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Simply Put

84. Adiaphora

Simply Put

Ligonier Ministries

Religion & Spirituality, Christianity

4.91.6K Ratings

🗓️ 9 May 2023

⏱️ 6 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

How should we make choices on matters that are neither commanded nor forbidden by Scripture? In this episode, Barry Cooper considers how Christians should exercise the freedom that God has given us.

Read the transcript: https://simplyputpodcast.com/adiaphora/

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Should Christians eat meat? Should we hold church services at 9 a.m. on a Sunday?

0:06.7

And should Christians subscribe to simply put? I'm obviously tempted to be dogmatic about that

0:12.0

last one, but these kinds of choices would be what some theologians would call adiaphora,

0:17.6

things which are neither commanded nor forbidden in scripture. Adiaphora is the plural of the Greek

0:24.3

word adiaphora, which refers to a thing that exists outside of moral categories,

0:30.4

something that in and of itself is neither approved nor condemned. Adiaphora literally means

0:36.7

indifferent things. Other examples would be the color of the carpet you decide to put in your living

0:43.2

room, your choice of podcast app, or your preference of Coke, Pepsi or Mountain Dew. There would be

0:50.0

nothing wrong in making particular choices in these areas. There's freedom to do as you please.

0:55.6

Try as we might to argue that there really ought to be specific levitical laws against the consumption

1:01.1

of Mountain Dew. No such laws actually exist in scripture, which means that God has granted us

1:06.5

freedom to decide whether or not to drink it. In that sense, drinking Mountain Dew is spiritually

1:13.0

neutral, even though it may be dietarily questionable. Another example of adiaphora is the precise

1:19.5

way in which we choose to apply God's law. For example, as Christians, we're obliged to love

1:26.0

others. But what loving others will look like in practice, given your particular set of circumstances

1:32.6

and opportunities, falls into the category of adiaphora. You have freedom to love others in which

1:40.1

ever ways will bring glory to God, and God will be glorified by whichever way you choose to love

1:45.2

others, as long as it doesn't conflict with God's moral law. We shouldn't try to bind the

1:51.4

consciences of other believers on matters to do with adiaphora, where God Himself has permitted

1:57.2

freedom. For example, if the conscience of a particular believer says he shouldn't ever drink alcohol

2:04.9

under any circumstances, other believers should not encourage that person to go against their

2:11.6

conscience. But at the same time, the tea-totaler shouldn't condemn believers who enjoy the occasional

...

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