What About Your Personal Liberty?
Since creation's morning mankind has sought to exercise ultimate sovereignty over his world without restriction. We all know where that pursuit ended up for the first couple and how it has ultimately affected us today. For believers, this pursuit has not ended just because we are Christians. In fact, if we are not careful, self autonomy can still bring us a lot of confusion and chaos. We still suffer from a sin nature bent on satisfying self instead of God and living our lives without consideration of how our attitudes and decisions affect others. We often interpret the "curtailing" of our choices to a direct loss of happiness or joy in life. Actually, just the opposite ought to be true! Let me explain.
In I Corinthians 10, Paul introduces the church at Corinth to the subject of Christian liberty. You see the ancient Corinthian Christ followers were no different than we are today. Many of them were still young in their faith and has not yet been instructed in regard to controlling their choices, but more importantly, how those choices affected other believers around them. The issues for them centered on their past wicked lifestyles and how that past was presently impacting young believers. Many of the untaught Corinthian Christians had failed to see the connection between their behavior and subsequent personal influence. Therefore, Paul focuses his attention in this chapter on the principles for living out our personal liberty in Christ.
In 10:23, the apostle makes the following summary statement in his argument for Christian liberty:
All things are lawful, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful, but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.
Did you notice Paul's first statement that "all things are lawful?” Very interesting! Of course this does not mean there are no moral boundaries for us now that we are believers in Christ! This is also not a means of Paul telling us that we are living under some insufferable legal code for believers only! Paul is making a general statement that shows us that life can no longer be lived without due regard for how we impact those weaker than ourselves. Let me give an example.
Years ago, we were living in Newfoundland, Canada, starting a new church plant in the city where we lived. It was a difficult and lonely beginning to my ministry life. We lived there for nine years until we left a thriving church in good hands and moved on. During the first few years we discovered that there was simply not a whole lot to do during the long winter months, so I decided to introduce my wife to the game of hockey. There happened to be a semi-pro team in our town, and it made for a great outing on every other Saturday night to go to the local ice arena to see the team play. About three years after we had begun the church, one of our first believers asked to talk with me privately in my office one day after Sunday services, and I will never forget the conversation.
He said "Pastor, I notice that you and your wife go to the ice arena to watch hockey games on Saturday nights." I nodded in agreement. He said, "Pastor some of the people drink alcohol out of brown bags they sneek in, cheer like mad when a fight breaks out, and swear like sailors at the referees." Once again, I nodded in agreement. Then my young believer looked at me and said, "Pastor, it deeply offends me that my pastor goes to such places as this, and I want to ask you if you would stop going." I sat there for a minute to take in what I had just heard so I could answer in the best way possible for his good, and so I would be able to keep going to my hockey games! I said to him, "Tom, I don't go to the games to drink, enjoy fights, and swear at the refs. I go because it's the only bit of recreation I get, and we greatly enjoy the competition we watch on the ice."
It wasn't but just a few moments after I said this that I realized the issue was actually not my liberty to watch a harmless hockey game on Saturday nights. Rather, it was the tender and immature conscience of this young believer in Christ who could not reconcile my "liberty" with his own liberty. That was the day when my wife and I saw our last public hockey game during this period of our ministry lives there. I didn't like it, and I did miss our Saturday night dates at the arena, but in the end I knew that I had made the right decision for the time. My young believer friend grew and our church grew, and believe it or not, I grew as a result of making that decision.
Let me close by saying this. Nothing that I curtail or give up in terms of personal liberty for someone weaker is a bad decision! In fact, it's these kinds of decisions that demonstrate the superiority of love over my right to exercise personal liberty. These are decisions you will never regret!
In I Corinthians 10, Paul introduces the church at Corinth to the subject of Christian liberty. You see the ancient Corinthian Christ followers were no different than we are today. Many of them were still young in their faith and has not yet been instructed in regard to controlling their choices, but more importantly, how those choices affected other believers around them. The issues for them centered on their past wicked lifestyles and how that past was presently impacting young believers. Many of the untaught Corinthian Christians had failed to see the connection between their behavior and subsequent personal influence. Therefore, Paul focuses his attention in this chapter on the principles for living out our personal liberty in Christ.
In 10:23, the apostle makes the following summary statement in his argument for Christian liberty:
All things are lawful, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful, but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.
Did you notice Paul's first statement that "all things are lawful?” Very interesting! Of course this does not mean there are no moral boundaries for us now that we are believers in Christ! This is also not a means of Paul telling us that we are living under some insufferable legal code for believers only! Paul is making a general statement that shows us that life can no longer be lived without due regard for how we impact those weaker than ourselves. Let me give an example.
Years ago, we were living in Newfoundland, Canada, starting a new church plant in the city where we lived. It was a difficult and lonely beginning to my ministry life. We lived there for nine years until we left a thriving church in good hands and moved on. During the first few years we discovered that there was simply not a whole lot to do during the long winter months, so I decided to introduce my wife to the game of hockey. There happened to be a semi-pro team in our town, and it made for a great outing on every other Saturday night to go to the local ice arena to see the team play. About three years after we had begun the church, one of our first believers asked to talk with me privately in my office one day after Sunday services, and I will never forget the conversation.
He said "Pastor, I notice that you and your wife go to the ice arena to watch hockey games on Saturday nights." I nodded in agreement. He said, "Pastor some of the people drink alcohol out of brown bags they sneek in, cheer like mad when a fight breaks out, and swear like sailors at the referees." Once again, I nodded in agreement. Then my young believer looked at me and said, "Pastor, it deeply offends me that my pastor goes to such places as this, and I want to ask you if you would stop going." I sat there for a minute to take in what I had just heard so I could answer in the best way possible for his good, and so I would be able to keep going to my hockey games! I said to him, "Tom, I don't go to the games to drink, enjoy fights, and swear at the refs. I go because it's the only bit of recreation I get, and we greatly enjoy the competition we watch on the ice."
It wasn't but just a few moments after I said this that I realized the issue was actually not my liberty to watch a harmless hockey game on Saturday nights. Rather, it was the tender and immature conscience of this young believer in Christ who could not reconcile my "liberty" with his own liberty. That was the day when my wife and I saw our last public hockey game during this period of our ministry lives there. I didn't like it, and I did miss our Saturday night dates at the arena, but in the end I knew that I had made the right decision for the time. My young believer friend grew and our church grew, and believe it or not, I grew as a result of making that decision.
Let me close by saying this. Nothing that I curtail or give up in terms of personal liberty for someone weaker is a bad decision! In fact, it's these kinds of decisions that demonstrate the superiority of love over my right to exercise personal liberty. These are decisions you will never regret!
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