“Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.” – 1 Corinthians 8:12-13
It’s a wonderful thing to know just how profoundly free you are in Christ! We can eat, drink, dress, look, sing, worship, and do however we like as long as it doesn’t violate God’s Word. We aren’t bound by old traditions, norms, standards, and expectations that have been added by our culture beyond what the Bible commands.
However, please understand that not every brother or sister fully understands all the dimensions of Christian liberty, as perhaps, you do. Not every Christian can separate the cultural from the truly biblical (there’s been ample evidence of that lately)! For them our freedom can look like sin. Are they correct? No. But that doesn’t mean we can simply ignore them and their concerns. As lovers, followers, and imitators of Christ we must be very thoughtful and selfless in how we choose to exercise our Christian liberty. If our choices, actions, and words (which aren’t sinful in themselves) confuse less knowledgeable or mature Christians into thinking we’re sinning and encourages them to do what they believe to be sin, then we’re sinning!
As adopted children of God, we should voluntarily lay down our freedoms whenever necessary to build up other Christians. We shouldn’t make a big show of it, nor should we be patronizing or condescending. We should just choose not to do the thing that offends the sensibilities of other believers.
Of course, it’s good to gently and lovingly teach truth about Christian freedom. But that can’t be done harshly, abruptly, or in a manner that’s hurtful, arrogant, or otherwise damaging. In Christ, we have extraordinary freedom, but we’re so blessed by God’s abundant grace that we must always stand ready to lay that freedom down to help our struggling and only partially formed brothers and sisters in Christ.