Disclaimer: This is intended to be a discussion, not a one-sided declaration on my part. All I ask is that God-breathed Scripture be the point of discussion, not our opinions. Topic: Is the concept of what we call Christian liberty an idea that actually comes from the Bible? --------------------------------------------- When the questions of worldly music, movies, television, activities, etc. (we can just use the umbrella of entertainment) are discussed among Christians, what it usually comes back to is Christian liberty. We dont want to be legalists, after all. But is this position warranted? Do our liberties in Christ apply to being entertained by the world, or are those things what 1 John 2:15 and James 4:4 had in mind? When addressing our liberty as Christians, it seems that Paul only mentions freedom from ceremonial restrictions, such as eating, drinking, and holy days. (see Colossians 2:16, Romans 14, 1 Corinthians 8, 1 Corinthians 10:23-33). But he says nothing of worldly entertainment. He mentions other liberties in 1 Corinthians 9, but he describes those as his rights as an Apostle. But even if they are for all Christians, its still a short list, saying nothing of worldly entertainment. Could we be finding in these texts things that arent there, and creating an unbiblical concept to justify doing what we (namely our flesh) want? I know my flesh, and my flesh LOVES to find the boundaries of what is acceptable. My flesh LOVES to say, Well, its not sin.” This is not the attitude of Scripture. We are to beat our bodies to make them our slaves (1 Corinthians 9:27), and make no provision for the flesh (Romans 13:14). Is it possible that we, as a Christian culture, have made it acceptable to indulge our flesh just a little? P.S. Your conclusions to the above questions aside, its worth reflecting on whether indulging the liberties we do have make us a more mature Christian. Pauls attitude was that of slavery forsaking his rights (1 Corinthians 9:12, 15, 19). He did this following the example of his Master (Philippians 2:5-8). May we seek to be imitators of Paul as he was of Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1).
Posted on: Thu, 25 Sep 2014 16:42:17 +0000
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