In the family of God, we tend to divide Christians into two categories, the mature and the immature, or the free and the legalistic. But the truth is, we need each other. Today, on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindahl reveals why the spiritually strong can be just as immature as the weak. especially when they flaunt their freedom. Drawing from Romans 14, Chuck challenges the legalists to chill out.
and the grace abusers to show some heart. The goal isn't picking sides. It's pursuing what builds each other up. Chuck titled his message, Liberty on a Tightrope. The essence of Christianity.
is not externals. It's eternals. It's not external. What you will answer for is not what you put into your stomach. But what the attitude of your heart was.
Or is Look at 18. For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable across the board to God and to others.
So then, he adds, Let's pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another. That's one of those great verses you do well to commit to memory, or at least write out and put on the visor of your car, or maybe on the bathroom mirror. The great verse.
So then let's pursue. Today, Lord, help me to pursue the things that bring peace. and build up others. Guard me from even inadvertently tearing down or weakening. or offending someone.
I know you can go to crazy extremes with this, but some of us have a long way to go before we get to extremes of this. Let the love show through. And at the same time, may I say a word to you who are busy with your lists for us? Lighten up.
Okay. Donald Barnhouse, who for years was a pastor of 10th Memorial Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia. Wrote a wonderful commentary on Romans, and in it he tells a number of great stories. This one I especially like. Many years ago, he says, I led a Bible conference in Montrose, Pennsylvania.
About 200 young people were present and a few older. people. One day two of the older ladies complained to me in horror. Because some of the women were not wearing stockings. These ladies wanted me to rebuke them.
I call that co-rebuking. People want pastors to rebuke other people for them, and a barnhouse wisely does not go there. This was about the year 1928. Looking them straight in the eye, only Barnas could do this. I said, the Virgin Mary never wore stockings.
They cast. She didn't? I answered, in Mary's time, stockings were unknown.
So far as we know, they were first worn by prostitutes in Italy. I love that line. Back in the 15th century, when the Renaissance began, later a lady of the nobility wore stockings at a court ball, greatly to the scandal of the public. Before long, however, everyone in the upper class was wearing stockings. By the time of Queen Victoria, stockings.
had become the badge of the prude. These ladies who were holdovers from the Victorian Era. had no more to say. I did not rebuke the girls for not wearing stockings. A year or two afterwards, most girls in the United States were going without stockings every summer.
And nobody thought anything about it. Nor do I believe that this led toward the disintegration of moral standards in the United States. Times were changing, and the step away from the Victorian legalism was all for the better. I remember reading a story of a bride who was fixing a roast for her new groom, and she cut off the end of the roast and she put it in the pan. And and You know, her husband looking over her shoulder, wondering, why is she cutting off?
Those are good pieces of meat. Not long afterwards, she's fixing a ham. She put the ham in the pan and she cut off the ends of the ham. You say, wait, wait, wait. What is this?
Why do you cut off the ends of the roast? And those are good. She said, my mother always cut off. The ends. Of the roast and the ham.
So the next time he was with the mother-in-law, he said, Hey, Toots, or whatever he called her, you know. Hey, uh. What is it about cutting off the ends? She said, Well, my mother always cut off the ends of the ham.
Well, finally, they got a hold of the grandmother and the grandmother said, Well, actually, I had a real small pan and I couldn't fit the big meat in the little pan. What's that?
So I cut off the ham and I cut the fucking room like that. You laugh. But that's about as much logic as your list makes. For the rest of us. Please.
You want to cut off the ends of the rows. Cut them all. Just don't expect me to. And don't judge me because I like the whole roast.
Now, here's the tough part, especially for those of us who love our liberty and stand firm in it and want so much for everyone to grow to the place where they can. See how free we are. Here's the third one. Look at verse 20. Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food.
All things indeed are clean, but they're evil for the one who eats. and gives an offense. Here's a reminder. when my liberty hinders God's work, In someone else's life, I yield. I yield.
When my liberty hinders God's work in someone else's life, I yield. I don't put them down, I control. What I prefer. No. Let's go back to the restaurant.
Let's put Paul sitting at the table with his buddies and some folks he doesn't know that well. And they've all gathered for great steaks. Everybody served a big T-bone steak. Big, thick mother. Really nice steak.
Baked potato. Asparagus. Cream cheese pie. The whole thing. And Paul starts to cut into his steak.
He says, This is great. Where'd you get this steak? And the guy across the table, the host, says, Well, I bought it at the meat market.
Some of that great meat that was once offered to idols. Two or three people go, whoa. No thanks. Paul notices. You know what Paul says?
I'll take a to-go box. In other words, I'll have this at home. But there's no reason to hurt them. Because I happen to want steak right now. Just load up with a little more asparagus.
Load up the potato. When my liberty hinders God's work, I yield. That's called maturity. When my liberty hinders God's work, I yield. Remember Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 9?
It just occurs to me. I want you to go there. The very next book. Ninth chapter, look at the end of that chapter. I love this.
919. He starts right where we are. Though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all that I may win more. Look at that. The man who carried the torch for liberty and grace.
Says, I care about other people.
So that I may win them to the Jews. I became as a Jew so that I might win the Jews. to those who were under the wall. As under the law, though not being myself under the law, so that I might win those who were under the law to those who are without law. The wild and crazy bunch, the group that's completely and totally pagan.
I lived my life as though free of the law. And yet, not being without the law of God, but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law. to the weak. Here is this apostle, which is the whole point of chapter 9, where he begins with the defense of his apostleship. He says, To the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak.
Become all things to all men that I may by all means save some. You want it to say all, but you I become all things to all men that I might by all means save all of them.
Well, he wishes that. But you'll never win them all. Which may be where that comes from. When my liberty hinders the work of God in someone else's life, I care. Why?
Why do I care? Is there a lot of them?
Now Everything has to be set in balance because some hear only that.
So let me broaden it a little and say. Nothing is unclean. Remember that? Giving an offense is not what we want to do.
So, if you are among those who are weaker and you're just learning your way, Think before you quickly admonish someone Who feels the freedom to enjoy that? And you will be happier and you will grow up. I don't mean that to be insulting. I mean it to be encouraging.
Okay. If you find that you're still living under the constancy of lists, You'll always stay young, stay immature. You'll always. You'll become a professional weaker brother. I don't know of a better way to put it.
And uh you become hard to live with.
So Light up. Even though you may not ever want to get out on that. Tight wire. A lot of us like it out there.
Now, I'm going to get specific because right now it's very safe and there's no risk in what I'm saying. Everybody says, oh, that's good, Chuck. Preach it. Tell them.
So let me, let me. Go a little further, okay? I think what we need are some warnings to guard us from stumbling while we're on the wire, okay? Here are three of them. One is in verse 21.
One is in verse 22 and the third is in verse 23. 21. It's not good to eat or to drink wine or to do anything by which your brother stumbles.
So the warning is: be considerate. Be considerate.
Now, some of you read that and you say, oh, my mom and dad drank a glass of wine at the table. Do you know what it is? Kids can be really like that. Do you realize what Paul writes in Romans 4? 14, 20, remember the context.
What you do in your home is your business.
Okay. Remember the to-go box? Paul gets home that night and probably tears into the steak because he had to pass it up in the meal. Because to him it's not unclean. What is unclean is drunkenness.
That's never allowed, never encouraged, and never promoted in the scriptures. But a sip of wine or a glass of wine enjoyed in the privacy of your family or your home. It's your call. You want to observe a certain day, and you think that, or you don't want to observe a certain day, and you want the freedom to do whatever you do, whatever day it is, enjoy it. You just don't have to you know Tell everybody.
I have freedoms I enjoy that you know nothing about.
Now, that's going to be the talk of the lunch. Yeah. What is it Chuck is doing that we don't know about? It has none of you been there. The goal here is to be considerate.
to be considerate of each other when you're around one another. I'd finished a long, long trip.
Sort of an involved itinerary that was sort of back-to-back speaking on behalf of Biola University. And this was years ago. Up in Northern California, and I finished in a place called Santa Rosa. Lovely little community there. And I was all alone and came to the restaurant and I sat down and Waiter walked over and he said, Good evening, could I help you?
And I'm just going to tell you, okay? I've never told this story before. I sat down and I thought, boy, a nice glass of wine would taste great. Kind of a great ending to a wonderful week. I mean It's nobody here that I know and uh Nope.
And uh so I thought, well And for some reason, this is a true story, some reason the waiter kind of lingered and And uh He said just He said, you look familiar, or he said, your voice is familiar. And uh So I He said, would you like anything to drink? I said, iced tea would be great. And I finished the meal and all through, and I gave him a credit card to pay for it, and he goes, Woo! Whoa!
I knew I knew you, and we exchanged comments together. He said, um You know, I didn't know who you were, but I just decided to watch you. Because I knew there was something that was familiar about you. I thought, all the time I'm eating my meal. He's over there watching me.
And I got to know him and I said, Tell me about your past. He said, Well, actually, I've come through a recovery program. for alcoholism. And I um I said, boy, that's great. I admire that.
It's wonderful. He said Yeah, and said some other things. I'm not going to go into all that. The point I'm making is is obvious. Um you never know.
And guys that are in my shoes can hardly be too careful.
Now, if I go crazy with that. I mean, I'll never do anything but toothpicks and water when I'm out eating somewhere, because somebody would be offended that I ate two pieces of pie, or somebody would be offended that I had raw meat. Not raw, but rare, rare meat. I don't eat royal. Yeah, I was like.
Caveman here, you know.
Okay, verse 22, let's get back to it. There's a Warning here: be convinced. I like this principle, be convinced. The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. There is a verse for life.
Determine your faith. Determine what works for you, and for goodness sake, do it. And you know what will result? Happiness. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves.
One day you're going to learn it's fun out on a tightrope, and it's a great way to live, and the exhilaration is beyond belief. and you'll leave the fear of what people think. and you'll walk out. That's what brings that That acrobat Adlenette Wire. You are convinced in your mind and For all the right reasons, you go there.
Truth be told, some of you do not know. what your convictions are. My heart goes out to you. Because you live your life. pleasing other people.
are plagued by their expectations. You can't live your life like that. You want to be wise, you want to be loving. But you can't live your life afraid that around every corner is somebody that's going to find something wrong.
So somewhere in the middle of this is a balance. I think you're getting it. Be considerate, be convinced, and finally, verse twenty-three. He who doubts is condemned if he eats. If you're not comfortable, don't do it.
Don't go against your conscience. And if your conscience needs to grow up, it takes time. to let it grow and become what it ought to be. But do your best as you grow to stay consistent. Be what you are.
Consistently the same. Hard assignment, isn't it? There was a time when Peter was hobnobbing with the Gentiles. And he was enjoying their diet, their meals. He was enjoying time with them.
And then the Jews showed up from Jerusalem.
So he turned and he started enjoying all the kosher stuff. And acted like he had nothing to do with the Gentile. He was in con and Paul rebuked him and confronted him, reproved him. Said, that's not consistent. Either you're a man of grace or you're not a man of grace.
Bible teacher Ralph Kuyper paraphrases the verses this way. Peter, I smell hem on your breath. Forgot your certs. There was a time when you wouldn't eat ham as a part of your hope of salvation. Then, after you trusted Christ, it didn't matter if you ate ham.
But now, when the noham eaters come from Jerusalem, you've gone back to your kosher ways, but the smell of ham still lingers on your breath. You are most inconsistent. You are compelling Gentile believers to observe Jewish law, which can never justify anyone. He who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith, and whatever isn't. Faith-based becomes sin.
Doesn't it take a long time to grow this thing called a Christian life. You know what takes a long time is unlearning false stuff. Wrong stuff. Unlearning. What isn't?
From the scriptures, but comes from the the lady who had the small pan. It comes from the tradition of some ethnic group. Another one of those mottos worth remembering, not a scripture, but a statement. In essentials, unity, in non-essentials, liberty. in all things.
Charity. Isn't that good? When I got out of seminary, I'm going to confess to you. Everything was essential. Whoa, I die for everything.
Older I get, the less I'll die for. Yeah. Because there aren't many essentials. There are some. They're absolutely your sign, and we ought to be in lockstep, standing together in them.
But there are more things that bring us together than separate us. Which brings us to the non-essentials. Non-essentials. In all things, love. It's impossible to drive people away because you love them.
Most of us just can't get away from them. genuine love. Being loved. Love. I want to tell you at this place, at this church, whether you wear a Louis Roth tailored suit.
that cost $650 are cutoffs and sandals. You're loved. You have a place here. Whether you drive here or ride here on a bus or you drive. A Rolls Royce.
God bless you. Come on. We got room for you. Whether you lay on a heavy cosmetics Just to the point where we really wonder what you look like or. Or you don't even powder your nose.
We love you. We need you. You're a part of us. Whether you vote Republican or Democrat.
Now, there's not going to be many amens here. Whether you vote Republican or Democrat, whether you're a libertarian or out and out, liberal or independent. You belong here. You belong right here. This isn't a precinct.
It's a church. It's a family. Whether you prefer the translation I use or.
Somebody else uses. or nobody else uses. It's okay. Whether you're a moviegoer, And you enjoy live theater? Or you say, I would never.
Yeah. Go to a movie. I got a good friend named Ed, and his wife's name's Candy, and Ed was taught all through his early years. Whatever you do, don't get caught in a movie. If Christ comes back...
And you're in a movie. You're gonna answer for it. And So all the way Growing up until he and Candy were married. And finally, he says, one day, Chuck, Candy and I went into a movie, and I thought, the devil is gonna be in here somewhere. He said, I do remember when I sat down and I prayed, Lord, don't come right now.
What's funny is those who say they never go to a movie, stay up late and watch an HBO. If it's essential, let's agree. If it's not essential, let's relax. Let's relax. And most things are non-essentials.
Okay. And whatever What we need is acceptance and love. You and I need that more than anything on the planet. Let's pray. Lord, it's great to sit here shoulder to shoulder.
in front of and behind someone else we hardly know. It's great to be here where the sound of truth. is set forth. And there's breathing room. There's a realism.
There's freedom. And there's room for questions and disagreement. There's a place even For those who just are filled with doubt. Even the cynic. There's a place there here for that as well.
Help us, Lord, in the growing up years of our lives. To stop taking our cues from other people. Help us to be so focused on you that pleasing you is really what we're about. And that is a mouthful. and a lifeful assignment.
And as we grow older, help us to become easier to live with. Help us to grow up. Not just grow old.
Now, to him who is able to guard us from stumbling and to present us faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. to the only wise God. Our Savior. The glory and majesty, dominion, power forever and ever and ever. and have remote.
Everybody's sick. Amen. Where Scripture speaks clearly, stand firm. Where it's silent, extend grace. In everything let love guide your choices.
That's what Chuck Smundahl calls liberty on a tightrope. There's much more you can learn from this convicting passage in Romans chapter 14. As Chuck said, Christian freedom isn't a license to live however we want. And love isn't giving in to everyone's preferences. true maturity holds both intention, conviction without arrogance, and liberty without carelessness.
As someone who aspires to become mature in Christ, we highly recommend conducting a personal study of Romans. To guide you, Insight for Living offers two Bible study workbooks. These workbooks are part of our popular Searching the Scriptures Bible studies, and you can order yours today at insight.org/slash offer. And then I'd like to tell you about a brand new hardback book published by Insight for Living called Everlasting Light, A Journey from Promise to Presence. It's written by our Spanish pastor Carlos Sasueta with his friend and mentor Chuck Swindahl.
It's a 25-day Advent devotional that will guide your children, grandchildren, and friends to prepare for the spiritual significance of Christ's birth. All that we ask is that you include a generous donation to support the Ministry of Insight for Living. You can be an agent for the everlasting light by helping us spread the good news far and wide with your generous contribution during November. There's no message more urgent in our times than this one. Help share the joy of Christmas by calling us at 800-772-8888.
or go to insight.org slash donate. You can also send a donation in the mail by writing to us at InsightForLiving. Post Office Box 5000. Frisco, Texas 75034. Again, that's Post Office Box 5000.
Frisco, Texas 75034. Multiple copies of the devotional are also available for sale, and we even have a Spanish language version. Just call us at 800-772-8888 or go to insight.org/slash offer. I'm Bill Meyer. Join us again when Chuck Swindahl continues our study: Romans: the Christian's Constitution.
Friday on Insight for Living. The preceding message, Liberty on a Tightrope, was copyrighted in 2008, 2010, 2012, and 2025, and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2025 by Charles R. Swindahl, Incorporated. All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.
