Christian Liberty

Hebrews 5:13 ESV

For everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child.

As I look to my children, I recognize both my short comings and their superiority to me. I remember scouring the ten channels every Saturday morning starting at 6:00 am when the colored bars finally were replaced by programming of some form. I distinctly remember one non-cartoon on PBS. These guys would be working on a house and talking about all kinds of things that were simply boring. I would switch the channel. Every time I would get up and change the station, (yes, a bygone era I know) and it would fall on “This Old House”, if that was all I could find, I would go outside and play. My children eat it up. Currently every night Naomi wants the next episode they have put on. (Season 38 is available on YouTube.) As we make our way through, they know all the regulars, from Roger in the “yaad” to Richard doing the plumbing.

The tradesmen of “This Old House” are getting older and they see the lack of workers coming up behind them. Electing to start giving back they chose in Season 39 to make a concerted effort to bring apprentices on to train the next generation, with the regulars and all the subcontractors having an apprentice of some kind, recognizing that people need to be taught, trained, and led into becoming skilled craftsmen.

The book of Hebrews tells us that the original recipients were “unskilled in the word of righteousness” calling them children and pressing them to become “mature”. One of the reasons noted for some growth in the trades was a discontent with mediocre jobs and associated pay. The Christian must become discontent with a mediocre Christian life, and desire more from God. How then are we to attain such a thing? The model of Scripture is the model of apprenticeship, or if you prefer discipleship. A more experienced trained person working side by side with a younger. As Christ walks with his disciples and trains them in the way they should go. As Barnabus brings along Paul and then they divide and each take new men to bring along into mature Christian work.

In opposition to this is the modern over spiritualized trend of direct divine revelation. “God told me” has become the end all for answering the question “what should I do?” Even as this is clearly shown in scripture as exceptional it is portrayed today as normative. The normal Christian pattern for Christian Liberty is: What does the bible say? What do Godly Christian men and women give for insights? Is there a desire in me?

Recognizing this pattern is Christian Liberty. It touches everything from who you should marry, employment opportunities, church membership, and everything in between. The bible says Men should marry women, and Christians are required to marry Christians. If your desire doesn’t line up with this you shouldn’t get married, even if it means never Marrying. Godly men and women add another level of wisdom to help make good decisions. Then personal desire for something also plays into. Let us not be paralyzed waiting for a voice from heaven when God has already spoken in HIS word! Giving us a pattern to follow. Paul and Peter traveled extensively, and yet only rarely, I exceptional circumstances, did God choose to give divine direction or impediment.

Let us grow and become mature, skilled in the word of Righteousness.

CRUCE, DUM SPIRO, FIDO