Avoiding Evil

We have arrived. After a 10 hour drive we have finally made it to Fort Worth. Every Spring I take my youth leaders to a conference called Youth Ministry Lab that takes place at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Youth lab starts tomorrow around 4:00 p.m. I will try to keep you updated on what is happening here in Texas. It’s late, I’ve been in the van all day, and it’s time to relax.

What does it mean to be free? I heard David Carr (the drummer of the popular Christian band Third Day) say something along the lines of, “Ultimate Freedom is when we say, ‘I can do anything I want, but I am going to choose to do what is right.’” That statement struck me as being full of wisdom. We immediately think of freedom as doing whatever we want to do, when in fact freedom is much more than that. Ultimate freedom is not “doing” whatever we want to do but it is “being able” to do whatever we want to do and “choosing” not to do it. Let me explain:

The Bible speaks of us having freedom or the ability to do what we want. For instance, the apostle Paul tells the Corinthians that they can do whatever they want, everything is permissible for them but that certainly does not mean they should do everything that is permissible for them to do. Not everything that we have the ability to do is beneficial for us.

“Everything is permissible for me”–but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me”–but I will not be mastered by anything. “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food”–but God will destroy them both. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. - 1 Corinthians 6:12-13

It is likely that Paul is quoting the Corinthian congregation who is boasting about their ability to do anything they pleased. Paul points out that such freedom does not benefit the Christian. They claimed that their sexual practices were as natural as eating and digesting food and therefore it was ok to indulge in such acts.

Paul declares that while we may be free to fill the burning lusts of our flesh, it is not beneficial and it is not true freedom. The lusts of the flesh can become our masters, controlling us. We become slaves to our inner desires, our flesh, and our lusts. Being a slave to sin is not freedom.

You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. - Galatians 5:13

Paul tells the brethren in Galatia that they should never use their freedom to do the wrong thing. Freedom does not mean we should go out and do whatever we please, however freedom does mean that we can serve God to the fullest. We have the ability to use freedom for the things that are benefical to us such as serving God and others in love.

Live as free men, but do not use your feedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. - 1 Peter 2:16

The apostle Peter declares that we should live as free men, but not for our own evil. He says this in relation to submitting to every authority instituted among men. To live as free men is to live under authority of men and yet to not use such freedom as a cover up for evil. We are still under the authority of God as servants of Christ.

While the Bible declares that we are free and anything is permissible, it is clear that those things are not beneficial to believers. Ultimate freedom is not doing what we want. Doing whatever we want, when we want, is selfishness and we become slaves to desire. To be free is to have the ability to do anything, but to choose to do what is right. Freedom from sin and guilt is in Christ and in our obedience to Him.

In my seminary experience I am required to take a supervised ministry class in which we have to have mentors and we have to perform a wedding, two funerals, the Lord’s Supper, and a baptism. I am an extension student so I have to video myself doing these things and send them to the professor. There is one thing I have learned out of all of this, bad things can really happen during church services. Without further ado, here is my rendition of Baptisms Gone Wild! Click the link to see the video file. This is a quicktime file and it is 758 kb. Enjoy!