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.
Faith Musings 