CHAPTER 20
Of Christian Liberty, and
Liberty
of
Conscience.
I. The liberty which Christ
hath purchased for believers under the gospel, consists in their freedom from
the guilt of sin, the condemning wrath of God, the curse of the moral law;a
and in their being delivered from this present evil world, bondage to Satan,
and dominion of sin,b
from the evil of afflictions, the sting of death, the victory of the grave,
and everlasting damnation;c
as also in their free access to God,d
and their yielding obedience unto him, not out of slavish fear, but a
child-like love, and willing mind.e
All which were common also to believers under the law;f
but under the new testament, the liberty of Christians is further enlarged in
their freedom from the yoke of the ceremonial law, to which the
Jewish Church was subjected,g
and in greater boldness of access to the throne of grace,h
and in fuller communications of the free Spirit of God, than
believers under the law did ordinarily partake of.i
a Tit. 2:14; 1 Thess.
1:10; Gal. 3:13.
b Gal. 1:4; Col.
1:13; Acts 26:18; Rom.
6:14
.
c Rom.
8:28
; Ps. 119:71; 1 Cor. 15:54-57; Rom. 8:1.
d Rom. 5:1,2.
e
Rom.
8:14,15; 1 John 4:18.
f Gal. 3:9,14.
g Gal. 4:1-3,6,7;
Gal. 5:1; Acts 15:10,11.
h Heb. 4:14,16; Heb.
10:19-22.
i John 7:38,39; 2
Cor. 3:13,17,18.
II. God alone is lord of the
conscience,k and
hath left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men which are in any
thing contrary to his word, or beside it, in matters of faith or worship.l
So that to believe such doctrines, or to obey such commandments out
of conscience, is to betray true liberty of conscience:m
and the requiring of an implicit faith, and an absolute and blind
obedience, is to destroy liberty of conscience, and reason also.n
k
Jam.
4:12;
Rom.
14:4.
l Acts
4:19
; Acts
5:29
; 1 Cor.
7:23
; Matt. 23:8-10; 2 Cor.
1:24
; Matt.
15:9.
m
Col.
2:20,22,23; Gal. 1:10; Gal. 2:4,5; Gal. 5:1.
n Rom.
10:17
; Rom.
14:23
; Isa.
8:20; Acts 17:11; John 4:22; Hos. 5:11; Rev. 13:12,16,17; Jer. 8:9.
III. They who, upon pretence of
Christian liberty, do practice any sin, or cherish any lust, do thereby
destroy the end of Christian liberty; which is, that, being
delivered out of the hands of our enemies, we might serve the Lord
without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our
life.o
o Gal. 5:13; 1 Pet.
2:16; 2 Pet. 2:19; John 8:34; Luke 1:74,75.
IV. And because the powers
which God hath ordained, and the liberty which Christ hath purchased, are not
intended by God to destroy, but mutually to uphold and preserve one
another; they who, upon pretence of Christian liberty, shall oppose
any lawful power, or the lawful exercise of it, whether it be civil or
ecclesiastical, resist the ordinance of God.p And for their publishing of such opinions, or maintaining
of such practices, as are contrary to the light of nature, or to
the known principles of Christianity, whether concerning faith,
worship, or conversation; or to the power of godliness; or such erroneous
opinions or practices, as either in their own nature, or in the
manner of publishing or maintaining them, are destructive to the
external peace and order which Christ hath established in the church; they may
lawfully be called to account,q
and proceeded against by the censures of the church, and by the power of the
civil magistrate.r
p Matt. 12:25; 1
Pet. 2:13,14,16;
Rom.
13:1-8;
Heb. 13:17.
q Rom. 1:32 with 1
Cor. 5:1,5,11,13; 2 John ver. 10,11 and 2 Thess. 3:14 and 1 Tim. 6:3-5 and
Tit. 1:10,11,13 and Tit. 3:10 with Matt. 18:15-17; 1 Tim. 1:19,20;
Rev. 2:2,14,15,20; Rev. 3:9.
r Deut. 13:6-12;
Rom. 13:3,4 with 2 John ver. 10,11; Ezra 7:23,25-28; Rev. 17:12,16,17; Neh.
13:15,17,21,22,25,30; 2 Kings 23:5,6,9,20,21; 2 Chron. 34:33; 2
Chron. 15:12,13,16; Dan. 3:29; 1 Tim. 2:2; Isa. 49:23;
Zech. 13:2,3.
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Westminster
Confession of Faith (index)
