Where have we gotten so far?
We have seen that the "liberty of the Christian man" is at the heart of the New Testament answer to the problem of ethics, and that goodness cannot be "legislated" by compressing it into a set of rules. There is a "spontaneity" that characterizes Christian living at its best.
At the same time we have also seen that this is a dangerous kind of liberty. To be told to "love, and do as you please," may prove to be quite inadequate counsel, particularly if we do not know more specifically what it means to love. Fortunately, the New Testament does not fail us at this point. Over and over again we find down-to-earth examples of what it means to love:
But if someone who is rich sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how can he have any love for God in his heart? ( I John 3: 17, Goodspeed trans.).
The writer is saying bluntly that sometimes you demonstrate your love by digging into your pocketbook.
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