1. Honest question: Who soured those "free and joyous new Christians"?
2. Honest question: What exactly is a "free" Christian? I am a joyous one but I don't get the sense of "freedom." I was a Christian from Baptism so never knew what it was to NOT be a Christian. I have always loved my faith, though still a sinner of course, and never DIDN'T love it.
I strained, sometimes, at the shibboleths that I (and many others) thought outdated (i.e. no meat on Fridays) but I always followed them. Lol. They DID make me stronger and WERE good for me but I didn't see/understand that until I was much older. Duh.
3. It's my opinion (OPINION) that people who are solid in their faith can't be turned into sour, negative and judgmental Christians.
Am I wrong with number three?
.
God bless you and yours.
The Bible tells us we are free, really free; unconditionally free! When it really starts to click I feel like yelling “Free at last, free at last; God Almighty we are free at last.” Thank God it's about his grace, what he did for me.
John 8:32-36 “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”
I'm not sure about your 3rd point, other than to say that those symptoms can be a sign of not being solid in our faith. Lack of freedom seems to come when people lose sight of the relationship and start focusing elsewhere.
If you are really interested in Freedom I would suggest listening to Steve Brown's serious on Scandalous Freedom:
http://www.keylife.org/programs/scandalous-freedom
This article is also gives a great Biblical Explanation of Christian Freedom: http://www.keylife.org/articles/how-to-lose-your-freedom