Christian Liberty #1 Historical Background

Q: What does the Bible say about Christian liberty?

The Bible describes Christian liberty as the freedom from sin and law for those who are in Christ, emphasizing that we should not use this freedom as a cover for wrongdoing. Scripture reveals that Christian liberty is fundamentally connected to the work of Christ, who has set believers free from the bondage of sin and the law. Galatians 5:1 urges believers to stand firm in this freedom and not again be entangled in a yoke of slavery. This liberty allows Christians to worship God freely and to serve one another in love without the fear of legalistic restrictions. As Paul articulates in Romans 14, our freedom should be exercised with consideration for the conscience of others, fostering an environment of mutual respect rather than judgment.

Q: How do we know the doctrine of Christian liberty is true?

The doctrine of Christian liberty is affirmed through Scripture, particularly the teachings of the apostles who address the implications of Christ's redemptive work. The truth of Christian liberty is rooted in the biblical narrative, primarily found in the epistles where apostles like Paul confront issues arising from the transition from the old covenant to the new. As seen in Galatians and Romans, the apostles articulate that freedom in Christ signifies liberation from the law's curse and the constraints of traditional rituals. This doctrine reflects the essence of the gospel, where salvation and acceptance before God are based solely on grace rather than human merit, corroborated by numerous New Testament passages detailing this transformative freedom purchased by Christ.

Q: Why is understanding Christian liberty important for Christians?

Understanding Christian liberty is crucial as it defines the relationship between believers, the law, and the responsibility to love one another within the community of faith. Christian liberty is vital for believers because it shapes how they view their relationship with God and with one another. When comprehended correctly, this liberty fosters unity in diverse congregations, as seen in the early Church's struggles with legalism and license. It challenges believers to embrace the freedom to worship and serve without being hindered by unnecessary legalistic restrictions while also calling them to bear with one another in love and humility. Moreover, this understanding prevents Christians from falling into legalism on one side or antinomianism on the other, promoting a balanced and joyful Christian life rooted in grace and truth.

Q: What are the major historical factors affecting Christian liberty?

The historical factors impacting Christian liberty include the transition from the old covenant to the new, the expansion of the gospel, inclusion of Gentiles, and the challenges of defection from truth. Four major historical strands underscore the development of Christian liberty in the New Testament: the transition from Jewish law to the new covenant, the expansion of the Church's mission to Gentiles, the inclusion of diverse backgrounds in one body, and the ongoing battle against legalism and libertinism. The apostles addressed the complexities arising from these issues, articulating a clear theology of liberty that counters both a return to legalistic observances and an irresponsible exercise of freedom. The apostolic writings thus serve as a response to these historical pressures, demonstrating the necessity of a robust understanding of liberty in Christ.

I announced that we would be
considering for some Lord's Day evenings, precisely how many,
I'm not sure, some of the basic portions of the Word of God dealing
with the broad subject of Christian liberty. Now, that may be a new
term to some of you. I trust it will not be a new
term when this series of studies is concluded. but that you will
have some understanding of what generally has been meant when
the people of God have spoken concerning Christian liberty. Now, anyone who has any acquaintance
with the connotation of those two words, Christian liberty,
or the larger phrase, the doctrine of Christian liberty, is aware
that this is a tacky and a very delicate subject. However, it
is accurate to say that no serious study of the word of God in general
or of the doctrines of grace in particular, can long be maintained
without one's being forced to consider this whole issue of
Christian liberty. Now, the simple reason for this
is because the gospel of Christ has as one of its dominant notes
the proclamation of liberty. It was said in prophecy that
Messiah would come, anointed of the Holy Spirit, for the explicit
purpose of proclaiming liberty to those who were bound, and
the opening of the prison to those who were in a state of
bondage. When the Lord Himself appeared
among men, He used language such as that as is found in John 8.
If the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free. Indeed, and when we turn to the
apostolic writings, we find such language as this. For freedom
did Christ set you free. Be not entangled again with the
yoke of bondage. Further, we read such things
as these. The spirit, the law of the spirit
of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of
sin and of death. The words of Peter as free. yet
not using your freedom as a cloak for maliciousness. So you see,
if we take the scriptures seriously, any study, even a cursory study
of the scriptures, will sooner or later force us to ask such
questions as these. What is the precise nature of
that liberty purchased by Christ and applied by the Holy Spirit? What are the implications of
that liberty in worship? in service and in general Christian
conduct. In treating this subject in the
Institutes, Calvin, who is rarely quoted from this pulpit, contrary
to the suspicions of some, he is rarely quoted from this pulpit,
introduces his treatment of this in his Institutes by saying,
he who proposes to summarize gospel teaching, which is what
Calvin was doing in the Institutes, His purpose was not to start
a theological battle, but to give a practical pastoral summary
of the gospel that the people of God might be grounded therein. And so he says, he who proposes,
and in this case it was himself, to give a summary of gospel teaching
ought by no means to omit an explanation of this topic, that
is, Christian liberty. For it is a thing of prime necessity,
and apart from a knowledge of it, Consciences dare undertake
almost nothing without doubting. They hesitate and recoil from
many things. They constantly waver and are
afraid. But freedom is especially an
appendage of justification, and is of no little avail in understanding
its power. You see what he is saying? He
is saying if we take seriously the Bible doctrine of justification,
the salvation tendered to us in Jesus Christ, we must, in
any summary of the gospel of free grace, treat the subject
of Christian liberty. Now, so much by way of that introduction
to ease us into the subject, the form we shall follow is not
verse-by-verse exposition of any given passage, but it will
be topical in that we will be opening up many portions of the
Word of God from many sections of the Scriptures. And the basic
framework of our study will be as follows. This evening, I want
to give a brief historical background to the issue of Christian liberty
taking apostolic history as it's found in the scriptures, and
then just a few words about subsequent church history, particularly
Reformation history. And then secondly, I wish to
state those factors in our own contemporary situation which
demand clear thinking on this subject. And then after giving
you a homework assignment in our next study, God willing,
I shall give a broad biblical and theological statement of
the doctrine using the Westminster Confession as our guide, and
then, fourthly, we'll focus on the matter of things indifferent.
If you want to sound very learned, you say the Adiaphora, and that's
what we'll be discussing, the Adiaphora, matters of things
indifferent, and then a hopper into which I throw anything else
that I haven't been able to cover. We'll give some practical conclusions,
exhortations, and warnings arising out of the preceding. All right,
tonight then, It is my purpose, first of all, to give a brief
historical background to the issue of Christian liberty, first
of all in apostolic history and then in church history, particularly
Reformation history. And there are four major strands
of historical fact which come to us in the New Testament which
force upon the writers of the New Testament a thorough dealing
with the subject of Christian liberty. And those four things,
I'll give you four catchwords by which to remember them, and
then we'll look at them in some detail. There was the problem
of transition, secondly, the problem of expansion, thirdly,
the problem of inclusion, and then the problem of defection. Transition, expansion, inclusion,
and defection. First of all, then, Christian
liberty The whole doctrine of Christian liberty was forced
upon the New Testament writers because of the issue of transition. In other words, the New Testament
is written in the context of the phasing out of the old Jewish
economy and the introduction and full establishment of the
Church in its mature form. We had a little bit of that this
morning. There was a time when Gentiles were alienated from
the commonwealth of Israel. There was a barrier between Jew
and Gentile which God Himself had erected. Now the width of
that barrier was sometimes increased by Jewish carnal pride, and the
height of it at times, but the barrier itself was erected by
God Himself. It was God who forbade the Gentiles
from entering into the place of Jewish worship. It was God
who had erected this middle wall of partition for wise and necessary
purposes connected with redemption. But what do we have in the New
Testament? Well, we have the record of a transition period
in which God is tearing down the structure of the old, introducing
and establishing the structure of the new. he is phasing out
the peculiarities of old covenant worship with its temple, with
its priesthood, with its sacrifices, and all of the rest, and he is
introducing and establishing the genius and the beauty of
the new covenant with its heavenly and spiritual realities. It's
heavenly priesthood. It's heavenly sacrifice. It's
heavenly temple. It's true Israel and all of these
other concepts so richly expounded in a book such as the book of
Hebrews and also in the book of Galatians. Now you say, what
in the world then does this transition from the old covenant to the
new have to do with Christian liberty? Well, just this. The
old economy was marked by the centrality of the law and all
of the ceremonies and religious life which were attached to the
Jewish law. Now, this question began to trouble
believers because the first believers were predominantly drawn from
those who had worshipped under the old economy. Now, having
come to embrace Christ as the fulfillment of everything to
which the old pointed, they had a problem. The temple was still
standing. There was a line of priests still
functioning at Jerusalem. Devout Jews still went up to
Jerusalem three times a year for the stated feast. That's
why the whole bunch was there on the day of Pentecost. Now
they had this problem. What do we do now that the new
is coming, but some of the trappings of the old are still standing?
Here's a man who becomes a believer on February 2nd. On February
18th, his son is born. And he says, man, eight days
from now, I've got to stay. Well, wait, do I really? Do I
need to have him circumcised or don't I? That was the problem. You see, we remove from that
and just sort of be indifferent. That is a tremendous problem.
Shall I still go up to the feast at Jerusalem? Was it not God
who said I should go? And if I now have the reality,
does that mean I can no longer hold to the shadow, which is
now all the more meaningful that I have the substance? How much
of the old Jewish worship shall still be in force? Here was this
period of transition, and it is because of that historical
fact that the doctrine of Christian liberty was hammered out in New
Testament apostolic concerns. The book of Galatians addresses
itself to that very problem. Romans chapter 14 deals with
certain holy days and feast days and certain things that were
taboo from a religious standpoint. So you see, these chapters and
the whole book of Galatians do not grow out of some abstract,
detached theological concern of the apostolic writers. No,
no. These things grew out of the
problems connected with transition from the old and the introduction
into the new alright the second factor in apostolic history is
what I'm calling expansion while God is drawing his people to
himself in the first initial thrust of the gospel after the
coming of the spirit of the day of Pentecost drawing them primarily
from the Jewish community His design was that they should be
witnesses unto him both in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost
parts of the earth. So now there is the problem that
is related to the expansion of the church. You not only have
transition from the old into the new, you now have penetration
and expansion. So the gospel comes to a pagan
city. It comes to a place such as Corinth.
And now they have tremendous problems with their old pattern
of life. Prior to their conversion, their
whole way of life was wrapped up with their heathen deities.
They did not have simple feasts. The feasts were in honor of the
deities. And so you have the problem dealt
with in 1 Corinthians 8 concerning meat that has been offered unto
idols. and worshipping in the idol temple,
or shall I buy some bargain beef that's sold in the market outside
of the temple? If I buy that beef and take it
home and say to my wife, I've got a nice cut of meat at a bargain
price, am I indulging in the worship of the idol to which
that meat had been offered a half an hour before I buy it? This
is a real problem. And you've got chapters in the
New Testament addressing themselves to this problem. The Council
of Jerusalem in Acts 15 addresses itself to this very problem.
What was the problem? The problem of expansion. Hedonism
had its rituals. How much of this must be radically
cut off once one is introduced to the gospel? Furthermore, most
heathen religions had rules of asceticism on the one hand, or
they gave license that led to libertinism on the other hand. And now they hear we're free
in Christ. Well, does that mean we're free to just follow wherever
our impulses lead us? On the other hand, we're called
to self-denial. Does that mean we should not
enjoy our food? We should not enjoy marriage?
Remember what Paul says? They're in Colossians. They're
these false teachers, he said, infecting the church at Colossia.
And he says what they're doing is a great show of will-worship.
Touch not, taste not, handle not. They have their rules of
asceticism. And you had others, according
to Peter, who promised themselves liberty while they themselves
were the servants of corruption. So you see, the problem of the
gospel expanding into the heathen community created certain problems
to which the apostolic writers had to address themselves. What
is the precise nature of our liberty in Christ? Are we so
free in Christ that we need not concern ourselves with whether
or not we eat a piece of meat offered to an idol? Are we so
free in Christ that we need not concern ourselves with what someone
else may think if I eat that meat offered to an idol? Those
are the questions to which large portions of the New Testament
address themselves. Now, there's a third strand of
apostolic history that forced on the apostolic writers are
wrestling with the doctrine of Christian liberty, and it is
the problem of inclusion. With this expansion, Gentiles
are being brought to Christ Now, God did not have any notion that
in cosmopolitan communities where God had sovereignly, in the dispositions
of his providence, mixed Jew and Gentile, that Jews should
establish separate churches that would have a real Jewish flavor,
kosher churches, and that Gentiles ought to establish Gentile churches. No, no. We find there was a tremendous
problem of inclusion. You see? Now, just try to think
what this meant. Here comes a kosher Jew. fresh
out of a lifestyle that from the time he can remember anything,
from the dawn of consciousness, certain things were clean, certain
were unclean, there were rituals and there were all of these other
things connected with the whole mosaic economy, and you've been
programmed from the dawning of consciousness to think and act
and react in a certain way to foods, to things, to people in
terms of their national identity, and suddenly you're sitting In
an assembly somewhere, next to someone who's been saved out
of raw paganism. A Gentile dog. And there you
are, thrown in the same place. He's uncircumcised. He doesn't
know the difference between one day and another. No day is sacred
to him. He counts all days alike. No foods are clean and unclean.
Right, a guy has ham sandwiches for lunch. I saw him. He doesn't
know the difference. You had this problem of inclusion.
So A.B., the kosher brother, he just comes to his Greek brother
over here, saved out of his pagan background, and says, look, you've
just got to cut this business out. This will never do. And
he starts trying to impose upon him the trappings of his whole
Jewish ceremonial background. He says, look, I've got to take
it to the local priest not to get saved. Christ has saved you,
but he's got to pick you up. You're just not quite in unless
you're circumcised. And listen, you've just got to alter what
you've got in your refrigerator at home. Some of that stuff has got to
go, man. If you're going to have me come over to your house, it's
terribly offensive to me. You see? And then the Greek brother
over here says, look, you've got all kinds of hang-ups. You've
got to get sorted out. Don't you know we're free in
Christ? And what happens? They come to loggerheads because
of the problem of inclusion. And notice carefully, the apostles
never hinted that the answer was separate Jewish churches
and separate Gentile churches. They would rather bleed in agony
over the disruption and the problems that grew out of inclusion than
to give any quarter to the notion that there ought to be separate
Jewish and separate Gentile churches. As we shall see in the exposition
of Ephesians 2, as we go on in that chapter that we began again
in this morning, he has broken down the middle wall of partition
and is made of the two one. And what is true of our essential
oneness in Christ on the basis of redemption, God wants it to
be manifested at the level of communion and fellowship. So
that's why the writers say one man esteems every day alike.
To him there are no holy days. But he said, another man, he's
still in his conscience feels every time those special holy
days come around. He just can't treat him like
any other day of the week. And what does he say? Well, let all
the people that persuaded one way form their own little church
and not. No, no, he doesn't. He said, you've got to learn
not only how to peacefully coexist, but lovingly interact with each
other. And the doctrine of Christian
liberty has expounded in Romans 14, Romans 15, First Corinthians
eight. grows out again of this problem
of inclusion. The council at Jerusalem, that
was the problem. And so they had to wrestle with it. And then
there is the fourth factor in apostolic history which forced
this doctrine to the forefront, and it's the problem of defection. The word deflection would be
proper. I looked it up, but defection is better. To deflect is to bounce
off at an angle. So we talk of someone deflecting
from truth, but defection, of course, is to leave the ranks,
and I've opted out for defection. In other words, there was the
ever-present problem of defection from the truth of God into two
errors, the error of legalism and the error of libertinism
or antinomianism. And these were two very real
problems in the early church. The problem of legalism, which
is what? It's the problem there at Galatia that says not only
is it proper for our kosher brother to continue to engage in certain
manifestations of Jewish ceremonial law, it is essential for him
to be saved, and it's essential for our non-kosher brother. You
see, the issue was that these Judaizers were teaching it was
necessary to be circumcised and keep the law of Moses to be saved. That's the language of Scripture. And so you had this defection
from the doctrine that salvation is solely by grace and not based
upon human merit or human works. Well, then there were those people
who'd shout up a storm when they heard anyone preaching that and
saying, right on, brother, give it to him straight. We're not
saved by what we do. Conclusion then, what we do doesn't
make any difference. And so there was the problem
of license and libertinism, antinomianism, all synonymous terms, anti, against,
nomos, the Greek word for law, antinomianism, against law. We're
so free in Christ, we're free to do whatever our flesh tells
us. And since we're saved by the
law-keeping of another, that is, Jesus Christ, and by the
death that he rendered on behalf of a broken law, what I do in
relationship to God's law doesn't make a bit of difference. I can
live as I please, and I'll still be all right. Now, that was no
potential or theoretical problem. That was a real problem in the
early church. And so Paul addresses himself very powerfully to the
legalistic spirit in Galatians. He does it again in sections
of Romans. But that same Paul addresses himself to the antinomian
spirit in passages such as 1 Corinthians 6. He does it again in the latter
part of Galatians 5. James addresses himself to it
in his entire epistle, addresses himself to these who say all
is well, but who evidence no moral and ethical submission
to the standards of biblical conduct. Well, I submit to you
that these four problems in apostolic church history, transition, moving
from the old economy to the new, expansion, the gospel penetrating
the heathen community so that the Jew can no longer be comfortable
in his Jewish insulation. And you know how practical this
is. You know some of the problems we faced when God began to give
us increase about two or three years ago into segments of society
where we hadn't penetrated before. And God began to bring among
us some of you who were pretty mixed up and didn't know which
end was up. In any era, The scriptures, life in general, and all the
rest, well, we had to adjust because of the problems due to
expansion. And then there was the problem
of inclusion, getting these people all melted together into one
worshiping, functioning body of Jesus Christ, and then the
problem of defection. Now, these facts And that's all
they've been is a brief overview of some New Testament facts should
help us to see that the issue of Christian liberty is much
more fundamental than such questions as these. Shall we or shall we
not attend the motion picture theater? You see, the minute
you mention Christian liberty, somebody's wondering, well, if you're going
to tell a friend, go to Joe. Now, that's a little bit of a
caricature, but I'm sure if I want to do a little survey right now
with a raise of hand, some of you would be red faced. Shall
I or may I have a little bit of wine once in a while? Christian
liberty. Am I or can I not do this? Shall
I or shall I not do that? Can I drink or eat this or can
I not? Now, you see, when we come to
the doctrine of Christian liberty, dear people, we're dealing with
one that is of profound concern to the very nature of the liberty
promised in the gospel. It touches the whole issue of
the implications of that liberty with reference to God's law,
with reference to holiness. And the problems connected with
this doctrine touch all the avenues of the practical life of the
Church of Christ in its interaction with itself and with the world.
Now, that's a broad, all-encompassing area of concern. And therefore,
I trust we shall approach it in reverence, in utter dependence
upon the Spirit of God that He Himself might teach us. Now,
having given you this brief overview, of the history of the emergence
of this doctrine in apostolic history, now briefly in church
history in general, but in particular in Reformation history. If you
read the confessions that grew out of the Reformation, the Helvetic
Confession, and then of course the Westminster Confession, which
I feel, and I simply echo the sentiments of men who are far
more competent than I to speak on this subject, it is the highest
expression, the most rich expression, or the richest expression of
Reformation thought and life, these men, who were pastor-teacher
theologians, when they drew up this confession, gave a whole
chapter with four lengthy paragraphs to the subject of Christian liberty. Now, why? Why was this doctrine
so prominent in the thinking of the Reformers? Why does Luther,
in his exposition of Galatians at times, roar like a bear when
he's opening up the doctrine of Christian liberty? I just
often wonder what it must have been like to hear Luther preach
in the flesh, when he can roar through black ink on paper with
such volume and vehemence at times, hundreds of years after
he was dead. It must have been something to
have heard him in the flesh. But be that as it may, Luther
roared and thundered on the doctrine of Christian liberty. The Reformation
confessions are very careful to spell out what this liberty
is and what it is not. Well, why? Why? Well, may I suggest
the answers to be found in remembering that these men were, for the
most part, men who came out of the Church of Rome. at a time
when people took seriously the teachings of that church. Now
you have many Romanists today who in our day of anarchy could
care less what Papa Paul thinks or what Papa Paul says. But this was a day when you did
not even dare question whether or not Papa Paul or Papa Leo,
whoever was Papa at the time, You didn't even dare question
whether he might be right or wrong. To do so was to put yourself
in jeopardy of mortal sin that would land you in hell with no
hope of getting prayed out if you brought a whole carload of
shekels or prayers on your behalf. They took the doctrine of Rome
seriously. Now, when anyone takes classic,
historic Roman Catholic teaching seriously, there is but one word
to describe its effect upon the human soul. One word. Bondage. Bondage. Miserable, crippling, overpowering,
almost dehumanizing bondage. It is bondage with reference
to God. Their whole doctrine of God was
one which produced nothing but dread and fear. You never thought
of God as Father, though you may have said a hundred Our Fathers. You thought of God as the angry,
frowning, distant judge waiting, as it were, to pounce upon your
soul and to cast it to the flames. And that's why the Mariolatry
was almost a psychological necessity to replace this vacuum of the
unapproachable, distant, angry deity. Mary was so kind and gentle,
and we feel we can approach her. It was bondage with reference
to worship. Everything was form and ceremony. Do this, do the
other, do it this way, do the other way. The whole ritual of
the mass, the priest was instructed to say certain Latin words at
a certain time in a certain way. Bondage, nothing of a liberty
and freedom of true worship. With reference to life, all the
rules and regulations, bondage. With reference to dogma, everything
worked out and handed to you and you were expected to believe
it upon pain of death. The anathema of the church was
always there like a sword of Damocles hanging over the head
that said, you dare not think for yourself. Now, when the light
of the gospel broke in upon the minds and hearts of such people,
there is but one word to characterize the practical effect of the gospel.
If bondage was the word that characterized their condition
under its power, the word liberty characterized their condition
when they came out from under that power. Free to approach
God as my father. Freedom in worship. Freedom with
reference to the knowledge of God. Freedom with reference to
life. A man is now free to be a man
and say that he desires a wife. And that's why Luther was so
homey and earthy in all of his talk and discussion of family
life. Homey to the place where some
of us, a little too fastidious, consider him a bit crude. But
it's because he'd experienced the liberty of the gospel in
which he could face himself in the mirror as a man and say,
it's right that I should be a man and have the desires of a man
to have a wife and to be a father and to laugh with my children
and to snuggle with my wife. It is right. I'm free to be a
man. I no longer am in bondage to
that cursed teaching that says that my normal God-given manly
desires are something to be driven out by flagellations and fastings
and penance. I'm free to be a man! Marriage
is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled. I'm free with
reference to dogma. I'm a free man who can stand
under the Lordship of Christ, indwelt by the Spirit, and search
the Scriptures to know what God is really And so one of the watchwords
of the Reformation was sola scriptura, the scriptures alone as a self-interpreting
body of divine revelation. Now do you see why? Why then,
Calvin said, no summary of the gospel is complete that does
not touch Christian liberty. Calvin knew something of the
bondage of Roman teaching. Calvin knew what it was to be
in the grip of the tyranny of Romish doctrine. Richard Sibbes,
A worthy son of the Reformation said, and I now quote, it is
both unthankfulness to God and wrong to ourselves to be ignorant
of the extent of our liberty in Christ. It makes melody to
Satan to see Christians troubled with that they neither should
or need. It makes melody to Satan to see
Christians troubled with that they neither should or need. It is both unthankfulness to
God and wrong to ourselves to be ignorant of the nature of
our liberty in Christ. And so I submit to you that in
Reformation thought the doctrine of Christian liberty gained tremendous
prominence because these men came out of the bondage of Romanism
And coming out of that bondage, they drank in their liberty in
Jesus Christ and wanted to leave as a heritage to further generations
or unborn generations their understanding of the teaching of the Word of
God at this point. Now, having given you that brief historical
overview, apostolic history, and from the standpoint of Reformation
history, now let me address myself to something that's closer to
home. This is the second major division of our study tonight.
The contemporary situation which makes discussion of this doctrine
extremely difficult but absolutely necessary. Why am I blocking
out some five, six, maybe seven, eight, I'm not sure, Sunday evenings
in which to address myself to this subject, knowing something
of its delicacy, knowing something of how difficult it is when handling
a subject topically to be balanced, to be comprehensive. I know that
I've cut out an awful lot of work for myself. Why? Well, let
me try to answer that question. There's no disputing the fact
that there is a growing rediscovery of the doctrinal heritage of
the Reformation. This very assembly is living
proof of that fact. And it's a fact that's both embarrassing
and disturbing to a lot of people, but it's a fact nonetheless.
The emergence of the Banner of Truth Trust and the many publishing
houses that are now publishing contemporary and old Christian
writers who reflect those perspectives that can best be described as
Reformation perspectives, the centrality of God, the predominance
of grace in the scheme of salvation. Now the problem is that most
or many of us who have, in the goodness of God, been rediscovering
these doctrinal heritages or this doctrinal heritage of the
Reformation, have had as part of our background, a greater
or lesser involvement in the total religious climate of dispensationalism. Now, please, if anyone is here
as a dispensations, don't plug your ears and say there they
go at that church clobbering dispensate. Seldom is that term
ever used from this book. But if you're visiting with us,
please take my word for it. If you want confirmation, pick
out any 10 takes at random of the eight or nine hundred in
there, and I doubt you'll hear the word dispensation or dispensation
isn't there but in trying to get this background I tried not
to use it but if I spent time to describe the thing without
telling you what it is that would take another two hours I'm going
to use the term but will you please be gracious and allowing
me the liberty of using it as I try to be gracious in showing
its influence now dispensationalism as a full-blown system of religious
thought and life has predominated American evangelicalism in the
non-traditionally reformed churches for the past 50 to 75 years. Such churches as the Christian
Reformed Church, Such churches as some of the Presbyterian churches,
some of the Lutheran churches, though they've had some infection
with dispensationalism, they've not been dominated by it. But
the independent Bible churches, most of the Baptist churches,
most of the Bible church movement has been dominated by dispensationalism
as a full-orbed religious perspective. It has not simply been the notion
that In the unfolding of the history of redemption, there
were certain epochs in which God dealt this way. No, no. Dispensationalism
is something more than that. And one of the dominant characteristics
of dispensationalism has been its indifference to, or its outright
rejection of, the law of God as a valid standard of conduct
for the believer. Dispensationalism's watchword
has been, for the most part, we're not under law, we're under
grace. Its interpretation of that biblical phrase has been,
if we love Christ, we don't need rules. The Ten Commandments are
mosaic. Therefore, the Jew under the
old economy in the dispensation of law, which ended at Calvary.
Therefore, the Jews in the kingdom age when the Lord comes back
and makes his headquarters at Jerusalem. That's official dispensational
teaching. And though there may be some
lessons to be learned from the Ten Commandments, we are not
to give ourselves to expounding the Ten Commandments as a valid
expression of the lifestyle of a believer in, quote, the age
of grace. Now, it can be demonstrated historically
that whenever you give up God's law as the rule of conduct, you
will always end up substituting your own laws. That's exactly what the Pharisees
did. Remember what Jesus said to them
in Mark 7? What did he say in Mark 7? Turn
to it now. And I'm conscious that I haven't actually turned
you to a specific passage tonight, which is also rare here. But
the nature of the introduction has precluded that. But we have
been dealing with biblical principles and broad biblical concepts.
Jesus said to the Pharisees, to the Jews of his day, verse
8 of Mark 7, Ye leave the commandment of God and hold fast the tradition
of men. and he said unto them full well
do you reject the commandment of God that you may keep your
tradition and then he gives a specific example for Moses said honor
thy father and thy mother fifth commandment and then from an
application of it further on in the Mosaic economy he that
speaketh evil of father and mother let him die the death but ye
say and then he exposes their clever little way of getting
around God's commandment Honor your father and your mother.
What's that mean? Well, at least means if they're destitute and in need,
you provide for their physical sustenance if you have the wherewithal
to do so. And the Pharisee would say, yes,
that's right. But the portion I set apart for mom and pop,
I took up to the temple and it's dedicated to God. They call it
Korban. That is dedicated to God. And
then they went skipping along with their consciences, never
bothering them when they walked by the destitute mother and father.
He says, you see what you've done, you clever hypocrites?
By substituting your own regulations and manipulating and playing
with words, you're living in open defiance of what God has
clearly revealed. And that speaks or enunciates
a principle that is always true in religious experience. When
men no longer believe that God in His wisdom, through His law,
has given an adequate standard for human conduct, and they cast
it aside, they'll always substitute their own that is rooted in human
tradition. This has been characteristic
of dispensationalism in its influence of the ethics of all who come
within its orbit. Proof? I'll just give you a few
to show you that I'm not whistling Dixie on this matter. It's not
enough that God says thou shalt not kill, that is, thou shalt
have a serious regard for human life, and wherever human life
exists, we're to regard it as a sacred gift from God, a sacred
trust from God. A sacred accountability to God
for human life, mine, my neighbors, my children, etc. That's adequate
to touch all legitimate taboos. I must not then take into this
body or seek to impose upon the body of another anything that
is destructive of life. Now, we know that drunkenness
is destructive of life, but so is excessive coffee drinking.
And so is excessive caloric intake that puts a strain upon the heart
that it was never made to bear. But in fundamental circles, if
someone sees someone who is not a drunk, who accepts wine as
the gift of God, as we read in Psalm 104, and who enjoys, with
moderation, a glass of wine with a meal and gives God thanks for
it, horrors! Horrors! And to calm his nerves,
he pumps down five more cups of coffee. Doing far more harm to his nervous
system and his heart with his excessive coffee drinking than
that man does with his occasional glass of wine, which may actually
aid his digestion, help him to sleep better and have his heart
function better the next day. Now, is this a polemic for wine
drinking? No. No. No, it isn't. It's simply a specific
illustration of what I'm talking about. The law of God says that
I'm to regard my mind as a sacred trust from God, I'm to love him
with my whole mind. That means that everything that
comes in at the mind's inlet, the eyes, the ears, everything
that comes into the mind's inlet is to be something that I can,
with good conscience, receive as a gift from God. Therefore,
everything that I read, everything that I hear, I must be able to
say I can do so as an expression of love to God with all my mind. Now that'll take in what I watch
on the television, what I read, that'll take in the music I listen
to, that takes in everything. But what's fundamentalism done?
Thrown out God's law and said, thou shalt not go to the movie
and picture show when it's on the corner, when it's in the
commercial situation. And you have Evangelicals who've
been influenced by this, who sit and spend hours in front
of their TV, watching stuff that is polluting their minds, and
it never bothers their conscience why it isn't in the checklist.
It's only when you go down on the avenue, because people can
see you then, and then you'll be a stumbling block. Ever hear
that before? I've heard it ad nauseum. That means until you're
sick to the stomach. But whenever you see ad nauseum
written, that's what it means. Now, dear ones, I don't mean
to caricature, but these are very real things. Very real things. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
What's that mean? It means that purity shall mark
every motion of thought and attitude and desire, and that I shall
not, in the words of the exposition of this That commandment in the
larger catechism, their line after line of what that commandment
forbids and what it enjoins upon us. I shall not do anything that
unnecessarily provokes unto lust in myself or in another. But
you see, when you throw out God's law as a valid standard of conduct
and substitute your own, I've been at camps where young people
came from churches steeped in dispensational ethics and dispensational
theology. Oh, no, we would never cohabit.
But the provocation to lust in the way they conducted themselves,
carried themselves, the way they acted on their dates in front
of fellows and girls, it was a constant violation of the seventh
commandment. But the things they were doing
were not on the checklist. You follow me now? Do I need to go
any further to demonstrate that whenever you throw out the law
of God as the valid standard, as an adequate standard for human
conduct, you'll substitute your laws, your own laws, which, like
the Pharisees, always tend toward externalism. always toward externalism
and towards a clever way of avoiding the very victims of God's love. Ye make void the word of God
by your tradition. Now that's the problem many of
us face, you see. In coming to the doctrine of Christian liberty,
we do not come to it in a vacuum. We come to it out of the context
of our past associations. Now, something further complicates
the problem. that when we look around at the
traditionally Reformed denominations, such as the Christian Reformed
Church and some of those other Reformed bodies that have come
out of the Netherlands and some of them that have come out of
the Highlands and out of other parts of Europe, some of us are
scared to death. because we see in these denominations
that have had as part of their heritage a full-orbed doctrine
of Christian liberty for the most part. Now, this is not a
blanket condemnation, but for the most part we see an absence
of real evangelical piety, any hungering after holiness. We
see little of real evangelistic zeal. We see people who say,
oh, Christian liberty? Yeah, that means I can smoke
my cigars and drink my beer. I get all uptight about it. And
we see people who apparently have never wrestled with whether
or not some of these externals do indeed affect their testimony
before the world and in relationship to others. And we say, well,
boy, if that's what that doctrine leads you to, I don't want that.
And then we say, but at the same time, I don't want that that
I'm coming out of. And we feel like we're between
the devil and the deep blue sea. And we say, where do we go? Well,
my friends, may I encourage you, first of all, by the reassurance
that that kind of fearfulness, that kind of caution is a healthy
thing. This is a delicate and a dangerous
doctrine. Calvin was very much aware of
that when he introduced it. After saying what he did about
its importance, he went on to say, as soon as Christian liberty
is mentioned, Either passions boil, or wild tumults arise,
unless these wanton spirits are opposed in time who otherwise
most wickedly corrupt the best things. Some on the pretext of
this freedom shake off all obedience to God and break out in unbridled
license. Others disdain it, thinking it
takes away all moderation, order, and choice of things. Now isn't
that true? And that's what's going to happen,
and I'm fully aware of it, and that's why I'm scared to death
to preach this series. If the Holy Ghost does not teach you
these things, you know what some of you are going to do? You're
going to run off like a young, wild ass who's just been turned
loose from the corral for the first time. And you're going
to ruin yourself with this doctrine. And there are others of you,
in reacting against it, who are going to say, if that's where the doctrine
leads, I'll have nothing to do with it. Calvin saw that in his
day. Listen! As soon as this is mentioned,
passions boil or wild tumults rise. Some on the pretext, he
said, not the proper use, but the pretext of this freedom,
shake off all obedience to God and they break out into unbridled
license. Others say, that doctrine takes
away all moderation, order and choice of things. I'll have nothing
to do with it. Well, if it's so dangerous and men can run
off into license in the one hand, or overreact against it into
legalism, why bother study it? Calvin goes on to say, but as
we've said, unless this freedom be comprehended, neither Christ
nor gospel truth nor inner peace of soul can be rightly known.
Rather, we must take care that so necessary a part of doctrine
be not suppressed, yet at the same time that those absurd objections
which are wont to arise be met. And that's my purpose in this
study, that by the grace of God I shall anticipate those objections
that are wont to be made and to meet them with due biblical
instruction and caution. So the contemporary situation
in which we find ourselves demands that we deal with this. because
of the past influence that many of us have experienced, because
of the undesirability of some of the options that are before
us, if we are to give to our generation, and that's all we're
really responsible for, we need to look at past generations to
learn, and cursed is the man who has no historical perspective. And we must have a sense of responsibility
in terms of wondering what foundation blocks we're laying for unborn
generations. But in a real sense, there is
but one generation for which we're responsible, and that's
this generation. Instead of David, he served his
generation by the will of God and fell on sleep. And that should
be our desire. And if we're to bear a valid
witness to our generation of what biblical Christianity is,
Individually and corporately, the doctrine of Christian liberty
must be understood and then fleshed out in the totality of our lifestyle
as a congregation and in our individual life patterns as believers
under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Something that touches the roots
of the freedom purchased in Christ cannot be passed over with indifference
or with an over-fastidiousness. And I confess that I've had to
pray through that fastidiousness. I said, Lord, I'm scared to death
to open up this doctrine, because I know some who are sensitive
are going to react and say, well, pastor's trying to get us all
to be a bunch of libertines. I know some of you are going
to have to fight this. You're going to go home tonight and probably
pray, Lord, I believe pastor's wrong and even say he's going
to deal with this doctrine. Lord, deal with it. Well, what
you tell the Lord in secret is all right. But I believe God
has dealt with me in terms of being overly fastidious. Because
you see, the taproots of the freedom purchased by Christ are
involved here. Has Christ set you free from
the rules of men? Yes or no? If he has, you dishonor
him by coming under bondage to the rules of men. You can deny
yourself any lawful liberty for Christ's sake and honor Christ,
but you cannot deny yourself one lawful liberty in subjection
to man and honor Jesus Christ. The scripture says you're the
bond servants of Christ, being not ye the servants of men. It's
one thing for me to say no to many, many things out of love
to Christ and desire for the furtherance of the gospel. First
Corinthians nine, knowing I'm perfectly free to receive those
things as God's gifts. It's another thing for me to
look upon them as no-nos, because some man has said you shall not
touch them. So you see, we cannot honor Christ and avoid this subject,
since it involves our whole view of the material world as created
by God. We can't avoid it. We read this
morning that everything God made, he looked upon and said it was
good. Everything. Everything. You see, the doctrine
of Christian liberty greatly affects your whole view of the
material world. How do I look upon it? As God did? Or am I
a pagan dualist who says some things are intrinsically evil?
Paul had to fight this in his day. He said every creation of
God is good and to be received with thanksgiving. Some of you
can't receive all of God's creation with thanksgiving as good. Why? You've come under bondage
to the doctrines of man. Now does that say you will take
your liberty to enjoy every facet of God's creation? No. But you
know that you're free in Christ, so to do, if there are good reasons
to do so. So you see our whole view of
the material world, and that's one of the curses again of the
dispensational ethic. It has a pagan element of looking
upon certain things as intrinsically evil. It has a pagan view of
the material world, much of it, not all. And since this involves
the issue of practical godliness, we've got to deal with it. And
finally, since it involves Our relationships in the body of
Christ, we must do. To what extent do you have a
right to expect me to conform to your set of no-no's and yes-yes's? What right do I have? To what
extent do I have a right to expect you to conform to my yes-yes's
and my no-no's? Some of you will remember back
when you were just beginning to sport a mustache or a beard.
I might make a comment and say, I think it looks good, I think
it doesn't look so good. I'm always careful to say, look,
I'm talking now as your brother from an aesthetic standpoint,
not as your elder in a place of spiritual authority. You say,
well, why in the world did you do that? Because I don't have
the bit of authority to bind your conscience about the fuzz
on your face. You see, I don't. If I say one thing with reference
to the father of a man's face that bears any indication that
I'm saying that from the standpoint of constituted spiritual authority,
I'm usurping a place in his conscience which I have no right to usurp. Now, I'm perfectly free to say,
I think you look stupid with a beard. I'm perfectly free to say, I
think you look good with a beard. I've said both. Now, do you see how this applies
then to us in our church life? We've had people come to us and
say, I didn't notice anything in your constitution about a
covenant of conduct. I said, no, I'm afraid you don't.
I said, we've got one perfectly adequate covenant of conduct
here in the world. We don't need a supplemental. There are actually
churches where you can't join until you vow that you will never
do this, touch this, go here, go this, go the other. Who has
the right to bind the consciences of men? King Jesus alone! And he's done it in his word,
and that word is adequate. We believe that scripture is
sufficient to make the man or woman of God perfect unto every
good. So, brothers and sisters, that's
the issue before us in the doctrine of Christian liberty. I hope
this has whetted your appetite to plunge into the subject. Now
you have a little homework. Next Lord's Day, God willing,
I should be preaching down in Houston, Texas, so it's obvious
you won't be hearing about Christian liberty unless one of the brethren
who's preaching here will be treating the subject. The following
Lord's Day evening, Eugene and Noel are going to give us their
report of the summer. You got that, Eugene? Two weeks
from tonight, the report from the visit to Puerto Rico for
the summer. All right. But then, God willing, the first Lord's
Day of the new month, we'll be considering together the first
study in the doctrine itself. And I would seriously now encourage
you as a little homework to get your mind at least orientated
to the basic perspectives that we'll be covering. Read. The
section in the Westminster Confession is Chapter 20. In the London
Confession, Chapter 21, dealing with Christian liberty. Read
it. Try to analyze it. Get the basic elements. The outline
is very, very clear. Every one of you ought to be
able to outline it without too much trouble. And then I would
encourage you, please, to read these following chapters through
at least once between now and then to get acquainted with the
basic areas of biblical teaching. Galatians, Chapter 5. Galatians
chapter 5, Romans chapters 14 and 15, and
1 Corinthians chapters 8 through
10. These are the pivotal chapters
dealing with the subject of Christian liberty. We will be referring
to them to a greater or lesser degree in the unfolding of the
series of studies And I trust that God in His grace will make
this a time of rich profit, and may I solicit your prayers that
the Lord will guard us, lest the enemy take advantage of this
area of truth to do in our day what Calvin saw the enemy doing
in his day. It's only the spirit of truth
that can keep us from abusing the truth, but blessed be God,
He is able to do so. Let us now unite our hearts in
prayer. Father, we thank you for that
liberty that has been purchased for us in Jesus Christ. We who
were the slaves of the devil, we who were the lackeys of our
own lustful impulses and desires, Many of us slaves for years to
a condemning, accusing conscience and to the fear and dread of
death and judgment in hell. Oh, God, we thank you for the
freedom that we know in Christ, the freedom to know that there
is now no condemnation to those who are in union with Christ
Jesus. the freedom to receive all of
your gifts as good and to sanctify them by the word of God and by
prayer. Oh, Lord, we bless you for this
freedom. And yet we are conscious that
our remaining sin would abuse this freedom. Oh, we ask that
as we embark upon this series of studies that your spirit would
teach us. Lord, help me in my preparation. that blind spots that I now have
may not be projected upon this people. Oh, Lord, give me light
and ever increasing understanding and balance and wholeness of
perspective and deep pastoral insight and give to this people
the Berean spirit that will not accept anything apart from that
independent searching of the scriptures to see whether these
things be so. And then, Father, we are confident
that in a group this size there are some who know nothing of
even the beginnings of liberty in Christ, who are slaves of
their sin, slaves to their own lust. Oh, Lord, as they have
observed and felt in this place tonight something of the holy
joy of the people of God attending upon praise and prayer and the
word of God, may it create in them a jealousy to know This
God, who obviously is known and loved by the people in whose
midst they have sat tonight. And now, Father, we commend to
you this week that is before us. Help us in life. In every dimension of responsibility,
at home, at school, in the office, on the road, on the ball field,
in the living room, in the kitchen, in every area of life, O God,
Grant that we may manifest the reality of that liberating work
of Christ, that we may live in the joyous abandonment of that
freedom in Christ that will make us light and salt in the midst
of darkness. We pray that your Holy Spirit
would come upon us with grace so to walk that others, seeing
us, may ask the reason of the hope that is in us. Be with us,
take us safely to our homes, and for all of your mercies to
us this day, we give you heartfelt thanks, through Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen.

Christian Liberty #1 Historical Background

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about Christian liberty?

How do we know the doctrine of Christian liberty is true?

Why is understanding Christian liberty important for Christians?

What are the major historical factors affecting Christian liberty?

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About Albert N. Martin

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Christian Liberty #1 Historical Background

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about Christian liberty?

How do we know the doctrine of Christian liberty is true?

Why is understanding Christian liberty important for Christians?

What are the major historical factors affecting Christian liberty?

Sermon Transcript

About Albert N. Martin

Comments

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