Boundaries are very effective in helping Christians live a Godly life beyond reproach. Every Christian who desires to attain a good testimony will do well to establish good boundaries and stick to them.
Boundaries are necessary to living on purpose and living in the fear of the Lord. As mentioned in an earlier article, failure to establish Biblical boundaries will leave us exposed to danger and possible sin.
Certain Godly people in the Bible, failing to adhere to God's boundaries as written in His Word, committed sin that had irreparable damage:
- David committed adultery and murder, killing the husband of the woman he lay with;
- Samson fell for women he shouldn't have loved, and ended up losing his eyes and his life;
- Solomon, acting unwisely, married women from different nations and ended up losing his focus on God and committed idolatry with false gods.
These tragic events could've been prevented had these people established Godly boundaries. They failed to build strong defenses for themselves, and ended up defeated at some point in their lives.
In this article, we'll talk about erecting those defenses. We'll look at some of the most important elements to establishing boundaries.
Boundaries as an attack
They say "offense is the best defense." When we set up Godly boundaries, we are not just setting up defenses for ourselves -- we're actually setting up a plan of attack against the things that might tempt us or cause us to fall.
And just like how strategists plan their course of attack, we'll take a look at some things necessary to establishing boundaries.
Here they are:
1) Knowing the enemy
First, we take a look at the reason why we should set boundaries up:
Sin.
The Bible tells us that the Devil is constantly on the move, looking for someone to devour. 1 John 5:18 tells us that as God's people born of the Spirit, the Devil cannot touch us. We, however, experience such a freedom when we keep ourselves away from sin:
"We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him."
The Devil, then, will try to tempt us to sinning. That's what he does. Boundaries keep us away from danger and temptation, and help us avoid sinning.
2) Knowing our weaknesses
By saying "weaknesses," I mean "wrong desires." When we desire something that is not of God, we are very, very susceptible and vulnerable to temptation and, of course, to sin.
We need to be honest with ourselves with what we truly desire, because any wrong desire will lead to a wrong decision. James 1:13-15 warns us,
"Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death."
The moment we recognize and admit our wrong desires, and confess them unto God, we will be able to recognize the chinks and flaws in our armor and know what boundaries to erect.
The Bible gives us boundaries. While there are general boundaries that apply to all people (such as love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength -- which actually implies that we won't use any of that to commit sin), there are some boundaries that are specific for each person as well.
3) Knowing (and using) the resources available to us
Now that we've identified the enemy and also know the areas of our hearts and minds that we need to defend, we must see the resources that are available to us, as well as the good things that await us, to help us establish strong boundaries.
- First, we have the Word of God with us to instruct us and guide us how to live our lives the way God wants us to: free, fruitful, glorifying to Him, and devoid of sin.
- Second, we have the most powerful Being in the universe in us: the Holy Spirit. This same Spirit created everything that was created, and raised Christ from the dead. If He is able to do all that, what can He not do to and for us?
- Third, we have the promises of God that assure us of a heavenly reward if we overcome.
- Fourth, we have earthly rewards: the benefits we get on earth while we stick to our boundaries. Think: happy marriages, safe children, secure finances, healthy engagements, and so on.
- Fifth, a clean conscience with no stain of sin. This alone makes boundaries worth establishing.
