A while back, I wrote a blog post about Christian liberty and legalism. As I’ve been studying the book of Romans with the ladies in the Bible Study Academy, I was struck by the boundaries the Apostle Paul sets on our Christian liberty in chapter 14.
One of the biggest battles Paul had to fight as he ministered to the Gentile believers (non-Jewish believers) during the early years of Christianity was the enforcement of the Mosaic law. There are many discussions in the New Testament about circumcision, eating foods sacrificed to idols, and the Sabbath, just to name a few. The Jews had followed these laws since the days of Moses, so even those who believed in Christ struggled to let them go. But more than that, they tried to impose these laws on new Gentile believers.
But, while Paul is clear that we have liberty in Christ and nothing in and of itself is unclean (unholy), he also reminds us that there are limits to our Christian liberty. Our freedom in Christ has boundaries, and he discusses these boundaries in Romans 14.
Boundary #1: It Is a Sin
We must begin this discussion by pointing out that sin is sin. Paul is not saying that we can commit sin under the guise of Christian liberty. The first two chapters of the book of Romans discuss the rebellion against God in detail, and make it clear that we are to have no part in it. Anything the Bible explicitly calls sin is off limits.
This discussion revolves around those things that some would call sin but the Bible doesn’t explicitly call them sin. Paul specifically gives the examples of which foods we eat or which days we believe to be holy days. Believer, do not try to pass off your sin as Christian liberty. It will not end well!
Boundary #2: It Is Doctrine
Paul begins the discussion by introducing it as a difference of opinion (v. 1). These are not quarrels over doctrinal issues. He is clear that false teaching is not to be tolerated within the church. If we look ahead to Romans 16:17-20, we see how Paul tells the church at Rome to deal with false teachers.
And in Galatians 1:8-9 Paul says,
“But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.”
It is clear Paul gives no place to false teaching in the church. The disagreements subject to Christian liberty are about opinions or personal convictions. These are what we typically call secondary or tertiary issues. In other words, they have nothing to do with salvation or the Gospel itself.
Boundary #3: God Has Authority
While we may feel strongly about our convictions, and we may feel it is prudent for others to follow our personal convictions, other believers do not answer to us; they answer only to God. Romans 14:4 says,
“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.”
We do not have to agree with someone else’s convictions, we must simply remain true to our own because we will answer to God only for how we live, not how our fellow believer lives.
Boundary #4: Does It Honor God?
Verse 6 really stood out to me in this chapter and caused me to ponder things I have done in the name of Christian liberty. It says,
“The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.”
First, it is clear that all parties are doing what they believe honors the Lord. Second, this would eliminate anything that we cannot do in honor of the Lord.
One example of Christian liberty I discussed in my previous post on this topic was drinking. Because of my personal convictions, I could not have a glass of wine with dinner and say that I am doing it in honor of the Lord. That doesn’t eliminate wine from everyone’s menu, but if you cannot do it in honor of the Lord, it is no longer an issue of Christian liberty but of sin.
Lately, I have seen Christians using foul language and claiming it as Christian liberty. After all, who even decided which words were curse words? This is only an issue of Christian liberty if it can be done in honor of the Lord.
What about the recent trend of not going to church, calling nature your church, or only participating in a virtual capacity. We know that the Sabbath law no longer applies to New Testament believers (the book of Hebrews tells us that Jesus is a better Sabbath), so is it wrong to “forsake the assembly” (Hebrews 10:25)? In order to discover the answer, we have to ask if it can be done in honor of the Lord.
These are all matters of personal conviction for which we will individually answer to God, not to each other (Romans 14:12). If you can drink alcohol, cuss or be crass, or not attend a physical church in honor of the Lord, then Paul says it is a matter of Christian liberty.
BUT the discussion does not end there.
Boundary #5: It Causes Someone Else to Sin
Paul describes everything as clean (Romans 14:14), but he goes on to say that even something that is right can become wrong if it puts the faith of God’s people at risk.
“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.”
Romans 14:20-21
Paul has painted a clear picture of Christian liberty, but even Christian liberty must be sacrificed for the benefit of others. The passage goes on to say,
“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.”
Romans 14:23
If you do something out of Christian liberty that a weaker sister follows even though she has questions about whether or not it is sin, you have caused her to stumble because she is not doing it in faith, believing it is “clean.” So often, whether we like it or not, we have to check our Christian liberty at the door for the sake of the faith of those around us.
Application
So when you come across a situation where you and a friend believe differently about an issue, here are some questions to ask yourself before you claim Christian liberty:
- Is this a sin? If the answer is “yes,” don’t do it.
- Is this a matter of doctrine? If the answer is “yes,” study it out before you decide.
- Can I do this in honor of the Lord? If the answer is “no,” don’t do it.
- Will it cause someone else to sin? If the answer is “yes” or “maybe,” don’t do it.
I would love to know your thoughts. Have you come across any situations where you have either caught yourself judging someone else for acting out of Christian liberty or been reprimanded for doing something out of your own Christian liberty? What trends are you observing in culture that fall squarely in the realm of Christian liberty?
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Where would you put the topic of women pastors? It’s clear in scripture that women aren’t to teach or exercise authority over men in the church, so does that make it a doctrinal issue or would it be a sin (or both?)
Hey Ashley, I am actually currently in the middle of a series of blog posts about this very topic. It certainly is not a salvation issue, but I would put it in the doctrine column. It is one of those things that if we don’t believe the same way about it, we probably can’t sit in the same pew at the same church and worship together. Based on Romans 14 (and other places in Scripture), if you are convicted about it, then for you it is sin. I hope this helps. This is one of those controversial topics, though I agree with you that it shouldn’t be.