, I would encourage you to take very seriously the things mentioned in this section. Romans 14:13b …make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother'

THE CONSCIENCE FILTER Another way in which the Christian can determine if a particular form of entertainment is something to avoid is to consult the conscience. This is a bit of a confusing subject because no one really knows what the conscience is? I’ve been doing some research on the subject and hopefully will be able to make sense of it. The bible does speak about the conscience, so we can draw some conclusions from there. Most of us understand the conscience to be that “inner voice” that helps us determine right from wrong. However, there is a little bit more to it than that. The conscience doesn’t actually determine what is right or wrong. More precisely, it recognizes the rules, customs, and laws that it has been educated in, and then responds with affirmation or guilt when an action is taken. The conscience must be educated through the proper teaching of God’s truth. The bible never indicates that the answers of conscience come directly from God, so the conscience can not

We are continuing to look at what the bible has to say about entertainment. Because entertainment is so much a part of our everyday lives, I am compelled to shine the light of truth on what has become an untouchable “right” in our society, even in the lives of Christians. The “right" to be entertained as much as we want with whatever we want. This “right” is not really a right, but some would rather have their fingernails pulled out, than give up their “right” to be entertained. Entertainment has become a means of personal identity. So, for example, asking someone to give up their favorite band would be akin to asking them to change their name. The movie-going experience has become the shared human experience that drives most conversations. To miss out is to be left out. Christians must stop and ask themselves a couple of questions: Is my right to be entertained so important to me that I am unwilling to hear the truth of God’s Word on this subject and then make changes? Am I w

THE CONTENT FILTER This filter is to me the most obvious. But when I began to think about it, I realized that this category makes certain assumptions that people may or may not be making. One assumption is that the same standards and convictions that a person has regarding personal behavior (I will not murder someone), are the same as what that person is willing to allow themselves to be entertained with (I will not allow myself to be entertained by murder). This is critical to understand. If entertainment is doing something that brings pleasure (watching a movie, for example), then we should ask ourselves this question: Is it sinful for me to entertain myself with things that I object to morally? The other assumption is that the entertainment that we consume has an affect on the way we perceive things and therefore, potentially affects our behavior. For example: Watching movies with excessive vulgarity will tend to cause one to begin imitating that behavior. This concept is difficult

We want to know what the bible says about entertainment. First, let's define the word, "entertainment." As simply as I can put it, entertainment is a ny activity that brings an individual some form of pleasure. Now, the next question is, is it a sin to enjoy pleasures or seek after pleasure? It depends. There are good things that bring us pleasure (love, sports , food, outdoor activities, hobbies, etc.) There are also pleasures that God forbids (drunkenness, sexual immorality, etc.) So, at what point does pleasure become sin? Here's what I found in scripture: Prov. 10:23 - "A fool finds pleasure in evil conduct" Prov. 21:17 - "He who loves pleasure will become poor." Ecles. 2 - "I said to myself, "Come now, let's give pleasure a try. Let's look for the `good things' in life." But I found that this, too, was meaningless." Ecc. 7:4 the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure. So, pleasure becomes sin when: A.

It seems reasonable to me that someone wanting to please God with their life would be willing to filter what they watch and listen to through the teachings of scripture. I have put considerable thought into this subject through the years and my goal was not to place restrictions on my life for the sake of "looking holy", but simply wanting to know what the bible says regarding this subject. About a year ago I collected my study efforts and I would like to share them with you. I'll break it up into sections so it won't be so much to digest at once. Here is PART 1: ----------------------- It is my concern that, as Christians, we are generally too careless about how we choose to entertain ourselves. It's time that we, as God's set-apart ambassadors, begin to put the things we call entertainment through the filter of the bible. Consider these scriptures: Ephesians 2:3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the f