Paul said, “If food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat, lest my brother stumble” (1 Corinthians 8:13). And then he went on to describe throughout chapter 9 many ways in which he voluntarily abstained from the things he was free to enjoy as a Christian, not to mention an apostle, such as various types of food and drink, marriage and a full time ministerial salary (1 Corinthians 9: 4-7).
Paul’s complete orientation in life was to win as many people as possible to the gospel (1 Corinthians 9:22-23), so he tried to eliminate as many obstacles as possible that would prevent many from coming to understand the gospel (1 Corinthians 9:12). For Paul, this was Christian freedom: “Because although I am free of all, I have become a servant for all, in order to earn more of them” (1 Corinthians 9:19). Then, when Paul heard that the Christians in Corinth were discussing whether or not they were free to eat sacrificial meat, he essentially told them they were missing the point:
“Everything is lawful, but not everything suits me. Everything is lawful to me, but not everything edifies. That nobody looks for his own good, but the good of his fellow.” (1 Corinthians 10:23-24)
For Paul, this was true Christian freedom: do whatever it takes to love your neighbor for the love of Jesus.
We will never understand the circumstances by which the children of God pass day by day, but we can put into practice the teachings of Paul. Do not you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one gets the prize? So run to win!
All athletes train with discipline. They do it to win a prize that fades, but we do it for an eternal one. That’s why I run every step with purpose, that does not look like blows in the air, that is why I disciplined my body like an athlete does, trained him to do what he should do, otherwise I fear that after preaching to others, I same be disqualified.
True Christian Freedom
Brother Walter Bustamante