(Christian Living Sermon) Dumas 89, Hillside 3/97
Filename: Honor and Inhibition

THE VALUES OF HONOR AND INHIBITION

TEXT:Romans 12:17 "Render to no man evil for evil. Take thought for things honorable in the sight of all men."

INTRODUCTION-- Several types of motivation combine to keep us faithful to God, such as love (of God), fear (of God), or hope (in God). But what role can be played by such things as Honor, and Inhibition?

1. The definition of Honor we should want to apply to ourselves in this lesson is that which can be described as "self-esteem." (The Dictionary defines Honor as.....a. A code of integrity, dignity, and pride, chiefly among men, that was maintained in some societies, as in feudal Europe, by force of arms. b. Principled uprightness of character; personal integrity. c. A woman's chastity or reputation for chastity.)
   
   1. Great heroes of history resisted the corruption of their honor.
      
      1. The patriots who could not be tempted to give away any vital information, when captured, giving only "name, rank, and serial number."
         
      2. The honest, incorruptible, cop who cannot be bribed ("Untouchables").
         
   2. Even fictional heroes can be admired.
      
      1. My favorite dramatic hero, Cyrano de Bergerac, resisted all attempts to compromise his integrity (his famous soliloquy, "no thank you..." makes this point in the play. He keeps his plume white till the end.)
         
      2. When we have no heroes, we "invent" them.

2. In close kinship to honor is Inhibition, or inward restraint. (The Dictionary defines Inhibition as....a conscious or unconscious restraint of a behavioral process, a desire, or an impulse.)
   
   1. The unrestrained moral atmosphere of our times works hard to destroy such restraints built in us by honor.
      
   2. The destruction of inhibition can occur from forces both internal and external.

LESSON--

1. Honorable conduct has many benefits.
   
   1. Honor helps in avoiding the temptations to do evil things. In 2 Corinthians 13:7 Paul admonished, "Now we pray to God that ye do no evil; not that we may appear approved, but that ye may do that which is honorable, though we be as reprobate."
      
      1. Joseph, while in Egypt, kept such honor, in spite of the many indignities he had to suffer, as a result of the sin of his brothers.
         
      2. Paul commends the same degree of self-esteem. 1 Thessalonians 4:1-6 "Finally then, brethren, we beseech and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that, as ye received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, even as ye do walk, --that ye abound more and more. 2 For ye know what charge we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye abstain from fornication; 4 that each one of you know how to possess himself of his own vessel in sanctification and honor, 5 not in the passion of lust, even as the Gentiles who know not God; 6 that no man transgress, and wrong his brother in the matter: because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as also we forewarned you and testified."
         
   2. Honor avoids blame in matters of integrity.
      
      1. Paul "ordered" an arrangement based on honor. 1 Corinthians 16:1-4 "Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I gave order to the churches of Galatia, so also do ye. 2 Upon the first day of the week let each one of you lay by him in store, as he may prosper, that no collections be made when I come. 3 And when I arrive, whomsoever ye shall approve, them will I send with letters to carry your bounty unto Jerusalem: 4 and if it be meet for me to go also, they shall go with me."
         
      2. He backs his "order" with reason. 2 Corinthians 8:16-21 "But thanks be to God, who putteth the same earnest care for you into the heart of Titus. 17 For he accepted indeed our exhortation; but being himself very earnest, he went forth unto you of his own accord. 18 And we have sent together with him the brother whose praise in the gospel is spread through all the churches; 19 and not only so, but who was also appointed by the churches to travel with us in the matter of this grace, which is ministered by us to the glory of the Lord, and to show our readiness: 20 Avoiding this, that any man should blame us in the matter of this bounty which is ministered by us: 21 for we take thought for things honorable, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men."
         
   3. Honor prepares Christians for serving God. 2 Timothy 2:20-21 "Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some unto honor, and some unto dishonor. 21 If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, meet for the master's use, prepared unto every good work."

2. Inhibition is the result of disciplining ourselves in Honor.
   
   1. Sometimes, however, we can allow our inhibitions to be relaxed by external influences, such as alcohol or drugs.
      
      1. Noah, the righteous man who saved his family from the destruction of the great flood, later allowed his drunkenness to overcome his inhibited modesty. Genesis 9:20-23 "And Noah began to be a husbandman, and planted a vineyard: 21 and he drank of the wine, and was drunken. And he was uncovered within his tent. 22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without. 23 And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father. And their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness."
         
      2. The same problem caused Lot to commit incest. Genesis 19:29-32 "And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the Plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in which Lot dwelt. 30 And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters. 31 And the first-born said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth: 32 come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father."
         
      3. Priests failed to uphold their integrity by this same means. Isaiah 28:7 "And even these reel with wine, and stagger with strong drink; the priest and the prophet reel with strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they stagger with strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment."
         
      4. In the beginning of the priesthood, Aaron was warned against this effect. Leviticus 10:8-10 "And Jehovah spake unto Aaron, saying, 9 Drink no wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tent of meeting, that ye die not: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations: 10 and that ye may make a distinction between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean;"
         
   2. At other times, we allow our inhibitions to be set aside through strong desire.
      
      1. David let his desire subdue his inhibition. 2 Samuel 11:2-5 "And it came to pass at eventide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. 3 And David send and inquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bath-sheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? 4 And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her (for she was purified from her uncleanness); and she returned unto her house. 5 And the woman conceived; and she sent and told David, and said, I am with child."
         
      2. To cover up his sin, David eventually had her husband killed.
         
   3. Good inhibitions planted in us from our sense of honor must be kept.
      
      1. The Law of God is at the root of inhibition. Proverbs 29:18 "Where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint; But he that keepeth the law, happy is he."
         
      2. Self-discipline for a righteous goal is good.
         
         1. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 "Know ye not that they that run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? Even so run; that ye may attain. 25 And every man that striveth in the games exerciseth self-control in all things. Now they do it to receive a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. 26 I therefore so run, as not uncertainly; so fight I, as not beating the air: 27 but I buffet my body, and bring it into bondage: lest by any means, after that I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected."
            
         2. 1 John 5:18 "We know that whosoever is begotten of God sinneth not; but he that was begotten of God keepeth himself, and the evil one toucheth him not."
            
      3. Inhibitions are our protection. Proverbs 25:28 "He whose spirit is without restraint Is like a city that is broken down and without walls."

APPLICATION-- Honor and inhibition are treated by society today as archaic and obsolete. Yet, in Christ, they are the Christian's most precious spiritual possession, and can be our best influence on society. 1 Peter 2:11-12 "Beloved, I beseech you as sojourners and pilgrims, to abstain from fleshly lust, which war against the soul; 12 having your behavior seemly among the Gentiles; that, wherein they speak against you as evil-doers, they may by your good works, which they behold, glorify God in the day of visitation."