Free, and Not Your Own
Sooner or later a new Christian runs into a question the Bible does not answer by name. May I watch that show? Is this music all right? What should I wear to church? Which Bible should I read? One believer gives you a firm answer, another laughs at the question, and you are left wondering who is right. This study is for that moment.
God has not left you to guess. Christ has made you free, and Scripture tells you what that freedom is for.
“For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.”GALATIANS 5:13 · KJV
Paul says two things in one breath. You have been called unto liberty. It is your calling, bought by Christ, and no one may take it from you. And you are to by love serve one another. Your freedom has a direction. You are free, and you are not your own (1 Corinthians 6:19–20).
The freedom Christ gives every believer: free from the curse of the law, free from the mastery of sin, and free from rules God never gave, so that he may serve God and others in love.
Three Ways to Live
- Legalism adds to God's Word. It treats outward rules as the measure of holiness and of other people. At its worst it makes works a condition of salvation, which is another gospel (Galatians 1:6–9). More often it is a believer measuring his brothers by his own standards.
- License subtracts from God's Word. It says that because we are under grace, we may live as we please. Paul's answer is God forbid (Romans 6:1–2).
- Liberty takes God's Word as it stands. It obeys every command gladly, adds none, and uses its freedom to serve.
Grace is the motive underneath all of this. We do not keep ourselves pure to make God love us. He already does. A heart that knows it has been forgiven wants to please the One who forgave it.
Romans 14 teaches every believer to ask one question before he uses a liberty: will this help my brother?
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For Deeper Study
- Conscience: What It Is, How to Train It, and Loving Those Who DifferAmazon Andrew David Naselli and J. D. CrowleyA careful, practical study of conscience in the New Testament, with wise counsel on Romans 14. Naselli writes from a Reformed Baptist setting.
- The Grace AwakeningAmazon Charles R. SwindollA pastor's warm call to leave legalism behind and live in grace, without turning grace into license. By a dispensational pastor and former president of Dallas Theological Seminary.
- The Liberty of ObedienceAmazon Elisabeth ElliotA short book on the difference between keeping rules and doing the will of God.
- Romans: The Gospel of God's GraceAmazon Alva J. McClainA clear dispensational exposition of Romans, including chapter 14. McClain founded Grace Theological Seminary.
- Foxe's Book of MartyrsAmazon John FoxeThe classic Protestant record of those who died for the faith, from the early church to the English Reformation.
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The Gospel, the Whole Counsel, and Liberty
No biblical doctrine is unimportant. Scripture distinguishes the Gospel that must be believed to be saved, the whole counsel of God that disciples must believe and obey, and the matters where God grants liberty.
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