The Law of Liberty

In the book of Romans we read about a concept known as the law of liberty, what is that all about and why do we need a law of liberty stay with us Renewing Your Mind with RC Sproul's next countries prohibit you from dancing going to see certain movies for post those convictions on social media, you're certain to get comments telling you to loosen up the other way around. Are you free to watch whatever movie he wants you probably heard from those who are shocked that you would do such a thing. What's the solution for this debate. Thankfully, there is a solution we're going to hear it in the sermon by Dr. RC is about 40 years ago I was visiting in the home of the Old Testament scholar Meredith Kline north of Boston, Massachusetts, and after dinner was time for me to go home and Dr. Klein was going to drive me in his car to my home which was less than a mile away and was in the same general development did not require that we go on to major highways or anything of that sort. But there was at that moment a torrential downpour in the car was about 100 yards from the house. I didn't have an umbrella. Neither did he. And so we dashed through the rain to the car and were drenched by the pouring rain. Meredith satin the driver seat and the turned on the ignition. Many looked at me and he said oh RC just a moment. He said I'll be right back let the car idle and neutrally opened the door – back the hundred yards through the torrential downpour and a moment later reappeared at the front door came back again and by this time it was like a drowned rat. Then he sat back at the steering will and I suppose that should I forgot my drivers license.

I said what I said you were into that ring just to get drug really going down the street. He said well it's a small thing, but the Lord said, if we can't be faithful in little things, how can he trust us with the big things. So, as a matter of conscience in an effort to be scrupulous to submit himself to the civil magistrates in the law of the land was that he was required to have his driver's license on his person. 18 occupied that vehicle. So without any great fanfare demonstration of piety. He ran for his driver's license and then revealed to me why, when and until I interrogated it. Look at that an essay will. Here's a man that was caught in the bonds of legalism. Here's a man that was majoring in minors committing himself to the minutia of righteousness, but I don't think that was the case. Obedience to God in small matters is never a matter of legalism and legalism. Dear friends, is one of the most distractive distortions of Christianity that there is in fact the two major distortions that block our sanctification is on the one hand, that spirit of antinomianism that says that we are so free in Christ that I don't have to have any concern about obeying the law of God whatsoever graces delivered me from God's law so I can do as I please with impunity. The other side of that heretical coin is legalism that seeks to bind us where God has left us free or which seeks to impose minor matters as the test of true spirituality. You've all encountered Christian groups that say that the essence of Christian spirituality and righteousness is refraining from dancing and lipstick and going to movies and so on. The Craig becomes thoughts not face not handle not and substituting these minor matters and make them the test of righteousness instead of the fruit of the spirit that God enjoins upon us in the Bible either one of these distortions can be very destructive to the Christian life. Indeed, there is a royal liberty that Christ gives to his people when he has set them free from the curse of the law and there is a freedom as there was in the garden of Eden to eat freely from all of the trees of the garden except those were God has clearly disinterment, we ought not to touch but then we encounter the problem in the church and in the Christian life where we don't all have the same scruples. There are some people who believe that dancing is a sin. There are others who don't believe that it's a sin. I had a friend where I worked in the faculty of a calling to came to be convinced of playing ping-pong was a sin because he became so caught up in it and so addicted to it that he began to neglect his work and neglected his family to look for a ping-pong game virtually every hour of the day and for him ping-pong became a sin that did not mean that we were to elevate to the whole campus or to the world a prohibition against playing ping-pong because ping-pong is somehow inherently evil.

Note there are things in the word of God were God says no or God says yes, but between those matters of law. There are a host of things that the New Testament describes as being matters, audio, offer us, that may be a strange word to you the word Audie offers means that which has no inherent ethical bearing. It refers to things that are morally neutral like ping-pong like eating meat and yet in the early Christian church.

Some people began to have scruples about matters that, in fact, in and of themselves were Audie offer us. We read in Paul's letter to the Corinthians that a scandal immersed among the Christians there about the issue of eating meat offered to idols in the pagan idolatry of Corinth people offered pieces of meat to their idols and then after the religious observation was over that meat was then sold in the marketplace for human consumption.

There were those among the Christians that wanted to distance themselves in every conceivable way from any conceivable act of idolatry and they said, as a matter of conscience. They would never purchase that meat that had been used in a pagan environment they would never consume that meat that had been so consumed and all those who had this matter of scruples and conscience began to look down on their brothers who purchased the meat and consumed it freely saying hey, this may just meet the idols don't exist as false religion. Now that they're all done in the meets in the marketplace is nothing inherently wrong with this meat, let's eat the meat so they bought the meat on sale and they consumed it without any pangs of conscience and all of a sudden a rift develops in the church between those who refused to eat meat offered to idols and those who freely ate meat that were offered to idols and Paul had to mediate in that internal dispute which was similar to what was going on here in the Roman community. And so Paul had to teach the people a lesson of their use of Christian liberty. And even though he had to teach it to the Romans and he had a teacher to the Corinthians. It seems that there is not a generation that goes by in Christian history where that same lesson is not needed to be learned of fresh pellets look here at the beginning of chapter 14 that addresses this issue of Christian liberty with respect to the weaker brother. Notice that again in chapter 14 cannot be seen in isolation from what went before it, and the general context and all of the instructions that Paul sets forth her. In chapter 14 are a continuation of his exposition of what it means to love your neighbor what it means to have a fellowship that is marked by agape by spiritual love and so chapter 14 begins with this command receive one who is weak in the faith, and not be involved in disputes over doubtful things one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables not here is a biblical evaluation of vegetarianism. This is the philosophy of the weaker brother and what is the notice and yet those in the early church to were vegetarians became convinced that that was the only route to follow but that was the spiritual measure of a person that they refrained not only from meat offered to idols, but from meat altogether and they thought that by that restraint.

They were moving to a higher level of spirituality.

They believed that they in fact had a faith that was more devout and deeper than their brothers who just went ahead and ate meat while the first thing we have to understand here is that Paul describes these people who have this particular scruple as being the weaker brother because they did not understand the fullness of the biblical concept of Christian liberty. They were still held captive to elemental principles of faith, not touch, not handle not they thought they were being devout when in fact they were being infantile and immature in their reasoning. So Paul said what you do with the weaker brother will some people would say we should ridicule the weaker brother. And we should mock the weaker brother. And we should have nothing to do with the weaker brethren who get caught up in all of these weird scruples not enough. Paul says to the church receive one who is weak in the faith.

Somebody believes he made all things, but he was weak eats only vegetables.

Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat. Let not him. It is not a judge him weeks for God has received him, we see what the point Paul is making his we are to receive each other when we differ on these matters of Audie offer.

This is not that Paul is saying that we should be cavalier about our brothers and sisters who have fallen into gross and heinous sin. Here the apostle is not saying receive with open arms. Those who live in defiance to the commandments of Christ. This is about issues that are in different where people have come to a conviction that something is wrong when inherently it is not wrong, but they have a miss informed understanding of what God allows, or what God forbids in the spirit here is where you accept each other receive each other with this principle, look here weaker brother is still your brother and your weaker brother has been received by God.

He has been welcomed into the family of God. So now these disputes become family matters and just as God receives you by grace you are to receive your brother, remember that there is a love that covers a multitude of sin, and a multitude of sins and a multitude of weaknesses, multitude of misunderstandings, weak theology week understandings of this and that one who is weak ought not to despise the one who manifest liberty, the one who manifest liberty ought not to despise the one who has this scruple of conscience.

Paul addressed this question rhetorically. Who are you to judge another's servant you see the analogy from the marketplace.

If you have a servant working in your house and your neighbor has a servant working in his house and you give certain responsibilities to your servant that you want to make sure taken care of.

Whereas your neighbor next door has a different agenda is a different concern for their servant doesn't care about some of the things that you care about. Who are you to stand in judgment on your neighbor, servant, your neighbor servant is to serve your neighbor and your servant is to serve you and the point of courses that we are all servants of Christ and who my two despise one of Christ servants if that servant is acceptable to Jesus. How can he not be acceptable to me. So the analogy is simple to his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, it would be made to stand for God is able to make him stand.

One person esteems one damn above another, another steams every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord.

He does not observe the day the Lord he does not observe you each season.

The Lord gives thanks he does not he doesn't the Lord therefore whether we live or we die we do it for the Lord the week brother has his scruple unto the Lord, the strong brother has his freedom unto the Lord.

One person esteems one day of another Paul's officer talking not about the Sabbath, but about certain holy days that were observed among the Jews and one Jewish people were converted to the Christian faith.

Some of them still hung on to the old traditions and the old observations even though they were no longer enjoined upon the Christian community. Some of them as a matter of conscience continued those practices. Also, if they observe that date of the Lord find them observe the Lord. Another person observes at floor level person to let not this is simple stuff until something else happens this past week I was in a meeting with the man who was on the Board of Trustees of the Christian institution explained to me that as a member of that board of the Christian institution. He was not allowed to imbibe in the drinking of wine with I will if he comes to St. Andrews on Sunday morning during the Lord's supper he be very happy that we have that outer ring of grape juice for somebody who's bound by this particular scruple and he said to me what you think about that and I think it's ghastly.

He said why I said because with that Christian institution is done now is elevated. A preference that they have and made it a rule made it a law they've legislated were God has left men free. What you have at their concern that we differ from the culture that we not be involved in drunkenness and all that stuff I said, you realize that Jesus could not serve on the board of the substitution that not one of the apostles would qualify for that institution.

So I appreciate their concern. They want to keep that institution unspotted from the world, but their position is one of weakness and now they've made it law. Here's the principle and I'll expound this later. God willing next week and in the days to come. The classical understanding of Christian liberty. Is this that I am not to use my liberty to rub my weaker brother's nose in it by not to try to force somebody who has a scruple against something as uninformed as that scruple may be, and not try to force them or seduce them into violating their own conscience to the basic principle that unfolds here is one of loving sensitivity if my brother believes that drinking a glass of wine is sin. I ought not to try to coax him into drinking a glass of wine, because I would be trying to entice him to violate his own conscience and the violation of one's conscience even if it's a misinformed conscience is a serious matter which God willing will look at next week. So what does that mean the weaker brother has the scruple, so we stand back and allow this weaker brother to make this the law of the church. No no no no that's not what Paul is teaching here Paul makes it clear in his teaching that though we are to be sensitive, loving and kind to the weaker brother. We ought never to allow the weaker brother to exercise a tyranny over the church and how we see it we see it in the Judaizing conflict that Paul had to deal with every day of his ministry. We talk about the question of circumcision. When Paul tried to be all things to all men at the beginning before the Judaizers raise their power as a matter of indifference. Paul circumcised Timothy but then when the Judaizers came along and said circumcision is not only optional for the Christian, but it is necessary and everyone who was truly a Christian must be circumcised when Paul resisted them with the full force of his apostleship and refused to circumcise those even who demanded to see the difference.

As a matter of indifference. But when the weaker brother. In this case the Judaizers tried to make their weakness. The law of the church. Paul said don't you dare and put an end to Christian tolerance. At that point and so it's a very thin line is that we walk the weaker brother is not to destroy the freedom of all in the church. But even in the midst of freedom if we have this one or that one who was still stumbling we can forgo our freedom for time out of consideration for them out of sensitivity to their weakness, the spirit, the Paul is opposing here is the spirit.

American says I'm afraid I'm what I did exercise my freedom, no matter what not. The stronger brother has to be willing to forgo his strength for the sake of the week and yet the church must never allow the weaker brother to establish the law for the whole Christian community. That's the basic essence of what the apostle is setting forth here in chapter 14 of Romans, and then chapter 8 of Corinthians. Because we are to do what we do to the Lord. No one lives to himself.

No one dies to himself.

If we live, we live the Lord. If we die we died of Lord, therefore whether we live or die. We are the Lord's, and they are the Lord's this and that Christ died, rose and lived again, that he might be Lord of both the data in the living so why do you judge your brother, why do you show contempt for your brother, for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ as it is written as I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me and every tongue shall confess to God that each of us will give account of himself to God.

Therefore, let's not judge one another, but rather, not to put a stumbling block or cause the weaker brother to fall simple human kindness simple human consideration that has to go both ways.

But again, this has to do with things that have no inherent goodness or evil associated with this is not saying well if you one of the weaker brother and be involved in adultery.

You do your adultery under the Lord and I'll do my piety to the Lord in chastity. The loan amendment. There's no occasion when it's okay for the weaker brother and to be involved in adultery or in violation of the law. Gotta remind you these precepts have to do with that which is all the offers those things that in and of themselves, such as the eating of meat drinking of wine, the observing of days. Some people make a mountain out of which inherently have nothing to do with the kingdom of God, the great danger is to allow these body offers matters to become requirements for Christian spirituality and even worse with test for what is spiritual and what is righteous, the question of Christian liberty those disputable matters that the Bible doesn't address explicitly has and has caused no little debate throughout church history are thankful for Dr. RC Sproles exposition of Romans today your on Renewing Your Mind.

The apostle Paul gives such clear instructions on how to treat the weaker brother. We have been studying Paul's letter to the Roman church for more than a year here on the Lord's day addition of Renewing Your Mind, Dr. Strohl taught the series over the course of 59 Sunday evening services at St. Andrews Chapel where he served as co-pastor for many years.

We like for you to have this complete sermon series. Just contact us today with your donation of any amount and we will send it to you on a single USB drive or offices are closed today but you can still make a request securely online. When you go to Renewing Your Mind.Ward there only a few weeks left in the series of you been thinking about requesting this resource. Let me recommend that you contact as soon and we thank you for your donation of any amount next Sunday Dr. Strobel continue on this theme of Christian liberty with a sermon titled do not cause another to stumble. We hope you'll join us for Renewing Your Mind