Westminster Confession of 1646: Of Christian Liberty, and Liberty of Conscience

Chapter XX. Of Christian Liberty, and Liberty of Conscience

I. The liberty which Christ hath purchased for believers under the Gospel consists in their freedom from the guilt of sin, the condemning wrath of God, the curse of the moral law, (Tts 2:14; 1Th 1:10; Gal 3:13); and, in their being delivered from this present evil world, bondage to Satan, and dominion of sin, (Gal 1:4; Col 1:13; Acts 26:18; Rom 6:14); from the evil of afflictions, the sting of death, the victory of the grave, and everlasting damnation, (Rom 8:28; Psa 119:71; 1Co 15:54-57; Rom 8:1); as also, in their free access to God, (Rom 5:1-2); and their yielding obedience unto Him, not out of slavish fear, but a child-like love and willing mind, (Rom 8:14-15; 1Jo 4:18). All which were common also to believers under the law, (Gal 3:9-14). But, under the new testament, the liberty of Christians is further enlarged, in their freedom from the yoke of the ceremonial law, to which the Jewish Church was subjected, (Gal 4:1-3, 6-7; Gal 5:1; Act 15:10-11); and in greater boldness of access to the throne of grace, (Hbr 4:14, 16; Hbr 10:19-22); and in fuller communications of the free Spirit of God, than believers under the law did ordinarily partake of, (Jhn 7:38-39; 2Co 3:13, 17-18).

II. God alone is Lord of the conscience, (Jam 4:12; Rom 14:4); and hath left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men, which are, in any thing, contrary to His Word; or beside it, if matters of faith, or worship, (Act 4:19; Act 5:29; 1Co 7:23; Mat 23:8-10; 2Co 1:24; Mat 15:9). So that, to believe such doctrines, or to obey such commands, out of conscience is to betray true liberty of conscience, (Co 2:20, 22-23; Gal 1:10; Gal 2:4-5; Gal 5:1): and the requiring of an implicit faith, and an absolute and blind obedience, is to destroy liberty of conscience, and reason also, (Rom 10:17; Rom 14:23; Isa 8:20; Act 17:11; Jhn 4:22; Hos 5:11; Rev 13:12, 16-17; Jer 8:9).

III. They who, upon pretence of Christian liberty, do practise any sin, or cherish any lust, do thereby destroy the end of Christian liberty, which is, that being delivered out of the hands of our enemies, we might serve the Lord without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him, all the days of our life, (Gal 5:13; 1Pe 2:16; 2Pe 2:19; Jhn 8:34; Luk 1:74-75).

IV. 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, (1Pe 2:13-14, 16; Rom 13:1-8; Hbr 13:17; 1Th 5:12-13). 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, and by the power of the civil magistrate, (Rom 1:32; 1Co 5:1, 5, 11, 13; 2Jo 10-11; 2Th 3:6, 14; 1Ti 6:3-4; Tts 1:10-11, 13-14; Tts 3:10; Rom 16:17; Mat 18:15-17; 1Ti 1:19-20; Rev 2:2, 14-15, 20).