I can regale you with appalling stories of Christians judging Christians over dancing, drinking, card playing, movies, rock music, smoking, church on Saturday, the Lord’s Supper, women in makeup, women in pants, not wearing a hat, not dressing up for church, women in head coverings, using antidepressants, and going into sports bars—stories in which legalists anoint themselves as champions of a hypothetical weaker brother or sister so that they might trample your liberty in Christ. Thank God for grace. The genuinely weaker Christian will come with a spirit of timidity, worried about falling into temptation. The Bible says they will be “grieved” (Romans 14:15). They will be legitimately saddened. When you see that, yield. Don’t do the deed... Never let your choices put a stumbling block in the way of a novice Christian who is taking faltering baby steps on the way to growth. Tune your heart to self-sacrifice to meet a rookie Christian’s needs. But those who are not timid or tempted are also not weak. They’re control freaks. They’re bullies who, by now, ought to know better. Don’t yield. The Bible tells you not to (Galatians 2:4,5). The truth of the gospel is at stake. Jesus did not shed his redeeming blood so that pucker-faced killjoys could yank your chain. The gospel of grace will not long endure where legalists get their way. Stand firm. Let them sputter and fume all they want. Be free. ~from GRACE INTERVENTION, in a chapter on Liberty in Christ, coming Jan 1 from Barbour Publishing, Inc.. Cant wait, and your prayers are appreciated.
Posted on: Mon, 20 Oct 2014 12:51:16 +0000