I’m Christian… Can I binge this? Can I drink that? Can I work there?

Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31

Is there a practical answer to what a Christian is allowed to do? I mean, theology is great, but what about Squid Game? Can I binge Squid Game? What about meeting my unbelieving friends at the pub… is that OK? Can I apply for a job at a corporation that promotes DEI? We face so many little day-to-day decisions, which the Bible does not specifically address, so how do I keep it all straight? These seem like pretty straight forward questions, but what I am ultimately asking is how do I reconcile the notion of Christian freedom with the Fear of the Lord. If we are to live out our faith in the Fear of the Lord and the Lord demands our obedience of His commandments, then where is the freedom?

Let’s start with what we know for sure. First, in our justification by faith alone, we are granted freedom from the law. Then in our sanctification, the Holy Spirit helps guide us through the many day-to-day decisions we face, which are not specifically related to any one commandment. But… since my sanctification is a work in progress, I know I’m not always going to be perfectly attuned to the Spirit. So how do I consciously make the call?

It takes wisdom. The wisdom we rely on to navigate the freedom granted to us comes from the fear of the Lord, it is after all the beginning of wisdom. And to what end do we make these decisions? Well the chief end of man is to glorify God. Paul says, in 1 Corinthians 10:31 whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. So the litmus test in my decision-making is… God’s glory. Can I truly praise and thank God for the gift of what I seek to do? If not, then I should stay away from it.

Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness. (Ephesians 5:11)

So let’s get back to practical matters. This means that some decisions are plain and simple: Avoid anything that is going to cause you to sin. Obviously, avoid pornography, and avoid anything else that may cause you to lust or even tempt you into lustful thoughts. Avoid anything that causes anger to take root in your heart… for some of you, that may be avoiding watching a sports game (especially if you’re a Toronto Maple Leafs fan!). Avoid anything that causes covetousness to take root, for some that will be those real estate shows on HGTV. Avoid drinking any alcohol if you are susceptible to abusing alcohol or if you know you lack self-control when it comes to alcohol. You will not be any worse off if you avoid these things, you are not missing out on anything important… But note that these are all individual decisions, because only you and the Holy Spirit know your own sinful temptations. Although you are likely more susceptible than you think, so do not be too quick to let yourself off the hook.

OK, but what about if you can enjoy a particular activity or program with a clear conscience. It’s not sinful, it does not create a temptation to sin… then there is one more factor to prayerfully consider that may limit your freedom. Could you be leading another into sin by your freedom? Let me explain, in 1 Corinthians, Paul illustrates this principle with temple meat.

What in the world is temple meat? Well, in Paul’s time, in Corinth, animals were offered in sacrifice to idols in pagan temples. And anyone could go to these temples and buy the meat of the animals that were offered in sacrifice to idols. The pagan priests there would butcher the animals and resell the meat. And this was the cheapest option to buy meat, cheaper than the local farmer or butcher, mainly because oftentimes the meat was a little dodgy. But given everything surrounding the temple, all the icky, unsavoury and idolatrous activities… was it ok for Christians to buy their meat there?

In 1 Corinthians 8, Paul says “As to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “an idol has no real existence,” and that “there is no God but one.” therefore “Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do.” Christians are free to buy this meat. It doesn’t really matter if it was offered in sacrifice to a fake god. Paul says go ahead and buy the cheap meat and enjoy it to the glory of our God. We have that freedom! Please note that this individual Christian freedom is not relativism. I hope you see the difference, if not, that’s a topic for another discussion.

You can think of it a bit like buying halal meat at the grocery store here today… It doesn’t really matter to God if you as a Christian buy halal chicken if that’s all that’s left at the store to throw on your BBQ… go ahead. Now… you may have a personal conviction against it, and if so, mind your conscience. Do not violate your conscience. If that just doesn’t sit right with you, then don’t do it. If you think something is wrong, even if you are unsure why, steer clear! But do not either condemn a Christian brother or sister who isn’t bothered… it is their freedom.

Now here’s a twist, which Martin Luther quite unhelpfully puts this way: “A Christian man is the most free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian man is the most dutiful servant of all, and subject to everyone.” Consider this situation… What if you invited a friend over for dinner who was a newly converted Christian from a muslim background. You fire up the BBQ and then you take the chicken out of a package clearly marked as halal. You would not want to make your guest think that in order to be a Christian you need to eat halal!

Paul warns you should not by your freedom lead another into sin, in particular a newer Christian in the faith. Again in 1 Corinthians 8 he says “take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.” This principle is not exclusive to temple meat or even to what you eat… this is true of your Christian freedom in general and applies to your personal choices. If you can enjoy a glass of wine with dinner without any issues with your self-control, fine, go ahead and enjoy wisely. But if you have a guest over who you know is a recovering alcoholic, you would not lead them into that temptation. Same goes for all sins, treat them like addictions. We are all addicted to sin, so let’s not lay out any stumbling blocks, let’s not set any triggers for each other, let’s ensure we are not leaving temptations in anyone’s path.

Paul says that if you run the risk of derailing a fellow Christian’s faith if they see you at this idolatrous temple, then avoid it, it’s not worth it. As a Christian you are always witnessing to those around you, be conscious of that. What are you telling them by your behaviour? What are you broadcasting to the world that the most important priority is to you on your social media accounts? And what are you witnessing to your children who are around you all the time? You may be able to sing along to a secular song without taking any notice of the intended message of the lyrics… but your children may be susceptible to being influenced by the message from the artist they admire, and they may think your singing along is an endorsement of the political message embedded in the song. And these days, there is an embedded political message in every song, TV show, movie, cartoon, box of cookies and flavour of ice cream. Talk to them, point out the lie in the cultural messaging, make sure they know what you believe and where to find the source of truth… the Bible.

Jesus warns about causing someone to sin this way in Mark 9:42 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.” So you have freedom, but you should be wise in the fear of the Lord about how to use that freedom to the Glory of God. Ultimately, you need to be honest with yourself. Are you truly enjoying your personal choices to the glory of God or are you justifying it as just harmless fun? If Jesus were here, would you invite him along?

Woah… woah… woah… This is all starting to sound a little WWJD. If Christian freedom is freedom at all, then why is someone always trying to restrict it. Is restricted freedom even still Freedom?

Well that depends on who does the restricting and why. We restrict our freedom to protect relationships all the time. A husband would not go on vacation with any woman other than his wife, nor would he go to the movies or dress shopping with another woman… not because there is any commandment against any of these things, but because he chooses to limit his freedom to protect his relationship with his wife. We all need to seek wisdom and set our own limits on our own freedom to protect our relationship with Christ.

I know we’d all rather have a list of do’s and don’t’s, but the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, not the beginning of list making. You have a choice in everything you eat, drink, watch, listen to, or partake in… avoidance of sin and temptation is not the end goal, that’s just the starting point, the bare minimum for the Christian. And while each one of us needs to determine what the safe distance away from sin is for us, there is no prize for whoever denies himself the most either.

But as Paul says… “All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. If God’s ultimate gift to us is his son. And if Christ truly died for you to pay for the devastating cost of your sin, then why would you go anywhere near sin again? And if Christ really rose from the dead, then so will you, if he really is interceding on your behalf at the right hand of God, then you cannot say “Eat, Drink and be Merry for tomorrow we die.” And if God is real and if He rules over this world, then the chief end of man is not the pursuit of happiness and the avoidance of suffering… The chief end of man is to know God and to glorify Him by enjoying Him forever. And that is not a duty, that’s our ultimate fulfillment and privilege.

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Oh… and, no. Don’t binge Squid Game.