Gospel Freedom and a Godly Example

Of all the many conflicts that plagued the Corinthian church, one of their greatest causes of contention centered around the issue of Christian liberty. In fact, the apostle Paul devoted three chapters to this matter in his first letter to the Corinthian church. In chapters eight, nine, and ten of First Corinthians, Paul confronted a division between fellow believers who were fussing over whether a Christian should eat food which had been offered to an idol. This division however was really over what a Christian was free to do.

For some believers in Corinth, they could not bring themselves to eating food offered to an idol, because in their conscience, they believed it would draw them into the participation of pagan worship. But for other believers, they saw no problem eating such food, since for them, food was food. Thus, at the heart of the division between these believers, was the whole question of Christian liberty. And the exercise of that liberty was determined by what one's conscience would allow.

Now for the apostle Paul, he had no problem eating food which had been offered to idols, because he knew that an idol was nothing and food was just food (8:4-8). He therefore agreed with those fellow Christians who felt the liberty to eat food of any kind no matter where it came from. However, what mattered most to Paul was not the mere exercise of his freedom as a Christian; but rather how his freedom would affect others. And even more than that, Paul was concerned at how his freedom would affect the way in which others received the gospel he was preaching.

So under this consideration, Paul set forth a biblical principle that he lived by in relation to his freedom as a Christian. A principle that he desired the Corinthian church, and all believers for that matter, to live by when it came to the issue of Christian liberty. In I Corinthians 9:19,22 Paul declared:

For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them...I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.

The great point Paul was making by this principle, was that while he would never compromise nor set aside any truth of the gospel; yet, he would gladly deny himself any personal liberty he has in the gospel - if by such a denial, he could win others to the truth. In other words, when it came to matters of personal preference that Paul was free to exercise as a Christian, he would forgo those liberties if they in any way hindered others from receiving the gospel or growing in the gospel.

Thus, Paul said, "to the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews", and "to those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law", and "to the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak" (9:20-22). In each of these examples, Paul was simply demonstrating that he was willing to identify with others at that point where a door for the gospel would be open. And this was not just his practice with unbelievers, but even with fellow Christians (like those offended by eating food offered to idols). Paul would not permit himself to do anything which would hamper their maturity in the faith. A worthy example to follow indeed.

The Right and Wrong Way to Judge

There is perhaps no passage in all the Bible more misapplied and misunderstood in our day than Matthew 7:1, "Judge not, that you be not judged." Douglas Wilson once remarked that this is the only verse of Scripture that every pagan in America knows by heart. And the reason why is because for most people in our modern culture, Matthew 7:1 has been erroneously employed to mean that no one should ever evaluate or criticize anyone for anything. The moment you declare something to be wrong or in error about someone's belief or behavior, you are immediately charged with "judging." "Don't you judge me!" is the favorite and typical reaction from those people who insist that we must be tolerant and all-inclusive of whatever anyone believes or how they live. And again, their basis for this conviction is Matthew 7:1.

But when Jesus spoke these words in Matthew 7:1 about judging others, was He really meaning that we must never pass an unfavorable judgment on the conduct and opinions of others? Is this what Jesus meant? Are we to take these words - "judge not" - to mean that sin is never to be rebuked or that false doctrine is never to be corrected? Well, if we compare Scripture with Scripture, it can be easily and quickly deduced that Matthew 7:1 is not forbidding the exercise of any judgment whatsoever. In fact, right here in Matthew 7, there is the call by Christ Himself that we must judge those who claim to speak for God (7:15). We must be discerning and perceptive in what they teach and how they live, making every effort to judge between truth and falsehood, between what is really from God and what is nothing but a sham.

Moreover, in the immediate context of Matthew 7:1, Jesus tells us that there is a right way to judge others (7:5). But the right kind of judging must be preceded by our own confession of sin and repentance, so that we may "see clearly to take the speck out of [our] brother's eye." In other words, the only way to rightly correct the sin or false doctrine in others, is to be certain that we ourselves are not guilty of the same thing. This means that we must thoroughly examine ourselves, carefully considering our own ways, and thus critically measuring ourselves by the infallible standard of God's Word. Once we have done this, then Jesus says we will "see clearly" to exercise the right kind of judging toward others.

So then, Matthew 7:1 is not condemning altogether the practice of judging others. However, it is condemning a certain type of judging. And sadly, it is a type of judging that is all too common, not only in the world, but even in the church. When Jesus said, "Judge not, that you be not judged" - our Lord was forbidding what is called "a censorious, fault-finding, hyper-critical" spirit. J.C. Ryle (1806-1900) desribed this as a "readiness to blame others for trifling offences or matters of indifference, a habit of passing rash and hasty judgments, a disposition to magnify the errors and infirmities of our neighbors, and make the worst of them."

But what is so wicked about this judgmental attitude, is that it is carried out by our own personal standard as the measuring rod of what is right or wrong. We don't judge people by God's perfect standard but by our own prejudicial standard that is shot through with sin. And in addition to this, a judgmental person also plays God, since they claim that they can perfectly read the motives and intentions in another person's heart. They act as if they are omniscient, and thus know everything about everything at all times. What arrogance! But this is the kind of judging which our Lord Jesus Christ condemns. John MacArthur summed it up this way: "Whenever we assign people to condemnation without mercy because they do not do something the way we think it ought to be done or because we believe their motives are wrong, we pass judgment that only God is qualified to make."

Loving Jesus More than Family

One of the hardest statements that came from the lips of our Lord Jesus Christ, is recorded in Matthew 10:34-37,

"Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me."

The historic context of these words fall within a larger discourse Jesus was giving His disciples, as He was commissioning them to take the gospel to Israel. From verses 24-42, Jesus set forth the kind of characteristics that will embody His true followers as they carry the gospel into the world. And among the marks of an authentic disciple of Christ, is the willingness to forsake everything, including one's own family if necessary, for Christ's sake.

Our Lord unpacks this kind of sacrifice by first telling us that the coming of His Gospel will render division and estrangement between the nearest relations. While the Gospel certainly proclaims the way of peace between the sinner and God (Rom.5:1-2), yet its presence and preaching create a clear division between those who receive it and those who reject it. Hence, Christ is preparing all His followers for what is the inevitable separation between those who believe in Him and those who don't. In fact, to follow Christ, will bring...a sword that will cut ties in a family with such severity, that "a person's enemies will be those of his own household."

But how could this be? How could sons and fathers, mothers and daughters be set...against each other because of Christ? The answer is really quite simple, but hard to swallow. Our relation to others by blood does not translate into the same relation as the family of God. Unless one is born again with a new nature, they will not love, trust, savor, obey, and follow Christ as their Lord and Redeemer (Jn.1:12-13; 3:1-8). Indeed, as long as they remain unbelievers, they will live in a state of spiritual death, enslaved to sin and Satan (Eph.2:1-3) - despite the fact that we may call them "Mom", "Dad", "brother" or "sister." If we follow Christ and the rest of our family doesn't, then we must not be surprised when we find ourselves set against the rest of our family.

Observing the reality of this kind of division, Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892) once said: "The coming of Christ into a house is often the cause of variance between the converted and the unconverted. The more loving the Christian is, the more he may be opposed: love creates a tender zeal for the salvation of friends, and that very zeal frequently calls forth resentment. We are to expect this, and not to be put off by it when it occurs. Animosities on account of [Christ] often excite the fiercest of enmities, and nearness of kin inflames rather than quenches the hostility."

But while we can expect this division between believers and unbelievers who live under the same roof - yet for the believer, Christ must always be first! First in our hearts, minds, affections, and actions. He must be first therefore even over the natural love we have for our family. "Whoever loves father or mother...son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." Here is the acid test of our claim as Christians: is our commitment and love to Christ so profound and far-reaching, that any relationship that endangers that relationship will be sacrificed? If our parents or siblings are standing in the way of our faithfulness to Christ, will we cut ties with them to serve Christ with greater liberty? What relationship matters more to us?

To quote again from Spurgeon: "We must earnestly beware of making idols of our dearest ones, by loving them more than Jesus. We must never set them near the throne of our King...Father and mother, son and daugther - we would do anything to please them; but, as opposed to Jesus, they stand nowhere, and cannot for an instant be allowed to come in the way of our supreme loyalty to our Lord."

So, what marks does Christ expect to embody His true followers? According to Matthew 10:34-37, we are to be a people whose passion, love, and devotion to Christ surpasses and supersedes every right affection we have for our family. Even if following Christ brings upon us the scorn and disapproval of our family; yet, by God's grace, we will not shrink back from obeying Jesus fully.