LIBERALISM | AdventAI

Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Aug 12, 1880

LIBERALISM.

THERE is at the present day, a decided tendency to liberalism in religion; but it is born of a desire to secure the advantages, without the sacrifices, of piety. It is a sort of Christian laziness, if there could be such a thing. We suppose this is nothing new, only in the form of the thing. Liberalism always borders upon license at the other side, and it is a true Christian grace to be liberal, without giving countenance to license; the former is a virtue, the latter a grave vice. Thus it is always true that there is but a step from good to evil, as from the sublime to the ridiculous. It is only by being keenly alert and on our guard, that we can ever be free from error of one kind or the other. It is no more true that, "eternal vigilance is the price of liberty," than that, unless the Christian watch constantly, he will fall into temptation and a snare. This being the case and the devil being very wily, if a man loses from his soul that consuming zeal and intense activity which leaves no room for suggestions of personal ease or pleasure, he is very apt to fall into this most popular snare of the enemy of souls. When once he is taken, when personal ease has acquired any hold upon him, then it is like running down hill to glide into liberal (alias easy) Christianity, while it is up-hill work to get away from his self-love and into that humility which comports with real Christian efficiency.—Golden Censer.