Please turn in your Bibles this morning to Romans chapter
14 as we continue our in-depth study of Paul’s letter to
the church in
In fact, that is how Paul opened up this chapter. He wrote, “Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him.” Romans 14:1-3.
And listen to how The Amplified Bible puts these verses here in Romans 14:1-3, “AS FOR the man who is a weak believer, welcome him [into your fellowship], but not to criticize his opinions or pass judgment on his scruples or perplex him with discussions. One [man's faith permits him to] believe he may eat anything, while a weaker one [limits his] eating to vegetables. Let not him who eats look down on or despise him who abstains, and let not him who abstains criticize and pass judgment on him who eats; for God has accepted and welcomed him.”
For those that were weak in the faith, it is not that they lacked faith; they were not “weak in faith” but “weak in the faith.” These are the ones who felt spiritually superior to others because they kept all these rules and regulations, they were the strictest and thus, they saw themselves as the most mature in the faith because of that. You see, we are not to make up laws nor are we to place the convictions that God has placed on our hearts upon others.
Also, we see here that Paul is telling us, those that are truly mature in the faith, can exercise their Christian liberty, that we are to receive those that are weak in the faith into the church but we are not to dispute over things that are doubtful. We are not to welcome them into the church with the idea of changing their convictions by debating them and arguing with them. That is not what we are to do!
And again, it all boils down to love, the Agape love of Christ that flows into our lives and through our lives and apart from that, we see all kinds of disputes, arguments, divisions, it is just plain ugly!
Before we get to our text this morning, let me share this story with you because it will set the stage for what we will be talking about. We are told:
We have an invisible fence around our yard to keep our Great Dane from running into the road. An invisible fence is a wire buried just under the ground around the parameter of the yard, and it emits a mild signal. The dog wears a special collar containing a beeper and two little prods. When he approaches the wire, the collar begins beeping, warning him he is near a forbidden boundary. If he keeps going, he’ll get an unpleasant little electrical jolt.
A person’s conscience is like the beeping sound of that collar. It is an inner voice that warns us that we’re nearing a forbidden boundary. If we keep on going, we’ll soon be at great risk on the broad highway.
If we ignore the beeping, we may soon effectively tune it out. We may even get to the point where we no longer feel the little jolts or warning, having become seared, calloused, and desensitized.
- Robert J. Morgan, Nelson’s complete book of Stories, Illustrations, & Quotes, p. 143
So with that said, let’s begin reading in Romans chapter 14, starting in verse 22 and see what the Lord has for us this morning as we study His Word and look at this topic of Christian liberty.
We have already covered our INTRODUCTION on this subject a few weeks back as we looked at Romans 14:1-4. In our studies last week we looked at the topic of CONVICTION in Romans 14:5-21. And this morning we will look at the last two subjects dealing with this idea of Christian liberty. In Romans 14:22-23 we will look at the topic of CONSCIENCE. And then in Romans 15:1-3 we will finish up this morning looking at the topic of CONSIDERATION.
And
keep in mind that Paul is dealing with a subject that was very
important because there were many divisions, disputes going on
not only in the church in
You see, we are not dealing with foundational truths, we are dealing with matters of the heart and what often happens on the legalistic end is that what someone can’t do, they make it into a law so nobody can do it. In other words, if I can’t do it then nobody can! Folk’s, if the Lord has spoken to you about an issue, say watching television, then you are not to do it. But don’t make the mistake and make it into a law that everyone needs to follow, that is where the problem comes in.
On the other end of the spectrum are those that enjoy their Christian liberty and flaunt it and put down those that are uncomfortable doing what we do. That too is wrong, and yet, both sides did not see it, why? Because they were so self-centered, they were so right in what they were doing, that the reality was, they were wrong! Again, the missing point here is that of love. If they exercised this lifestyle in love, then it would not be a problem, but they had to prove that they were right and it was a mess.
Now please don’t misunderstand me here. I am not talking about a brother or sister in the Lord that is living in sin, that we are to let them enjoy their Christian liberty! That is not at all what I am saying or what Paul is saying. He is dealing with gray areas, things that are not necessarily wrong for you, but for someone else they may be wrong as the Lord leads. So let’s dig into these verses here in Romans this morning and look at these last two topics, CONSCIENCE and CONSIDERATION.
I think that Paul is dealing with our personal walk with the Lord and if you are mature in the faith, if you can exercise your Christian liberty in the way you live out your life, that is great. But again, this is between you and the Lord.
On the other end of the spectrum are those that are uneasy about doing things and when they do them they feel horrible and Paul is saying that if the Lord has laid this on your heart, if your conscience is telling you not to do something, then don’t do it. And, if you go ahead and do it, knowing what your conscience is showing you, then it is a sin to you!
Again, this is hard because we may wonder, “What about that guy over there, he is still doing it?” And here’s the thing. That is not the issue. The issue is you and what God has spoken to you. That may not be an issue for that other person, but it truly is for you and if you go ahead and do it, then it is a sin to you and not a sin for him because God has not spoken to him regarding that issue, he is free to do it.
Far too often we tend to look at what others are doing
instead of what God is telling us to do. Remember after the death
and resurrection of Jesus as He appeared to His disciples on the
shores of the Sea of Galilee, we are told in John 21:20-23, “Then
Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following,
who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, ‘Lord,
who is the one who betrays You?’ Peter, seeing him,
said to Jesus, ‘But Lord, what about this man?’
Jesus said to him, ‘If I will that he remain till I come,
what is that to you? You follow
Peter was concerned about John and what was going to happen to him. The Lord said what was going to happen to Peter, “Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.” But Peter, like most of us, was worrying about others and the Lord’s response to Peter was great, “ . . . ‘If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.’”
You see, we are to follow Jesus and apply to our lives the things He has told us! May we listen and allow God’s Word to penetrate our hearts so that we may grow and allow God to work in the lives of others. It is as Paul said in Romans 14:8, “For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men.”
Now let me share these verses here in Romans 14:22-23 from The Amplified Bible and listen carefully to what it says. We are told, “Your personal convictions [on such matters] — exercise [them] as in God's presence, keeping them to yourself [striving only to know the truth and obey His will]. Blessed (happy, to be envied) is he who has no reason to judge himself for what he approves [who does not convict himself by what he chooses to do]. But the man who has doubts (misgivings, an uneasy conscience) about eating, and then eats [perhaps because of you], stands condemned [before God], because he is not true to his convictions and he does not act from faith. For whatever does not originate and proceed from faith is sin [whatever is done without a conviction of its approval by God is sinful].”
The point here is to let your conscience guide you in what you can and can’t do. Now in saying that, we must make sure that our conscience is in line with the Word of God. Some have had their conscience seared with a hot iron so they can’t feel what is right and what is wrong any more. And we will deal more with that in a minute.
First of all this word, “conscience” is defined as, “a knowledge or sense of right and wrong, with an urge to do right; moral judgment that opposes the violation of a previously recognized ethical principle and that leads to feelings of guilt if one violates such a principle.”
Again, it is not just what I feel is right and what I feel is wrong. It is not that we do whatever we want and God looks down in favor at that as we exercise our Christian liberty! All that we do must be in accordance to God’s Word and not deviate from it. Let me give you an example of what I mean.
In
II Samuel chapter 24 Satan tempts David to number the people while
God is testing David to see if he is faithful to what the Lord
has instructed him to do already. What David is doing is trying
to raise a standing army; trying to find out how many soldiers
he had at his disposal. Not such a big deal when you think about
it and thus, why was the Lord angry about what David was doing?
In Exodus 30:12 we see this principle laid out by God, as we are
told, “When you take the census of the children of
Here is the principle. In the ancient culture you could only count
that which belonged to you and in this case,
Now it took Joab and his men almost 10 months, 9 months and 20 days to complete this census and I am sure that during that time David felt the conviction of God upon his life, his conscience was uneasy in what he was doing. Not only that, but before the census was even taken, Joab and his military leaders told David not to do this, and he refused to listen. He was hardening his heart to what God was showing him.
Well, David does come around, it was late and there would be consequences because of his actions, but we are told in II Samuel 24:10, “And David’s heart condemned him after he had numbered the people. So David said to the Lord, ‘I have sinned greatly in what I have done; but now, I pray, O Lord, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly.’” Now we don’t see the word “conscience” here but in his heart he knew it was wrong and he repented and got right with God after the census was completed!
Now this is an example of doing something that was contrary to the Scriptures, he knew it was wrong and he did it anyway and it was a sin. That is not what Paul is speaking of here. He is speaking, again, of those non-foundational issues, those gray areas that are between you and the Lord and whatever we do, it can’t contradict what God has already said in His Word!
You see, our conscience is strengthened by knowledge and that knowledge has to be the Word of God. Paul warned us in Colossians 2:8-10 when he said, “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.”
This is a very stern warning by Paul to the believers in Colosse to be aware, to pay attention because the world’s philosophies are deceptive and they want to take you away from Christ, they will rip you off! The Greek word for “philosophy” is PHILOSOPHIA (fil-os-of-ee’-ah) and it comes from two Greek words; PHILEO, which means, “to love” and SOPHIA, which means, “wisdom.” So the word means the love of wisdom! Now here is the problem, you cannot find truth regarding life apart from Christ!
I know, some of you disagree with me, but hear me out. Look at the philosophies of the world over the years and how they change, how they contradict each other. Do they sometimes get it right? Yes, that is possible but why grope for answers to life’s problems, to life’s questions when God has the answer for you. Os Guinness puts it this way in regards to the futile effort of man and his search for the truths of life. He says:
Contemporary man, with his self-drawn picture of society as the “closed room” with No Exit, is caught metaphysically and sociologically. In the darkness of the room evidently without windows, perhaps without doors, he gropes round and round the edges. Can one hope that someone will dare to wonder whether there is any light other than the feeble sparks of his own making? Or will he stubbornly persist in treading the barren circle of poor premises?
- Os Guinness, The Dust of Death, p. 148
Thus, false teaching is according to the basic principles of the world, elementary knowledge like the ABC’s and not according to Christ. In fact, Paul put it this way in Colossians 2:20, “Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations.” Don’t become a prisoner to the basic principles of this world because we have died to those things in Christ!
Here’s the thing, if your car is broken down you don’t get out your Bible but you take it to a mechanic or you get a book on auto repair. If you hurt your leg, sprained your ankle you may go to the doctor or read up on what you can do for it in a medical book. That doesn’t mean we can’t pray that God would fix the car or heal the ankle, but most of the time we must get it fixed. The Bible is not a book on science even though when it speaks of scientific things it is 100% correct. Now, if you have a problem with your heart and soul, what do you do? You go to a therapist, a psychologist, you get books on how to overcome and-so-on, right? Wrong! That is what the church is doing today but it is not what we should be doing. When you have a problem with your heart and soul you bring it to Jesus, you get into the Word of God because the Word of God deals with life’s issues; with ourselves, with our fellow man, and with God. The world’s philosophies won’t help you here, but they will hurt you! Don’t fall prey to the empty philosophies of the world, the traditions of men, but look to the Lord to guide you in all your ways.
The problem comes when we ignore what God is saying to us, we ignore our conscience, that built in alert system that is showing us we are not to do something and we can, over time as we ignore it, we can sear it or make it insensitive. Paul made this point in I Timothy 4:2 as he wrote, “speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron.” And The Living Bible puts it like this, “These teachers will tell lies with straight faces and do it so often that their consciences won't even bother them.”
The Greek word for “seared” is KAUSTERIAZO, (kows-tay-ree-ad’-zo) and it speaks of cauterizing, and thus, there is no feeling, the tissue is dead. There is no guilt, no remorse as they teach these false doctrines. Paul, in Ephesians 4:18-19 tells us, “having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.” That is the point, they are beyond feeling!
And yes, Paul is speaking of false teachers, but I think this can apply to all of us as we ignore what our conscience is telling us and if we do, and we go ahead with what God warned us not to do, it is a sin for us. But please understand, in this point that Paul is making, it is not a sin for everyone, it is not a law that no one can do this just because you can’t. I know I have repeated that a lot this morning, but it is a difficult one for us to understand.
Now, as I have said, knowledge is important and that knowledge must come from the Word of God but that knowledge must also be balanced with love, because if it is not it will tear down instead of build up. Folks, the bottom line is this, we as Christians may hold different convictions about many matters, many things, but they must be held in love!
It is as this story from H. A. Ironside shows us. He wrote:
“Remember,
That settled it. The shirt went into the discard and another - a fresh one - took its place. Jeans’ words may well speak to every believer concerning things about which conscience raises any question whatsoever.
- Illustrations of Bible Truth by H. A. Ironside, p. 9
And yes, prior to our conversion to Christ our conscience was dirty, but it was still there. We still had a sense of right and wrong even though it was darkened. But when we came to Christ it was cleansed and thus, we are to try to maintain a pure conscience before God and not allow others to act against their conscience, to act contrary to what the Lord has shown them and they are not to look down upon us because of the Christian liberty we are exercising. It again, is all based in love and if we would live out our lives in an atmosphere of love that is based in God’s Word, there would be no divisions, no conflict between brothers and sisters in the Lord. It is as Paul said in Ephesians 5:21, “submitting to one another in the fear of God.” The Amplified Bible puts this verse like this, “Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).”
The key to our Christian liberty is submission based in our love for God and for our brothers and sisters in the Lord. Let your conscience guide you in all that you do in accordance to God’s Word by His Spirit and you will not go astray and you can enjoy the path that God has you on.
We are now going to move on to the next section that deals with CONSIDERATION, how we are to behave in our Christian life and we will see that in Romans 15:1-3.
Those that are strong in the faith, those who walk in the liberty they have in Christ are to bear up, support those who are weak in the faith, those that are bound up by legalism. This is not to keep them down, but to lift them up, to make the weak strong in the faith. You see, our focus is not self-centered but others-centered, to bring to them the Good News of Jesus Christ, the good things of God. Paul said in Romans 14:19, “Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.” Can you imagine what would happen in the body of Christ if that were the attitude – building up instead of tearing down?
Paul says that those that are strong in the faith “ought” to bear the scruples of the weak. That Greek word for “ought” is OPHEILO, (of-i’-lo) and the basic meaning here is that of owing a debt or having a strong obligation to do something. In other words, as Christians, it is our duty to bear up the weak in order that they may grow in the Lord. And the Greek word for “bear” is BASTAZO, (bas-tad’-zo) and the idea here is picking up and carrying a burden.
What does that mean when Paul is telling us, in regards to the fact that we ought to bear the weak? Some may feel that it speaks of tolerating the weak and their ways, putting up with them. But that is not what the word “bear” means. The idea here is that we are to carry them. We are not to be critical or condescending to them but we are to love them. There is that word “love” again but it is what is needed if we are truly going to carry the weaker.
Paul gave this example in his own life in I Corinthians 9:19-22, “For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; to those who are without law, as without law(not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.”
Now please don’t come to the conclusion that Paul was compromising his faith here, watering down what he believed, not at all. He was not lowering his godly standards by which he lived by in order to get approval from man. What Paul is saying here in Corinthians is that he was willing to relinquish some of his personal Christian liberties, those things that he was free to do in Christ, even for those that are unbelievers, so that he may win them to Christ. And I will add, that he could also build up the weaker brothers and sisters in the Lord.
You see, some of the problems we have in this area is because we are self-centered. We tend to think that it is all about us. But it is not or at least it shouldn’t be! You see, we are servants and thus, we are to minister to those around us. It is speaking of self-sacrifice. Yes I am free to do those things but I am choosing not to so that I don’t hurt the walk of another, so I can build them up in the faith. That is what Paul said in Romans 14:19 and this is from The Amplified Bible and it puts this verse like this, “So let us then definitely aim for and eagerly pursue what makes for harmony and for mutual upbuilding (edification and development) of one another.” And The Living Bible says, “In this way aim for harmony in the church, and try to build each other up.”
Are you willing to do that, to lay down some of your liberties in order to help another grow in the Lord, help them to mature in the faith. You see, we can be very spiritual in our refusal to do that, but if we act like that, are we honoring the Lord, are we putting on the mind of Christ. Yes, we have Christian liberty but let us not use it to hurt another.
Let me give to you an example of someone who was willing to lay everything aside, even though He had every right to have these liberties you might say, for the betterment of man. The example, of course, is that of Jesus Christ. Notice what Paul tells us in Philippians chapter 4 and we are going to pick up in verse 1 and get the flow of what Paul is saying here, which then will lead us to Jesus, the ultimate example of someone who was willing to lay it all aside for another.
We are told, “Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:1-11.
Paul’s prayer for the Philippian church, for those believers is that they would have the mind of Christ, that they would reflect the nature of Christ. That their concern would be focused on others instead of on themselves because we do care for ourselves. We are interested in how we look, what we have, and-so-on. You doubt that, then just get a group picture, with you in it, and who is the first person you are looking for? You will look for your own picture, you want to see how you look, and, in a sense, we really don’t care how anyone else looks.
Then Paul moves on to give to us the ultimate example of someone who laid down His liberty you might say, He humbled Himself, emptied Himself of some of His godly attributes and took on the form of a bondservant, a slave. God almighty, the creator of heaven and earth became flesh and dwelt among us for one reason, to pay in full the penalty for our sins. He was more concerned about others than Himself and Paul is telling us that we need to have that kind of mindset as we are out in the world, as we minister not only to the lost but to our brothers and sisters in the Lord!
On this issue of selfishness, James Montgomery Boice had these remarks to make. He wrote regarding a radio broadcast by Donald Grey Barnhouse:
. . . His study appeared as part of his extensive radio broadcasts on Romans and was later published in booklet form. Today it can be found in God’s Glory, volume 10 of the first edition of the Romans series.
Barnhouse began by contrasting the selfishness of human nature with the selflessness of Jesus Christ, noting that the Greek word for the first person is ego, translated as self. Therefore, to be selfish is to be egotistical. By contrast, our text says that the Lord Jesus Christ did not please himself. In this he is marked with a true, perfect humanity very different from the fallen humanity of the sons of Adam:
We live in a selfish world, and selfishness is the principle mark of the human race. Stand beside the highway and watch the death toll of automobile accidents rise. What is the cause of most accidents? The attitude of “Get-out-of-my-way!” How many times we see the baleful glare of a driver who comes up beside us in traffic, his whole expression showing his compulsion to be first.
Even
when a person becomes a believer in Christ the old Adamic nature
remains, and there is warfare between the spirit and the flesh.
In the church at
One need not be a close observer to see that the thoughts of the world are centered in self. We switch on the radio, and the song comes lilting forth:
Oh! what a beautiful morning!
Oh! what a beautiful day!
I’ve got a beautiful feeling,
Everything’s going my way.
We turn the dial and hear a sermon on unselfishness and the glory of becoming like Christ and serving others; but the next program tells you how to get out of helping others.
Here Barnhouse quoted one of the songs from the well-known Broadway musical My Fair Lady, based on the play Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw:
The Lord above made man to help his neighbor,
No matter where, on land or sea of foam.
The Lord above made man to help his neighbor, but
With a little bit of luck,
With a little bit of luck,
When he comes around you won’t be home.
Barnhouse remarks that when we turn back to the Word of God and consider the example of Jesus Christ, we learn that for Christians, when your neighbor comes around for help, with a little bit of grace you will be home.
- James Montgomery Boice, Romans Volume 4, pp. 1796-1797
So true Christian love is not selfish, but instead it willingly shares with others and makes others happy. We are willing to carry the younger Christian so that we might help them in their spiritual development. And don’t come to the conclusion that we have to endure them, we are to encourage them! Again, it is the mind of Christ and Paul is going to continue to develop that thought in Romans 15:3, so lets read that verse because Paul is going to look back to the Old Testament to prove his point.
Paul makes the argument, by quoting out of Psalm 69:9, that Jesus did not come to please Himself, but to fulfill the will of the Father and to minister to the people. Now, in saying that, please understand that Jesus did not leave people entrenched in their own legalism. In Luke 14:1-6 we are told, “Now it happened, as He went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath, that they watched Him closely. And behold, there was a certain man before Him who had dropsy. And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, ‘Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?’ But they kept silent. And He took him and healed him, and let him go. Then He answered them, saying, ‘Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?’ And they could not answer Him regarding these things.”
Jesus
was trying to show them that their legalistic ways did not make
sense, that it was foolish to act that way. He wanted them to
think about what they were doing, what their legalism was doing
in their lives. And yet, on other occasions we see Jesus lay aside
His liberty. In Matthew 17:24-27 we are told, “When
they had come to
So here is the difficulty. Do we bear our neighbor’s infirmity or do we correct them for edification? Yes! I know, that doesn’t help, but it will. You see, we need to be sensitive to the Spirit’s leading in our lives and then walk accordingly. There will be times when we need to correct and there may be times that we are to carry our brothers and sisters and in both cases it is done out of love with the idea of seeing them mature in the faith.
Bearing our brothers and sisters when they are weak will generally be looked upon with favor from them. But, when the Lord leads us to correct them in love, not let them continue down that path, we will have to love them enough even if it means we will suffer reproach. We tend to think of Christianity as a bunch of rules, regulations, principles but it is not. It is walking with the Lord moment by moment seeking direction from Him, “Lord, what do you want me to do in this situation?” and then walk accordingly! May we have that consideration as we reach out to people.
As I begin to close this morning and we finish up this section on Christian liberty, let me share this story with you and then I will make some concluding remarks. We are told:
In
1928 Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse was speaking at a conference in
Looking them straight in the eye, I said, “The Virgin Mary
never wore stockings.” They gasped and said, “She
didn’t?” I answered, “In Mary’s time,
stockings were unknown. So far as we know, they were first worn
by prostitutes in
These
ladies, who were holdovers from the Victorian epoch, had no more
to say. I did not rebuke the girls for not wearing stockings.
A year or two afterward, most girls in the
Voluntary limiting of our freedom is not meant to subject us to the prejudices of Christians who are well established in the faith but persistent in sub-Biblical legalism.
In
- R. Kent Hughes, Romans, pp. 269-270
May we learn to walk in the love of Christ, and remember what Augustine said: “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.” Wise words to apply to our lives as we walk in the liberty that Christ has given to us!
Let me close with this. The Lord has given to us broad principles to live by in His Word on some issues and then it seems like He is saying to us, “See me for further instructions. Talk with me about specific applications to this.” And you know what, that is what God’s Word does tell us in James 1:5, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” In The Amplified Bible this verse goes like this, “If any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of the giving God [Who gives] to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or faultfinding, and it will be given him.” And lastly, in The Living Bible we are told, “If you want to know what God wants you to do, ask him, and he will gladly tell you, for he is always ready to give a bountiful supply of wisdom to all who ask him; he will not resent it.”
Let us use our Christian liberty in such a way that it will bless people and honor the Lord, who wants to give us wisdom, who wants to direct our lives. You see, it all boils down to love, our love for the Lord despite the ridicule, the slander, the persecution, the misunderstandings, and even death that may characterize our lives. If we are willing to be conformed to His image and please our brothers, it is not easy, but we have the example of Christ for us to follow and thus, may we enjoy the Christian liberty that we have in Christ but not use it to hurt others!