--So why is Christian liberty so important?
--Well, precisely because we live in a culture in which human freedom is worshipped and the liberty to do whatever we want is considered such an inviolable right (perhaps even unalienable), the most common misunderstanding about Christian liberty is that it is for the purpose of protecting people in their freedom.
--The reality couldn’t be farther from this.
--Remember that the purpose of all creation, all humanity, and each Christian life is to glorify God. So how does letting individual Christians decide whether to drink alcohol or whether to participate in Halloween or whether to listen to secular music fit with this objective?
--It’s simple. By declaring that none of these things in general defines or accomplishes our status with God, we are forced instead to remind people (both ourselves and outsiders) that the entire work of salvation is accomplished by faith in Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit.
--The principle is that we are all saved by faith, and therefore we must not build barriers amongst ourselves on the basis of anything other than this.
--And so someone from the outside comes in and says, “How can it be that followers of the same God might be so different? One believes in democracy and one in monarchy. One listens to country music and the other to rock and roll. One abstains from all alcohol and the other consumes it in moderation. One is circumcised and the other is not. One dresses up for church and the other goes in shorts. How can all the followers of the same God be so wildly different?”
--This question (which Christian liberty is intended to provoke!) leads immediately to the real issue: our common faith in Christ and in Christ alone. The very diversity of Christians points directly to the Glory of God in that His work and His work alone saves and unites us. Anything else added on top of this creates a false Gospel mixing His accomplishment with our own.
--In this way, Christian liberty is absolutely not a matter of making individual Christians happy. It’s entirely a matter of reaffirming and proclaiming the Grace of God alone.
--But there’s one radically important additional reason for Christian liberty which I’ll explain about tomorrow.
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