Christian Liberty From a Bible Standpoint
By Inez Lay
In the first chapter of Genesis we read that “God created man in his own image,” and gave him “dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” That Adam, created in the likeness of God and given universal dominion, was himself free is a self-evident fact. That he might retain this inestimable gift, the Creator thoroughly instructed man as to the course to be pursued to insure its continuance, and warned him against that by which it would be forfeited. Had mankind always heeded this wise counsel, that liberty would have remained unbroken; but, in an unguarded moment, Adam and Eve listened to the arch-deceiver, did his bidding, and were no longer free, but slaves, abject slaves, with no power to recover themselves or to escape the penalty, death, everlasting in its results. James 1:15; Rom. 5:12. At this crisis was revealed, to an amazing degree, the immeasurable love of the Creator and his Son. Jesus offered his spotless life a ransom for the lives that had been forfeited through sin, and God the Father in his compassion consented to the sacrifice of his Son, since only a sinless life could atone for sin. The sacrificial service pointing to the time when the “Lamb without blemish” should be offered, was here instituted. Through this service the repentant sinner’s faith was centered upon Christ, the only means of escape. “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.” Rom. 5:19. When Moses was sent to lead the Israelites out from Egyptian bondage, God designed that this freedom should be to them a type of that more perfect liberty which was theirs through faith in Christ, the antitypical Lamb, while their entrance into the earthly Canaan should typify the “better country” toward which their longing hearts should turn. That they might the more surely look through the seen to the unseen, the heavenly Canaan, God instructed the Israelites, when they should have reached the promised land, to proclaim liberty every fiftieth year, making it a year of jubilee, typical of the joys of the redeemed in the heavenly land. Because they did not obey this command, God again gave them over to bondage and affliction, that they might learn the important truth that only in obedience to the just laws of God can true liberty be found. Jer. 34:17; see also James 1:25. Christ’s mission to this earth was to proclaim liberty, the liberty purchased by his precious blood—to set the captives free. Luke 4:18. Hear his declaration, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” John 8:36. Foretelling his crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension, Christ promised that the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, should be sent in his name, and that he should abide with the disciples of Christ forever. In 2 Cor. 3:17 we learn that where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. God, then, in infinite love had provided liberty for every member of the human race, in spite of sins that are past, who will accept of it through faith in Christ. Christian liberty is the only perfect, all-enduring liberty. It gives what none other can give, freedom from sin and from the results of sin. It is the groundwork of all true liberty. This soul liberty may be ours in times of hottest persecution, in imprisonment, in banishment. In proof of this statement we have only to recall the experiences of Paul and Silas and John Bunyan in prison, John banished on the lonely isle of Patmos, Stephen and many other martyrs dying for the liberty they had found in Christ. While God warns the sinner and entreats him to turn from his evil way, he never forces the conscience of any one. Nor will the Spirit of God in the heart of man seek to do so. A desire to dictate in matters of conscience, indulged in, leads inevitably to persecution of the minority by the majority. This spirit is incompatible with the spirit of Christ, and is therefore antichristian, militating always against true Christian liberty. The government of our United States is represented in prophecy by a “beast coming up out of the earth,” having two horns like a lamb, but speaking like a dragon. In the establishment of this government, civil and religious liberty as the right of every individual were declared to be the two fundamental principles. These we see represented by the lamblike horns. But—“he spake as a dragon.” As a government speaks through its laws, must we believe that those Christ-like principles are to be disregarded, set aside, and an effort made to coerce the people regardless of either of these God-given rights? Let the religious legislation springing up all over our land of boasted freedom be the answer. Ah! the dragon voice is speaking. It will continue to speak until it has enforced a national religion upon the people, with a death sentence for those who disregard it; and, further, “He causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” The first of the prophecy being literally fulfilled, shall we doubt that the rest will follow? But what does God say about this worship of the beast and its image and the receiving of his mark? Listen! “And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb.” Then which voice shall we heed, that of puny man or that of the infinite God? Hear another command of God: “Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.” 1 Cor. 7:23. “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” Gal. 5:1. Are we ready for the issue? Hear these precious assurances: “Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: and the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation.” Ps. 91:5, 13-16. “And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.” Rev. 15:2. INEZ LAY.