Christian Liberty
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Stockholm Syndrome.
Its an fascinating psychological condition that effects some people who have been taken hostage.
And what it is is a powerful form of understanding and even identity gets projected onto their captors and they actually grow fond, in some cases even fall in love with the hostage taker!
The hostage taker is seen as the highest provider and even protector.
And instead of seeking to be free, they find comfort in their captivity.
Why?
Because life in captivity is very simple, while liberty can be very complicated.
Its the difference between prison life and freedom.
In prison life is significantly less complicated.
Food is provided.
Shelter is provided.
The rules are plain.
Authority is clear.
Even bedtime and wake up time are not your concern.
Your “guards” take care of everything: You just follow the rules.
I’m reminded of a moving scene from Shawshank Redemption where Brooks get parole and cant take freedom so he takes his own life.
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There is a parallel dynamic within the christian faith.
24 Therefore the Law has become our guardian to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.
The Law is kind of our prison guard that tells us exactly what to do and when to do it and how to do it.
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Why do people go to prison?
Because they are Law breakers.
In the same way:
9 realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and worldly, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers,
The Law of God was given so that sinners would see their sin as sin!
13 Therefore did that which is good become a cause of death for me? Far from it! Rather it was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by bringing about my death through that which is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful.
What is the point?
So that you would see your need for God’s mercy and call upon Him!
When we do and receive His Mercy, something wonderful happens, or maybe its not wonderful?????
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.
36 So if the Son sets you free, you really will be free.
The Freedom that we have in Jesus Christ is TRUE freedom.
Its called Christian Liberty and we are COMMANDED to protect this liberty at all cost!
1 It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.
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Lets go back to Prison for a moment.
Not everyone who gets out of prison is rehabilitated.
There are 2 ways out of prison: Serve your time or escape.
If prison worked then the experience will have changed you.
You will not go back to the same illegal activities that sent you there.
You have been successfully rehabilitated out of a life of crime.
In the same way:
A sinner, under the condemnation of the Law, who has seen their sin and has called upon God for mercy.
That sinner, when set free by Jesus Christ WILL NOT go back to a life of sin.
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Also the free prisoner will not miss the rule dominated life of incarceration.
They will love, cherish and enjoy their freedoms.
In the same way, a sinner will not miss the Law’s rules and regulations.
They will love, cherish and enjoy their freedom JUST AS CHRIST COMMANDS us to do!
16 Act as free people, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bond-servants of God.
So simple.
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But here is the problem:
Just like Mr Brooks in the film, and in a metaphysical Stockholm syndrome way, many people find simple comfort in the regimented incarcerated, religious lifestyle that is dominated by rules.
Rules of what you can eat, what you can wear, what you can say, what you can enjoy etc...
There people have NOT been rehabilitated.
They see freedom as a scary monster that will make them worse. They need the rules, they need someone or something telling them what to do, think, say all the time.
Biblicaly these kinds of people are symbolized by the Pharisees.
The Pharisees as a group are NOT evil people. In fact, after the destruction of Jerusalem and the crumbling of the Leviticus Priesthood, it was the Pharisees who took it upon themselves to preserve the Law and its instruction.
Their INTENTIONS are noble, not necessarily good, but at the least their intentions are noble.
Here is where the Evil came from:
23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the Law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.
24 You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!
25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence.
26 You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may also become clean.
27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.
28 So you too, outwardly appear righteous to people, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
The mark of a person who has not been set free by Jesus and still has a Pharisaical Spirit of bondage is clear:
NB: Its NOT they they follow rules, freedom means living free, if you freely want more structure and order then freely order your life in such a way.
The Mark is NOT if THEY follow rules, the mark is if they condemn those who HAVE been set free, because THEY are not living according to YOUR rules.
Illustration:
My life is very ordered.
I have a borderline prison routine for my life.
Get up, Read the bible, pray, make school lunch, go to office, work till 11. Have more prayer. Maybe lunch at 12ish, then this....
I have imposed many rules upon myself.
I feel these rules help me.
But I am also free. These rules are NOT God’s rules forced on me - they are MY rules FREELY imposed on me by ME.
As a result, the rules I have for me have NOTHING to do with you.
The bible puts it like this:
1 Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not to have quarrels over opinions.
2 One person has faith that he may eat all things, but the one who is weak eats only vegetables.
3 The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him.
4 Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
5 One person values one day over another, another values every day the same. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind.
6 The one who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and the one who eats, does so with regard to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and the one who does not eat, it is for the Lord that he does not eat, and he gives thanks to God.
So how can we discern whether WE are still stuck in prison or whether someone ELSE may still be in prison?
I believe Charles Spurgion has the best reply:
“As I would not knowingly live even in the smallest violation of the law of God, and sin in the transgression of the law, I will not own to sin when I am not conscious of it.
There is growing up in society a Pharisaic system which adds to the commands of God the precepts of men; to that system I will not yield for an hour. The preservation of my liberty may bring upon me the upbraidings of many good men, and the sneers of the self-righteous; but I shall endure both with serenity so long as I feel clear in my conscience before God.”
How many commandments has God given?
10? Then woe to the man/woman/councle that makes it 11 or 9.
9 if you call evil good.
11 is you call good evil.
God has condemned this practice already!
20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
And again God condemns this through the Apostle Paul:
1 But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons,
2 by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron,
3 who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth.
All this boils down to 2 words.
Abstinence vs Temperance
Abstinence vs Temperance
Abstinence
Abstinence
Abstinence is when you DO NOT partake in something.
There are many things that God has commanded Abstinence for:
20 but that we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols, from acts of sexual immorality, from what has been strangled, and from blood.
3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality;
22 abstain from every form of evil.
Understand that these commands to abstain are NOT “prison” or “Law” commands for the unrighteous.
They are the good “law abiding” or good works of the rehabilitated, of those who are free in Jesus Christ.
So we can clearly see what we must abstain from.
However, the list of things we COULD do is much longer than the list of things we are commanded NOT to do.
So if there is no commandment what is our responsibility as free people in Christ?
Temperance.
Temperance.
Temperance is self control.
Temperance is a virtue of the person who is truly free.
2 An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, skillful in teaching,
2 Older men are to be temperate, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance.
Temperance is the ability to say NO, specifically to say NO to the world, flesh and Devil.
It is the Mark of freedom since a slave by definition CANNOT say NO to their Master.
NB: Say no to what?
Sin? NO! Sin is always sin and should always be abstained.
Temperance is the virtue of saying NO to a permissible, non-sinful activity WHEN OR IF it becomes sinful.
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The bible sums it up as follows:
16 Have you found honey? Eat only what you need, So that you do not have it in excess and vomit it.
Example:
Q 1: Is drinking Alcohol a sin?
No.
14 He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, And vegetation for the labor of mankind, So that they may produce food from the earth,
15 And wine, which makes a human heart cheerful, So that he makes his face gleam with oil, And food, which sustains a human heart.
7 Go then, eat your bread in happiness, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart; for God has already approved your works.
And of course Jesus Himself drank wine and turned water into wine.
Q 2: Is drunkenness a sin?
Absolutely!
18 And do not get drunk with wine, in which there is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,
21 envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Q 3: What is the difference between enjoying wine and drunkenness?
A: Temperance.
A person without temperance does NOT have the FREEDOM to enjoy wine.
In such a case, it would be best if that person ABSTAINED from wine, NOT because its sinful to partake of wine, but given their weakness, this freedom will lead to sin.
Paul puts it like this:
12 All things are permitted for me, but not all things are of benefit. All things are permitted for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.
Here however we find a BIG problem.
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To a person without temperance or who has chosen to abstain, any engagement by someone else with this “activity” is almost always seen as Sinful.
What is the problem with that?
Well its guilty of calling Good Evil, just as much condemned as calling Evil Good!
15 Again a voice came to him a second time, “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.”
This gets even more problematic when it comes to issues that the bible is silent on and people use their temperance or lack thereof to make decisions.
Jesus said it like this:
24 You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!
What is the difference between a gnat and a camel?
A Camel is a major issue God has given clear commands on:
3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality;
A gnat is an issue that God has either given no command or no strong command.
A Pharisaical Spirit spends its day straining and pointing out Gnats all while riding on the Camel!
Allow me to give you a classic recent example of this:
How many of you have heard of the German Composer Johann Sebastian Bach?
He is without a doubt one of the most successful and talented musical geniuses to have ever lived.
Here is a rather unknown fact about Bach: He wrote and composed many christian hymns.
He wrote bible commentaries and especially favored the musical nature of the Psalms, writing music for many of them and even correcting some of Martin Luther's translation errors!
Bach lived in 1720’s.
Why is this incredible Christian musician not remembered or celebrated for his faith?
Because of a song he wrote, a song of worship and quite contemplation before God.
Would you like to read it?
Edifying Thoughts of a Tobacco Smoker, by Johann Sebastian Bach
Poem
Whene'er I take my pipe and stuff it
And smoke to pass the time away
My thoughts, as I sit there and puff it,
Dwell on a picture sad and grey:
It teaches me that very like
Am I myself unto my pipe. Like me this pipe, so fragrant burning,
Is made of naught but earthen clay;
To earth I too shall be returning,
And cannot halt my slow decay.
My well used pipe, now cracked and broken,
Of mortal life is but a token.
No stain, the pipe's hue yet doth darken;
It remains white. Thus do I know
That when to death's call I must harken
My body, too, all pale will grow.
To black beneath the sod 'twill turn,
Likewise the pipe, if oft it burn.
Or when the pipe is fairly glowing,
Behold then instantaneously,
The smoke off into thin air going,
'Til naught but ash is left to see.
Man's fame likewise away will burn
And unto dust his body turn.
How oft it happens when one's smoking,
The tamper's missing from it's shelf,
And one goes with one's finger poking
Into the bowl and burns oneself.
If in the pipe such pain doth dwell
How hot must be the pains of Hell!
Thus o'er my pipe in contemplation
Of such things - I can constantly
Indulge in fruitful meditation,
And so, puffing contentedly,
On land, at sea, at home, abroad,
I smoke my pipe and worship God.
Johann Sebastian Bach - 1725
Now, how many of you felt the Pharisaical Spirit stir?
! did!
There is no command in the bible regarding tobacco use. The writers of the bible did not even know that the Tobacco plant existed back then.
So given God’s silence, where is this Pharisaical spirit getting its motivation to call this activity sinful?
It does not exist.
However it may indeed be said that while the bible says nothing on tobacco use it does gives us principles to live by.
We understand this well. The bible says “Whatever a man sows so shall he reap”.
We can take that principle and apply it to many areas of life.
In this example, probably the most common principle used against this practice is that our body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit and we should not harm or destroy the temple.
Another principle often used is that of addiction. That as Paul said: I will not be controlled by anything.
BOTH of these principle are truth and good.
Here is the problem:
1: Applying a principle to encourage abstinence is not the same as a direct command from God commanding abstinence.
2: IF you are going to use a principle to discern what is sinful then you MUST be consistent or risk being a Hypocrite.
What do i mean?
I have lost count of how many pastors rebuke smoking in the strongest sense by this principle of the body being a temple and how dare we pollute the temple...
All while these same pastors have bellies that can barely fit behind the pulpit, more cholesterol in their veins than actual blood and a pancreas that gave up the ghost years ago from abuse and now they need artificial insulin to keep them alive.
What makes this even more egregious is that despite there being zero biblical commands against tobacco, there are clear, Camel Clear commands forbidding gluttony!
20 Do not be with heavy drinkers of wine, Or with gluttonous eaters of meat;
2 And put a knife to your throat If you are a person of great appetite.
Q: Is enjoying delicious food sinful?
A: No.
What is the difference between enjoying good food and gluttony?
Temperance.
And again, a person who lacks temperance finds all things evil.
27 One who diligently seeks good seeks favor, But one who seeks evil, evil will come to him.