As we discover our freedom from sin and the law in the Gospel of grace, it is so wonderful that some describe it as being born again, again! I remember those days when the love of God rose up within me in such an overwhelming way. It almost seemed as if I'd never known Christ before, but I knew that wasn't true. I had known Him as my Savior who forgave me and saved me from the penalty of sin. I also knew Him as my Lord, the One to whom I told that I would do anything He wanted me to do. But now I know Him as my Life, the One who lives in me to love me and to live His own life through me. The pressure was finally off of me trying so hard to live the Christian life, and on Jesus. What freedom!
I had come out of such a legalistic mindset that this new freedom in knowing Christ as my Life was truly awesome. Now I understood what Paul meant when he wrote, "All things are lawful to me." (1 Corinthians 10:23) For example, I had made a vow to God that I would read my Bible at least 5 minutes a day many years prior. It was such a burden. When I understood that I was no longer under the law, God's nor my own self-imposed law, I let go of that vow with great freedom. My conscience which had been held captive to legalism was now being shaped by grace.
It wasn't long before I realized that I was freer in my conscience than some of my friends. At first, I wanted to try to convince all of my friends that they were freer than they knew. I was puzzled and sometimes I felt angry that they didn't "get it". My zeal outweighed my wisdom.
As I grew in my freedom in Christ, I began to understand that I was free to limit my freedom. This came not only from my experience but mainly from God's Word. It must be a really big deal to limit our freedom for the sake of loving another Christ follower because Romans 14 and part of 15 are dedicated to this topic as well as 1 Corinthians 8.
Those who don't have the same understanding of their full freedom in Christ are considered the weaker Christian. Those who do understand their freedom in Christ are called the strong Christian. (As a side note, when I was a legalistic Christian, I considered myself the strong Christian when I compared myself to those who did not live as strictly as me!)
The responsibility lies with the strong Christian to limit their freedom for the sake of love. The issue in the Corinthian church was about meat sacrificed to idols. The strong Christians would go down to the local idol temple and enjoy grilled steak. The weak Christians thought it sinful to do this. And for them it was. The Holy Spirit instructed the strong to show love by limiting their freedom around these weak Christians.
You will have to decide before God what your "meat sacrificed to idols" is for you and some of your Christ following friends. At the end of the day, love trumps our freedom. That is why we are free to limit our freedom in Christ.
Live Free In Christ,
Mark Maulding, President and Founder
www.GraceLifeInternational.com
All Content Copyright © 2013 Mark Maulding
