1 Corinthians 8:9-13 Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak. For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, won’t he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols? So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.
Our acceptance into the household of God comes wholly through the blood of Jesus Christ and his righteousness. Because Jesus is acceptable, we are acceptable. He alone made us right with God. With that position in him, we are completely free as Jesus Christ is free to do what He wishes. We hold the card: Jesus Christ, our gate to freedom. Jesus said, I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. (John 10:7) Because of Jesus and his works, we can leave the land of slavery and captivity to sin. We can walk into a lifestyle not ruled by laws and regulations, but by the grace and mercy of God. We no longer live by restrictions; we live by the Spirit of God who abides in us richly. His voice is our voice; his purposes are our purposes. As Paul said, I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20) The terrain around us is new. We leave the familiar haunts of our former lives behind us. This new realm is the life of the Spirit. Although we now have the promise of eternal life, our earthly minds are still with us. None of us are completely free from the emotional and psychological imprints of what we have experienced in the past and will continue to experience in the present and the future. These thoughts and introspections are part of our lives. In today's focus, Paul addresses the dichotomous life we live in the Spirit: on one side, we stand completely free in Christ, as free as Christ himself; yet on the other side, we remain tied to the limitations of our biological existence. In our earthly state, we must consider the impact of our behaviors on others. In the body of Christ, we find strong brethren and weaker brethren. In some areas we consider ourselves strong: on other issues we have to classify ourselves as weak. Whether strong or weak, we must consider others and not become a stumbling block as we travel this earthly journey.
When Paul reminds the believers in Galatia of their heavenly calling, he says, You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. (Galatians 5:13-15) Yes, we are free in Christ, free from the land of slavery. We are no longer subject to the consequence of sin, eternal death away from God. In the land of the free, love remains our governing agent. Love gives us a sensitivity to all people: the strong, the weak, or any combination of strength or weakness. As Christians we will seek to serve others rather being lords over them. Freedom in Christ produces servants, not dictators, rulers, and controllers. Christ said servants are considered the most respected in the kingdom of God to the extent that they will be first in his kingdom. Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.” He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.” (Mark 9:35-37) Children are weak, deserving of loving care and protection. People who have a weak conscience are not mature in the knowledge of Jesus Christ and his saving works, but we must welcome the weak into our lives. We must be tender towards them, loving and compassionate, considering their needs before our needs or our freedom. A servant works for the Lord as he or she is working for the weak, the destitute, the poor, the infirm, the disabled, the old. The is the word of the Lord for THE STRONG.
Now we must also consider, the strong are not to use their strength to continue in sin. They must not go back into the land of the slaves to participate with them in their lostness, their slavery. The freedom card, Jesus Christ and his works, set us free to abide in a better land, but we can always go back to our former lives. We can always enter a domain that does not feed our souls, that literally takes away our joy and freedom in Christ. We can begin to serve our old idols, believing they will help us survive in this land of living for the self instead of for others. The so-familiar vices of this world can grip our souls again if we allow them to do so, if we open ourselves up to temptation and embrace worldly behaviors.
The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21) The card that set us free, Jesus Christ and his righteousness, can also be used wrongly to justify our freedom to go back into the land of slavery. Rather than experiencing freedom, once again we will become fettered by our fleshly desires and appetites. Rather than living by the Spirit of God, we will live by the nature of man. Paul continually warned believers to remain in Christ: Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. (Colossians 3:5-8) We pray that every breakfast companion will use the card of Jesus Christ and his work to forever set you free from the land of slavery. He desires to motivate your life through love. His love, his caring nature, his servanthood will set you free forever in the land of peace and joy. Your life will be worthwhile, a place of healing others, restoring the weak, and caring for those in pain. Let us who have tasted the freedom of God place ourselves under his authority for the benefit of all and for the GLORY OF GOD. Amen! Love, Dad and Mom 
No comments:
Post a Comment