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Galatians 5:1–6
Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage (Gal. 5:1).
In 1521, Martin Luther was summoned to appear before the imperial diet at Worms, Germany, to show why he should not be condemned as a heretic for his teaching and writing. Appearing before the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, Luther was asked whether he would recant his teachings that contradicted official Roman Catholic doctrine. Nervous, he asked to be allowed to consider the matter overnight. The next day he came again before the diet, but now he was resolved. He declared: “Unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason—I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other—my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe.”
Like Luther, we are to have consciences that are captive to God’s Word. Far too often, however, we fail to allow Scripture to bind our consciences as tightly as it should or we allow our consciences to be bound by authorities other than God through Scripture. The first of these is the antinomian (“against the law”) error, and the second is the legalist error. We must guard against both mistakes.
Antinomianism manifests itself in several forms. There is libertinism, the idea that the Christian, once he is redeemed, lives by grace and is free from obligations imposed by the law of God. Redemption, therefore, is viewed as a license to sin. There is gnostic spiritualism, which traces its roots to the gnostic heretics of the early centuries of Christendom. This form of antinomianism claims a secret knowledge that overrules revealed truth. Also, there is situationalism, the view that our actions are governed by the situation in which we find ourselves. This idea is a clear denial of moral absolutes. These antinomian errors can leave our consciences unable to properly accuse us.
In like manner, there are several types of legalism. One involves reducing the Christian life to the keeping of rules, isolating obedience from its proper motivation, which is love for Christ (John 14:15). Another form insists on obedience to the letter of the law but allows the spirit to be violated. The most common form, however, involves the institution of rules dictated by man, not God. We must never allow our consciences to be bound where God has left them free.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
Do you believe that God’s laws are always binding? Do you feel compelled to observe rules that are not based in Scripture? Take time today to consider whether your conscience is not bound tightly enough to Scripture or whether it is bound by man-made rules. Pray earnestly for a conscience that is bound by the Word alone.
For Further Study
- Matthew 4:4
- Romans 2:15
- Hebrews 13:18