Christ never said that we can do whatever we want. Never. He always asked us to live a life of self-denial, a life that is selfless and where every action is born out of love for God and others. We are commanded to be yoked to Christ and only move when He moves. (Matthew 11:29) We are commanded to be slaves of Christ. (I Corinthians 7:22)
Do we have the freedom to do whatever we want and follow the lusts of our flesh to full measure? Do we have the freedom to be hedonistic in our self-indulgent desires? Is God glorified when we revel in our freedom from being yoked to Christ? Do we even WANT to be yoked to Christ?
People who do not want to be yoked to Christ quote Galatians 5:1, “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1 NASB) Paul was talking about a yoke of slavery to rule-keeping of the Jewish ceremonial law. This has nothing to do with, “I can do whatever I want and indulge my flesh to the maximum.” This causes us to place our fleshly desires above our desire to please God. When this happens, we sin against the people around us and don’t even notice. We hurt the people we love most.
“I have the right to do anything,” you say–but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”–but not everything is constructive. I Corinthians 10:23 NIV
Paul is contradicting the people who say, “All things are lawful.” He is saying, “No.” Paul is saying that people who say all things are lawful are WRONG. Not every action is beneficial or loving. If every action is not loving, it is sin. ANY action that is self-serving is sin. Jesus never did any actions that were self-serving. He only did what He saw the Father doing.
God the Father is holy, and He has commanded us to be holy. (I Peter 1:16) Is our every action holy? Is our every thought holy? Are we using the word “freedom” to hide sin? Are we indulging in the flesh at the expense of others?
Let’s avoid the demonic doctrine that if something is not stated word-for-word in Scripture, that it is allowable and therefore not sin. Only demons believe this doctrine, and it has now infiltrated the church. The entire Scriptures cry out against every form of sin, selfishness, and depravity. Our seared consciences don’t notice that we are walking in wickedness when we say we are walking in the freedom to do whatever we want, as long as it’s not word-for-word forbidden. This is the oldest trick of the enemy to cause Christians to commit horrendous sins against others. And we never even bother to ask God if He is glorified by our every action.
“But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.” II Timothy 3:1-5 NASB
Tags: Christian Living, church, freedom, sin
Love this point! We can’t allow our forgiveness in Christ to translate into the freedom to sin.
God forgives us when we repent. People don’t understand that we can’t have close fellowship with God unless we get rid of sin. God is holy. I’m tired of people telling each other they have freedom because of grace, and then they hurt Christ for what He died to set them free from.
So much truth here. Become a Christian is making Jesus the Lord of your life. It’s submitting to His authority. I think somewhere along the way that got lost in the message of salvation. Yes, He is full of grace, but He is still Lord of all.
Absolutely. We must submit to His authority. Exactly.
Great thought-provoking post, Susan! I think it really falls to what the Holy Spirit is convicting us to do or not do and asking Him for the wisdom to realize when our actions hurt others.
Yes, people need to stop quenching the Spirit.
I am always shocked anew by our ability as humans to justify our actions, no matter how horrendous they may be. This propensity has destroyed our witness as Christians time and again. Real revival always begins with heartfelt repentance.
Yes, revival begins with repentance!
We must study scripture in context to truly understand it. You’ve done just that. Thank you for a great post.
Yes, Scripture must always be studied in context.
Hi Susan! Very important reminders here for anyone who truly wants to live a God-honouring life.
“Let’s avoid the demonic doctrine that if something is not stated word-for-word in Scripture, that it is allowable and therefore not sin.” This notion has resulted in so many arguments and I always ask people to look into their hearts with openness and submission to the Holy Spirit on such contentious areas. God bless you!
Yes, we are to submit to the Holy Spirit in all areas of our lives.