Personal Liberty
I Corinthians 8:6–13
“…yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live. But not everyone possesses this knowledge. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat sacrificial food they think of it as having been sacrificed to a god, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled. But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do. Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak. For if someone with a weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge, eating in an idol’s temple, won’t that person be emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols? So this weak brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. When you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.”
As Christians, we are free in Christ—free to engage in activities and customs not explicitly forbidden by God. Yet, the Holy Spirit may prompt us to refrain from some of these no matter how mild or allowable. Keith Krell of Bible.org writes then, “the principle of love must take precedence over the principle of liberty.” A mature Christian will heed the simple rules or common safeguards to keep from causing a weaker believer to stumble. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Romans about this as well, “accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand (Rom 14:1–4).” I am a firm believer in the libertarian essence of Christ’s teachings, of His grace granting me emancipation from many that holds a person captive in slavery, the chains of sin and the stranglehold of meaninglessness and futility. Catholic philosopher GK Chesterton said, “Christianity never promised that it would impose universal peace. It had a great deal too much respect for personal liberty.” And yet we must exercise discretion that is the wise thing to do. Seek discernment and good judgement from the Holy Spirit, LORD give is us Your Wisdom, we seek Your face, mould us into Your perfect likeness in Christ. And help us as “we admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, and be patient with everyone (I Thess 5:14)”, in Jesus Christ’s powerful name, to the only wise God (Jude 1:25, Rom 16:27) be glory forever. Amen!
“…yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live. But not everyone possesses this knowledge. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat sacrificial food they think of it as having been sacrificed to a god, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled. But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do. Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak. For if someone with a weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge, eating in an idol’s temple, won’t that person be emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols? So this weak brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. When you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.”
As Christians, we are free in Christ—free to engage in activities and customs not explicitly forbidden by God. Yet, the Holy Spirit may prompt us to refrain from some of these no matter how mild or allowable. Keith Krell of Bible.org writes then, “the principle of love must take precedence over the principle of liberty.” A mature Christian will heed the simple rules or common safeguards to keep from causing a weaker believer to stumble. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Romans about this as well, “accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand (Rom 14:1–4).” I am a firm believer in the libertarian essence of Christ’s teachings, of His grace granting me emancipation from many that holds a person captive in slavery, the chains of sin and the stranglehold of meaninglessness and futility. Catholic philosopher GK Chesterton said, “Christianity never promised that it would impose universal peace. It had a great deal too much respect for personal liberty.” And yet we must exercise discretion that is the wise thing to do. Seek discernment and good judgement from the Holy Spirit, LORD give is us Your Wisdom, we seek Your face, mould us into Your perfect likeness in Christ. And help us as “we admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, and be patient with everyone (I Thess 5:14)”, in Jesus Christ’s powerful name, to the only wise God (Jude 1:25, Rom 16:27) be glory forever. Amen!
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