Statutes of Liberty

"...where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." - 2 Corinthians 3:17

One of the more controversial elephants in the auditorium centers on the subject of Christian liberty. Obviously the bible speaks about this in many places in the New Testament. Just look up the word "liberty" or "freedom" and see what God says on the subject. Contrary to the opinion of many true believers, the Bible is not a book of divine rules and regulations designed to rob mankind of their "fun".

Yes, there are codes of conduct for the believer. God doesn't tell us to avoid sexual misconduct (for example) because he's a prude or a fuddy-duddy. He has reasons for his "rules". His reasons are simple; He wants to keep us from destroying ourselves emotionally, spiritually and physically. That said, the reaction many people have toward those who engage in activities that are in direct opposition to these codes of conduct is usually to condemn. I'll give you an example.

In my second pastorate we lived in the parsonage next door to the church. Late one evening a middle-aged fellow showed up at my door asking for the pastor. At the time I was quite young (28 years old or so) and he was shocked to see such a young man in the position. He proceeded to tell me about his past which included homosexuality. I could tell he was nervous confessing his past to me and by his own admission expected me to dismiss him as a "sinner". His point to sharing all of this was his desire to find a church home that would not judge him for his past sins and welcome him with open arms into the beloved fellowship of Jesus Christ.

He informed me of several pastors he had visited with prior to our meeting and the reception was less than warm once he got to the homosexuality part of his tale. So, he was surprised when I responded to his confession with a simple question. I asked him if he was still involved with that lifestyle to which he answered "no". With that I informed him that he was more than welcome in our church and as far as I was concerned his confessed sins were no worse than the sins of anyone else in the church, including my own.

He joined our church and became an important part of the family there. Of course, not everyone in the church was eager to welcome him once his past was made known (over time; I didn't just get up and read his mail to the congregation). Homosexuality carries a certain stigma that is difficult for many believers in Christ to get around. But, I believe that particular sin is no different than any other sin; sin is sin after all. More importantly, what is past is past and God is not in the business of punishing us for our past sins. He's in the business of forgiving, forgetting and granting us freedom from sin.

Unfortunately, many of God's people aren't tuned into this particular thought process. As we have already explored on the program and in this blog there is a great deal of unjust judgment attached to Christianity and the damage done by this attitude is literally incalculable.

I believe very strongly in the freedom afforded us by Jesus Christ. Let's be clear though. God doesn't give us liberty to sin (Romans 6:15). Just because we're saved and on our way to heaven doesn't give any of us a blank check to go into "the world" and go crazy. God's codes of conduct have multiple reasons not the least of which is to protect our representative testimony to the world. As a representative of the Kingdom of God it isn't good form to get wasted on Saturday night and go to church on Sunday. That's not liberty.

No, the liberty God offers has more to do with our relationship with Him. Far too many evangelical Christians have strict rules attached to their ministries that actually places followers of Christ into bondage. As Paul wrote to the Romans, the Galatians and practically anyone who would listen to him, we are no longer under law but are instead under grace. Dress codes, ministry methods, musical restrictions and many other man-made rules have no place in the church. Sadly, many of God's people cannot see the difference between God's code of conduct and man's attempt to regulate those codes. The legalism produced by this man-made regulation often surpasses that of the Pharisees and Saduccees of Jesus' day.

We're going to be tackling the issue of Christian liberty on this week's show (barring another Baylor football preemption). I hope you'll tune in and participate in the discussion.

Until then, stay tuned true believers...