Christian Liberty
June 30, 2011
Dear Friends,
One day a local policeman received a call that an old woman had complained of a man indecently exposing himself. When he arrived at the woman’s home, he was ushered into her bedroom and shown a window that looked out on a neighbor’s house. As the policeman looked out the window, he could look into the neighbor’s bathroom window where a man was shaving. The policeman said, “I’m sorry, but I can’t do anything about this. You can only see your neighbor from the shoulders up.” The exasperated woman said, “You have to stand on this box to get a much better view.”
This funny story illustrates a more serious point. In Paul’s days there was a group of men who, like this old woman, were constantly looking for sin where none existed. They were the Judaizers. The Judaizers weren’t known for their preaching activities. They weren’t famous for their working with the poor and helping those in need. The Judaizers were known for their misguided devotion to the Law of Moses and for always saying that everything was sinful. Paul, in his letter to Titus, mocks these men for their constantly pointing out that everything is sinful when he says,
To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure.(Titus 1:15 NIV)
These men were not contented just to hold themselves to their manufactured standards of morality and conduct, they went to great lengths to hold others to those standards as well. Like the old lady in our introductory story, they spied on their neighbors including their great enemy, Paul the Apostle. Paul records in his letter to the legalistically enslaved ecclesias in the province of Galatia,
Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. This matter arose because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you. (Gal. 2:3-5 NIV)
I want you to notice carefully the correct response as taught by the Apostle Paul – “We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you.” Once you give in to these self-appointed “liberty spies”, you are enslaved by them. They won’t stop there and are, in fact, emboldened by their success at co-opting you to obey them. How serious is the ramifications of giving in to them? Paul hints at the danger when he continues “We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you.” By giving in, we are in serious danger of losing “the truth of the gospel.” We think we are only making a slight concession for the sake of peace, but we are laying the groundwork for the loss of the truth of the Gospel.
Conversely, we also need to be careful in our exercise of Christian liberty. If we go too far, we can wander into sin. The correct antidote to legalism is not worldliness, the correct countermeasure to legalism is moderation. Paul warns the Galatians of going too far when he says,
You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.(Gal. 5:13 NIV)
We don’t want to be a stumblingblock to the weak by our actions. We also don’t want to live on the edge of sinfulness to see how far we can go without crossing the line. The believer should try to find the balance of not creating sin where none exists or making too much of inconsequential things, but at the same time, not pushing the limits of expedient behavior. Everyone has to decide how they will conduct their lives. Some are going to make very cautious decisions on morality. If they freely make these choices, this is great for them. Others are going to choose less restrictive lifestyles which are equally acceptable. The deceitfulness of human nature is that lifestyle choices are a bit like driving styles. Anyone who drives faster than me is a “maniac” and anyone who drives slower than me is a “moron.” Likewise, anyone whose lifestyle is a little less restrictive than my own is “worldly” and anyone who is more restrictive than my own is a “legalist.” We need to avoid the trap of making ourselves the measure by which we esteem others.
Jesus lived a life that was deemed sinful by some because he attended feasts with sinful people and didn’t follow the tradition of the elders. He was spied upon by the religious police of his day. He never once gave into their foolish rules and regulations. Instead of simply telling people about morality, he lived morality in the purest form yet seen by men – even if it was not recognize but by a few. He lived and loved a full life even though he was only on earth a short time. His true followers will do their best to follow in his steps.
Have a great week,
Comments»
No comments yet.