Religion:Christian liberty
In Christianity, the doctrine of Christian liberty or Christian freedom states that Christians have been set free in Christ and are thus free to serve him.[1] Lester DeKoster views the two aspects of Christian liberty as "freedom from" and "freedom for" and suggests that the pivot between the two is the divine law.[2]
In the New Testament, Paul refers to himself as "free": "I am free, I am an apostle".[3] He asserts in his letter to the Galatians that Christ has set believers free.[4]
In the area of Christian living, liberty is often discussed in terms of what activities Christians are free to engage in. Modern-day issues concerning Christian liberty include alcohol drinking, women's head-coverings, and birth control.[5] These things are sometimes called adiaphora, or "things indifferent".[6]
Some Christian denominations who require office-bearers to subscribe to certain creeds and confessions allow liberty of opinion on non-essential matters.[7]
See also
- Martin Luther's treatise On the Freedom of a Christian
References
- ↑ "Liberty". Bible Gateway. https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/encyclopedia-of-the-bible/Liberty. "Having been liberated by Christ from the penalty of sin, the Christian is challenged to employ this liberty properly in Christian living."
- ↑ DeKoster, Lester. "Liberty, Christian". Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. p. 638.
- ↑ 1 Corinthians 9:1
- ↑ Galatians 5:1
- ↑ Malone, Fred. "Christian Liberty". Founders Ministries. https://founders.org/articles/christian-liberty/.
- ↑ Cooper, Barry. "Adiaphora". Ligonier Ministries. https://www.ligonier.org/podcasts/simply-put/adiaphora.
- ↑ Hood, Jared (2019). "Give Me Liberty: Liberty of Opinion in the Presbyterian Church of Australia". Reformed Theological Review 78 (1): 51. doi:10.53521/a228. https://rtrjournal.org/index.php/RTR/article/view/228. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
Further reading
- Ferguson, Sinclair. "4 Principles for the Exercise of Christian Liberty". Ligonier. https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/4-principles-exercise-christian-liberty.
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