"... For why is my liberty judged by another man's conscience? (1 Cor. 10:29, NKJV).
It is for freedom that Christ set us free, and we are not to be entangled again with a yoke of bondage (i.e., the Law, which was unbearable to the Jews). The yoke we bear is that of following Christ and doing His will, which He does reveal to us: "... The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will..." (Acts 22:14, ESV). "'All things are lawful for me,' but not all things are helpful.' All things are lawful for me, but I will not be enslaved by anything" (1 Cor. 6:12, ESV). Even though we have liberty in Christ, we are to be restrained by our brother's conscience, not flaunting our freedom so as to offend him.
It is a dangerous thing to flirt with evil and see what we can get away with, and savor of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil again, ruining our innocence--which is always deliberate. Jesus said to be wise as serpents and as innocent as doves. Even though we have the right to do something, doesn't mean we should do it--we must show restraint for our brother's sake. In 1 Cor. 8:12 says: "When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their conscience, you sin against Christ." We can make someone fall from the faith by approving of things that he considers wrong if his faith is weak. We are to be sensitive to the weaker brother. There are certain churches that teach taboos and forbid things not even mentioned in Scripture, but we are not to "go beyond that which is written." (Cf. 1 Cor. 4:6).
Things that are not mentioned as a sin in the Bible nor implied as an application are not sin. This is why it's hard to make an anti-gambling, or abstinence from alcohol or teetotaler case from the Bible. Though forbidding "free love" is a clear violation, regardless of what modern man and society say. What was wrong in the time of Moses, is still wrong; right and wrong do not evolve with the times but are absolute and eternal. The freedom we have is from the Law, not from sin--we are free to obey Christ and given the power to do it in Christ. We are not free to sin, but free from the power of sin--we don't have to sin anymore. What you may approve of is not necessarily the right thing to do in public, but "the faith that you have to keep between yourself and God." And remember: "... and be sure your sin will find you out" (Numbers 32:23, NASB).
Everyone has a dark side that no one sees but God, just like the moon. Someone has said we have four personas: One the world sees; our friends see, we see, and God sees. Hypocrisy is when these don't align with purpose and we pretend to walk the talk when we only talk the talk. We don't want others to praise us as a great Christian or give that impression when we know inside we are only hypocrites. Remember, your sin doesn't show your freedom but demonstrates your slavery. Soli Deo Gloria!
It is for freedom that Christ set us free, and we are not to be entangled again with a yoke of bondage (i.e., the Law, which was unbearable to the Jews). The yoke we bear is that of following Christ and doing His will, which He does reveal to us: "... The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will..." (Acts 22:14, ESV). "'All things are lawful for me,' but not all things are helpful.' All things are lawful for me, but I will not be enslaved by anything" (1 Cor. 6:12, ESV). Even though we have liberty in Christ, we are to be restrained by our brother's conscience, not flaunting our freedom so as to offend him.
It is a dangerous thing to flirt with evil and see what we can get away with, and savor of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil again, ruining our innocence--which is always deliberate. Jesus said to be wise as serpents and as innocent as doves. Even though we have the right to do something, doesn't mean we should do it--we must show restraint for our brother's sake. In 1 Cor. 8:12 says: "When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their conscience, you sin against Christ." We can make someone fall from the faith by approving of things that he considers wrong if his faith is weak. We are to be sensitive to the weaker brother. There are certain churches that teach taboos and forbid things not even mentioned in Scripture, but we are not to "go beyond that which is written." (Cf. 1 Cor. 4:6).
Things that are not mentioned as a sin in the Bible nor implied as an application are not sin. This is why it's hard to make an anti-gambling, or abstinence from alcohol or teetotaler case from the Bible. Though forbidding "free love" is a clear violation, regardless of what modern man and society say. What was wrong in the time of Moses, is still wrong; right and wrong do not evolve with the times but are absolute and eternal. The freedom we have is from the Law, not from sin--we are free to obey Christ and given the power to do it in Christ. We are not free to sin, but free from the power of sin--we don't have to sin anymore. What you may approve of is not necessarily the right thing to do in public, but "the faith that you have to keep between yourself and God." And remember: "... and be sure your sin will find you out" (Numbers 32:23, NASB).
Everyone has a dark side that no one sees but God, just like the moon. Someone has said we have four personas: One the world sees; our friends see, we see, and God sees. Hypocrisy is when these don't align with purpose and we pretend to walk the talk when we only talk the talk. We don't want others to praise us as a great Christian or give that impression when we know inside we are only hypocrites. Remember, your sin doesn't show your freedom but demonstrates your slavery. Soli Deo Gloria!
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