14th November 2023

14th November 2023


Pray (ACts)


Read (Romans 14)


Message (Scott Woodburn)


The Westminster Confession of Faith is not the Bible and should never be treated as such. It is however a time tested summary of Christian belief and, as I'm sure you know, it is the confessed belief of all Presbyterian ministers and elders. What you may not know is that the Confession has a whole chapter on the subject of Christian liberty and liberty of conscience. These are the issues that Paul deals with in Romans 14 and I thought I'd take a few devotions to outline the Confession's summary of Biblical teaching around the issue of the Christian's liberty.


Here is what we read in chapter twenty, paragraph four of the Westminster Confession of Faith  "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. 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, and proceeded against by the censures of the church."


You may be aware of the so-called "sovereign citizen movement" which has developed primarily in the United States of America. What is it? To keep things as simple as I can, a so-called sovereign citizen is someone who claims that they are not bound by the laws of the land that they find themselves in. There are numerous videos on the internet which show interactions between sovereign citizens and the police or judges and, needless to say, these individuals quickly discover they don't have a legal leg to stand on.


In the same manner, the Christian has been given an extraordinary freedom by the virtue of Christ's victory over sin and death. We are not bound by any man-made rules in the area of our belief or worship and so we rightly resist anyone who issues commands which are contrary to the Word of God. Nevertheless, we must be clear that Christians cannot adopt the approach of the sovereign citizen movement.


The Lord has put in place both church and civil authorities and the follower of Christ has no right to oppose these bodies by claiming Christian liberty. In practice this means that the Christian is bound by both the laws of the land and the authority that God has invested in His church. So when you are pulled over by a PSNI officer who suggests that you have been speeding, you have no grounds to tell him that you are only answerable to Almighty God.


In the same manner, if you are ever called to account by your local church then you should respond with a Christ honouring humility rather than aggression rooted in a misunderstood liberty. Why would your local fellowship have to call you to account? Perhaps you maintain a practice that is "contrary to the light of nature" like some of the Corinthians who tolerated sexual immorality with a man having sex with his father's wife (1 Corinthians 5v1). Or perhaps you publicly and confidently proclaim a heresy that says Jesus was not God. Such activity is destructive to the peace of the church and your leaders have every right to call you to account. Still further, your leaders may examine you, find you guilty and publicly denounce your activity.


In such moments both your church leaders and the PSNI officer would be in the right. Christian liberty is not an excuse to sin, it doesn't allow you to live contrary to the light of nature or principles of Christianity and it doesn't allow you to act like a petulant child shouting "I'M A SOVEREIGN CITIZEN! ONLY GOD CAN JUDGE ME!"


One day God will certainly judge us all and so we would do well to use our liberty for the end that it was intended - to serve God and to glorify Him in this world. Thanks be to God, for in Christ we are free.


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC


Q96 What is the Lord’s Supper? The Lord’s Supper is a Sacrament, wherein, by giving and receiving bread and wine, according to Christ’s appointment, his death is showed forth; and the worthy receivers are, not after a corporal and carnal manner, but by faith, made partakers of his body and blood, with all his benefits, to their spiritual nourishment and growth in grace.
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