“I don’t drink and I don’t chew and I don’t go out with girls who do.” Somehow this is where I arrived as I was trying to explain to Jacob, my 10-year-old, that we are to do good, but doing good wasn’t enough to get you into heaven.
Paul tried to help the Corinthians with this same issue. Many of them were still practicing the forms of legalism they had given in to before they had become Christians. At the same time, other Christians were not inclined to submit to any law, believing they had been delivered by Christ from having to do so. Their use of that freedom resulted in overindulgence and conflict with their brothers and sisters in Christ, and was hurting their witness.
In one sense they were both right, but in another sense, they were both wrong. As Christians, we do not live by a list of dos and don’ts. Yet, we must be careful that the “exercise of our freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak (I Cor. 8:9).” We are to live out our lives as we are prompted by the Holy Spirit to do so. This means that there may be some things that are okay for us to do, but others that are wrong; because, they get in the way of what the Lord wants to do in our lives, especially as He may want to use us to witness to the world around us.
What was most important to Paul was to live his life in such a way as to win others to Christ. He tried to be “all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some (9:22).” He used the analogy of a race. For him, it wasn’t enough to just run the race. He wanted to win the prize…to help others to know the Savior. He did not need to live by a bunch of rules. He knew he was free to do what he wanted; but, in order to reach others, he would have to watch out for what would prevent others from listening to the message of the Good News.
We, too, need to watch out for what might hurt our witness to others. As Paul describes, we may need to go into “strict training” so that we are not “disqualified,” so that we don’t lose our audience when they see how we live. This may mean a regular practice of reading the Scripture and praying, meeting with other Christians who can help us to grow and hold us accountable, putting into practice the things that we learn from the Word, and learning to let go of those things that may interfere with our witness to others.
Run the race…but, run to win!
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