Liberty In Christ

Liberty In Christ

I Corinthians 8:9: But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak.
James 2:12: So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.

I. Liberty With Other Christians.
A. Take Heed…
· Paul is saying “Listen Up”! “I am about to say something that contains a good deal of importance”.
· When someone tells you to listen, it is because they want you to understand what they are going to say to you.
· Before you can hear what is going to be said, you must first pay attention to the speaker. This will allow your mind to completely take in what the speaker says to you.
B. Lest by any means…
· The Holy Spirit has each individual under certain convictions. Some things in the scripture are very plain, and require no need for personal convictions. However, some things like preferences, are left up to the Holy Spirit and the believer. This is what a personal relationship with God is all about.
· Since our relationship with God is personal, there may be some preferences you have not had conviction on by the Holy Spirit that another believer has received.
· Example of this would be found when Paul is talking about the eating of meats sacrificed to idols, and the offense it may cause to others by his partaking of it. Paul has liberty to eat the meat, but because it may offend another, he says he will not eat it to save their offense.
C. This liberty of yours…
· This makes it a personal liberty to the believer, because of their position in Christ.
· Since this liberty is given to you because of Christ, it is needed that you understand that anyone who is not in Christ has no liberty.
· As I have already explained in earlier study, this liberty is given that Christians can have the opportunity to choose to do right, not wrong
· Since those without Christ have no liberty, they are still in bondage to the law. They must live after the law and meet the Law’s requirements, which they can not do. This is why they have no liberty.
D. Becomes a stumblingblock to them that are weak.
· As we discussed earlier, sometimes we must refrain from certain activities in order that we do not offend another.
· We do not want our liberty in life to cause another person to stumble in their walk with God. Being a Child of God, we are to be judged by the law of liberty. James 2:12
· We should esteem others higher than ourselves. In doing so, we are less likely to cause another to stumble from our actions.
· Keep in mind that those that are weak are possibly on a different level of understanding, and maturity with God, and His Word. We must take heed that we are not judgmental toward them, but show them the Word of God in love with patience