Life in a fallen world is tough. God could spare us a lot of pain if He were to snatch us up to heaven the minute we give our souls to Jesus. But He allows us to remain in a difficult world so we can tell others about Him. We are here to provide a witness, a testimony about Jesus.
Your witness is your purpose. “And you shall be My witnesses, in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and in the most remote places on earth” Acts 1:8.
By making us witnesses, God has given us the gift of purpose. He has also given us many other gifts: family, friends, celebrations, and sumptuous meals among them. Christians today enjoy a FREEDOM IN CHRIST that those living under the law never knew.
However, your witness is more important than your freedom in Christ.
In Acts chapter 15, Peter, Paul, James, and other Christian leaders had to address former Jews who were arguing that new believers must (1) be circumcised and (2) follow the whole law of Moses, Acts 15:5. Paul and the others could have simply said “no way, we live in an age of grace and will never put a new believer under the law.” But they did not. Nor did they go to the other extreme and agree to require circumcision and obedience to the whole law of Moses. Instead, they came up with a compromise, requiring young Christians to avoid three types of food and all sexual immorality.
Knowing new Christians were under no law, why did the leaders decide to place four requirements on them? Why the compromise? For the sake of their Christian witness. By avoiding several behaviors, the new Christians would be more likely to gain a hearing from their Jewish neighbors. And again—your witness is more important than your freedom in Christ.
Don’t believe me? Or maybe you think this only applied in the first century? Consider what happened in the very next chapter:
“Paul wanted Timothy to go with him [on a mission trip], so Paul took Timothy and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, since they all knew that his father was a Greek” Acts 16:3.
Imagine signing up for that mission trip! Considering the lack of anesthesia and the long days of healing involved, Timothy made a huge sacrifice. Did Timothy have freedom in Christ to NOT be circumcised? Absolutely. Did Timothy give up some of his freedom for the sake of his witness? Absolutely.
Christians enjoy extraordinary freedom in Christ. We are not under the law. Paul literally writes that all things are lawful:
“All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but not all things edify” 1 Corinthians 10:23.
Not all things edify. In other words, there are choices you have the freedom to make, but those choices may not edify. To edify means to build your faith or the faith of others. Will your choices edify?
You have freedom. Use your freedom to make choices that improve your witness for Christ.
You have freedom—use it to make choices that bear fruit.
All things are lawful for you. But do things that improve your witness to others—after all, your witness is your purpose.
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P.S. This is not intended as a commentary on Christians who drink. In the United States, the question of whether a Christian drinks alcohol may forever be a relevant discussion. We DO enjoy freedom in Christ. But we also should walk in love and make choices that will not cause new Christians to stumble or cause the lost to no longer listen to our words.
The point is, there are many issues to consider, areas in which Christians DO enjoy freedom in Christ, yet might choose to forego that freedom for the sake of their Christian witness. Like drinking, these decisions will vary from person to person. I am not taking sides on any of these. But some of the topics that have been debated during that last hundred years include: long hair on men, makeup on women, short dresses, swimwear, and revealing clothing, tattoos, earrings on men, what music you listen to or movies you attend, smoking and other forms of tobacco use, owning guns or motorcycles, and more. The list must be endless.
All I can say is, enjoy your freedom in Christ. But be sensitive to the opinions of others, particularly new Christians and those who are not yet Christians. Avoid doing things that will offend them and cause them not to listen to your witness. Remember that your witness is more important than your freedom.
Finally, ask Jesus to lead you.
Household Words: 