On Friday I had a good time of fellowship with one of my good friends. We walked and talked and ate and talked, but nothing trivial was on our minds, though we laughed at the little things, like hurting legs and sweating like pigs in the 90 degree weather. We talked about her recent graduation from seminary, other ministry pursuits, our families, our concerns, our strengths, and our weaknesses. Then she asked me this: “Has anyone ever asked you about your love for jazz and have you had to explain it to them?” No one had and I never had to explain this freedom in Christ that I have. I told her this. She said, “I was just wondering if someone younger in the faith had asked you about it.”
“Personally, I don’t see how jazz could be a stumbling block for younger Christians. There are no words, sensual lyrics or other bad language,” I said. “But, there could be sensual notes, I guess. And the music could take someone back to a sinful time in their lives,” I added.
“Anything could cause someone to stumble,” she said. And I shook my head and nodded as she recounted her faith experience in a church that called any activity not labeled Christian as sin: going to the movies, listening to music and dancing topping the list. Her husband had to cease some activities on her sin list so she wouldn’t begin to question his walk with Christ and compare his walk with hers–his sinful and hers sanctified, and maybe even questioning if he were capable of leading her.
Through a number of experiences, including study of the Word, deep introspection and examining the lives of those strong in the faith, she has begun to walk in her freedom in Christ, publicly displayed at her 40th birthday celebration where a major portion centered on dancing (albeit to Christian music). She had begun to see that her denomination had put a burden on her that God Himself does not require. As she matured in her faith she was able to see that her attempt at pleasing God was structured by man and never intended by God. God had to reveal this to her, and my friend’s story is one we should well remember as we embrace biblical strength.
Remember, biblical strength is putting others’ needs above our own, not for some self-seeking martyrdom but for the glory of God’s Kingdom. So in the context of Romans 14 and 15, from which our text came in Part 1, we should refrain from dancing, drinking wine or listening to jazz if this will negatively affect a believer’s faith. Our voluntarily laying down our freedoms until others can grow in theirs is necessary for two main reasons: 1) so we don’t cause our weaker sisters to stumble and 2) it’s God’s job, not ours, to usher the weak in faith into maturity.
Through observation and listening, we will be able to tell which of our liberties could cause another believer to be drawn into sin. For instance, I know someone who had an issue with lust and seeing half nude images or reading a racy scene in a novel will cause her to have lustful thoughts that she will consider acting upon. I would never suggest us going to a movie or for her to read a book that might have sexual imagery, no matter how discreet or brief. We might think that all Christians should just walk in their freedoms in Christ so we might choose to encourage them to go see that movie or read that novel. When we do this, we are likely creating the stage for their downfall and trying to usher them prematurely into maturity. This is us walking in our human strength and trying to force others to ascend to where we are spiritually. We may have an understanding of our freedoms in Christ–a big part of spiritual maturity, but trying to force others to get there before time shows that we are trying to do God’s work and is a sign that we still have some growing to do.
Romans 14:4-10 challenges believers not to judge one another’s choices in honoring God because we all belong to God and He is the one who will judge us. Verse 4 gets to the crux of the matter: “Who are you to condemn someone else’s servants? Their own master will judge whether they stand or fall. And with the Lord’s help, they will stand and receive his approval.” God has the spiritually mature and immature in His hands and is well able, without our help, to get us to mature and please Him. As my husband, Pastor Flynn Smith, who directs our church’s Christian education department and years ago that took a group of us through a yearlong study in Romans, said: “The totality of the Christian existence is summed up in the fact that we belong to God and exist for His purposes.” We, therefore, must embrace biblical strength because that is what God has called us to. Doing so won’t cause our weaker sisters to fall into sin and will give God room to minister in their lives. God ministered to my friend and we have to trust that God will fulfill His word for others, too.
What freedoms have you had to give up so you wouldn’t cause another believer to stumble? What struggles have you had in conceding your liberties?
My One Thousand Gifts List
#651-660
Walking the Dequindre Cut with Joshua
Being available to care for a friend’s child
Flynn cooking dinner without me asking, just because he wanted to bless the family
Getting to the Prayer Walk on time
Seeing thousands of Christians gathered to pray to God for revival of the Detroit region
The wonderful praise and worship and the atmosphere of worship
God showing me four major distractions to revival: food, fellowship, fun and fame
A restful afternoon of a movie and sleep
Polishing my nails
Watching “Bride Wars”
