25 Bible Verses about Abuse, Of Christian Freedom

Therefore do not let Sin reign in your mortal bodies and compel you to obey its cravings.

For Sin shall not lord it over you. You are living under the reign, not of Law, but of Love.

Seeing, therefore, that there is on every side of us such a throng of witnesses, let us also lay aside everything that hinders us, and the sin that clings about us, and run with patient endurance the race that lies before us, our eyes fixed upon Jesus, the Leader and perfect Example of our faith, who, for the joy that lay before him, endured the cross, heedless of its shame, and now 'has taken his seat at the right hand' of the throne of God.

If any one sees his Brother committing some sin that is not a deadly sin, he will ask, and so be the means of giving Life to him--to any whose sin is not deadly. There is such a thing as deadly sin; about that I do not say that a man should pray. Every wrong action is sin, and there is sin that is not deadly. We know that no one who has received the new Life from God lives in sin. No, he who has received the new Life from God keeps the thought of God in his heart, and then the Evil One does not touch him.

What are we to say, then? Are we to continue to sin, in order that God's loving-kindness may be multiplied? Heaven forbid! We became dead to sin, and how can we go on living in it?

What follows, then? Are we to sin because we are living under the reign of Love and not of Law? Heaven forbid!

But what if our wrong-doing makes God's righteousness all the clearer? Will God be wrong in inflicting punishment? (I can but speak as a man.) Heaven forbid! Otherwise how can God judge the world? But, if my falsehood redounds to the glory of God, by making his truthfulness more apparent, why am I like others, still condemned as a sinner?read more.
Why should we not say-as some people slanderously assert that we do say-'Let us do evil that good may come'? The condemnation of such men is indeed just!

If, while seeking to be pronounced righteous through union with Christ, we were ourselves seen to be outcasts, would that make Christ an agent of sin? Heaven forbid! For, if I rebuild the very things that I pulled down, I prove myself to have done wrong. I, indeed, through Law became dead to Law, in order to live for God.read more.
I have been crucified with Christ. So it is no longer I that live, but it is Christ who lives in me; and, as for my present earthly life, I am living it by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not reject the love of God. If righteousness comes through Law, then there was no need for Christ to die!

But take care that this right of yours does not become in any way a stumbling-block to the weak. For if some one should see you who possess this knowledge, feasting in an idol's temple, will not his conscience, if he is a weak man, become so hardened that he, too, will eat food offered to idols? And so, through this knowledge of yours, the weak man is ruined-your Brother for whose sake Christ died!read more.
In this way, by sinning against your Brothers and injuring their consciences, while still weak, you sin against Christ.

Remember, Brothers, to you the Call came to give you freedom. Only do not make your freedom an opportunity for self-indulgence, but serve one another in a loving spirit.

Act as free men, yet not using your freedom as those do who make it a cloak for wickedness, but as Servants of God.

There is a wide-spread report respecting a case of immorality among you, and that, too, of a kind that does not occur even among the Gentiles-a man, I hear, is living with his father's wife! Instead of grieving over it and taking steps for the expulsion of the man who has done this thing, is it possible that you are still puffed up?

Everything is allowable for me! Yes, but everything is not profitable. Everything is allowable for me! Yes, but for my part, I will not let myself be enslaved by anything. Food exists for the stomach, and the stomach for food; but God will put an end to both the one and the other. The body, however, exists, not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body; And, as God has raised the Lord, so he will raise up us also by the exercise of his power.read more.
Do not you know that your bodies are Christ's members? Am I, then, to take the members that belong to the Christ and make them the members of a prostitute? Heaven forbid! Or do not you know that a man who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body (for 'the two,' it is said, 'will become one'); While a man who is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit? Shun all immorality. Every other sin that men commit is something outside the body; but an immoral man sins against his own body. Again, do not you know that your body is a shrine of the Holy Spirit that is within you-the Spirit which you have from God? Moreover, you are not your own masters; you were bought, and the price was paid. Therefore, honor God in your bodies.

Yet I have this against you--You tolerate the woman Jezebel, who declares that she is a Prophetess, and misleads my servants by her teaching, till they commit licentious acts and eat idol-offerings. I gave her time to repent, but she is determined not to turn from her licentiousness. Therefore I am laying her upon a bed of sickness, and bringing great suffering upon those who are unfaithful with her, unless they repent and turn from a life like hers.

There was, however, a man named Ananias, who, with his wife Sapphira, sold some property, And, with her connivance, kept back some of the proceeds. He brought only a part and laid it at the Apostles' feet.

When you meet together, as I understand, it is not possible to eat the Lord's Supper; For, as you eat, each of you tries to secure his own supper first, with the result that one has too little to eat, and another has too much to drink! Have you no houses in which you can eat and drink? Or are you trying to show your contempt for the Church of God, and to humiliate the poor? What can I say to you? Shall I praise you? In this matter I cannot praise you.

Seeing, therefore, that there is on every side of us such a throng of witnesses, let us also lay aside everything that hinders us, and the sin that clings about us, and run with patient endurance the race that lies before us,

If we say that there is no sin in us, we are deceiving ourselves, and the Truth has no place in us. If we confess our sins, God may be trusted, in his righteousness, to forgive us our sins and purify us from all wickedness. If we say that we have not sinned, we are making God a liar, and his Message has no place in us.

Do not let any one deceive you with specious arguments. Those are the sins that bring down the Wrath of God upon the disobedient.

and 'a stumbling-block, and a rock which shall prove a hindrance.' They stumble because they do not accept the Message. This was the fate destined for them.

And by this we know that we have learned to know him--by our laying his commands to heart. The man who says 'I know Jesus,' but does not lay his commands to heart, is a liar, and the Truth has no place in him;

Every one who lives sinfully is living in violation of Law. Sin is violation of Law.

Seek this Love earnestly, and strive for spiritual gifts, above all for the gift of preaching. He who, when speaking, uses the gift of 'tongues' is speaking, not to men, but to God, for no one understands him; yet in spirit he is speaking of hidden truths. But he who preaches is speaking to his fellow men words that will build up faith, and give them comfort and encouragement.read more.
He who, when speaking, uses the gift of 'tongues' builds up his own faith, while he who preaches builds up the faith of the Church. Now I want you all to speak in 'tongues,' but much more I wish that you should preach. A Preacher is of more account than he who speaks in 'tongues,' unless he interprets his words, so that the faith of the Church may be built up. This being so, Brothers, what good shall I do you, if I come to you and speak in 'tongues,' unless my words convey some revelation, or knowledge, or take the form of preaching or teaching? Even with inanimate things, such as a flute or a harp, though they produce sounds, yet unless the notes are quite distinct, how can the tune played on the flute or the harp be recognized? If the bugle sounds a doubtful call, who will prepare for battle? And so with you; unless, in using the gift of 'tongues,' you utter intelligible words, how can what you say be understood? You will be speaking to the winds! There is, for instance, a certain number of different languages in the world, and not one of them fails to convey meaning. If, however, I do not happen to know the language, I shall be a foreigner to those who speak it, and they will be foreigners to me. And so with you; since your are striving for spiritual gifts, be eager to excel in such as will build up the faith of the Church. Therefore let him who, when speaking, uses the gift of 'tongues' pray for ability to interpret them. If, when praying, I use the gift of 'tongues,' my spirit indeed prays, but my mind is a blank. What, then, is my conclusion? Simply this-I will pray with my spirit, but with my mind as well; I will sing with my spirit, but with my mind as well. If you bless God with your spirit only, how can the man in the congregation who is without your gift say 'Amen' to your thanksgiving? He does not know what you are saying! Your thanksgiving may be excellent, but the other is not helped by it. Thank God, I use the gift of 'tongues' more than any of you. But at a meeting of the Church I would rather speak five words with my mind, and so teach others, than ten thousand words when using the gift of 'tongues.' Brothers, do not show yourselves children in understanding. In wickedness be infants, but in understanding show yourselves men.

With reference to food that has been offered in sacrifice to idols-We are aware that all of us have knowledge! Knowledge breeds conceit, while love builds up character. If a man thinks that he knows anything, he has not yet reached that knowledge which he ought to have reached. On the other hand, if a man loves God, he is known by God.read more.
With reference, then, to eating food that has been offered to idols-we are aware that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no God but one. Even supposing that there are so-called 'gods' either in Heaven or on earth-and there are many such 'gods' and 'lords'- Yet for us there is only one God, the Father, from whom all things come (and for him we live), and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things come (and through him we live). Still, it is not every one that has this knowledge. Some people, because of their association with idols, continued down to the present time, eat the food as food offered to an idol; and their consciences, while still weak, are dulled. What we eat, however, will not bring us nearer to God. We lose nothing by not eating this food, and we gain nothing by eating it. But take care that this right of yours does not become in any way a stumbling-block to the weak. For if some one should see you who possess this knowledge, feasting in an idol's temple, will not his conscience, if he is a weak man, become so hardened that he, too, will eat food offered to idols? And so, through this knowledge of yours, the weak man is ruined-your Brother for whose sake Christ died! In this way, by sinning against your Brothers and injuring their consciences, while still weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if what I eat makes my Brother fall, rather than make my Brother fall, I will never eat meat again.

Yet I have a few things against you--You have among you those who hold to the Teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put temptations in the way of the Israelites, so that they should eat idol-offerings and commit licentious acts.