“Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died.” – Romans 14:13-15
Paul explains a critical – though often ignored – Christian principle in Romans 14 and 15. Many battles in church life stem from misunderstanding this principle, as do many of the casualties who eventually drop out of church altogether. Here’s the principle: in Christ, we’re free to do many things, but we should always be willing to set that freedom down for the well-being of another Christian who disagrees with us.
This isn’t about the doctrines and truths of the faith. Those must never be compromised. This is about matters of taste and preference. Christians are often ready to battle, to the death, over personal freedoms. Common examples from the past century include not wearing face coverings, listening to any kind of music privately, dressing extremely casually for worship, and drinking alcohol. When we engage in these battles, we can be 100% right about what we’re free to do, but in the process break down the faith of a less mature or sophisticated Christian. In that case, we’re 100% wrong! Jesus modeled this principle for us. He was able to summon an angel army to avoid going to the cross. However, out of love, He surrendered that freedom and His life so that we could be saved from our sins. As followers of Jesus, we’re called to lay down our liberty for the spiritual well-being of other believers. When our heated arguments for Christian liberty really just become about us and doing whatever we like, we’ve already lost, because following Christ is never all about us, it’s about lovingly and freely submitting to one another. That’s our higher freedom!