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Give
Me Liberty! |
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| Benjamin Franklin understood liberty as “the right to do what is right.” As Chuck Colson has written, “Our Founders tied freedom, the highest political goal, to moral truth.” As believers in Yeshua, we have been set free from the bondages of sin, condemnation, and religious legalism. How then, are we to use our liberty in Messiah to enjoy ‘the right to do what is right?’ By liberty, we do not mean, we are free to sin without feeling guilty. Nor do we mean that we are free to do whatever we want without thinking about others, or even God. Sin is both loveless toward man, and lawlessness toward GodBy liberty, what we do mean is that we can enjoy “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” by applying three principles found in 1 Corinthians 8-10. Though these principles may appear to limit our liberty, they in fact help us to appreciate the importance of our “faith working through love”. (See also Paul’s application of these in 1 Cor. 11). | ||
Love is Selfless 1. We are free to do what we want as long as it does not stumble a weak believer (see 1 Cor. 8). By ‘weak believer’ we don’t mean a ‘Pharisee’ who thinks he is strong because of his self imposed limitations, but rather a believer that has not yet come to realize that “the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 14:17). We are not to use our liberty to eat or drink “whatever we want”, we must remember that a weak believer might be stumbled into sin over it- for Messiah died for this person, too. This was true for meat offered to idols, and it applies to eating ham or kosher foods today. Whether it be drinking alcohol, eating certain foods, etc., we are to do nothing that will stumble another believer into sin, or lure them back into a sinful lifestyle. Paul concludes that he would never eat meat again if it would ruin another believer (1 Cor. 8:13). The motivation is not to ‘impress God’ by what we do or do not eat. The motivation is love. So let us do nothing in our liberty to stumble a weaker believer. You who are mature, use your liberty to edify even the least of the brethren. Look for opportunities to build up and encourage the brethren, especially those that are weakened or easily stumbled. Love Limits Liberty 2. We are free to do what we want as long as it does not hinder the Good News from a non-believer (1 Cor. 9). Though Paul had the right to be paid for his ministry, he chose not to exercise this right, or liberty, so as not give any hindrance to the Good News (9:1-18). In fact, though he was free from all men, he actually limited his liberty by acting in accordance with the Jewish community he was attempting to reach (9:19-28). Whatever community he was in, love limited his liberty, so that nothing would hinder or distract from reaching out with the Good News. So let us do nothing in our liberty to hinder the communication of the Good News to a non-believer. To the mature I usually put it this way: use your liberty to evangelize the lost. Look for opportunities to reach out with message of love and salvation in Yeshua to whoever the Lord brings your way. A Love that Honors 3. We are free to do what we want as long as it does not dishonor the Lord (1 Cor. 10). My people thought we were so secure in our calling as Israel that we felt we could arrogantly sin in the wilderness (10:1-5), and God would have to bless us anyway. We were wrong. Dead wrong (10:5-14). So let us do nothing in our liberty that would bring dishonor to the name of Yeshua, that is, “unless we think we are stronger than the Lord” (10:22). If you’re mature, use your liberty to exalt the Lord, and look for opportunities to praise Him, and to delight Him. It may be by not laughing at dirty jokes, or by caring about a hurting soul, or by living out His eternal values while we live in “the real world.” Our liberty in Messiah is given to us for the benefit of others. So remember the words of Paul, “by laboring you ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Yeshua, how He said, It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). Have a happy July 4th, and may we use our liberty to bless God even as we hope and pray, “God bless America.” Y |
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