One of the greatest dilemmas the Christian finds himself engulfed in is that of the application of the fine line between the Law and Grace. While the Apostle Paul does not use the word “grace” in his exhortation to the Corinthians, he does suggest an obvious struggle. “All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.” (I Corinthians 6.12) And, “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.” (I Corinthians 10.23)
Some, but not all, understand how fine this line actually is. I must appreciate statements and stances of some who have entertained me. Henry Winkler, better known as “the Fonz,” would not submit to the instructions by producers to have a pack of cigarettes rolled upon in the sleeve of his t-shirt. It was certainly legal, however, he refused to do so stating that there would be people who looked up to him and may, because of his example, begin smoking. While he may not have been a Christian, he had been brought up in a traditional (yet not Kosher) Jewish family who would have known something of the Law.
Many of the younger generation have not had the opportunity to laugh with the stories of Jerry Clower nor to understand his lifestyle as he grew up in Yazoo City, Mississippi. Clower was an outspoken Christian who often spoke of his relationship with his Savior. One of his statements of faith came when he shared his testimony in “Ain’t God Good.” When speaking to the fact that he was a teetotaler, he cited the fact that many would be watching his life and should he even drink socially or in moderation, someone might see him and use his example as license to drink.
The story is told that “D.L. Moody went to London to meet Spurgeon, whom he had admired from a distance and considered to be his professional mentor. However, when Spurgeon answered the door with a cigar in his mouth, Moody fell down the stairs in shock. “How could you, a man of God, smoke that?” protested the great American evangelist.
Spurgeon took the stogie out of his mouth and walked down the steps to where Moody was still standing in bewilderment. Putting his finger on Moody’s rather rotund stomach, he smiled and said, “The same way you, a man of God, could be that fat!”
We have a great, internal war raging. It is a war between what is conviction and what is preference. Of course, when speaking of the absolute fundamentals of the faith, there can be no wavering. Murdering unborn babies is a gross violation of the fundamental fact that life and death are in the hands of God and that He considers life to be sacred. And, unless an individual believes in the Person of the Lord Jesus as the Christ, he cannot be saved. However, a person wearing a dirty pair of jeans, a t-shirt and a bandana to Sunday morning worship should not necessarily be relegated to the ones doomed to an eternity in hell.
Building upon his previous arguments in James 1.25, James exhorts his readers to be careful of their liberty – to understand that their liberty will be brought into judgment and, that judgment will be according to how they have exercised their own liberty. Our judgment should be to keep ourselves properly aligned with the Law of Liberty and not in judgment of others – to respect the preferences of others who hold to the same fundamental truths and are brothers and sisters in Christ – who believe the same fundamental truths that you do.
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“Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.” Matthew 7.1-5
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