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Facebook: Faith or Folly?. 1 Peter 2:9-12. FAITH Matthew 5:13-16 Spread gospel (Acts 8:4) Scriptures Songs/comments Link Bible sites Study groups Teach the lost. FOLLY Proverbs 15:21 Dangers… (Prov 12:23; 13:16) Pride, arrogance Anger, hate
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Facebook: Faith or Folly? 1 Peter 2:9-12
FAITH Matthew 5:13-16 • Spread gospel (Acts 8:4) • Scriptures • Songs/comments • Link Bible sites • Study groups • Teach the lost • FOLLY Proverbs 15:21 • Dangers… (Prov 12:23; 13:16) • Pride, arrogance • Anger, hate • Gossip, backbiting • Profanity • Immodesty
False Sense of Freedom from Accountability Rom 14:12 • Just “keeping it real” • Just “being myself” (and that’s “always a good thing”!) • Only if the heart is right, Psa 19:14; Matt 12:34-35 • Idle words are not innocent, Matt 12:36-37
An Apparent Removal of Moral Restraint, 2 Tim 2:22 • Viewed as freedom from “bondage” of moral restraints • Disrespect for God’s law, Prov 29:18 • FB shows removal of moral restraint: • Photos of immodesty and provocative poses, 1 Tim 2:9-10; 1 Jno 2:15 • Deny worldly lusts, Titus 2:12 • Pattern of good works, not moral abandonment, Titus 2:6-8
An Apparent Removal of Moral Restraint, 2 Tim 2:22 • Zero tolerance for sinful material on your “wall” • No exceptions • Delete offensive postings • “Defriend” those who refuse to be decent • Guard your influence, 1 Cor 15:33; Titus 2:6-8; 1 Peter 2:11-12
Holds up Privacy to Public Display • Commercial punch line: “I’ve got to go embarrass myself on Facebook”! • Feeds on impulse: Post before you think, Prov 14:29 • Decency and decorum replaced with rudeness • Private and even shameful things are publicly exposed, Eph 5:12 • Better to spare your words, Prov 17:27-28; 25:9-10
Venue for Uncontrolled Tongues, Jas 3:5 • All kinds of hurtful words that disrupt, divide, destroy, Prov 12:18 • Gossip, backbiting, spreading of rumors, evil suspicions, Prov 11:13; 26:20 (1 Tim 6:4) • Profanity, Eph 4:29
Mindless Chatter…and Worse Prov 13:3; 18:21 • Public consumption (consequences) • Ridicule…boastful and unloving • Profanity…coarse jesting and vulgarity (Eph 4:29, 5:4) • Rumors and gossip…tale bearing (leads to bitterness and malice), Eph 4:31-32
Can Consume Your Time Eph 5:16 • A third of online time in the U.S. is spent social networking, blogs, etc. • More and more “networking” but less and less productivity! (Jno 9:4) • Remember the importance of face to face contact, Prov 27:17
Easy to have Fellowship with those in Sin & Error, Eph 5:11 • Christians sin by socializing with unrepentant brethren who have been disciplined by the church, 1 Cor 5:4-5, 11-13; 2 Ths 3:6, 14-15 • No encouraging of error, 2 Jno 10-11 • Mark false, divisive men, Rom 16:17 • How can we identify false teachers but then be “friends” with them on Facebook?
A Word to Parents, Eph 6:4 • Know what your child is posting and reading on Facebook • Don’t be naïve; get the facts • Forbid indiscriminate “friending”; monitor their contacts • Such knowledge is vital to training our children in the way they should go, Prov 22:6