What does the Bible say about Christian liberty?
Christian liberty is an extremely dangerous topic that most believers overlook. Christian liberty can easily lead to sin, addiction, spiritual dryness, and more. Satan is not oblivious to these things. He knows how our freedom as Christians can cause us to live laid-back lives. Many believers around the world love saying things like “my Christian liberty allows me to do this.”
Many believers are in sin and don’t know it. Many believers are backsliding and don’t know it yet. Many believers are headed on a path of destruction because of Christian liberty!
Are we saved by grace through faith in Christ alone? Absolutely! Have we been saved from the penalty of sin? Absolutely! Can we lose our salvation? Absolutely not, but know that evidence of your faith in Christ is a changed life.
There are two camps that you must avoid at all costs. The first camp is the legalistic camp that calls everything not explicitly condemned in the Bible a sin. An example of legalism would be a Christian having to go to church every Sunday to maintain their salvation or telling Christians that they can only listen to gospel music.
Those in the legalistic camp put heavy burdens on themselves and others. They put chains on themselves. They restrict themselves from hobbies. They’re afraid to do anything and they are joyless because they think everything is a sin.
Don’t live like that. The other camp is the Christian liberty camp. The Christian liberty camp usually lives undisciplined lives. This camp can easily fall into a worldly lifestyle. Let’s find out more about Christian liberty below.
What is Christian liberty?
Christian liberty means that believers are free to do certain activities that are not explicitly condemned in the Bible. However, Christian liberty does not give us the right to compromise with the Word of God.
Once you start using the “Christian liberty excuse” you can only go downhill. I believe there are certain things in the Bible that are not explicitly condemned but because of biblical principles, we know they are sinful. If you are a person trying to find out, is it within your Christian liberty to engage in a certain activity that is not expressly forbidden in the Bible, you must look in the Scriptures for biblical principles.
Christian liberty examples
- Drinking wine
- Smoking
- Plastic surgery
- Christians with tattoos.
- Watching Movies/TV
- Makeup
- Kissing
- Video games
- Hair length
- Clothes to wear/ women wearing pants
- Secular music
- Celebrating Christmas, Easter, birthdays, and other holidays.
- Women working outside of the home.
Expressing your Christian liberty can affect you spiritually.
Many of us wonder why we are not on fire for God. What is taking our heart away from the Lord? Maybe it’s watching too much TV. Maybe it’s engaging in too many worldly activities. I believe many activities that fall under the Christian liberty category can affect us spiritually. We begin to lose the presence of God and our heart becomes dull for the Lord. One of the things to consider when asking yourself should you be doing something is asking yourself, will it take my heart away from the Lord or is it already taking my heart away from God?
1. Matthew 15:8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
The activities that fall under the Christian liberty category are the activities that can lead to backsliding.
Be careful! I can’t express this enough. There are many gray areas in the Bible that will lead to going astray. Little by little you pursue what is not explicitly condemned in the Bible and you begin to slowly lose the fight you once had. You begin to compromise with sin. Something that was once permissible starts to become an addiction.
For example, someone can use their Christian liberty to drink alcohol. One drink turns into two drinks. As weeks and months go by your tolerance level increases and you start turning into a drunkard. Usually, you never know that you have backslidden until you have already backslidden.
2. James 1:14-15 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
3. 2 Timothy 2:22 Run from temptations that capture young people. Always do the right thing. Be faithful, loving, and easy to get along with. Worship with people whose hearts are pure.
Our Christian liberty can easily cause others to stumble.
I believe believers don’t think enough about how our actions can affect the lives of other believers. Our Christian liberty can cause others to sin. Our Christian liberty can lead others to addiction and backsliding. Our life is our greatest testimony. Never underestimate how much your life can affect others. Also, always remember that unbelievers and babes in Christ are always watching your life.
When you do certain things, that can lead someone to say, “if he does it, then I can do it.” It’s a horrible thing when Christians flaunt gray eye-raising activities such as drinking, tattoos, etc. The activities that fall under the Christian liberty category must not be promoted. We should be mindful of the conscience of the weak. If someone believes eating pork is a sin, then do not eat pork around them.
If you’re around someone who believes it is sinful to listen to all secular music, then do not listen to secular music around them. Our freedom as Christians should lead us to greater acts of selflessness and consideration for others.
4. Romans 14:22 You may believe there’s nothing wrong with what you are doing, but keep it between yourself and God. Blessed are those who don’t feel guilty for doing something they have decided is right.
5. 1 Peter 2:16 For you are free, yet you are God’s slaves, so don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil.
6. Galatians 5:13 For you, brothers, were called to freedom; but do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. Rather, serve one another in love.
7. 1 Corinthians 8:9 Be careful, however, that your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.
8. 1 Corinthians 9:19 Though I am free of obligation to anyone, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.
Permissible activities must not cause us to doubt.
Our liberty must not cause us to stumble in our hearts. It is sinful to engage in an activity that we deem might be sinful. If we are wrestling with if we should do a certain activity or not, then we should probably refrain from it.
However, usually we don’t refrain from it. We often fight with the conviction of the Holy Spirit. I’ve been guilty of this so please don’t think I’m pointing fingers. I’m talking from an area of experience. Examine your life!
Are you using your Christian liberty to continuously indulge in something that is slightly convicting you? Sometimes as believers we can deceive ourselves so much to the point we kill the conviction of the Spirit. Does the activity cause you to doubt?
9. Romans 14:23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.
The “Christian liberty excuse.”
Lastly, if someone is using the “Christian liberty excuse” to live in willful sin and rebellion, he is revealing what he is. He is an unbeliever posing as a Christian living under a false grace. 2 Corinthian 5:17 makes it clear that believers have new desires and affections for Christ.
10. Jude 1:4 For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.
Here are a few things to ask yourself.
Does the activity glorify God, will it edify others, and will it hurt my Christian witness to unbelievers and weak Christians?
1 Corinthians 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
Okay, after 6 months I’ll be the first to comment. I say Amen! I couldn’t agree more. I want to shout this from the roof tops.