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Christian liberty and liberty of conscience 1.
CHRIST has purchased for all believers a liberty inherent in the
gospel. It comprises freedom from the guilt of sin, from the condemnation
that follows upon guilt, from the wrath of God, and from the severity and
curse of God's law. It also includes deliverance from this present evil
world, and from all such things as bondage to Satan, sin's domination, the
hurtfulness of afflictions, the fear and sting of death, the victory of
the grave, and eternal damnation. Furthermore, it includes free access to
God and the yielding of obedience to Him, not as it were with the fear of
a slave for his master, but with a childlike love and readiness.
All these blessings were more or less enjoyed by believers in Old
Testament days, but under New Testament conditions Christian liberty
becomes more extensive. It includes freedom from the burdens imposed by
the ceremonial law to which the Jewish church was subjected, greater
boldness in approaching to the throne of grace, and a larger measure of
the free Spirit of God than was normally granted to saints in the
pre-Christian era. 2.
God alone is Lord of the conscience. He has set it free from all
obligation to receive or obey any such doctrines or demands of men as are
in any respect in opposition to His Word or not contained in it. Indeed,
to believe and obey such doctrines and demands is tantamount to a betrayal
of true liberty of conscience. It is against all reason, and nothing less
than the destruction of liberty of conscience, when men demand of their
fellows an implicit faith, in other words, an absolute and blind
obedience. Luke 1:74,75; Rom. 6:1,2; Gal. 5:13; 2 Pet. 2:18,21. [Previous Chapter] [Next Chapter]
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