As followers of Christ, we have amazing freedom. That is a truth that echoes through the New Testament.

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

John 8:21-32 ESV

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1 ESV

Galatians 5:1 ESV

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

2 Corinthians 3:17 ESV

We have been freed from sin, from lies, from the law.

We know that our freedom is not without limits. Paul spends much of the 6th chapter of Romans explaining that our liberty is not a license to do as we wish in regard to sin.

But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.

Romans 6:17-18 ESV

Peter makes the same point:

Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.

1 Peter 2:16 ESV

This is a truth that most of us accept without difficulty. We struggle with sin at times, but we know that part of our response to God’s gift of freedom and life is supposed to be turning away from our sin, avoiding wrong-doing.

The question follows: what about things that aren’t sin? Are there limits to our freedom when sin is not involved?

No, and yes.

If what I wish to do is not sin, I am free to do it. However, there are times when I can and should limit my own freedom for the benefit of fellow Christians or for the benefit of unbelievers.

Paul uses the example of eating meat offered to idols to make this point regarding other believers. That example doesn’t make much sense to us today, with meat freely available in supermarkets and few worship practices that involve slaughtering animals. In Paul’s day, sacrificing animals was a common act of worship, not only in Judaism but also in the worship of various idols. Some of the meat from those sacrifices was then made available for people to eat.

Paul makes the point that if the believer’s intent in eating the meat is just to eat the meat and his or her attitude is one of thankfulness to God, there is no sin. There’s nothing wrong with the act of eating the meat itself. Not everyone could separate that act from their experiences of previous idol worship, however. 

Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will he not be encouraged, if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols? And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.

1 Corinthians 8:8-13 ESV

Paul says very bluntly that eating the meat in front of someone whose faith would be weakened by seeing it is wrong, is sin, even though eating the meat isn’t sin in and of itself.

If what we are doing may weaken the faith of another, we should limit our freedom and refrain from doing it, even if the thing itself is not wrong.

Paul also talks about limiting our freedom in relation to the conduct of gatherings of believers, saying that we should not simply say and do as we wish in our worship of God, but should consider the impact on other believers and on non-believers who might come into our gatherings. 

If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds? But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you.

1 Corinthians 14:23-25 ESV

Paul speaks most about the impact of speaking in tongues because it is something that benefits the person doing the speaking and not those who don’t understand what is said. However, he also talks about the gathering time having order and purpose in general, so that it is to the benefit of all.

Clearly, nothing that Paul speaks of refraining from in 1 Corinthians 14 is a sin. It’s all about worshipping God using the spiritual gifts we’ve been given. At the same time, we must not abuse the freedom we have to the detriment of either our fellow believers or those who we should be seeking to lead to Christ.

Paul stated the general principle in regard to unbelievers quite clearly:

 For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them.

1 Corinthians 9:19 ESV

As we revel in the freedom that we have in God, we also need to consider all of our actions. How do the things that we do each day impact those around us? Are we strengthening other believers? Are we demonstrating the character of God to everyone? Are we, instead, taking actions that lead non-believers to think that we don’t care about them?

Like Paul we must consider our actions in light of their impact on those around us. Our freedom is worth nothing next to the spiritual well-being of those around us.

Photo by Hanxiao on Unsplash

In the course of my life, I have been privileged to visit a few temples, most of them Buddhist, both those now in use and those that are now tourist sites. I’ve explored Borobudur in Central Java, seen the Emerald Buddha and the Reclining Buddha among others in Thailand. I’ve watched the monks and other worshippers in a temple in Xining. I’ve stood in the Pantheon in Rome and imagined what it was like when still dedicated to the Roman gods. I’ve seen the remains of other temples: in the museum in Cairo, in the Louvre, in the British Museum.

One thing that strikes me about temples is that you can’t miss who or what they’re dedicated to. There’s just no question. The decor, the behavior of the worshipers, and often the architecture itself makes it clear.

This is also true also of the Jewish temples, beginning with the tabernacle. My current Old Testament reading is in Ezekiel where he is being shown the temple. Those chapters remind me of the meticulous (and long) instructions God gives Moses for the tabernacle. Everything about the tabernacle is laid out clearly. Every bit of the design has purpose, all of it eventually centered on the Holy of Holies.

As Christians, we don’t build temples. We build gathering places. There’s a reason for that. We are told quite clearly that we ourselves are the temples.

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.

1 Corinthians 3:16-17 ESV

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ESV

We ourselves are the temples of God, of the Holy Spirit? What does that mean for us?

The first passage is found in the midst of Paul calling out the Corinthians for claiming to follow Apollos or Paul instead of focusing on following Christ himself. Paul describes his work and that of Apollos as working to build the believers into buildings that will stand the test of fire. The implication here is that we are being formed into worthy temples of God.

The second passage comes after an extended diatribe against sexual immorality. Paul’s point here is pretty clearly: “Your body is a temple dedicated to the Holy Spirit. Don’t sin with it.”

A central concept underlying both of these points is this: if we are a temple of God, people should be able to tell. We must ensure that our bodies, and our entire selves, reflect the entity to whom we are dedicated. Our actions, our words, and everything else about us should represent the God we claim to serve and worship.

Just as any casual tourist can easily see that Borobudur was dedicated to Buddha and his teachings, those who interact with us should see who we belong to.

That goes beyond each of us as individuals as well, for it is not just each separate Christ-follower who is a temple.

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

Ephesians 2:19-22 ESV

Therefore, we must work, both within our own selves and as a body of believers, to ensure that we are growing into worthy temples who reflect God.

Photo by Leo Chandra on Unsplash