Flippantly Flaunted Spiritual Liberties

[Rhoni]

Originally Posted by rkentsmith

Flippantly Flaunted Spiritual Liberties .....

Seems that there are those that love to hang around the edges of UPCI ministry......

They love the fellowship......

They love the conferences and brotherhood.....

And some find great joy in flippantly flaunting their spiritual liberties.....

Saying things like....

I can do this.....

I am able to participate in this certain activity.....

There is no scripture for this particular thing so I do it.....

Or my family does.......

The manual does not prohibit this so I will do it......

My membership in said organization does not say that I cannot do this.....

My brothers......

The flaunting of spiritual liberties is a reproach....

It reaks of legalism....

Legalism is the attempt to see how close to the world one can go but still be in the church.....

Spiritual liberties flaunted in the face of others is legalistic.....

More plainly it is classless.....

Ah yes...we have all seen the ultra conservatives in their moments of holier than thou ism's

They are wrong....

But just as wrong is the flippant flaunting of spiritual liberties.......

This is more legalistic than the ultra converative's stand on many issues.....

Whatever happened to the Pauline concept of....

If meat offend my brother then I will eat no meat?

What we see today is.....

Meat offends my brother, so I offer him cowpie.....

Coming home in the airplane last night I read I and II Corinthians...just to refresh myself on some spiritual truths to see if I had missed or forgotten anything. One of the things that I recall is Paul's dissertation on the things lawful and expedient. It is my understanding that there are many things that are not requirements of salvation that the more liberal participate in and Paul said that even though it is not salvational nor are we under the law in regard to many things, but so as not to offend those who are not aware of these things; we are to NOT flaunt the liberty and do or not do [whichever the case may be] so that we are not a stumbling block to the weaker or those who are not aware of the liberties we know of in Christ.

It doesn't mean that we should or shouldn't, can or can't, but it means we are to be careful and tactful of when, where, and in front of who...

Just my thoughts on these things.

Great thread BTW!

Blessings, Rhoni