Freedoms and Liberties of being a Christian

What are the Freedoms that we enjoy as Christians?

1 Corinthians 10:23-24
"'All things are lawful,' but not all things are helpful. 'All things are lawful,' but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor."

Christ died and rose again to set us free from the bondage of sin and the penalty of the Law. In this verse we see because of Christ's death and resurrection "all things are lawful". But we also see that "not all things are helpful' and 'not all things build up'.
Paul encourages us to only seek the good of our neighbor! What is in their best interest!

Romans 14:13
"Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.

Romans 14:20
"Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble."

Here again Paul tells us to consider our brothers first, and not to do anything that would cause them to stumble!

So right about now you may be thinking, "Dave you didn't answer the question that you asked above."
Well, yes and no. "Everything is Lawful." But what about something that is explicitly spelled out to be sin by Scripture? No that is not Lawful...we must keep 1 Corinthians 10 and Romans 14 in their original contexts! Paul is talking to 2 groups of believers who are divided on an issue. Half of each group is holding to the Old Testament Laws (which Christ died to free us from, however they are still there for our protection), and the other half is under the Grace of Christ on these issues...the main issue is eating meat (especially meat sacrificed to idols).

So a non-exhaustive list of freedoms:
1. Tattoos
2. Smoking
3. Drinking Alcohol
4. Dancing
5. Watching Movies (except pornography --- I don't know of any male that can avoid lust)
6. Listening to Music
7. Playing Video Games
8. Reading non-Christian books (i.e. The Davinci Code, Sci-Fi Novels, Murder Mysteries ect..)
9. Birth Control
10. Many, Many more things...

So, I have these freedoms through Christ, but how and when can I use them, if I am to always keep my brothers interests first?

2 Timothy 2:23-26
"Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will."

Here Paul is telling Young Timothy to avoid foolish and ignorant controversies! They breed quarrels. And we as the Lord's servants must not be quarrelsome!
We can exercise our freedom's when they will not cause quarrels...meaning, if you know that someone doesn't agree with drinking (even though you are not going to get drunk), we should be mindful of them and avoid drinking in their presence. We must protect the Unity of the Body before our own personal preferences!

Romans 14:1-4
"As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand."

"Weak in faith" does not mean that a person who doesn't agree with listening to Rock and Roll is a baby Christian or not Strong in their personal walk with Christ. It means that on this issue they do not have the faith that this issue is not sin, they have strong convictions given to them by God to protect them from sin in this area.
What that all means is that, if you were listening to a song that used explicit foul language and the whole song was about killing, you might be completely fine. Not tempted to sin in any way at all. Not tempted to swear, or hate, or kill anyone. However, if your friend walked into your house and heard that music they might be tempted to sin in one way or another. For them this would then be sin, on two counts:
1. They cannot listen to this song out of Faith.
Romans 14:23
"But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin."
Along with that, they may sin by acting upon something from that song...Hating another person or swearing.
2. It would be sin on your part for putting a stumbling stone in front of your brother.

So,
1. I have freedoms because of what Christ did through His death and resurrection!
2. I must not abuse those freedoms by causing my brother to stumble!
3. I must always keep fellow Christians in mind when exercising my freedoms!

What happens when....
1. I do cause a brother to stumble?
2. A conflict over a freedom arises?
3. Not everything is helpful or builds up, Living to the Highest Standard.

These I will talk about next week.

In Christ,

David