Christian Freedom

       When was the last time you agonized over a pork chop?  How long has it been since you were traumatized by a lobster?

       I’m not talking about diets.  And I don’t want to hear about your seafood allergy.  I’m just asking you a question.  The Old Testament law forbids both pork chops and lobsters.  And I want to know what you are doing about it.

       Probably nothing.  I mean, when was the last time you checked to make sure something was kosher before you bought it?

       What to eat may be a big deal for Seventh Day Adventists.  They worry about those things.  But they’re no big deal for us.  How come?  How is it, that we feel so free to ignore this part of the Bible?

      We find the answer in God’s word from the 15^th chapter of Acts at the pivotal event in the history of the church called the Jerusalem Council.   We looked at this chapter on June 17^th.

       As Acts 15 opens, the question on the table is how Gentiles like you and me become Christians. Do we have to become Jews in order to know the Messiah of Israel?  That question faces the early church. 

       Paul and Barnabas have been preaching the gospel to the Gentiles on Cyprus and in modern Turkey .  There has been a great harvest of new believers into the Kingdom.  But some members of the Jerusalem church are way less than pleased.  They believe that Gentiles can only enter the church if they are circumcised and assume the obligation to keep the Mosaic Law. 

       This brings on the Council of Jerusalem Luke describes in Acts 15.  The final result is that at Jerusalem , the apostles and elders set us free from the need to keep the Jewish law and to be circumcised in order to be a part of the church of Jesus Christ .  We are free.  It’s not Jesus and the law or Jesus and anything else but Jesus only.

       Now, I want to turn your attention to something very strange and very revealing in Acts 16:1-3.  You needed the background of Chapter 15 to get the impact.  Listen to what Luke tells us of Paul does after the Jerusalem Council.

       “And Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra.  A certain disciple was there named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek, and he was well spoken of by the brethren who were in Lystra and Iconium.  Paul wanted this man to go with him; and he took him, and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.”

       Note the connection of Chapter 15 to Chapter 16.  Do you notice what Paul does here in verse 3 right after he has won the great victory for us and our Christian freedom at Jerusalem ?  Paul does exactly what he has been fighting against.  He takes Timothy and circumcises him.  Why?  Luke says it was “because of the Jews in those parts who knew Timothy’s father was a Greek.”

       Paul fights for the principle.  He fights until the principle is firmly established.  He will not be enslaved by the Judaizers and he will not allow us to be enslaved.  Today I am pleased to be able to serve a church like Moorpark Presbyterian – a place relatively free from man made laws – a place where we honor the 11^th commandment – “You shall cut each other slack.”

      But note second that while Paul will not be enslaved by the Judaizers, he also will not be enslaved by his victory over the Judaizers.  There are things that are more important to Paul than his freedom.  People are more important.  Paul has a bigger thing in mind than his freedom – the salvation of women and men.  And he is prepared to remove every barrier to achieving that goal.

       He says this plainly in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 where he writes: “For though I am free from all people, I have made myself a slave to all, that I might win more.  And to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, thought not being myself under the law, that I might win those who are under the law …To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all people that I may by all means save some.”

      Paul changes his strategy according to his audience.  His eyes are always focused on the main goal.  He wants to be clear.

      Paul’s freedom and flexibility under the guidance of the Spirit, are shown by his circumcision of Timothy.  Because Timothy’s father was Greek, he had not been circumcised.  But Paul has no need to flaunt his victory in Jerusalem by having an uncircumcised half-Jew as his traveling companion.  He wants no wall in his ministry to the Jews he will meet.  It’s time for Timothy to go under the knife.

      But what about Timothy?  He has a role in this too.  He’s the one who will feel the pain of Paul’s freedom.

       Timothy is somewhere between 16 and 20 years old. His Greek father is dead.  That’s the meaning of the verb Luke uses. Now Paul wants to take him along as his son in the faith – but only once he’s circumcised.

      Why does Timothy agree with Paul’s plan?  Well, we have an insight into his character in Philippians 2:19-24 where Paul write about Timothy, “I have no one else like him, who takes a genuine interest in your welfare.  For everyone looks out for his own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.”

       Timothy is unique.  Some translations say that Timothy was “like-minded.”  Timothy thinks like Paul.  He does not have an identical personality or the same gifts.  He has a different work assignment.  But Timothy views the mission and strengthening of the churches the same way.  Paul’s goals are his goods.  So Paul’s methods are his methods.

       Second, Timothy is concerned for other people.  Isn’t it wonderful to have someone around who is concerned for other people?  Paul is speaking from his own experience.  But it seems to me that he was also speaking of our time when he said, “Everyone looks out for his own interest, not those of Jesus Christ.”  Paul could be describing our country, our city, or our town, because this is what most people are like, today as then.  But Timothy is someone who is so under the influence of Jesus Christ, so filled with the Holy Spirit, that he is concerned about others.  He put their interests before his own and certainly before his comfort. He’s willing to take the pain.

      Timothy also looks out for the interests of Jesus Christ.  It is possible to have someone who is interested in other people but not within a Christian framework.  A good non-Christian counselor can be interested in other people and help them – but not for the sake of Christ.  Timothy has his spiritual priorities right.

       Timothy also works well with other people.  Have you known people who can’t seem to work with anybody?  They do a good job, but it is all by themselves.  They know nothing about teamwork.   Timothy is not like that.  That is why Paul gave him responsibility for churches he had founded.

       Acts 16:3 tells us that Paul wanted to take Timothy along on this second journey.  “So he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area.”  When the meaning of the gospel is not at stake, Paul is willing to compromise many things in order to win others to Jesus Christ.  Paul can fulfill regulations he no longer feels are necessary to him, in order to win people for whom they are still the crucial issue.  Paul knows that he has to build bridges and identify with the feelings of others.  By having Timothy circumcised, Paul shows that a Christian is free to fulfill unnecessary regulations in order to win people for whom they are important.  This is not a simplistic “when in Rome do as the Romans do.”  This is love that’s unqualified by your own preference.

       Sometimes we give way for love.  Parents do this all the time.  Years ago I went to see the Care Bear movie and then continued on at Chuckie Cheese all on the same day.  It was one of the longest days of my life.  The issue was not is Care Bears great cinema.  Is Chuckie Cheese great food?  No and no.  But the people who want to be there – who think Care Bears and Chuckie Cheese are good are worth being with.

        A good example in giving freedom away in love in the church today is the use of alcohol.  The Bible nowhere condemns the moderate use of alcohol.  It condemns drunkenness and addiction and coming under the control of alcohol, but permits alcohol in moderation.  This means that as a person of legal age, you are free to drink alcohol in moderation.

       But, and this is a big but, also recognize that there is something that is more important than your freedom.  Your brother or sister in Christ is more important.  This means that while you may drink in moderation, you must also be free not to drink if your drinking might lead another person into trouble.

       This is why we don’t have wine at church dinners.  It’s not wrong in itself.  But the people who might be offended, or who might be led astray, are more important than wine.  Paul asks in a debate over eating certain kinds of meat, “Shall I destroy for the sake of my stomach, him for whom Christ died?”  The answer, clearly, is no.  People are more important than our freedom.  What Paul is telling us is “keep your eyes on people, and don’t get hung up on your rights and freedoms.

       In this we follow the example of Jesus.  John 13 tells us that Jesus “knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, took the towel and the basin and began to wash His disciple’s feet.  More than any other person in history, Jesus had the power to be exactly what He wanted to be.  And what He chose was the way of the servant.  And He said: “I have given you an example that you also do as I have done for you.”  Christ sets us free.  But then He calls us to follow His example and use our freedom to pick up the basin and towel.  This is exactly what Paul says is our verses from Galatians – “do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh but through love serve one another.”

       We must stand firm in our Christian freedom.  Never allow anyone to send you on an all expenses paid guilt trip on the non-essentials of Christian faith.  Eat pork chops.  When you do, thank the Jerusalem council.  Invite me over for a lobster dinner.  I promise not to be offended.

       But, at the same time, don’t be a slave to your freedom.  Be a servant instead of Jesus Christ and remove anything that gets in the way of effective ministry in His name. Keep your eyes on the real goal.

       And finally, we must also be always ready to give others their freedom in Christ.  Today the question may not be “does a gentile have to become a Jew to become a Christian?  Rather, it may take another form.  “Does a Catholic have to become a Protestant to become a Christian?”  Does an Oriental have to become a westerner?  Does a Jew have to become a Gentile?  Do you have to become like me to become a Christian?

       When I was n seminary I regularly attended the College-Career group at Bel Air Presbyterian Church where I was on staff.  It was a large group with many gifted people.

       One evening I happened to sit where I could see the whole group.   And I thought to myself, “If I were to start a church, which of these people would I want to be in it?  I mentally chose people because they had an essential talent like music or teaching.  Maybe their vibes just agreed with my vibes.  I hadn’t met Carol then so I will admit that some of the girls got a lot of extra points for cuteness.

       I was doing something Jesus does not permit us to do.  I was making up my guest list for the church.  The only one who gets to make up the guest list for the church is Jesus.   He is he Lord of the church -- not me, not you.  Jesus made up the guest list for this church and there is not one person here by accident.  So it is only by grace that you all so talented -- and even cute.

       The question faced by our brothers and sisters in Jerusalem is still with us:  are we going to have doors into the kingdom, one for “us” and the other for “them”?  Are we going to have two classes of citizens in the kingdom:  those who are merely “saved,” and our special group composed of the few who are not only saved but who in addition ______?

       I refuse to fill in the blank -- not any more.  Perhaps it is “likes certain kinds of music,” or are “enlightened and sophisticated like us.”  Whatever it is that you and I set up that gives us a feeling of superiority within the church let’s write it in that space.

       And then let’s face it once and for all.  There are no second class citizens!  The kingdom of heaven has only one door.  Jesus  Only Jesus extends the invitations.  And as Paul long ago stated, His invitation says that salvation is by His grace, through faith, plus nothing.