Liberty, in a general sense, is
freedom from restraint. 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 desires.
Liberty can be “civil” while
it is restrained by laws which are good for the common well-being of
society. There is a saying,
“My freedom ends where someone else’s begins.”
Liberty is also political, and national, and public, as well as private.
We, as Americans, enjoy religious liberty. We have the freedom of worship.
Our government does not restrain our expression toward God.
As we look to the scriptures
on the subject, we will begin with the Old Testament given to Israel.
Lev. 25: 10 - 12 And
ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all
the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto
you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall
return every man unto his family.
A jubile shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow,
neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes
in it of thy vine undressed.
For it is the jubile; it shall be holy unto you: ye shall eat the
increase thereof out of the field.
Under the dispensation of the law, Israel was given liberty every 50
years. The 50th
year was the year of Jubilee and it lasted for an entire year.
It was opened with a joyful shout and noise of trumpets. The
people didn’t work the land at all.
God allowed them to eat what the land produced.
Debts were canceled. Land
and possessions were returned. Slaves
were set free.
Isa. 61:1 The
Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to
preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the
brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the
opening of the prison to them that are bound;
This prophecy of Christ
foretold of him announcing liberty.
Luke 4: 18 is the record of Jesus reading this passage about
himself.
Jeremiah chapter 34 speaks of liberty four times.
2 Cor. 3:13-16 And
not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of
Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished: But
their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail
untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done
away in Christ. But even
unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart. Nevertheless
when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.
These verses tell of
Israel’s bondage when staying under the law today, rather than
recognizing the revelation of the mystery God gave to Paul, where there
is no difference between the Jew and the Gentile, and His ruling
principal is grace.
2 Cor. 3: 17
Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the
Lord is, there is liberty.
Moving into the
dispensation of grace, we find that Christ is now our liberty.
Gal. 2: 4 - 5 And
that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily
to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might
bring us into bondage: To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that
the truth of the gospel might continue with you.
Paul warned the Galatians about people who were sneaking in among
them to destroy their freedom in Christ.
Gal. 5: 1 Stand
fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be
not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
He urged them to continue on in the freedoms they enjoyed in
Christ.
Gal. 5: 13 For,
brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an
occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
They were encouraged not to be selfish with their freedom, but to
use it to help others.
1 Cor. 8: 9
But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours
become a stumblingblock to them that are weak.
Paul cautioned the Corinthian believers not to abuse their
liberty to the point that it offended others.
Because people are growing in grace at different levels of maturity, we
should consider one another.
1 Cor. 10: 23
All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient:
all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.
Even though Paul said he
was not under any law, he recognized that he should not
participate in some freedoms because they did not promote the
“building up” of the body of Christ.
Verse 24
Let no man seek his own, but every man another's wealth.
Don’t look to please yourself, but others.
Verses 25 - 26
Whatsoever is sold in the shambles, that eat, asking no question for
conscience sake: For the
earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof.
In dealing with the subject of eating meat that had been
sacrificed to idols, Paul instructed them just to eat, and not bring up
the subject, because everything gets its essence from God.
Verse 27 If
any of them that believe not bid you to a feast, and ye be disposed to
go; whatsoever is set before you, eat, asking no question for conscience
sake.
God had a “Don’t Ask …. Don’t Tell” policy.
But it wasn’t about whether a person was a homosexual or not.
Verse 28 But
if any man say unto you, This is offered in sacrifice unto idols, eat
not for his sake that shewed it, and for conscience sake: for the earth
is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof:
If someone does tell you, then don’t eat because they are
watching what you will do. They
are testing you, so therefore, don’t allow your actions to encourage
them to violate their own conscience.
Verse 29
Conscience, I say, not thine own, but of the other: for why is my
liberty judged of another man's conscience?
Even if you don’t have a problem doing something, you
shouldn’t flaunt your behavior in front of other people who it might
hurt.
Verse 30 For
if I by grace be a partaker, why am I evil spoken of for that for which
I give thanks?
You may be thankful for
your freedom under grace, but someone may talk bad about you if they see
doing things they think are wrong.
So we should all consider how our decisions affect other people,
and not think only of our own selves.
Verse 31 Whether
therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of
God.
We ought to honor the Lord
in everything.
Verse 32-33
Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the
Gentiles, nor to the church of God: Even as I please all men in all
things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they
may be saved.
Here again, Paul told us
to be careful with appearance to others.
This must not be confused
with the many scriptures that tell us not to hide or water down the
truth because people won’t like it.
Balance should be
maintained and we should be both thankful for and careful with our
precious liberty, but never at the expense of the truth.
This is David Dowell saying, “Think about it!”
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