The Proper Use of Christian Freedom

Romans 14:1-12
When the first “Harry Potter” book came out, American Christians were divided in their opinion as to whether or not it was acceptable for Christian children to read. On one side were parents who felt that the magic in it encouraged witchcraft and on the other side were parents who believed that the basic theme of good’s triumph over evil was what mattered and were thrilled to find a book that reinforced that important idea.

The division among sincere Christians about this book became bitter. Many, many angry words were written and spoken on both sides. Families were divided. Each side called into question the intelligence and sincerity of faith of the opposing side.

So how are divisions among believers to be settled? Christians naturally turn to the Bible. But the Bible doesn’t answer every single question that is ever going to come up. For example, you can’t turn to the index and discover a list of approved books.

These kinds of issues where the Bible is silent are what theologians call: adiaphora—that is, things neither commanded nor forbidden in the Bible—things that are left in the realm of Christian freedom—things about which opinions differ.

Today we are going to hear what the Holy Spirit inspired the Apostle Paul to write concerning the proper use of Christian freedom and what our attitude ought to be towards our fellow Christians with whom we disagree. The Bible says: As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions.

We need to recognize that what we are talking about when it comes to Christian freedom really are matters of opinion where Christians can disagree and yet remain united in faith. The KJV calls them “doubtful disputations” and the NIV calls them “disputable matters”. In other words, they are things that Holy Scripture does not specifically command us or forbid us to do and so we are free to do them or not.

We are not talking about what marriage is- or who God is -or the person and work of Jesus or the Ten Commandments. These topics and many, many others are clearly taught in the Bible and there is no doubt about God’s will and so they are not a matter of opinion about which Christians may differ and yet continue to live together in the church.

However, division MUST come from those who preach, teach, or practice something other than what is clearly taught in Scripture. The Bible says that we are to: “Watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught and avoid them.” We can have NO Christian fellowship with those who have abandoned the authority of the Bible when and where it clearly speaks of faith and morals.

But for all other legitimate difference of opinions, Paul says that we are to welcome that fellow Christian rather than quarrel with them or exclude them. So what kind of things is Paul talking about where there can be legitimate differences of opinion and still recognize and welcome that person as a fellow Christian? Paul writes:

One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables…One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.

The Christian congregation at Rome consisted of both Jewish and Gentile Christians. They shared a common faith in Jesus Christ, they worshiped the same God, they were baptized with water in the name of the Triune God, they received Holy Communion together, they had the same understanding of right and wrong, and so on.

They were perfectly united in one, common, apostolic Christian faith. But they were still very different people culturally and these differences concerning things like food and the day of worship had the potential to divide them.

The Jewish believers had very specific rules about food that God had given them to regulate their lives as a people. The Gentiles who came to faith in Jesus Christ knew nothing of these rules and ate the food of the surrounding culture without any thought of it being a moral issue—and of course, after Christ’s coming—it no longer was.

Another potential problem for the congregation was the day of worship. Jewish believers followed the rules that governed their worship as Jews—especially when it came to the Sabbath. But Gentile believers knew nothing of this. They worshiped on the first day of the week and called it the Lord’s Day because that was the day that Christ had risen from the grave.

The temptation for the Jews was to think that if the Gentiles were really serious about worshiping God they would eat the right food and worship on Saturday--while the Gentiles felt that if they Jews really valued what Christ had done they would set aside dietary rules that had nothing to do with faith and worship on the Lord’s Day because Jesus was the true Sabbath rest of his people.

In all of this, Paul said, the real issue was not the food going into their stomachs—but the judgmental attitudes coming out of their hearts—the real issue was not the day they worshiped God--but that they were judging their brothers’ faith in Jesus.

That’s the way it was in the whole Harry Potter disagreement—the main thing wasn’t whether or not your child read that book—but what was your attitude towards those who had a different opinion for their kids?

And so what is God’s solution for differences of opinion when it comes to the use of Christian freedom? What does God have to say to us about how we view fellow Christians with whom we disagree about things about where the Bible is silent?

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.

No Christian has the right to despise or stand in judgment over a fellow believer when it comes to matters that are neither commanded not forbidden in Holy Scripture for to do so puts us in the place of God who has welcomed that person into his family.

God is the One who has made us his own children through Holy Baptism. God is the One who welcomes us to the Altar and feeds us with the Body and Blood of His Son. We stand in his presence unashamed and unafraid—not because of what we eat or when we worship or what books we read—but because Jesus has brought us to God.

None of us are the spiritual master of another. All of us are equally servants of the King. All of us must stand before the Lord in faith-- and our steadfastness is not a matter of our choices, but of God’s faithfulness to us in Jesus Christ.

And so then, what should our purpose be as we make those many choices and decisions where God has not clearly said: “I want you to do this” or forbidden us by saying: “Don’t do this”? What is our goal as we make those decisions and choices that are free to us as God’s people? Paul 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.

Rather than having eyes fixed on other Christians and what they are doing in their Christian freedom as they serve the King (which only leads to judging others)--the Bible says that our faith is to be fixed on the Lord and that we honor him with our choices in a way that gives him thanks for all that he has graciously done for us. The Bible says:

Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

When we come to choices and decisions where there is not a straight-forward word of Scripture, we must ask ourselves: Are we doing it to honor the Lord? Does it bring glory to God? Does it show that we are truly thankful for what God has done for us in Christ? Can we invoke the blessing of Jesus Christ upon it?

If our use of Christian freedom does not honor God and come from gratitude for salvation—if it is not in keeping with the example and Spirit of Christ—we ought to forgo it. This is especially true when our use of Christian freedom might hurt a fellow Christian. Paul writes:

None of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.

Jesus Christ came into this world for a single purpose—to bring us back to God. Jesus’ death on the cross removed the sins that kept us from a holy God and his resurrection destroyed death’s power over us. In life and in death we are the Lord’s. We belong to him as members of his Body.

And because of this, not only are we to honor God with our choices when it comes to matters of Christian freedom, we are also concerned for our fellow members in Christ’s Body—not standing in judgment of their choices—not arguing with them about matters of mere opinion—and doing nothing that would harm their faith.

For example, the use of alcohol is a matter of Christian freedom-- but if my choice to consume alcohol troubles a fellow believer who believes it is morally wrong—or if it undermines a fellow believer who is an alcoholic—or on the other hand, if I make a fellow Christian feel guilty for that which is no sin--then I have to be concerned for them in my choices-- for I do not live for myself-- but for the Lord and for all of those who are members of his Body—remembering that on the Last Day we all will be called to give an account of our lives—the choices we have and our attitudes towards others. The Bible says:

Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.

What a remarkable scene that will be on the Last Day at our Lord’s return as every person who has ever lived will bend the knee and bow before God and confess the truth of his person and work.

Many, if not most, will do this in terror-- but others will do so in joy and gladness. The only difference between those two groups is whether or not they have bowed before the Lord in faith here on earth before that day. That is the only difference between eternal terror and joy on that day.

For those who are glad on that day—for those with faith in Jesus—it will not matter whether or not they sang to an organ or guitar in church—it will not matter if they drank A&W root beer or cold Coors Light—it will not matter if they read Harry Potter or not. The only thing that will matter is our faith in Jesus for that is all that will count in God’s sight for salvation on that day.

But for those with faith in Jesus, we will be glad to give an account to the Lord of what that faith looked like in the choices we made because they honored God—and we will be glad to give an account about our attitude toward our fellow Christians because we welcomed them rather than judged them. Amen.