Limits Of Christian Freedom

2 Pages 456 Words

Limits

But to the one who “demands” that something in addition to faith in Christ is necessary for righteousness and salvation, one must assert the “Christ alone—faith alone” gospel. For example, to the one who argues that certain foods should be avoided because the eating of them is contrary to the law of God or to the one who demands that one must observe the sabbath according to the traditions of the elders or that one must use a particular form of liturgy, one must assert the gospel of the all-sufficiency of Christ’s gospel. The assertion of this gospel causes offense. So the Pharisees are “offended” by Jesus’ statement that all foods are clean (Matthew 15:12), thus undermining the Jewish concept of purity. Some “take offense” at Jesus’ words (Matthew 13:57; John 6:61); others take offense at Jesus’ freedom in relation to the law (Mark 2:23; 3:1ff.) or to his sharp distinction between human traditions and God’s commands (Matthew 15:3). Because of this gospel ministry and the offense it causes, it is not surprising that skandalon and its cognates in the New Testament (30 times) are used more often for those who are “offended” or “scandalized” to the point of unbelief by the gospel message and the person of Jesus! And the ultimate “offense/scandal”: a crucified Christ (1 Corinthians 1:23; Galatians 5:11). It is no wonder that Jesus states, “Blessed is he who is not offended/scandalized by me” (Matthew 11:6).

The gospel that means freedom is also a scandal to those who insist on the necessity of the old rules and regulations (e.g., foods, sabbath, circumcision; but even the apostolic rules regarding food offered to idols!—and, one might add, their rules about women proclaiming the divine words to others, including men), since the gospel means freedom from those traditions and from the judgment of the divine law (Galatians 5:11). One must reckon with the radical nature of the gospel t...