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Striving for Balance “23: Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone” (Matt. 23). Balance is a little hard to always pin down.
Striving for Balance Balance involved the whole counsel: “20: And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house…. 26: Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. 27: For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God” (Acts 20).
Striving for Balance Total harmony of scripture: “We are not to expect, in every place, the whole circle of Christian truth to be fully stated, and that no conclusion may be drawn from the absence of a doctrine from one passage which is clearly stated in others” (R. C. Trench, 17f.).
Striving for Balance Harmony of scripture: Galatians 1: 10 – I Corinthians 9: 22. Jude 3, Phili. 1: 17 – 2 Timothy 2: 24, 25. Ephesians 2: 8, 9 – James 2: 14-19. Titus 2: 4, 5 – Proverbs 31: 10-31.
Striving for Balance Prioritizing: Matthew 6: 33. Matthew 22: 37-40. Galatians 5: 6.
Striving for Balance Providing for a living: I Timothy 5: 8 – Ephesians 4: 28. 1. I Corinthians 6: 10.
Striving for Balance Childrearing: Ephesians 6: 4
Striving for Balance Knowledge and zeal: Romans 10: 1-3.
Striving for Balance Conclusion: “23: Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone” (Matt. 22).
Striving for Balance Balance is not elimination: Sadness/happiness. Sin/cleansed. Grief/good days.
Striving for Balance The goal: Have a view to the “whole counsel of God” and keep everything in its place. Never forget the foundational truths and impetus. When the scales become imbalanced, correct them.