WCF 20.4 WLC 5 (Of Christian Liberty & Liberty of Conscience)

God intends that the authorities he has ordained on earth and the freedom Christ has purchased should not destroy but mutually uphold and preserve each other. And so, those who oppose any lawful power or the lawful exercise of power, whether civil or ecclesiastical, on the pretext of Christian freedom, are actually resisting God.14 The support, promotion, or practice of such opposition, which contradicts natural understanding or the known principles of Christianity on matters of faith, worship, and associations, which denies the power of godliness, or which disrupts the peace and unity among believers, should lawfully be called to account and proceeded against by the church.15

a. And because the powers(earthly authorities/gov’m) which God has ordained(bullet# 1), and the liberty which Christ has ordained, and the liberty which Christ has purchased(bullet# 2) are not intended by God to destroy, but mutually to uphold and preserve one another(bullet# 3);

1 - ordained: Meaning God decreed or established. And we know He ordained all things, so that means ALL earthly authorities are established by God. (Romans 13:1 “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.”)

Not to say that God approves all that they do. eg., Just like, any authority Satan has in this world is ordained by God but God is repulsed… (NEXT)

2 - and the liberty which Christ has ordained, and the liberty which Christ has purchased:

which is the freedom from bondage and penalty of our sins and from Satan, ultimately God’s wrath in eternal damnation. To a true freedom and empowerment of Holy Spirit to serve and love God and others without fear, as adopted children.

This is what Paul was alluding to in Galatians 5:1 “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” … (NEXT)

3 - are not intended by God to destroy, but mutually to uphold and preserve one another:

In other words, God intends for us to stand firm in the freedom of Christ, while keeping the civil laws of our earthly government.

As a matter of fact… (NEXT)

b. they who, upon pretence of Christian liberty(bullet# 1), shall oppose any lawful power, or the lawful exercise of it, whether it be civil or ecclesiastical(bullet# 2), resist the ordinance of God(bullet# 3).(1)

1 - they who, upon pretence of Christian liberty: or those who use freedom in Christ as an excuse … (NEXT)

2 - shall oppose any lawful power, or the lawful exercise of it, whether it be civil(governing laws of the state/country)

or ecclesiastical(church order which pertains to worship and all matters of faith, responsible for your spiritual wellbeing...

Because opposing either is to… (NEXT)

3 - resist the ordinance(decree/will) of God: How?

Because doing so demonstrates disorder, which is contrary in nature to the almighty God who sovereignly orchestrated and placed all things into order according to His own will… Let’s continue reading (NEXT)

c. And, for their publishing of such opinions, or maintaining of such practices, as are contrary to the light of nature(natural understanding), or to the known principles of Christianity (whether concerning faith, worship, or conversation)(as instructed by the Scriptures), or to the power of godliness(work of the Holy Spirit); or, such erroneous(wrong) opinions or practices, as either in their own nature(internal/fleshly/false conviction), or in the manner of publishing or maintaining them(promoting false/rebellious convictions to others),

d. are destructive to the external peace and order which Christ has established(ordained) in the Church,

Destructive: We are not to take it lightly when we see a member rebel in this way.

Because such resistance against even human authority instituted by Christ is again resisting His authority and will incur judgement it says in (Romans 13:1–2 )“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.”

So 1 Peter 2:13 “Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme,”

e. they may lawfully be called to account, (2) and proceeded against, by the censures(bullet# 1) of the Church, and by the power of the civil magistrate (formal justice system-public court).(3)

1- they may lawfully be called to account, (2) and proceeded against, by the censures:

formal statement expressing disapproval/rebuke

Meaning church is responsible for spiritual discipline when necessary and for you to submit to the spiritual authority handed to the church by Christ.

Matthew 12:25 “Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand.” ; 1 Peter 2:13–14 “Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.” , 1 Peter 2:16 “Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.” ; Romans 13:1–8 “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.” ; Hebrews 13:17 “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.”

Romans 1:32 “Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.” 1 Corinthians 5:1 “It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife.” 1 Corinthians 5:5 “you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.” , 1 Corinthians 5:11 “But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one.” , 1 Corinthians 5:13 “God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”” ; 2 John 10–11 “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.” ; 2 Thessalonians 3:14 “If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed.” ; 1 Timothy 6:3–5 “If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain.” ; Titus 1:10–11 “For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party. They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach.” , Titus 1:13 “This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith,” ; Titus 3:10 “As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him,” ; Matthew 18:15–17 ““If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.” ; 1 Timothy 1:19–20 “holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.” ; Revelation 2:2 ““ ‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false.” , Revelation 2:14–15 “But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.” , Revelation 2:20 “But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols.” ; Revelation 3:9 “Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you.”

Deuteronomy 13:6–12 ““If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son or your daughter or the wife you embrace or your friend who is as your own soul entices you secretly, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods,’ which neither you nor your fathers have known, some of the gods of the peoples who are around you, whether near you or far off from you, from the one end of the earth to the other, you shall not yield to him or listen to him, nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him, nor shall you conceal him. But you shall kill him. Your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. You shall stone him to death with stones, because he sought to draw you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. And all Israel shall hear and fear and never again do any such wickedness as this among you. “If you hear in one of your cities, which the Lord your God is giving you to dwell there,” ; Romans 13:3–4 “For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.” ; 2 John 10–11 “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.” ; Ezra 7:23 “Whatever is decreed by the God of heaven, let it be done in full for the house of the God of heaven, lest his wrath be against the realm of the king and his sons.” , Ezra 7:25–28 ““And you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God that is in your hand, appoint magistrates and judges who may judge all the people in the province Beyond the River, all such as know the laws of your God. And those who do not know them, you shall teach. Whoever will not obey the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be strictly executed on him, whether for death or for banishment or for confiscation of his goods or for imprisonment.” Blessed be the Lord, the God of our fathers, who put such a thing as this into the heart of the king, to beautify the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem, and who extended to me his steadfast love before the king and his counselors, and before all the king’s mighty officers. I took courage, for the hand of the Lord my God was on me, and I gathered leading men from Israel to go up with me.” ; Revelation 17:12 “And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast.” , Revelation 17:16–17 “And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the prostitute. They will make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire, for God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled.” ; Nehemiah 13:15 “In those days I saw in Judah people treading winepresses on the Sabbath, and bringing in heaps of grain and loading them on donkeys, and also wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of loads, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And I warned them on the day when they sold food.” , Nehemiah 13:17 “Then I confronted the nobles of Judah and said to them, “What is this evil thing that you are doing, profaning the Sabbath day?” , Nehemiah 13:21–22 “But I warned them and said to them, “Why do you lodge outside the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you.” From that time on they did not come on the Sabbath. Then I commanded the Levites that they should purify themselves and come and guard the gates, to keep the Sabbath day holy. Remember this also in my favor, O my God, and spare me according to the greatness of your steadfast love.” , Nehemiah 13:25 “And I confronted them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair. And I made them take an oath in the name of God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters to their sons, or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves.” , Nehemiah 13:30 “Thus I cleansed them from everything foreign, and I established the duties of the priests and Levites, each in his work;” ; 2 Kings 23:5–6 “And he deposed the priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to make offerings in the high places at the cities of Judah and around Jerusalem; those also who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and the moon and the constellations and all the host of the heavens. And he brought out the Asherah from the house of the Lord, outside Jerusalem, to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron and beat it to dust and cast the dust of it upon the graves of the common people.” , 2 Kings 23:9 “However, the priests of the high places did not come up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers.” , 2 Kings 23:20–21 “And he sacrificed all the priests of the high places who were there, on the altars, and burned human bones on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem. And the king commanded all the people, “Keep the Passover to the Lord your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.”” ; 2 Chronicles 34:33 “And Josiah took away all the abominations from all the territory that belonged to the people of Israel and made all who were present in Israel serve the Lord their God. All his days they did not turn away from following the Lord, the God of their fathers.” ; 2 Chronicles 15:12–13 “And they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and with all their soul, but that whoever would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, should be put to death, whether young or old, man or woman.” , 2 Chronicles 15:16 “Even Maacah, his mother, King Asa removed from being queen mother because she had made a detestable image for Asherah. Asa cut down her image, crushed it, and burned it at the brook Kidron.” ; Daniel 3:29 “Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.”” ; 1 Timothy 2:2 “for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.” ; Isaiah 49:23 “Kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you, and lick the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord; those who wait for me shall not be put to shame.”” ; Zechariah 13:2–3 ““And on that day, declares the Lord of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more. And also I will remove from the land the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness. And if anyone again prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the Lord.’ And his father and mother who bore him shall pierce him through when he prophesies.”

Q 5. What do the Scriptures principally teach?

The Scriptures principally teach, what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man.

Why is this important?

John 16:13–14 “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”

Do you want to know truth? Truth is solely in the scriptures. Any other source that is not the word of God is false. What is truth? God is truth.

And who is God that you should believe?

John 20:31 “but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

What is required of you?

1 John 2:27 “But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.”

Our Father God Who Art...Hallowed be Thy Name

Your Kingdom come, Your will be done...

Give us this day our daily bread...

And forgive us our sin...

As we forgive those who sin against us...

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil

For Yours is the kindgom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen