THE EXERCISE OFCHRISTIAN LIBERTY

When the angel Gabriel instructed Joseph to name the child that Mary wouldbring forth as “Jesus,” he explained: “for he shall save his people from theirsins” (Mt 1:21). The name “Jesus” comes from the Hebrew “Joshua,” which means“Saviour.” Jesus is our Saviour because He saves us or rescues us from thebondage and guilt of sin. In other words, Christians are those who have beenset at liberty from the curse of the Law and from bondage to Satan. A Christianis not only imputed with the righteousness of Christ, but is liberated fromslavery to sin (cf. Jn 8:34, 36) and given a new freedom of access to God(cf. WCF 20.1). This, in a nutshell, is what Christian Libertyis primarily about. This is straightforward as it stands, and admits to nodifficulty or controversy among believers. But there are three majorimplications pertaining to the practice of Christian liberty which need someexplication.

Liberty ofConscience

Firstly, Christian liberty, also, involves a principle of liberty of consciencein which a Christian must not subject himself or someone else to the bondage ofdecisions, laws and regulations that are contrary to Scripture (cf. Gal 5:1),for “God alone is the Lord of the conscience” (WCF 20.2). Thus,when Peter and John were charged by the Sanhedrin not to preach in the name ofJesus, they replied, “Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken untoyou more than unto God, judge ye” (Acts 4:19; cf. 5:29). The Apostle Paulexpands this principle to one of seeking to please God rather than man in hisministry: “For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? forif I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ” (Gal 1:10). Whatthis means for us is that we must not submit, yea, have a duty to disobey, whenwe are instructed to do something contrary to the Word of God. If you are askedby your boss to tell a lie to support a statement that he made to the taxdepartment, it is your duty as a Christian to disobey,—even if it means the closureof the company. If you are a soldier undergoing training in a foreign land, andyou are instructed by your officer to break into an orchard to steal somemelons, it is your duty to disobey,—even if it means that you will be ‘marked’by your officer from then on. This principle also means that an elder or deaconin a church must not support something that is said or decided upon by thepastor if he cannot with a clear conscience believe the decision to be inconformity with the will of God. No church, moreover, has the right to imposeupon her members any practice or doctrine which she cannot demonstrates withinreasonable bounds of confidence to be the teaching of the Word of God.

The Perfect Law of Liberty

Secondly, Christian liberty, does not mean freedom from the Moral Law of God asa rule and standard of life. In fact, our liberty from the bondage of sin isapplied to our souls individually by an act of regeneration in which the soulis given a new desire and will to obey the Law of God. This is why both Ezekieland Jeremiah emphasise a new ability and will to obey the Law when they spokeabout regeneration as a benefit of the New Covenant (Ezk 36:27; Jer 31:33).This is why James calls the Moral Law, the “perfect law of liberty” (Jas 1:25).Since sin is lawlessness (1 Jn 3:4; “transgression” = Grk. anomia =“lawlessness”), true liberty from sin must involve an ability to obey the Law.Moreover, when the Ten Commandments, which summarises the Moral Law of God, wasdelivered by the LORD on Mount Sinai, He prefaced it with the words: “I am theLORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of thehouse of bondage” (Ex 20:1–2). In other words, Israelwas being enjoined to obey the Law on the basis of their deliverance from Egypt. The NewTestament teaches us that this deliverance from Egypt was a type of our deliverancefrom the bondage of sin and Satan (cf. Lk 1:72–75; Gen 15:8–21; Heb 6:13–20;Rom 4:13; Gal 3:16ff.). Thus the preface of the Ten Commandments has a veryimportant spiritual bearing for us, for it teaches us that “because God is theLORD, and our God, and Redeemer, therefore we are bound to keep all Hiscommandments” (WSC 44). A Christian is not only granted the abilityand desire to obey the Law of God, but is obliged to obey it. But the Christiandoes not find obedience to the Law to be grievous (1 Jn 5:3). Indeed, he findshis liberty in obedience to the Law. His liberty is like that of a fish inwater,—swimming freely, rather than that of a fish out of water,—free fromconstraints but dying. In other words, a Christian may not plead liberty topractise any known sin. To do so is to plead for licentiousness and to use hisliberty “for an occasion to the flesh” (Gal 5:13). A married Christian man, forexample, may not plead liberty to live with a woman who is not his wife. To doso would be to sin against God.

Matters of Indifference

Thirdly, Christian liberty also involves the principles of practice in mattersof indifference, i.e., things that are neither commanded nor forbidden in theScriptures. How a man should dress in church is a matter of indifference,seeing there is no direct instruction on it. Or take the more controversialcase of patronising a Muslim restaurant. Is it not still a matter ofindifference? Or take the even more controversial issue of whether a Christianshould drink alcohol. While some may dispute our conclusion, I believe that itis a matter of indifference, seeing that there is no clear scripturalinjunction against it though there are clear injunctions against drunkenness.But having said so, let me hasten to add that this does not mean that we aretherefore free to do what we like in these matters. True, the church may notlegislate on these matters without falling into legalism, but there are clearscriptural principles by which individual believers must abide so as toexercise his liberty unto the glory of God (1 Cor 10:31). Let us consider threeguidelines, all given by the Apostle Paul.

Firstly, there is the principle of expediency. Paulsays, “All things are lawful [permissible] for me, but all things are notexpedient” (1 Cor 10:23a; cf. 1 Cor 6:12a). Paul was referring to eating as amatter of indifference in contrast to sexual behaviour, which is not. The wordtranslated “expedient” simply means profitable (e.g., Mt 5:29; Acts 20:20). Bythis principle, a Christian ought not to engage in what is not profitable tohis soul or his body. Thus, hard liquor, which is harmful, rather than beingprofitable to the body, should be avoided. Similarly, music which evokeslustful thoughts is harmful for the soul, and therefore should be shunned.

Secondly, there is the principle of enslavement. Paulsays “all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the powerof any” (1 Cor 6:12b). Thus even in a matter that we may consider to be lawful,such as eating, we may not over-indulge so as to become a slave to it.Similarly, much restraint must be exercised should a Christian chooses toengage in addictive activities, which may appear harmless and even arguablyprofitable,—such as the more innocuous reflex-training computer games.

Thirdly, there is the principle of edification: “allthings are lawful for me, but all things edify not” (1 Cor 10:23b). The word“edify” simply means “build up” (as in Mt 7:24, 26; 16:18; etc.). By thisprinciple, the Christian should always choose to do things that will build uprather than tear down or stumble fellow believers. Thus Paul exhorts theCorinthian believers to “take heed lest by any means this liberty of yoursbecome a stumblingblock to them that are weak” (1 Cor 8:9). But how can amatter of indifference become an occasion of stumbling? It can become anoccasion of stumbling if it is done in the presence of a brother-in-Christ, whodoes not view the matter as indifferent, but is embolden to participate in itbecause of your example. That action, which for you may not be sinful, may besinful for the brother because his conscience is defiled (1 Cor 8:7; cf. Rom14:23). In the early transitional period of the church, for example, there werethose who had scruples against eating meat, although there is “nothing uncleanof itself” (Rom 14:14). But for the sake of these weaker brothers, Paul wroteto those who were more mature: “For meat destroy not the work of God. Allthings indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence. Itis good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thybrother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak” (Rom 14:20–21).

Several months ago, my family and I were staying with Pastor Ron Hanko in Northern Ireland.One afternoon, Ps Hanko turned to me and said, “This evening we’ll be havingdinner at home and we shall be serving some table wine which is of very lowalcoholic content. Do you mind?” I replied that I did not mind, since Ibelieved that it is a matter of indifference, but I added that I normally donot drink wine. Ps Hanko did not query my statement. But that evening we had nowine! I believe Ps Hanko was exercising this third principle relating tomatters of indifference, thinking that I had scruples against winedrinking per se. I do not. I believe that the Lord did use wine inHis earthly sojourn (see Luke 7:33–34; John 2:1ff.). To say that drinking wineis sin is to impute sin on our Lord. But I do believe that the wine in thosedays were of very low alcoholic content because the technology of distillationwas still very primitive then, whereas much of what is available today are ofmuch higher alcoholic content. This, the fact that wine drinking is associatedwith wordliness by Christians and non-Christians alike, and the fact that manyconservative Christians in Singapore today believe, perhaps legalistically,that drinking any form of alcohol is sin, were the basis of my avoidingalcoholic drinks altogether. Thus, while I would have no problem having a smallglass in Ps Hanko’s home, I would not do so here lest I stumble any. This isthe exercise of the third principle.

The exercise of Christian liberty is really an exercise of walking in thenarrow path between antinomianism or lawlessness on one side and legalism onthe other side. To fall into either side is to fall into sin. May the Lordgrant us much help to maintain this balance as we seek to glorify Him and toserve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him, all the daysof our life.

—J.J. Lim