Armchair Quarterback

I recently read a popular Christian book about spirituality from a non-Christian perspective. I didn’t care for it too much, and I decided to list the reasons why so that I could potentially tell others why the book was bad. But as I wrote I found that many of the reasons that I listed were actually a direct reflection upon me and my own walk with the Lord. I saw what the author was trying to do, which was provide another perspective for those curious about Christianity. He did it in his own way, and though I don’t agree with its presentation, my thoughts went to Romans 14:4,

“Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he
stands or falls; and stand he will, for the Lord is able to make him stand.”

It is enough that I proclaim the gospel as given in the Holy Scriptures, with no addendum, and with no excuses. It is the perfect Word of God. And it is the same Word that was with us from the beginning, and it is the same Word that today is reaching to the farthest places of the earth, piercing hearts, and bringing repentant men and women to Jesus.

But then the Lord turned the mirror back toward me.

If I disagreed with this book so much, where was my book? If I believed that God had given me insight then why haven’t I shared it on such a high level as this book? In reality, I was nothing but an armchair quarterback to this author’s pro bowl performance (so to speak).

The challenge for me and for all of us who see a need within the Body is go forth boldly and proclaim the Word of the Lord, both by our words and our deeds. That’s it. That is what it all boils down to. There will always be things we disagree with, and there will always be chances for us to learn. Let’s all pray that the Lord would use us to shape our world and bring the lost to Him.

True Freedom In Chist

There are some Christians who equate the Freedom that we have in Christ with the idea of “having no rules”. I heard a sermon on Sunday that expressed that we are free from rules, and that we should do all we can to experience the joy and the fullness of living in Christ without rules. But does freedom from sin really mean that there are no rules for the believer?

In truth, part of the wonder of being a child of God is that we are free in Him. God does fill us with His grace and love and mercy. But biblical freedom is something different than the experiential freedom that some teach today. And it is important to draw this distinction between true freedom and experience, even at the risk of sounding legalistic, because I believe one side will draw you closer and deepen your relationship with Christ, and the other will turn your focus inward and pull you away from what Christ has in store for you.

True freedom in Christ is the freedom to obey His commands and follow in His footsteps. Before we were adopted as sons of the Living God we were slaves to our own sin. Worse yet, we were dead in these sins and separated from God. But because of His unfathomable grace Jesus broke those chains of bondage. He paid the price that was put upon our heads because of sin, and he regenerated our spirits and made us new. Our God actually resides in us in the form of the Holy Spirit, and is constantly watching, constantly guiding us as we live our lives.

The goal of His guidance is to make us more like Himself by nudging us to seek a lasting, meaningful, and real relationship with Him. Our God knows us and wants to be known by us. Because of Christ’s death on the cross all links to our former ways of living have been broken and we have been freed from spiritual death forever. We are free from the components of the law, and best of all we are washed and are now worthy (by proxy) to stand in the presence of God Himself.

Freedom is not in the clothes your wear or the music you appreciate. The exercise of true freedom is worshiping the God who cared enough to send His Son to die in our places. To love and obey His ordinances, realizing that He gives us rules to guide us through life, and in fact His way is life to any man who chooses to follow. True freedom is the freedom not to be enslaved to your former lusts and desires. It is the freedom to say no to sin, and yes to God.