Issues of Christian liberty and conscience
A discussion has arisen among us that is much akin to one present in the New Testament churches. Back then, there were some who felt freedom to eat meat that had been sacrificed to idols, while others thought it was sin. There were similar dynamics in relation to people’s convictions about wine drinking and many other issues. How wonderful that we have these things spoken to in Scripture, as the same issues are ours to grapple with today in the postmodern church.
In our context specifically, questions have arisen about the formation of a short-lived pipe club that meets at our church monthly to enjoy a pipe and discuss deep soul issues. Is it OK for a Christian to smoke, and what if he/she leads others astray?
Here I shall highlight three New Testament passages that speak to these issues, offering a few thoughts on each. You the reader are welcome to interact with this article.
IS OUR PEITY MERELY JUST ADHERANCE TO THE CULTURE?
Colossians 2:16 says “Let no one act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day…” and then v. 20-23, “Why do you submit yourself to decrees, such as ‘Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!’ (which all refer to things destined to perish with the using) –in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and sever treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.”
I was once criticized for using a clip from a Stephen King movie called “The Green Mile” to illustrate a gospel truth in a sermon. While I’m not a huge fan of Mr. King or his beliefs, nonetheless the story is a powerful illustration of the redeeming and propitiative power of Christ’s sacrifice. We must remember that Paul referred to pagan holy writings in Acts 17:28, using their own words to communicate the gospel. And in Luke 16 we find Jesus using the example of an evil man to demonstrate righteous behavior of the faithful Christian.
So we must be careful that we are not interpreting Scripture through our own experiences. In this case, the pipe club. In Colossians above Paul speaks of not forbidding things like food and such for this reason. Tobacco is no different than Coke, coffee, tea or sugary desserts, except in the eyes of legalists. In reality, these are all substances that contain substances that will destroy your body. In moderation, without addiction, any are acceptable. To take this further, if we presume that pipe smoking is sin, then we presume that anyone using any addictive substance is sin. Hence, all coffee, tea, soda drinkers…all dessert eaters…and the list goes on. To look at the people who smoke outside church on Sundays and think them sinners would be no different from me saying that anyone who enjoys a beverage with caffeine or sugar in it is also in sin. We might look down on smoking, but how favorably we enjoy our Starbucks. They are the same: substances that God invented for the pleasure of man, that, when used in excess, become addiction and therefore sin.
Another thought on this, we quote Tolkien and Lewis and etc. all the time, people who regularly enjoyed tobacco. I think it was Martin Luther who writes of “enjoying his pint (of ale) as the Kingdom of God advances around him.” We consider these spiritual giants; what has happened to our faith? The “no smoking” Christian need only look at the link below, and forever dismiss their love for the writings and inspiration of the great C. S. Lewis:
http://www.theopedia.com/C._S._Lewis
MOST CHRISTIANS ARE ADDICTED MUCH MORE THAN THEY ARE BRAVE TO ADMIT
I Corinthians 6:12 says “All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.”
Back to the earlier thoughts on addiction. All things are given us by God to enjoy, but we must not let them control us; humans were designed to only be controlled by one thing, the Holy Spirit of God. If there is any controversy about pipes at church, I hope that it will serve to convict people’s hearts of their partiality when it comes to addiction. The issue is addiction; if I cannot live without my whatever for a day or week or whatever, I am in sin.
Pipe tobacco is no different than an apple pie at a potluck. The issue is addiction. If we removed every addictive thing from every church event, we couldn’t even have coffee to serve on Sunday mornings. People tend to pick and choose what they call unclean. If we are willing to call someone else’s behavior sin, we must be willing to impartially look at our own, and see if we too are not behaving the exact same way, only with a more culturally – or worse yet, culturally Christian – accepted substance going from our hand into our mouths. It is quite possible that the hip 21st century church is addicted to coffee, and therefore in gross sin.
THE LOVING CHRISTIAN SACRIFICES FREEDOM FOR OTHERS
1 Corinthians 8:12-13 says “…by sinning against the brethren and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, that I might not cause my brother to stumble.” Furthermore, Romans 14:21, “It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles.”
Here we have a counterpoint to all that has been previously discussed. How does this look when lived out in a church body in the context of the previous passages? I firmly believe that what we see in the narrow-minded American church today is a terrible distortion of what was intended as it relates to Christian liberty and conscience. But were we to hear this final passage with pure hearts, we would allow love for others to cause a surrender of our freedoms. Or would we? Here we have another radical tension that keeps our faith from becoming a set of rules. This passage could be discussed further, but I shall leave that up to the reader.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Writing this, I wonder: Why are we talking about this when there are orphans without parents and human sex slave trade happening in our cities? Is it indicative of our narcissism and self-righteousness? Are we straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel…the second coming of the Pharisees? Or are we taking our liberty for granted and not acting in love for our brothers and sisters that Christ died for? I do not know, but I am convinced in my own mind of what is appropriate for me. While smoking a pipe might be acceptable for me, if it causes others to stumble, I will restraint myself for the sake of others.
The biggest proof of love is laying down oneself for another. Perhaps some will think on these things and find themselves convicted of the fact that they are operating in self-righteousness and legalism. For others, they will realize that they are abusing their own freedoms and leading others into sin. And for still others, they will see a cynical and not-so-righteous indignation welling up within them as they respond to the faith of the weaker brother. May we all find the humility and love of Christ for each other as we wrestle with these issues in the context of life within the Christian community.
As I’ve read through the New Testament, and realized some of the problems that were dealt with in Jesus’ time, as well as in the early church following his ascension, I’ve realized that the Bible is just as relevant today as it was when it was written. The specifics may have changed, but the spirit behind the ideas spoken then still apply today. We may no longer have people running around telling us that we need to not eat meat in order to be good Christians, but we still have plenty of people that want to impose their own ideas of what salvation is really about on everyone around them.
One piece of scripture I found sometime back speaks to Christians on both sides of the argument in regards to whether what we consume is sinful or not. Romans 14:3 says, “Those who feel free to eat anything must not look down on those who don’t. And those who don’t eat certain foods must not condemn those who do, for God has accepted them.”
If you look at this Romans passage in relation to what Paul said in 1 Corinthians, I would say that the principle breaks down to this… If you know that has issues with drinking or smoking or whatever the thing may be, don’t rub it in their face by doing those things in front of them. And on the flip side, if you take offense at someone’s drinking or eating habits, and happen to see someone doing this thing that you disagree strongly with, don’t go off making judgmental comments to them or about them. I’d compare the bickering about these trivial issues to that of young siblings bickering with one another and trying to draw mom and dad’s attention to the flaws of the other… I think it’s important to remember that God is the judge in the end. We should be focusing more on holding one another up, rather than trying to tell people that they are wrong.
Great subject! Thanks for talking about this.
Great article! A couple of things that come to mind. Most of the things Paul refers to in Corinthians are not addictive in nature and dealt more with Jewish people taking offense at Gentile practices. Paul urges the Gentiles here to keep this in mind and do all things out of love. Secondly, it is not wise in an argument to at the end, try to deflect from the actual argument by drawing on larger issues that are outside the realm of the initial argument (e.g., sex slaves, hunger, etc.). Lastly, I would at least want to stop and examine the statement that was made, “but I am convinced in my own mind of what is appropriate for me.”. On the surface this sounds ok within the context of the argument but we must never forget Jer. 17:9 that “our hearts are desperately wicked, corrupt above all things.” Simply put, recognizing the inherent deception wihin our own sin natures, we should at the very least place on a check on being convinced in our own minds – we may be deceived and not know it. With all that said, I would agree that a pipe-smoking club may be a way to invite others in, introduce them to the grace and love of our Lord Jesus and see them take the first steps of faith, after all, Paul himself became ‘all things to all people’.
What a fun topic that has been on my mind. This is great stuff!
For me; The question is “Right from Wrong through whose EYES?”
How do you know right from wrong?
1 Corinthians 8:9..13
Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak. Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.
1 Corinthians 10:23-24, 31-32
“Everything is permissible”—but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible”—but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble.
Romans 14:21-22
It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall. So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves.
Are any of our “rights” someones wrongs–or will they cause someone to fall? To me we can look at the mote in the eye perspective whenever anyone questions us doing something that we “just feel” no conviction about.
OR
Is it more important to loose ourselves in order to advance the Kingdom?
Is it a question of liberty verses “Religion?”
Is it a question of feeling good because it is my right?
By now you may be thinking this guy is really old school hard line Christianity, to some degree that could hold true.
But the truth be known–none of these topics bother or offend me personally. I do believe there are many matters between the individual and God–in which God will provide direction–He does talk!
However, I am offended and disappointed when it becomes the center of attention for a gathering of believers–I have seen this especially with alcohol consumption being treated so casually and language flying off tongues where you just throw a dollar in the bucket to atone for your language. We could say that creating this type of environment could make a non-believer feel welcomed–not sure there is a Biblical perspective for that.
I like to think more on the line of;
1 Peter 2:11-12 Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such a good life among the pagans that though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us.
For each of us in our individual relationships with God–if we ask–He will speak. No need to ask anyone else if something is right or wrong, all we need to do is go to His Word and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to us and give us wisdom.
Maybe the bigger question; “would we say it, do it, or think it” if Jesus was sitting right next to us–ohhhhh He is every minute of the day.
I will have to agree with many of the comments already made here. I really believe that freedom for some could be sin for another. It is very important to listen for the leading of the Holy Spirit when living out this thing we call life. If the Father says “don’t do it” that thing is sin for me. The problem lies in my trying to apply the Father’s “don’t” to someone else. If He wants others to refrain He will let them know.
Great thoughts everyone! I would like to respond to a few comments made by Mr. Ooms. When I speak of being “fully convinced in my own mind of what is right for me…”, I am directly quoting Romans 14:15 and 14:22. Also, this is not an argument, but rather a discussion. Rather than write an article and say that I know what is right for the masses, I have shared a basic exegesis of these passages from Scripture and have then invited the reader to reflect; the point was never to defeat someone theologically. So it was not ever meant to be an argument, but rather an invitation. Relationship is invitational and open-ended, and so is this article.
Thank you for all the thoughts! Keep them coming!
I think the verses and comments by the others make a good point: God has not called us to judge others, but to examine our own hearts and seek his guidance and wisdom for the personal decisions we make. I believe the question at hand isn’t about judging others, rather, as a church, is the focus and purpose of our meetings spiritual matters or earthly pleasures? When we have coffee break on Sunday mornings, individuals may choose to partake or not without feeling excluded for that choice. And we can experience the spiritual renewal offered during the service, unrelated to our own personal pleasures or vices. The worship service is the focus and name of our gathering, not coffee consumption.
At a pipe club meeting, since that is the focus of the gathering, only those who share in this pleasure may attend. I have no doubt that there are opportunities for deep sharing and connecting at such gatherings. However, it’s hard for me to believe it’s the role of a church to sponsor a pipe club. I don’t judge those who smoke or drink or eat sweets, but, like Chuck Penney, I’m disappointed when these things are the center of attention for our church gatherings.