gal
05v13 Use Not
"USE NOT
Gal.5:13
We recognize and insist upon the believer's freedom
from the law as a rule of life or motive in conduct, and upon the believer's
freedom from the rules and regulations of religious custom, tradition, and
practice which men try to impose upon our consciences. Our insistence upon this
freedom is a matter of obedience to our God (Col. 1:16-23). In all matters of
indifference each believer's conscience must be his own guide, being governed
by the direction of the Holy Spirit and his love for the Lord Jesus Christ. I
refuse to place rules and regulations upon God's children. And I refuse to bow
to those which men would place upon me. Yet, three principles of conduct are
clearly laid down in the Word of God, by which we must each determine the
expedience of any behavior, lest we "use liberty for an occasion to the
flesh."
First, LET NO MAN BRING YOU INTO BONDAGE
(Gal.5:1). Self-righteous religionists try to impose upon us not only the law of Moses, but also their own customs and opinions
regarding specific things. And they make these things a test of righteousness
or spirituality. This is pure legalism in its most obnoxious form - sinful men
daring to presume that they set the standards of righteous behavior for God's
elect! Before such men, we must act as our Lord and his disciples, and do
what-ever is necessary to demonstrate that neither we nor God have nay regard
for their customs, and that righteousness is not obtained by human works (Matt.
15:1-19; Luke 6:1). Our Lord was not in the least degree bothered by the fact
that his or his disciples actions offended
self-righteous men. Neither should we be.
Second, BE SURE THAT YOU DO NOT OFFEND A WEAK
BROTHER (Rom. 14:1-23; I Cor. 8:9-13). To offend a weaker brother is to
lead him by your behavior to do something that is contrary to his own tender
conscience. There are some weak brethren who do not understand that "all
things indeed are pure" and that nothing in God's creation is evil. In
their weakness, they still retain the delusion that the use
of some things which God has made are evil in themselves, and the use of
those things is evil. Their opinions are wrong and show a poor understanding of
gospel truth, such as may be expected from babes, immature believers. They
simply need to be taught as they are able to bear instruction in weightier
matters. But in the meantime, we must be gentle with them, remembering that not
so long ago we were exactly as they are. And if any
man violates his own conscience, he sins. We must be very careful not to be the
cause of such an offense. We must not cause our brethren to stumble. It is
permissible for believer's to use all things with discretion. But it is not always
expedient for us to do so. We must not be bound to anything. We must be willing
to restrain our personal liberty for the sake of nurturing our weaker brethren,
rather than, causing them to stumble.
Third, IN ALL THINGS SEEK TO
GLORIFY GOD AND ADORN THE GOSPEL OF HIS GRACE (Col. 3:23; Tit.
I do not need to stress this
fact to you who are believers, but it must be stressed in order to partially
disarm the legalists who are anxious to charge us with antinomianism: WHEN I
SPEAK OF THE BELIEVER'S