The road of Christian Liberty is a narrow road to navigate and there are dangerous ditches on each side.
On one side of the road is the ditch of Legalism, where Christian Liberty is in danger of being destroyed by man-made commandments and a works-righteousness religion.
On the other side of the road is the ditch of Antinomianism, which is a fancy and technical word for Lawlessness. In this ditch, Christian Liberty is in danger of being destroyed by taking the Word of God out of the driver seat and replacing it with my wants, my desires, and my preferences.
If Antinomianism were a hymn it would sound like this:
Free from the law—oh, happy condition!
I can live as I please and still be forgiven!
Because the road is narrow and the ditches are dangerous, we need a good navigational system that can help keep us safely on the road of Christian Liberty.
Most new vehicles come equipped with these wonderful navigational systems that help you drive more safely. The car beeps at you if you’re in Reverse and there is an object behind you, or you if you are drifting off the road, or if you are about to hit an object, some cars even do most of the driving for you.
I want to give you 4 questions to consider in regards to Christian Liberty. Think of these questions as the Bible’s safety features for navigating the road of Christian Liberty. Each question is designed to help you keep the car of your Christian life on the road of Christian Liberty.
(1) The first and most foundational question as you navigate the road of Christian Liberty is “What does the Word of God have to say about this matter?”
God is the one who designed the road of Christian Liberty and His Word is the map we need to guide us and govern us so we stay on the road. Our feelings are not the map, the latest opinion poll is not the map, what you read yesterday on the internet is not the map. Believe it or not, a Christian Mentor or Pastor or Theologian that you have great respect for is not the map. They can be a resource to help you read the map better but they are not the map. Sola Scriptura means that the Word of God is the ultimate and final guide for navigating the road of Christian Liberty.
(2) The second question is this: “Am I being motivated by the glory of God?”
The Bible does not directly address a number of areas of life that we have to navigate. And often when we analyze these areas we only ask the question of permission, “Can I? or Can’t I?,” but rarely do we stop to ask the question of motivation, “Why do I want to do this?”
For example, the Bible does not give a dress code and a swimwear code. This is an area of Christian Liberty. But as we purchase clothes and pick out our wardrobe and prepare to go to the beach, the dominant question we should ask is not “Am I allowed to?” but “Am I motivated by the glory of God?” As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:31, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
(3) Question number 3: “Is this spiritually beneficial for me?”
This question comes right from Paul’s own counsel on the topic of Christian Liberty in 1 Corinthians 6:12:
“‘All things are lawful for me,’ but not all things are beneficial. ‘All things are lawful for me,’ but I will not be enslaved by anything.”
Media and entertainment is an area of Christian Liberty. But too often the only question we ask of our media and entertainment is “Will I enjoy this?” it would serve our freedom in Christ far better if we asked “Will this be spiritually beneficial for me?”
(4) The fourth question is this: “How will this affect my Christian witness?”
This question is drawn from Paul’s example in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23:
“Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a servant to everyone, to win as many as possible…I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.”
The driving ambition for Paul was not “My Rights!” but “My Savior!” And because of that he would gladly lay them down and set them aside for the sake of witnessing about His Savior.
We are never more aligned with Christian Liberty, then when we are conformed to the character of our Savior, who did not count His rights as equal with God a thing to be used for His own advantage but laying them aside He freely and willingly took on the form of a servant, to be obedient for you, and die on the cross in place of you, so that you could be freed from all the shackles of sin and showered with every spiritual blessing. And those who the Son sets free are free indeed.
This was an excerpt from the sermon “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death”