Is Christianity a Religion of Rules or a Religion of Freedom?
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When we think of Christianity, what comes to mind? For many, the idea that Christianity is a religion of rules may be a common thought. You may be surprised, however, by the truth that Christianity is a religion of freedom: freedom from the pressure of believing you have absolute control over your life, freedom from dangerous and hurtful tendencies, freedom from isolation, and freedom from sin and eternal destruction. And this freedom comes because believers in Christ belong to a Savior who loves, protects, nurtures, comforts, supports, and purifies his precious ones.
Christ frees us to obey God’s rules of love, and he also frees us to explore and embrace the world around us using wisdom.
In fact, the things Jesus calls us to do are things rooted in love for God and love for our neighbor—things this world would do much better to practice, as we all know of nasty divorces, murders, thefts brought on by covetousness, and lies that damage relationships. Our acts of love to God and neighbor are summarized in the Ten Commandments, which when lived out cause believers to begin to image their Creator more perfectly as they pattern their lives after a good and kind God.
In addition to Christ freeing us to obey these rules of love, he also frees us to explore and embrace the world around us using wisdom. There are many things the Bible does not specifically speak about, and concerning these things Christians have the freedom to make decisions using wisdom and biblical principles. For example, questions of how to school your children—public, private, home school, or charter school—are matters that are not laid down in Scripture. One believer's decision or choice may be different than another; yet, they have the freedom in Christ to hold different opinions on such matters.
Because of our liberty in Christ we must demonstrate charity, patience, and understanding toward those whose choices are different than ours.
Other areas of freedom include child-rearing practices, bottle-feeding versus breastfeeding, types of jobs to pursue, styles of clothing, understanding of modesty, family customs, dancing, drinking alcohol, playing video games, watching certain movies, etc. These and many more issues are ones that must be examined with wisdom and scriptural principles, but Christians may differ in their conclusions.
Because of our liberty in Christ we must demonstrate charity, patience, and understanding toward those whose choices are different than ours (and hopefully they will do the same towards us). There are some things that are non-negotiable—the gospel and those things that are clearly commanded in Scripture. With other things we must live in humility (recognizing we may not always get it right) and with love for others who, along with us, have the freedom to make different choices.
This article is was originally published on October 18, 2022.
