The point of this passage is to say, you are free to participate in many things. You’re free to read fiction books, you’re even free to read romantic fiction books. They aren’t necessarily sinful in and of themselves, but can they contain content that leads to sin? Yes. And if that’s the case, it is the responsibility of a Christian person to consider the weakness of their brothers and sisters before recommending or encouraging that kind of content for them.
It also points out in verse 10, that you are not to judge your brother or sister or consider them prudish or immature because they have a high standard for the kind of content that they consume. We have to be willing to sacrifice our own freedom for the sake of our brothers and sisters. He says here in verse 15, if your brother or sister is distressed by what you eat, in this case, what you read or watch or have recommended to them, you are no longer acting in love. I think there are a lot of Christian women who have recommended Redeeming Love thinking it was a loving thing to do and going to bless people. And instead, it placed a major stumbling block in the path of these young women, because those who are recommending it did not recognize the weight of the sexual content that they had overlooked. It’s a very serious thing. And it’s why in the rest of the verse, verse 15, he says, “Do not by your eating, destroy someone for whom Christ died. Do not lead them down a path of sin. Do not lead them against their conviction.” He also goes on to say, “To make every effort to do what leads to peace and mutual edification.”
In today’s culture, we’re often more interested in our own edification. We take it very personally if something we love isn’t celebrated or well liked. The reality is that with something like this, we have to be willing to choose what leads to peace and the edification of others, and not just what we like and what we think is okay. This applies to all media it doesn’t just apply to Redeeming Love or Christian fiction. It applies to all media. We are at a point now, where sexual content is everywhere. Soft pornography is literally woven into family TV shows or family movies. And we have to be discerning and aware of what is happening. I think verse 22 is a great message as we move into the next section here.
It says, “Blessed is the one who does not condemn herself by what she approves.” We have to ask ourselves, “Am I condemning myself by what I approve? Or am I walking in sanctification and holiness?” In the third section of this episode, I want to give you some questions to ask before you watch this movie, recommend it, or the book.
