Navigating Christian Liberty and Legalism
There is a razor's edge that dances between legalism and liberty. At what point in time do we, as Christians, have the liberty to do something that another does not, and the one that doesn’t, who has a problem with that very thing we do? When does it become legalism and not prefer the other over ourselves?
Whereas I may be free to do item X, but my brother does not, and I hear that item X is offensive to him and would cause him to sin. Does he inform me that it is offensive, and if so, is there an expectation from him that I will not do the very thing to which I have the liberty to do so?
In his telling me that the item in question causes him to sin and that I should refrain from the item, has this now crossed into legalism? As the one offended could potentially use the liberty I have and now assert that my freedom is, according to them, a sin since they do not feel the liberty to partake or conduct the item in question.
There are principles we must understand to avoid falling into projecting legalism onto another's liberty and allowing our liberty to cause our brothers to sin.
The liberty you have as a Christian should not be something that is bragged about or put on public display.
For example, some have no issues with drinking a glass of wine or a beer to accompany a steak dinner. From the biblical perspective, they are following the guidelines of Scripture of not being controlled by wine or becoming a drunkard (Eph. 5:18). Or someone who drinks wine for its medicinal properties, as Paul even encourages Timothy in 1 Timothy 5:23. This individual who has prayed and considered the matter and does not have a conscience against it (which if they did they would indeed be sinning) as Paul makes mention to this principle in 1 Corinthians 8:7. If their conscience is clear and do not feel convicted then they are within their liberty to do so.
However, in Romans 14:14-19 Paul commends us not to put a stumbling block that would cause our brother to sin in our eating and drinking. So, the principle is evident in how liberty can be abused and in which you can still maintain your liberty, in this case drinking in moderation. In your own home that is not on public display, you are well within your right to do what your conscience bears witness to. However, if in public, if there is a chance a brother could see you exercising your liberty and witness you drinking, this is where the problem lies.
In Acts 15, the Jerusalem council met to address this issue regarding circumcision and then addressed eating meat offered to idols, and again Paul addresses this in 1 Corinthians 8. The issue comes in from the one being offended’s background. For Jews, eating meat offered to idols was forbidden because of the representation and connectivity with idolatry. The Gentiles, who are new believers, did not grow up with that knowledge to that of the Jews and ancestry of the Old Testament. So, for the Gentiles, they were eating meat not for the sake of idolatry but for the sake of nutritional value; however, for the Jews, this was not simply eating meat for caloric intake but represented a more profound spiritual issue.
Now, using the example of an individual who has the liberty of drinking alcohol, they may not have an issue with it because they have no prior knowledge of a history of alcohol abuse from their father or mother, or they themselves were not addicted to alcohol before their salvation. However, for another brother, there may be a history within his/her family of alcohol abuse, and they witnessed and experienced a trauma unique to that of alcohol, or they themselves may have previously been an alcoholic, or their parents may have asserted and brought them up as children in such a way that they are convinced that drinking alcohol is a sin.
For those who have the freedom to drink, it is not your job to investigate all the members within your local church to find out if anyone is offended if you drink alcohol. We all know that many have suffered from the issue of alcohol, either themselves or within the family unit. So then, it goes to suggest that in public, for the sake of the brother or sister that may potentially see us drinking, they may see you drinking one glass of wine or one beer, but in their mind, because of their upbringing, what is one glass or one beer to you, is a case of beer or an entire bottle of wine to them, which they assume you do to lead to drunkenness. So, to not cause judgment, shame, or even assumption that one is sinning, it is better to refrain from drinking in public in the event that one could see you drinking and believe the worst. Or, in a like manner, posting a picture of you out of town on a business trip with a beverage in hand can cause the same issue.
So, you are free and have the liberty to drink; however, you must discern how and where you treat this liberty. On the flip side, the one who does not have the liberty to drink should not then go investigating or finding out who drinks, nor should they talk in such a manner to suggest that anyone who does drink is sinning and the one who has the liberty should not be bragging in a similar manner, and suggest that anyone who doesn’t is being legalistic.
This principle applies to many other subjects; however, we must prefer our brothers and sisters over ourselves and not project expectations in any manner other than the biblical prescriptions outlined in Scripture. Legalism has had horrific effects on so many that are still unpacking the trauma that these effects have had on their lives as they were brought up in potentially legalistic homes, churches, or schools.
We must use biblical principles to examine our actions, hearts, minds, and intentions as they relate to us before God and one another. Romans 12:3 says, “For through the grace given to me I say to each one among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound thinking, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.”