This is another great and thought provoking post from David Lorimer at http://dlorimer.blogspot.com/.
“Grey Area” Sometimes when a person rejects the Christian faith, it is pretty obvious that they are no longer following the Lord. One may do what they know is wrong, as a rebellious act of clear defiance. But most often, we find ourselves concerned about someone because we just don’t know where they are. They haven’t clearly stepped over a line, but neither do they seem to be doing well spiritually. Sometimes, the person doesn’t even know themselves. Often, people in this state will call themselves Christians, even after they seem to have long since abandoned God. How does this happen? Can it happen to us? Would we notice if it did? There is a large piece of ground between heaven and hell. “Grey Area” is a dry and trackless wasteland, without signposts, landmarks, or boundary lines. It is very difficult to know where you are and whose side you are on. It is not like walking off a cliff and falling into sin (like most people fear, and like our first case, above). It is like wandering without any sense of direction. You can walk right into sin, and not even know it. By the time you recognize a landmark, you may find that you are a hundred miles inside the enemy camp. By choosing to live in Grey Area, you are choosing to live without the knowledge of right and wrong. It may seem like freedom, but you’ve sacrificed knowledge. We often like to think that God doesn’t know where the line is either, so it’s safe to be out there. But if we don’t know where we are until we finally see a landmark, whose landmark do you think we will see? It’s the temptation that Christian faced in “Pilgrim’s Progress” when he saw a green path that ran “parallel” to the road. He didn’t know the path soon disappeared and left him without direction. Grey Area doesn’t make you right, it makes you lost. Many of us want to live in Grey Area, for we do not like the idea that God will judge us for our actions. We feel we are safe out there, because we cannot fall into sin. There are no cliffs; there is no danger. We are outside the clear voice of God, and outside the reach of Satan. It’s a safe middle-of-the-road. But friends, if we are outside the voice of God, how will we hear when He calls His children home? Do you know for sure that how you are living is right? “Grant me, O Lord, the grace to know what should be known, to praise what is most pleasing to You, to esteem that which appears most precious to You, and to abhor what is unclean in Your sight.” — Thomas a Kempis (Imitation of Christ, p. 236) “Let a man but have so much piety as to intend to please God in all the actions of his life, as the happiest and best thing in the world.” — William Law (A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life, Chapter 2) Important Note: *There is a difference between observing others in a “grey area,” and choosing to be there personally. I strongly encourage you to personally stay out of grey areas. Choose to live the way you know for sure is right. If you don’t know for sure, stay clear away from it! On the other hand, I encourage you to have grace with others you observe. Just because you don’t know if they are right doesn’t mean they don’t know. Don’t announce that they are going to hell. We are to hold each other accountable and spur one another on in the faith. Ask if they know for sure what they are doing is right. Point them to God’s Word as the boundaries and signposts for our lives. Exhort them to a life that abandons grey area in favor of right living. All of us, in any spiritual state, need to hear that exhortation.Sometimes when a person rejects the Christian faith, it is pretty obvious that they are no longer following the Lord. One may do what they know is wrong, as a rebellious act of clear defiance. But most often, we find ourselves concerned about someone because we just don’t know where they are. They haven’t clearly stepped over a line, but neither do they seem to be doing well spiritually. Sometimes, the person doesn’t even know themselves. Often, people in this state will call themselves Christians, even after they seem to have long since abandoned God. How does this happen? Can it happen to us? Would we notice if it did? There is a large piece of ground between heaven and hell. “Grey Area” is a dry and trackless wasteland, without signposts, landmarks, or boundary lines. It is very difficult to know where you are and whose side you are on. It is not like walking off a cliff and falling into sin (like most people fear, and like our first case, above). It is like wandering without any sense of direction. You can walk right into sin, and not even know it. By the time you recognize a landmark, you may find that you are a hundred miles inside the enemy camp. By choosing to live in Grey Area, you are choosing to live without the knowledge of right and wrong. It may seem like freedom, but you’ve sacrificed knowledge. We often like to think that God doesn’t know where the line is either, so it’s safe to be out there. But if we don’t know where we are until we finally see a landmark, whose landmark do you think we will see? It’s the temptation that Christian faced in “Pilgrim’s Progress” when he saw a green path that ran “parallel” to the road. He didn’t know the path soon disappeared and left him without direction. Grey Area doesn’t make you right, it makes you lost. Many of us want to live in Grey Area, for we do not like the idea that God will judge us for our actions. We feel we are safe out there, because we cannot fall into sin. There are no cliffs; there is no danger. We are outside the clear voice of God, and outside the reach of Satan. It’s a safe middle-of-the-road. But friends, if we are outside the voice of God, how will we hear when He calls His children home? Do you know for sure that how you are living is right? “Grant me, O Lord, the grace to know what should be known, to praise what is most pleasing to You, to esteem that which appears most precious to You, and to abhor what is unclean in Your sight.” — Thomas a Kempis (Imitation of Christ, p. 236) “Let a man but have so much piety as to intend to please God in all the actions of his life, as the happiest and best thing in the world.” — William Law (A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life, Chapter 2) Important Note: *There is a difference between observing others in a “grey area,” and choosing to be there personally. I strongly encourage you to personally stay out of grey areas. Choose to live the way you know for sure is right. If you don’t know for sure, stay clear away from it! On the other hand, I encourage you to have grace with others you observe. Just because you don’t know if they are right doesn’t mean they don’t know. Don’t announce that they are going to hell. We are to hold each other accountable and spur one another on in the faith. Ask if they know for sure what they are doing is right. Point them to God’s Word as the boundaries and signposts for our lives. Exhort them to a life that abandons grey area in favor of right living. All of us, in any spiritual state, need to hear that exhortation.
