Sermon Tone Analysis
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What is Christian Liberty?
What it is:
Christian liberty is the freedom of the believer in Christ.
Freedom from enslavement to sin, freedom from the ceremonial observances of the law, freedom to exercise the dictates of a pure and right conscience in matters not condemned in Scripture.
“Long my imprisoned spirit lay
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray,
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.”
What it is not:
A licence to indulge the flesh
A licence to indulge the flesh
Liberty & Knowledge ch. 8
The word “know” or “knowledge is a key word in this chapter- it appears 11 times
What are some things we “know” related to Christian liberty
-that we are justified by grace alone through faith alone, not by a moral work
-we are given freedom to enjoy God’s creation “the earth is the Lord and its fullness”
-that knowledge (that is, knowledge as we ought to know) is one product of maturity
—notice that “grace” and “knowledge” are paired together…we are not to be loveless, graceless, know-it-alls
What is a consistent character trait of a know-it-all?
-Pride/arrogance/conceit
-Narcissism
-Selfishness
What do each of these sins do?
-they blind us
-they make us unloving
The Danger of “Knowledge” (v.
1-3)
Paul argues that if someone believes they know anything, they only reveal the startling depth of their ignorance.
—it has been said that the more you grow in sanctification, the more your sin is grieves you
—similarly, knowledge has been defined as “the process of passing from the unconscious sate of ignorance to the conscious state of ignorance.”
This “puffing up” also makes a believer insensitive to other believers, particularly in relation to their liberty
Thus the contrast—knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.
2. Food offered to Idols (v.
4-6)
Cultural context—socially, it was not uncommon to eat in temples (for non-religious events) but with food that had been offered to idols
Moreover, many shops obtained their meat from temples…so this was a very real reality
What are some current-day examples of things/activities that would be a matter of liberty?
Paul affirms that in reality this food is not harmful, because idols are not real gods
There is therefore nothing inherently wrong with eating this meat…the believers are free to do so.
3. Loving Weaker Brothers and Sisters (v.
7-13)
Many new believers in Corinth had spent their lives offering sacrifices to these idols, and their conscience troubled them when eating sacrificed meat
Rather than flaunt their liberty (being puffed up) Paul says the mature believers should lovingly forgo eating this food before believers whose conscience would be troubled
Paul never dilutes the theology—food, partaking or not partaking, can never commend us to God
We need to be careful here as well—is your conscience bothered, or have you given in to legalism?
Similarly we need to be careful…if your conscience is never bothered, have you believed the lie of antinomianism?
One of the greatest expressions of liberty is the joy to give things up—not out of compulsion from a legal requirement before God, but out of love and delight in our brothers and sisters in Christ.
When you express your liberty in Christ, do you flaunt it?
When you exercise your liberty in Christ, do you stop to consider who may be watching?
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