Christ did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it.

Mathew 5:17-20
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”

He therefore, fulfilled the Law, and now freedom would come to his people. No longer were we slaves to a set of laws that we could not fulfill on our own strength. Instead, he took care of them on the cross, and we are, instead, free.

Romans 8:1-2
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

I am hereby righteous in all that I do; excepting that it does not come into direct opposition with that which God himself tells me to do. This is sin.

What is considered sin to be avoided with regards to the commandments and laws within the bible? What about the Ten Commandments? Have they been nullified? If you walk in the Spirit of the Lord, and follow the basic rules of Jesus: to love the Lord your God with all you heart and soul, and to love your neighbor as yourself, you are accomplishing his will for you.

If you love your neighbor, you won’t covet what he has. If you love God, you will not put money before him. Besides, if you the Holy Spirit is active in you, if you begin to covet money over God, then your conscience is awakened, and there is a call to repentance. If you can accomplish something while keeping your eye fixed on God and continue to feel his presence, then you are probably not sinning. If you cannot hear God right now, then you should look to possible sin infiltrating your life and pulling your gaze from him.

Romans 14:14-15
As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died.

Now that you are free from sin. You are to eat and partake of anything that God himself would allow, as is evidenced by the presence of the Spirit who is with you at all times. Your newer and weaker Christian brother may be able to fall into sin by observing your behavior within the scope of your freedom. Out of consideration for your brother, if you can avoid such practices in their presence as to preserve their position with God, then this is the right thing to do. This isn’t a new “rule” or “commandment”, but is something that you observe the Spirit leading you to do when you walk in the Spirit. You know by instinct. If, however, you are not feeling the presence of the Holy Spirit in such an encounter, you run the risk of confrontation and the introduction of spiritual elements that take hold of the prospective human and carnal weaknesses within both your brother and yourself. Many of the so-called ‘laws’ in the bible are really sincere attempts, on the part of the speaker, to lead the listener in spirit back to the face of God himself. This encourages growth, and flies in the face of dogmatic assertion and control. Such admonitions are provided based upon the experiences of those who are in close communion with the Holy Spirit and, such, can view the outcome of our practices from the perspective of the eternal rather than the temporal. In short, People seeking the letter of the law are going to miss the spiritual implications of much of the bible, and, certainly, of many of the teachings therein contained.

The real issue, however, comes from the other side of this equation: the brother who would limit your freedom in Christ in order that his, or his brothers’, sensibilities would not be assaulted. This is the slide into legalism, which is a foe that is common in the church today. These people would build ‘hedges’ around the law; bringing a law of God into submission within a sphere of all-encompassing rules and qualifiers, thus destroying the spirit of the law to begin with, limiting your freedom in Christ, and causing accusing brother to fall into sin (as well as opening the door to sin for yourself if you are not able to remain Godly in moments such as these).

Is alcohol a sin? No. The sin involved is drunkenness (because a spiritual doorway to your own soul is established), or gluttony (leading to covet ness – no God shall come before Him). The problem is, to the capitulation of your brother, alcohol itself becomes a sin. Then going into a place that sells alcohol becomes a sin. Then, even visiting the home of someone who houses alcohol becomes a sin. Before you know it, you are in bondage again. Break this bondage, and these hedges, and confront the person, lest he lead others away from God. Do this for your own peace of mind, and for the sake of others’ walk with God.

Do not let anyone rob you of your freedom in Christ. This life is meant to be one of freedom, not captivity.