that they are of the truth, and that they delight in the law
of God after the inward man, notwithstanding their manifold defects
in duty.—1 John 3:19; Romans 7:22, 25; 2 Corinthians 1:12.



20. Of Christian Liberty, and Liberty of Conscience

SECTION 1. The liberty which Christ has 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; and in
their being delivered from this present evil world, bondage to
Satan, and dominion of sin, from the evil of afflictions, the sting
of death, the victory of the grave, and everlasting damnation; as
also in their free access to God, and their yielding obedience unto
him, not out of slavish fear, but a child-like love, and willing
mind. All which were common also to believers under the Law; 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, and in greater boldness of
access to the throne of grace, and in fuller communications of the
free Spirit of God, than believers under the Law did ordinarily
partake of.

Exposition of 20.1

Civil liberty is justly esteemed an invaluable privilege and no
sacrifice is deemed too great in order to recover it when lost, or
to secure it when enjoyed. But valuable as civil liberty is, it
cannot be questioned that the liberty with which Christ makes his
people free is much to be preferred. In proportion to the value of
the soul above the body, so must the liberty that respects the one
surpass that which merely relates to the other. Those whom Christ
makes free are free indeed.—John 8:36. Christian liberty may be
considered, either as common to believers in every age, or as a
special immunity of the children of God under the New Testament
dispensation. That liberty which is common to believers in all ages
consists in their freedom—

1. From the guilt and the dominion of sin. By the guilt of sin is
meant an obligation to suffer eternal punishment on account of sin.
From this believers are freed by an act of pardoning mercy, which is
passed upon the ground of Christ's blood. "They have redemption
through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches
of his grace." Ephesians 1:7. But sin is not only accompanied with
guilt, it also exercises a rigorous dominion over the sinner. From
the reigning power of sin Christ delivers his people in the day of
their regeneration; and although sin still dwells in them, its power
is gradually weakened in their progressive sanctification, and its
very being shall in due time be abolished. Hence the Apostle Paul
thus addresses believers: "Sin shall not have dominion over you."
"Being made free from sin, and become servants unto God, you have
your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life." Romans
6:14, 22.

2. From the condemning wrath of God. To the wrath of God all men are
naturally obnoxious. Being children of disobedience, they are also
children of wrath.—Ephesians 2:2, 3. But, upon the ground of the
righteousness of Christ imputed to them, believers are completely
freed from divine wrath. "There is now no condemnation to them that
are in Christ Jesus." Romans 8:1. God may hide his face from them,
but his judicial wrath is forever turned away from them.—Isaiah
54:9, 10; Romans 5:10.

3. From the curse of the law as a broken covenant. Under that curse
all men lie naturally; for it is written: "Cursed is every one that
continues not in all things which are written in the book of the law
to do them." Galatians 3:10. But Christ, having endured that curse
as the Surety of his people, delivers from it all who are found in
him. Hence the Apostle Paul says: "Christ has redeemed us from the
curse of the law, being made a curse for us." Galatians 3:13. Though
believers are under the moral law as a rule of life, they are
completely freed from it as a covenant of work—freed from both its
commanding and condemning power; and, therefore, they cannot be
subjected to its curse on account of their transgressions. "You are
not under the law, but under grace." Romans 6:14. "Now we are
delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held."
Romans 7:6.

4. From this present evil world. The world is another tyrannical
master, under whose power and influence all men naturally are. But
believers are freed from the power of this fascinating and
destructive foe. This freedom Christ has obtained for them, and
bestows upon them. "He gave himself for our sins, that he might
deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of
God and our Father." Galatians 1:4. Through the powerful influence
of his cross, believers are crucified unto the world, and the world
unto them.—Galatians 6:14.

5. From bondage to Satan. All men are by nature the captives of
Satan, who is, therefore, called "the God of this world." Having
taken them in his snare, they are become his prey, and are "taken
captive by him at his will." But Christ "was manifested to destroy
the works of the devil;" and "through death he destroyed him that
had the power of death, that is, the devil." In the gospel he
proclaims liberty to the captives (Isaiah 61:1); and, in the day of
their effectual calling, he actually delivers his people from the
power of Satan.—Colossians 1:13. While in the present world, indeed,
they are exposed to the assaults of this adversary (1 Peter 5:8);
but he shall never regain his dominion over them, and, in due time,
they shall be completely freed from his temptations, and placed
beyond the reach of his influence; for the promise is: "The God of
peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly." Romans 16:20.

6. From the evil of afflictions. Christ does not grant to believers
an entire exemption from the troubles that are common to men, but he
frees them from all the penal evil of afflictions. The cup of their
affliction may be large and deep, but there is not one drop of
judicial wrath mingled in it. Their afflictions are designed for
their profit; and, through the divine blessing, they are rented, in
various aspects, highly beneficial to them. Hence the children of
God have often acknowledged that it was good for them to have been
afflicted (Psalm 119:71); and, though they may sometimes be at a
loss to perceive how their trials are to be rendered profitable to
them, yet they have the fullest assurance that all things shall work
together for their good.—Romans 8:28. See also Hebrews 12:6–11; 2
Corinthians 4:17.

7. From the sting of death. As death means the dissolution of the
union between the soul and the body, believers are not exempted from
its stroke.—Hebrews 9:28; Psalm 89:48. Christ, however, delivers his
people from death, considered as the effect of the law-curse, and
the harbinger of everlasting destruction.—John 11:25, 26. He has
extracted the sting of death, and rendered it powerless to do his
people any real harm.—1 Corinthians 15:56. Instead of doing
believers any real injury, death has a commission to confer upon
them unspeakable good. It is the termination of all their sorrows,
their release from warfare, and their departure to be with
Christ.—Philippians 1:21, 23.

8. From the victory of the grave. The bodies of believers must be
laid in the grave, and see corruption. To them, however, the grave
is not a prison, but a bed of rest; and they shall not always remain
under the power of corruption, but shall be raised up, glorious and
immortal, at the last day.—Job 19:26, 27. "Now is Christ risen from
the dead, and is become the first-fruits of them that slept." 1
Corinthians 15:20. His resurrection is the pledge and earnest of the
resurrection of all that sleep in him. In due time the promise will
be fully accomplished: "I will ransom them from the power of the
grave; I will redeem them from death" (Hosea 13:14); and "then the
saying shall be brought to pass, Death is swallowed up in victory."
1 Corinthians 15:54.

9. From everlasting damnation. The full punishment due to sin is
never inflicted upon any in this life, but at last "the wicked shall
be turned into hell." Psalm 9:17. At the great day, a sentence of
condemnation shall be solemnly pronounced upon them, and they shall
be led away "into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his
angels." Matthew 25:41. But believers are secured against coming
into condemnation, and are delivered from the wrath to come.—John
5:24; 1 Thessalonians 1:10. When the great day of God's wrath is
come, they shall behold and see the reward of the wicked; but it
shall not come near unto them.

10. Believers have also free access to God. They have liberty of
access to God as a gracious Father, and may pour out their hearts,
and vent their complaints unto him, with filial freedom. "In Christ
Jesus we have boldness and access with confidence, by the faith of
him." Ephesians 3:12.

11. Believers have freedom of spirit in the service of God. The
obedience which wicked men pay to God is like that of slaves to a
tyrant, whom they hate, and whose only motive to obedience is a fear
of punishment. But believers are delivered from a slavish fear of
wrath, and serve God from a generous principle of love, and with a
willing mind. "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." 2
Corinthians 3:17. See also Luke 1:74, 76; 2 Corinthians 5:14; 1 John
4:18.

The liberty which has now been described, belonged to believers
under the law, as well as under the present dispensation; but, under
the New Testament, the liberty of Christians has been enlarged in
several particulars, which are next to be briefly noticed.

1. Christians are now freed from the yoke of the ceremonial law. The
Jewish Church was kept "in bondage under the elements of the world"
(Galatians 4:3); but that burdensome yoke is not imposed on the
Christian Church.—Acts 15:10. The ancient ceremonies were abrogated,
in point of obligation, by the death of Christ; and though, for a
time, the use of them was indifferent, yet, upon the full
promulgation of the gospel, and the destruction of the temple of
Jerusalem, the observance of them became unlawful; and the Apostle
Paul exhorted Christians to "stand fast in the liberty with which
Christ had made them free, and not be entangled again with the yoke
of bondage." Galatians 5:1.

2. Christians have now greater boldness of access to the throne of
grace. The Apostle Paul frequently mentions liberty, confidence, and
boldness, in their access to God, as an especial privilege of
believers under the New Testament, in opposition to the state of
those who lived under the Old.—See Hebrews 4:16; 10:19; 1 John 3:21;
4:17; 5:14.

3. Christians enjoy fuller communications of the free Spirit of God
than were ordinarily granted to believers under the law. The Spirit
had, no doubt, been dispensed to the Church under the Old Testament;
but the more extensive and copious effusion of the Spirit was
reserved to New Testament times. Hence the Spirit is said not to
have been given before that Jesus was glorified.—John 7:39. The
plentiful effusion of the Spirit was frequently foretold as the
great privilege of gospel times.—Isaiah 44:3; Joel 2:28, 29.
Accordingly, upon the ascension of Christ, and the commencement of
the Christian dispensation, the extraordinary and miraculous gifts
of the Spirit were communicated, not only to the apostles, but often
to common believers; and the ordinary gifts and gracious influences
of the Spirit are still conferred in richer abundance than under the
former dispensation. Hence the Apostle Paul represents it as an
eminent part of the glory of the New Testament dispensation, that it
is "the ministration of the Spirit." 2 Corinthians 3:8.

How excellent is that liberty we have been describing! If civil
liberty be highly prized, sure the glorious liberty of the children
of God is eminently precious. How highly are believers indebted to
the Lord Jesus Christ, who obtained this freedom for them at the
incalculable price of his Own precious blood! Sure their hearts
should overflow with gratitude to their generous Deliverer, who gave
his own life a ransom for them. Since he has emancipated them from
the most degrading servitude, and set them free from those cruel
masters who formerly tyrannized over them, ought they not to take
upon them his yoke, which is easy, and his burden, which is light?
Every true Christian will reckon it his highest privilege, as well
as his incumbent duty, to be the devoted servant of Christ, whose
service is perfect freedom.

SECTION 2. God alone is Lord of the conscience, and has left it free
from the doctrines and commandments of men which are in anything
contrary to his Word, or beside it, in matters of faith or worship.
So that to believe such doctrines, or to obey such commandments out
of conscience, is to betray true liberty of conscience: and the
requiring of an implicit faith, and an absolute and blind obedience,
is to destroy liberty of conscience, and reason also.

Exposition of 20.2

In this section the doctrine of liberty of conscience is laid down
in most explicit terms. The conscience, in all matters of faith and
duty, is subject to the authority of God alone, and entirely free
from all subjection to the traditions and commandments of men. To
believe any doctrine, or obey any commandment, contrary to, or
beside, the Word of God, out of submission to human authority, is to
betray true liberty of conscience. And be the power and authority
whose it will—be it that of a magistrate or a minister—of a husband,
a master, or a parent—that would require an implicit faith and an
absolute blind obedience, it would destroy liberty of conscience.

The rights of conscience have been frequently invaded by rulers,
both civil and ecclesiastical. By the Church of Rome the statements
of our Confession are directly contradicted, both in doctrine and in
practice. They teach that the Pope, and the bishops in their own
dioceses, may, by their own authority, enact laws which bind the
conscience, and which cannot be transgressed without incurring the
same penalties which are annexed to every breach of the divine law.
And they have actually imposed many articles of faith, and enjoined
numberless rites and ceremonies, as necessary in the worship of God,
which have no foundation in Scripture; and they require implicit
faith in all their decrees, and a blind obedience to all their
commands. Against the tyrannical usurpations and encroachments of
that Church this section is principally leveled.

No person on earth can have authority to dictate to conscience; for
this would be to assume a prerogative which belongs to none but the
supreme Lord and Legislator. "There is one Lawgiver, who is able to
save and to destroy." James 4:12. Such a power was prohibited by
Jesus Christ among his followers: "The kings of the Gentiles
exercise lordship over them, but you shall not be so." Luke 22:25.
It was disclaimed by the inspired apostles: "Not that we have
dominion over your faith," said the Apostle of the Gentiles, "but
are helpers of your joy." 2 Corinthians 1:24.

From the principles