What kinds of issues does Christian liberty cover for a believer, and who decides what he can and cannot do?
Christian liberty covers matters not expressly delineated in Scripture, such as diet, alcoholic beverages, meat offered to idols, and many similar personal choices. The individual believer decides before God what he can and cannot do, while remaining careful not to cause a weaker believer to stumble.
Les explains that Christian liberty is not limited to eating meat offered to idols. It can involve diet, alcoholic beverages, and many things that are not necessarily delineated in Scripture. The option then belongs to the individual believer before God as to what he can and cannot do. Yet liberty carries a caution: a believer must be careful not to do something he considers not wrong if it causes a weak believer to stumble. Les illustrates this with eating a good juicy T-bone steak; if a weaker believer questions it, for his sake the stronger believer may refrain until the weaker one can see it was not all that wrong. Les also says he is not telling people to forget Sunday as a day of rest or the operation of the local church, but the admonition is that for believers every day should be a Sunday, a day of recognizing God, giving Him all His due, without requiring a particular programmed day.
More Questions
Why must a believer be careful about doing something he believes is not wrong?
Even though we have liberty, we have to be careful not to do something that in our own mind is not wrong if it is going to cause a weak believer to stumble.
Can I do something I believe is fine if it makes a weaker Christian stumble?
A believer must be careful not to do something that is not wrong in his own mind if doing it would cause a weak believer to stumble.