If you read my article each week, you know that I have been working through the fundamentals of the early church. Each week I am addressing evangelism, discipleship, fellowship, ministry, worship, prayer, or stewardship. I have done that to keep those ideas before our minds for the year. But today is the 4th of July, and so I want to say a few words about liberty.
“Liberty,” is defined in Webster’s 1828 Dictionary as, “Freedom from restraint, in a general sense, and applicable to the body, or to the will or mind. The body is at liberty when not confined; the will or mind is at liberty when not checked or controlled. A man enjoys liberty when no physical force operates to restrain his actions or volitions.” We typically think of liberty in terms of our civil liberties.
“Civil liberty,” is defined in the 1828 as, “the liberty of men in a state of society, or natural liberty so far only abridged and restrained, as is necessary and expedient for the safety and interest of the society, state or nation. A restraint of natural liberty not necessary or expedient for the public, is tyranny or oppression. Civil liberty is an exemption from the arbitrary will of others, which exemption is secured by established laws, which restrain every man from injuring or controlling another. Hence the restraints of law are essential to civil liberty.”
There is an important principle stated in this definition. “The restraints of law are essential to civil liberty.” Liberty is not absolute freedom, but freedom with proper restraint. On the 4th of July we celebrate the freedom of America when they chose to break away from the unfair taxation without representation of Great Britain in 1776. And then established a country founded on the principles of liberty under a constitutional republic.
Our freedoms are defined by laws adopted by our founders and further established by the constitution of our nation. Where did men get such an idea of liberty? This kind of liberty is grounded in the principles of the Bible, and in the person, nature, and will of God.
Christian liberty is freedom from the penalty of sin (John 8 and Romans 6). Christian liberty also means we are free from the power of sin in our daily life (Romans 6). Our Christian liberty also means we are freed from the law of Moses which can expose our sin but cannot forgive our sin (Romans 3).
The power of these freedoms does not mean that Christians are free without proper restraints. The restraining factor of Christian liberty is the Word of God and other believers. We are not to offend other believers or cause other believers to stumble (Romans 14). What God’s Word does not expressly forbid; we then consider how our lives may affect our brothers and sisters in Christ. We ought to decide to limit liberty for the sake of others.
Holding our liberties too loosely can lead us into a lifestyle that is undisciplined and potentially dangerous to our spiritual growth and personal witness to the lost. Holding our liberties too tightly can lead us into legalism where we are defined only by what we are against, and we become judgmental of Christians who differ from us in those things we restrain ourselves from by personal conviction.
Our ultimate goal should be to enjoy the freedoms we have through Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. We desire to glorify God, to edify believers, and to have a good reputation before unbelievers.
As you celebrate the Independence of our great nation, also remember the liberty you have received through Christ. Celebrate being a citizen of the USA. Celebrate being a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven. Enjoy the liberty of America. Speak, write, and vote to promote that liberty. And live in the liberty of being a Christian to the glory of God and for the salvation of your neighbors.
By His Grace and For His Glory,
Pastor Mark
Liberty
If you read my article each week, you know that I have been working through the fundamentals of the early church. Each week I am addressing evangelism, discipleship, fellowship, ministry, worship, prayer, or stewardship. I have done that to keep those ideas before our minds for the year. But today is the 4th of July, and so I want to say a few words about liberty.
“Liberty,” is defined in Webster’s 1828 Dictionary as, “Freedom from restraint, in a general sense, and applicable to the body, or to the will or mind. The body is at liberty when not confined; the will or mind is at liberty when not checked or controlled. A man enjoys liberty when no physical force operates to restrain his actions or volitions.” We typically think of liberty in terms of our civil liberties.
“Civil liberty,” is defined in the 1828 as, “the liberty of men in a state of society, or natural liberty so far only abridged and restrained, as is necessary and expedient for the safety and interest of the society, state or nation. A restraint of natural liberty not necessary or expedient for the public, is tyranny or oppression. Civil liberty is an exemption from the arbitrary will of others, which exemption is secured by established laws, which restrain every man from injuring or controlling another. Hence the restraints of law are essential to civil liberty.”
There is an important principle stated in this definition. “The restraints of law are essential to civil liberty.” Liberty is not absolute freedom, but freedom with proper restraint. On the 4th of July we celebrate the freedom of America when they chose to break away from the unfair taxation without representation of Great Britain in 1776. And then established a country founded on the principles of liberty under a constitutional republic.
Our freedoms are defined by laws adopted by our founders and further established by the constitution of our nation. Where did men get such an idea of liberty? This kind of liberty is grounded in the principles of the Bible, and in the person, nature, and will of God.
Christian liberty is freedom from the penalty of sin (John 8 and Romans 6). Christian liberty also means we are free from the power of sin in our daily life (Romans 6). Our Christian liberty also means we are freed from the law of Moses which can expose our sin but cannot forgive our sin (Romans 3).
The power of these freedoms does not mean that Christians are free without proper restraints. The restraining factor of Christian liberty is the Word of God and other believers. We are not to offend other believers or cause other believers to stumble (Romans 14). What God’s Word does not expressly forbid; we then consider how our lives may affect our brothers and sisters in Christ. We ought to decide to limit liberty for the sake of others.
Holding our liberties too loosely can lead us into a lifestyle that is undisciplined and potentially dangerous to our spiritual growth and personal witness to the lost. Holding our liberties too tightly can lead us into legalism where we are defined only by what we are against, and we become judgmental of Christians who differ from us in those things we restrain ourselves from by personal conviction.
Our ultimate goal should be to enjoy the freedoms we have through Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. We desire to glorify God, to edify believers, and to have a good reputation before unbelievers.
As you celebrate the Independence of our great nation, also remember the liberty you have received through Christ. Celebrate being a citizen of the USA. Celebrate being a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven. Enjoy the liberty of America. Speak, write, and vote to promote that liberty. And live in the liberty of being a Christian to the glory of God and for the salvation of your neighbors.
By His Grace and For His Glory,
Pastor Mark
