Haiti Bible Institute, March 20, 2013 (Installment Eight)

Romans class from the teacher's perspective

This afternoon we have our second set of final exams. I appreciate the sounds of men reviewing the material at all hours of the day and night. Is it a twisted pleasure to be happy that they are sweating the final exam?

The teaching of Romans 14 was new to some of the men. Not every matter is addressed with direct commands. My illustration was to seek a biblical answer to the question Is it wrong to eat a voodoo chicken?

When you look at all the things that bother the conscience of believers, you might find yourself wishing the Bible were larger and arranged by topic. You could just look up “lottery” or “beer” in the Bible Yellow Pages and get a quick, easy command to obey. But God has done much better than giving us commands. He has changed the thoughts of our hearts and given us the guiding motivation for holy living: Love. Love is a cursed motivation if you are a legalist, because you are forced by it to consider others in any given situation. You are forced to be your brother’s keeper rather than live by a list. So the answer to the voodoo chicken question was It depends...

My girls bought some Beanie Babies and Hot Wheels for the married students to take home to their children. I decided to wait until last night to give them away because I knew the guys would start thinking about their families even more toward the end of the week. I am hoping this will make them excited to get home and pass the gifts on to their little ones.

This will be the last update from Haiti. My ride to the airport is schedule to show up tomorrow at 5 a.m. Central Time. I will happily leave the tropics for the snow if Sarah is there.