For this week's newspapers, I answered the final follow-up in a series of 3 about what makes and does not make a person sinful by answering how a Christian chooses about what to do when the action is neither commanded nor forbidden by genuine divine laws:
Q: If it is not the things we
consume or touch, or even our actions, that determine our status before God,
then how do Christians choose a course of action in decisions which involve
things beyond the Ten Commandments?
When a person understands the fact
that their status with God the Father is determined by Jesus and His perfect
life and crucified death rather than their own performance, it can be a
difficult adjustment because it seems at first to leave a vacuum in the area of
ethics and morality.
However, the Christian still honors
God’s law, and even desires to keep it, but as a result of God’s goodness to
them rather than as a condition of salvation.
When it regards which actions are a sin, this is guided by the Ten
Commandments, as understood in the light of all of Scripture, but there are
many choices where none of the options would seem to violate one of these
commandments, but a choice still remains to be made.
Sometimes, there are clear New
Testament instructions on a matter, usually dealing with matters of the way the
Church carries out its work. One of the
clearest examples of this is Paul’s instructions to Timothy and Titus about the
qualifications for pastors and elders.
In another instance, there was a
question about whether the gentile Christians should eat certain meats or do
other things that were forbidden by the Old Testament ceremonial law. The result was that the apostles held a
council at Jerusalem and determined that these laws did not apply to Gentiles
when they became Christians, but that they should observe a few customs out of
respect for their Jewish Christian neighbors.
Paul Himself had to make a choice
about the law of circumcision when he began to enlist the help of non-Jewish men
as associates in the mission. On one
occasion, he decided that Timothy should be circumcised like the Jews were
according to their law, but on another, he refused to allow Barnabas to be
circumcised.
This is because it was neither commanded nor forbidden that gentiles to be circumcised like Jewish people were before Jesus came, so Paul chose what best taught the people what they needed to understand. This is what he means when he talks about “becoming all things to all men” in 1 Corinthians 9.
Because Timothy would be serving in a
setting where he would be among Jews, Paul allowed for him to be circumcised so
that it would not be an obstacle to his congregation hearing and believing the
Gospel. On the other hand, Barnabas
would be serving in a time and place where Judaizers were seeking to force the
Old Testament law upon Christians, so Paul refused to allow his circumcision in
order to demonstrate the Christians’ freedom from Old Testament ceremonial
laws.
In both cases, Paul made the decision
that most clearly provided a path for people to hear and believe the Gospel
without the corruption of false teaching—making concessions for the sake of
those who might be weak, but standing firmly against those whose pride
undermined the Gospel.
Christians are called to similar
commitments when faced with present customs and behaviors that are matters of
controversy, but don’t relate to the sins specified in the Ten
Commandments. This would include things
like alcohol or tobacco use, many expressions of language, and displays of
wealth, among many others. The
Christian’s goal is to make such choices in the way that avoids being an
obstacle for the Gospel or which tears down obstacles placed by others.
So, when we make choices, we try to
do what would be least confrontational to our neighbors who are offended by
certain things because they are misinformed or fearful, but when confronted
with opponents who seek to enforce their choices upon us out of pride, then we
are called to stand against them so that our neighbors’ freedom and confidence
in the Gospel would not be assaulted.
Questions may be submitted by email to revjpeterson@stjohnsburt.org or sent
to P.O. Box 195; Burt, IA 50522.
Rev. Jason P.
Peterson
Pastor, St.
John’s Lutheran Church – Burt
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