CHRISTIAN LIBERTY AS PART OF WHAT SHOULD BE A NORMAL CHRISTIAN LIFE - A STUDY ON ROMANS 14 PART 11 OF 11

Righteous Living Christian Church Indianapolis (Irvington)

 

Thank you very much to all of you who have followed this series. Hopefully it has given you things to think about. And PLEASE let me know your thoughts in a comment.

Allow me to debrief in this blog in three parts. 

1. A return to context, particularly what follows Romans 14.
2. How does Christian Liberty fit in with Christian life as a whole?
3. What is the point of Romans 14 and Christian Liberty?

You ready? I am.

CONTEXT

Chapter 14 ends with a statement that what isn't of faith is sin. It goes right into Chapter 15 (remember there are no chapter and verse divisions in the original, and that they're added for reference), which states we ought to bear with the scruples of the weak and please others, not ourselves, according to Christ's example and be granted one mind with each other so as one we can praise and glorify God. Romans 15:7 repeats the theme of Romans 14:1, stating, "Receive one another as Christ as received you."

CHRISTIAN LIFE

Is Christian Liberty something that stands by itself? Let me give a list of important aspects of our everyday Christian life, and see if it fits.

Bible reading/study? Actually, it does. Each one reading Scripture comes with presuppositions, biases, opinions, traditions, knowledge (and lack thereof), and life experiences. Will they all be the same? Nope. Should they be? Only if God made us all identical. In other words, Nope. Thus, Christian Liberty is not only a part of group Bible studies but enables us to challenge our thoughts and grow as we listen to each other as equals.

Prayer? This one is tougher because prayer usually is between one and God, as well as agreeing with each other in prayer. If you want to say it doesn't fit here, I'll permit that. On the other hand, when we pray about struggles with other believers or learning to love them more, I believe there is a connection.

Fellowship? Does this question need to be asked? Clearly, Christian Liberty is a part of fellowship with fellow believers, especially when seen as a manifestation of loving one another.

Evangelism? I personally believe that Christian Liberty is designed for evangelism no less than for fellowship. Why? Because we have the freedom to go where God calls us. I know some friends who were in a Christian band. They arrived at the church they thought they were booked at and found an empty parking lot. They called their contact, and found out they were booked at a bar. Would your band play at a bar? Well, this one told the owner they sang Christian songs, shared between songs, and gave an altar call. The bar owner shrugged and said he needed a band. To make a long story short, a half dozen came to the band's church the next morning, got saved, and became active church members. This band exercised Christian Liberty by following Jesus into that bar. 

Righteousness/Holiness? A person acting in Christian liberty properly will be living righteously and holy; he/she won't be using it as a license to sin. However, do we agree what holiness/righteousness looks like? Uh, what about us all looking at things differently? Christian liberty discourages us from judging others when their view of holiness and ours differs.

WHAT IS THE POINT?

One weakness of the church (and human nature) is that we expect others to conform to our standards. Romans 14, as the rest of Scripture, teaches we should instead focus on others, letting them be themselves and be more concerned about us offending them than them offending us.

Okay. Series done. Your comments?