Christian Living
September 23, 2011 – Freedom in Christ
Everything is permissible (allowable and lawful) for me; but not all things are helpful (good for me to do, expedient and profitable when considered with other things). Everything is lawful for me, but I will not become the slave of anything or be brought under its power. – 1 Corinthians 6:12 AMP
In this verse Paul is correcting the view of some in the Corinthian church. They had assumed that since Jesus forgives all sins then they could go on sinning. Paul says that, yes, there is freedom in a relationship in Christ, but there are things in life that can lead us away from God so far that we could become slaves to it.
One look at the city of Corinth through reading First Corinthians shows what Paul was up against when he established this church. These guys had legal issues, moral issues, worship issues, and even had trouble getting along with each other inside the church. Instead of the church at Corinth they could have called themselves the Church of the Screwed-Up, Messed-Up, Been There and Done That. If it was sin, these guys were living in it and doing it well. Does this sound familiar? Many churches today fit the same bill. But through First Corinthians, God speaks to individual Christians as well as churches today the same way Paul did in the first century.
Freedom in Christ is something that almost every church teaches, but this verse is left out a lot of times in teaching. It is one thing for a church to teach freedom, but completely another to teach practical ways to apply it. For example, an alcoholic who gets saved has no reason to use his freedom in Christ to keep drinking alcohol. It would not be helpful for him to keep drinking. That’s a simple example and easy to point out, but what about more complex issues?
People in church simply cannot use freedom as an excuse for sin. Illegal and shady business dealings are sins. Gossiping is a sin. Sexually immoral behavior is a sin. All these things are not only prevalent in the world we live in, but also in the church we attend. Sure, there are always immature believers who are growing and putting away these behaviors, but there are also mature Christians who continue to do things they know are wrong and they use their freedom in Christ as an excuse.
There was a pastor at a church we once attended who told me he could not play cards. He would not even touch a deck of cards for any reason. It was not because he had a gambling problem. He didn’t even play for money. They had become an obsession to him in college and he had in turn put them before God in his life. In his determination to not let that happen again, he made the decision to never touch a deck of cards again in his life. He knew cards were not something that would draw him closer to God and that he could become a slave to it, so he lived out this verse in that area of his life.
On a personal note I can say that in my sin-filled, professed Christian days that I never used freedom in Christ as an excuse. I kept myself in bondage to my sin and never tried to pretend I had freedom in Him. Now I finally have come to know that there is freedom in Christ, but I also know all things are not agreeable for my spiritual growth.
Is there freedom in a relationship with Christ? You bet there is. Christians are one set free bunch, but we should be more drawn to the Bible and following its precepts than we are drawn back to our sin. It is only when we live out the Scriptures and follow the lead of the Holy Spirit that we truly experience that freedom we have so long tried to justify through our relationship with Him.
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