We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. — Romans 15:1-2

For those of us who have been followers of Christ for a while, we know one thing above all others: we have been saved by faith, justified by grace and forgiven freely and completely. There was nothing we do or have done to earn our salvation and short of denying Christ there is no sin that can take us outside His grace. Praise God!

We also know that we are not bound to any law as Christians. We know that adherence to a set of man-made rules and regulations does not bring us closer to God. We revel in the fact that God’s grace gives us relationship regardless of (and sometimes in spite of) our religious practice. We love verses like Galatians 5:5 which says, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” and John 8:36 which says, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

We make a mistake, however, in believing that in freeing us from “the law,” God has somehow lowered the bar. Our practical interpretation–which is in essence how we live out what we believe–is since we are no longer under the law, just about everything is permissible. Of course, we aren’t going to jump into bed with whomever we wish, rob a bank, or swindle unsuspecting grandmothers out of their retirement funds. But short of that, we are free to do what ever we want.

But that isn’t what the Bible says, it isn’t what Jesus lived and it isn’t consistent with the Spirit of God that lives inside every follower of Christ.

Although we are free from the written law, we are slaves to the Spirit. And the Spirit of Christ sets a standard so much higher than the law that we rarely want to fully face the ramifications of what it requires of us. That standard is love.

That’s why Paul says in the verse above, “We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves.” The attitude of, “I’m free from the law,” allows us to please ourselves. That attitude also frees us from the responsibility of our influence on other people. It gives us permission to make any choice without regard to how it affects the people who look to us as examples. (And by the way, everyone you know–and many people you don’t–look to you as an example for something.)

But Christ-like, Spirit-filled love demands we take an attitude that says “I live not for myself, but for the benefit of others.” That kind of love forces us to make choices we would not normally make. It might mean skipping a movie we are equipped to watch but might be a challenge to others whose faith isn’t as strong. It might mean giving up a particular form of recreation, not because it gets in the way of our worship of God but because someone we know might allow it to be a distraction. It might mean giving up drinking or smoking not because we have a problem with it but because we know so many other people do.

Here is what it comes down to: we all have rights. Our normal reaction to the freedom that Christ gives us is to insist on those rights. But Christ-like love says, “I am free to do what I want to do, but in my love for others I choose not to.” And it is in the choosing that we experience true freedom.

For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. — Galatians 5:13