True Freedom

Freedom! What a wonderful feeling. How we often long for freedom. Those that have grown up in oppressive circumstances, such as in communist countries where individual freedom was suppressed, have welcomed the freedom the}’ received after the yoke of communism over them was broken. When slaves are set free, what wonderful, happy smiles we see on their faces. They may not be rich in this world’s goods, but the freedom is worth more than money can buy. Freedom! What a wonderful feeling.

Often young people, who have grown up in oppressive households, can’t wail until they are old enough to get out from under the burdensome yoke of their parents to live their own life in freedom. Sometimes these young people have been truly oppressed, however sometimes young people have not really been oppressed, but they see the religious principles that I heir parents are living by and therefore expecting their children to follow, as a yoke of bondage. They have been influenced by their peers as to what the}” think is a better way of life freedom from care and responsibility.

The greatest freedom we can have though is the freedom and peace with God. Man}- are not looking to God for freedom but see service to God as a yoke of bondage. Christians miss out on all the “fun” things of life – they arc told by their peers.

Then there are other Christians who sincerely want to serve Christ, but believe they have freedom in Christ, freedom from keeping the law. They see the Ten Commandments as a yoke of bondage that the}” think was done away with at the cross bringing in a new era of freedom to the Christian community. They deem those who still keep the “old” law as in slavery and living a legalistic religion.

Even those in God’s church today arc in danger of looking to their brothers to compare their lives with them. If they happen to see someone striving for perfection in Christ, putting away all sinful habits as they are revealed to him, and constantly striving ever upward, there is danger of thinking this brother or sister is living a fanatical life. They are making too man}’ laws and restrictions for themselves. Their life is a constant rebuke to those who are lukewarm in the church and making very little progress. We cannot compare ourselves with our brothers; we must all compare ourselves only with Christ. If someone is further along in their Christian experience than we are. we are not to be jealous, but glad as we see God’s people reaching for perfection:

Then there are all the “rules” in the church. Often young people don’t like too man} ”rules” about how to live their lives. In the 1970’s in North America there was a movement among young people to throw off all restraint and to live life in total freedom. It was the hippie movement and many joined the movement seeking that total freedom which was promised. The} ma}’ appear to have freedom from all outward appearances, but without Christ there is no inward peace.

With all this talk of freedom, we wonder, have these people really found true freedom in their spirit?
Often when there is talk of “rules” for the church; there is also mention of the conscience by some. The}” say. “Let your conscience be your guide.” You don’t need so man} “rules” on correct living if you have a conscience, they say. The Holy Spirit speaks to even-honest soul through their conscience and so we can’t impose any “rules” of correct living on others because the Holy Spirit will eventually convict them. Let them be led by the Spirit.

This reminds me of a dear, elderly lady from the Watchtowcr society who used to visit me when she knew my husband was not at home. One day we were talking about the law of God and she told me that the Lord has not convicted her concerning the necessity of keeping the law. When He does then she will keep the law. I had to think for awhile, but I felt sad for this poor woman. The Holy Spirit will never come to her and tell her it is time to keep the law. No, not when it is clearly written in His Word, The Bible, and she has simply ignored the words of the Bible, or twisted them to suit her own belief system.

Sometimes people, both young and old, have difficulty in understanding why certain church rules exist, when they are first faced with some of them. These rules seem to be suppressing their freedom and they simply can’t serve the Lord in peace while constantly worrying about violating the law in some point. These people have taken their eyes of the Lord and are trying to obtain salvation through work righteousness. The}’ eventually become so frustrated in their inability to keep all the rules that the} decide it is not God’s will to impose all these rules. They see freedom only in the absence of the rules, not in Christ. The}’ feel that surely the Lord can’t expect all of this from them.

This reminds me of the time I first arrived in Australia. Suddenly 1 had to learn to drive on the opposite side of the road from what I was used to. I had to also learn some different traffic rules. When I went out to drive. I kept these new rules uppermost in my mind, making sure to follow the law in every detail. Some of the laws I felt were unimportant, however the}- were laws and were there for a purpose and were to be followed. I felt as though my freedom in driving was severely restricted, especially as I prepared to lake the driving test. What was the solution? Would I find true freedom in driving by casting out all the rales9 I could argue that since some of them seem unreasonable and unnecessary lo me. perhaps I don’t need to obey those. I could still drive safely but make some of my own rules. Theirs were a little too hard to master. After failing my first driving test should I petition the local government that perhaps some of these rules and laws are not so necessary after all? No, I would have been turned away. Either I passed the test, and obeyed all the rules or I would not be given the license to drive. As time went on, I did pass the test, and eventually driving became second nature again. No longer do I have to consciously think about the rules, yet I do observe them. I feel perfectly free in my driving, even while keeping all the rules of the road.

I find a parallel here with our Christian walk. Sometimes we see rules in the church that we don’t like, or that we feel are unimportant at first. Are we to lower the standard or change it to suit our lifestyle? “Were men free to depart from the Lord’s requirements and to set up a standard of duty for themselves, there would be a variety of standards to suit different minds and the government would be taken out of the Lord’s hands. The will of man would be made supreme, and the high and holy will of God -His purpose of love toward His creatures – would be dishonoured, disrespected.” MB, p. 51. Perhaps it would be a good idea to ask about, and do some study regarding the issue in question, rather than simply reject it, thinking it is unreasonable. Perhaps there is a good reason behind it after all.

If we would accept the rules God has laid out for us in His Word through the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy in these latter days, we would see that they are all there to help us, not to hinder us on the way of salvation. And the best part of all of this is that Jesus has promised to help us. “Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30. As we learn to love the Lord and to lean on Him for support we no longer find the rules a burden, but rather as Jesus promised, our burden will be light. We will be focusing on Jesus, not on the rules, yet at the same time we will not be violating the laws that the Lord has laid out for us to abide by. We will not see them simply as arbitrary, unimportant rules, but rather, just as the rules of the road are there for safety purposes, so the rules of right living God has laid out through His church are for the purpose of enhancing our life and bringing us closer to Him. as well as for our safely also.

When Satan first rebelled in heaven, he said that intelligent beings do not need rules to live by. He was speaking specifically about the Ten Commandments. His argument was that they were intelligent beings and they did not need these rules to dictate to them how they should live. Their intelligence was good enough. We often hear some of the same arguments echoed amongst Christians today. They don’t need any rules like the commandments. The Holy Spirit will guide them into all the truth and will convict their conscience as to what is right and what is wrong. When on earth, Jesus showed us the spirit of the law, which goes much further than the letter of the law. We are shiners and we need guidance on our heavenward journey.

CONSCIENCE

Is our conscience a viable guide? We do all agree that one way the Lord sends us messages is through the Holy Spirit speaking to our conscience. So can we not say that, as a church, we do not need to make any principles or rules because if we all love the Lord, then the Holy Spirit will show each one of us how to live a truly Christian life?

Can we trust our conscience alone? “Conscience is the voice of God, heard amid the conflict of human passions.” 5T, p. 120.
Let’s read a few Bible verses. “Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled. They profess that they know God but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.” Titus 1:15, 16.

“Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;” 1 Tim. 4:2.
“Dear brother, life or death is before you. Do you know why your steps have faltered? Why you did not persevere with courage and firmness? You have a violated conscience.” 2T, p. 42.

Will these types of consciences lead a person hi the right pathway? What must be done? “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” Heb. 9:14. “But the only right course to be pursued in these cases is to educate the conscience,” UT, Feb. 1, 1888. “In the Word of God we read that there are a good and bad consciences . . . Take your conscience to the Word of God, and see if your life and character are in accordance with the standard of righteousness which God has there revealed. You can then determine whether or not you have an intelligent faith, and what manner of conscience is yours. The conscience of man cannot be trusted unless it is under the influence of divine grace. Satan takes advantage of an unenlightened conscience, and thereby leads men into all manner of delusions.

“It is not enough for man to think himself safe in following the dictates of his conscience …. The question to be settled is, Is the conscience in harmony with the Word of God? If not, it cannot safely be followed, for it will deceive. God must enlighten the conscience. Time must be given to a study of the Scriptures and to prayer.

Thus the mind will be stablished, strengthened, and settled.” OHC, p. 143.
The Apostle Paul honestly thought he was pleasing God by persecuting the Christians. Did his ignorance nullify his guilt? No, it certainly did not; he was guilty without excuse. He had access to the Bible as written in his day and he should have known and understood the prophecies pointing to Christ. But sadly he did not, and before he was converted, he committed many grievous crimes against the followers of the Lord. His conscience needed to be educated in the right direction.

In the days of Jesus, many Jewish people really believed what the Pharisees taught as truth. Yes, they had some things right, but they had many things wrong and what a deception they caused amongst the Jewish people. Jesus came to show the way to true freedom. Instead of nullifying the law and taking it away, He came to establish the law forever and to show us the proper way to keep it – according to the Spirit of the law.

OUR GOAL

We need to set ourselves a goal as did the Apostle Paul. “And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men.” Acts 24:16. To Paul, the conscience (the ability to discern between right and wrong) was of supreme importance. The conscience, no mater how good, must still be attentive to the voice of God.

Can we trust our conscience only to be our guide? “The Word of God is your guide and counselor.” ST 05-29-84. Yes, our conscience is not our only guide and counselor. We may have a weak or deceived conscience hi which case we need to go and read the Bible in order to educate our conscience in the way of the Lord.

“It is the privilege of everyone to so live that God will approve and bless him. You may be hourly in communion with Heaven; it is not the will of your heavenly Father that you should ever be under condemnation and darkness. It is not pleasing to God that you should demerit yourself. You should cultivate self-respect by living so that you will be proved by your own conscience, and before men and angels.” OHC, p. 143. “A conscience void of offence toward God and man is a wonderful acquirement.” Ibid.

When Jesus came the Pharisees were keeping the letter of the law as diligently as humanly possible. Yet, Jesus called them hypocrites. He came to show us how to keep the spirit of the law. While He ignored some of the ridiculous rules that the Pharisees had added to Sabbath keeping, making it a yoke of bondage, He did not ignore one jot or tittle of the Moral Law. He showed us how it was to be kept in spirit and we are to follow His example. He gave a clearer interpretation of the Ten Commandments and as we near the close of time, He is working through His church to also bring clearer interpretations on various points of Truth.

But can we say that the church has authority today to set up standards and rules as to correct Christian behaviour and deportment? Should we not leave this part to the individual conscience?
“To the end of time the presence of the spirit is to abide with the true church. . .But near the close of earth’s harvest, a special bestowal of spiritual grace is promised to prepare the church for the coming of the Son of man.” AA, p. 54, 55.

“Every believer should be wholehearted in his attachment to the church… They should defer their individual judgment to the judgment of the body of the church…. Unbelief suggests that individual independence increases our importance, that it is weak to yield our own ideas of what is right and proper to the verdict of the church; but to yield to such feelings and views is unsafe and will bring us into anarchy and confusion. Christ saw that unity and Christian fellowship were necessary to the cause Ë of God, therefore He enjoined it upon His disciples. And the history of Christianity from that time until now proves conclusively that in union only is there strength. Let individual judgment submit to the authority of the church.” 41, p. 18, 19.

SEARED CONSCIENCE

The term “seared conscience” I quoted above from 1 Tim. 4:2. Is there true freedom with a seared conscience? Was the Apostle Paul free when he was a faithful Pharisee and persecuting the Christians? He honestly thought he was doing God’s will, but when Jesus met him on the Damascus road, He stated, Saul, “It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.” Acts 9:5. Saul had no peace in his heart even though he honestly thought he was doing God’s will. He didn’t know Jesus. Only if we know Jesus will we have peace in our hearts and a clean conscience.

Having a seared conscience is a very sad way to be. How does a person end up this way? We see some criminals in our jails today who have no remorse. Some have committed the grossest of crimes. Whether they are serial killers, rapists, or some other type of wicked person, they seem to have no conscience. The medical associations have labeled such a person as a psychopath and conclude that this person has no hope to ever regain then-conscience. They may be right hi some cases. Once the Holy Spirit has departed from a person, He will not return and thus they will have no one to convict them of wrong. Were they born this way? Some people seem to think so. however I believe that everyone was born with an equal opportunity to accept the Lord hi their lives and live a good life with a promise of salvation. Perhaps some have quieted their conscience at a much earlier age than others have and it seems that they were never born with a conscience

“With some, the knowledge of their true state seems to be hidden from them. They see the truth, but perceive not its importance or its claims. They hear the truth, but do not fully understand it, because they do not conform their lives to it, and therefore are not sanctified through obeying it. And yet they rest as unconcerned and well satisfied as though the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night, as tokens of God’s favor, went before them. They profess to know God, but in works deny Him.” IT, p. 406.

“My brother, your soul must be quickened and your faith enlarged. You have so long excused yourself in your disobedience on one plea or another that your conscience has been lulled to rest and ceases to remind you of your errors.” T4, p. 254.
“The truth must take control of the conscience and the understanding in all the work that is done. The Holy Spirit must preside over thought and word and deed. It is to direct in all temporal and spiritual actions.” PM, p, 155.

“He whose conscience is a sure guide will not stop to reason [i.e., rationalize away] when light shines upon him out of God’s Word. He will not be guided by human counsel. He will not allow worldly business to stand in the way of obedience. He will lay every selfish interest at the door of investigation, and will approach the Word of God as one whose eternal interest is hanging hi the balance.” UL, p. 140.

“Unless the truth of God controls the heart, the conscience will be warped.” 2SM, p. 124.
Judas Iscariot was not an honest man and for a while his conscience bothered him when he stole the money from the bag. However, as time went on his conscience grew cold, until he eventually betrayed the Son of God.

GOOD CONSCIENCE

“Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck.” 1 Tim. 1:19. Paul encouraged Timothy to have a good conscience, which is an effective weapon in the warfare against sin. Christians will find their deepest convictions growing dull and nerveless if their personal lives do not validate the message they preach. Those who willfully reject the voice of their conscience will, first of all, violate their pure conscience. Secondly, they will begin to lose convictions as to the importance of the Christian principles which they thought important in the past. And thirdly, they will eventually reject the faith altogether, making shipwreck of their faith.

“Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.” 1 Peter 3:16.

So getting back to the word “Freedom”, what can we conclude true freedom is? Is it not a “Conscience void of offence toward God.” ?
Just as I found peace in my driving when I learned all the rules and kept them, so we can find peace in our souls as we learn the “rules” of the Lord (the spirit of the law in the Ten Commandments) and conform our lives to them. Jesus is trying to tell us how to have peace and happiness. He is not trying to restrict our freedom, but rather He wants to give us TRUE freedom. If we are faithful in the laws of Health Reform, we will feel good and be free from many of the diseases that afflict those disobeying the laws of health. If we adhere to the rules of Dress Reform, we would be free from “ten thousand unseen dangers.” Also we would be kept healthier. Many suffer ill health due to improper dress. If nobody stole, killed, committed adultery, coveted everyone kept all the Ten Commandments, what a free society we would live in. There would be no worries about having our homes broken into; no worries about walking down the street in the middle of the night. And even if the Sabbath were kept, we would get the rest we need and spiritual refreshment to face life in the next week. All of God’s rules and laws are ways in which mankind can live a fuller, happier and a more free and peaceful life.

Imagine a society with no laws. What kind of country would allow each individual citizen to interpret the laws according to their individual ideas? How many standards of law would we have hi society. No, you must have a governing body to make rules and laws for society. In the same way. the kingdom of Jesus has one standard of truth with its Law that is to be obeyed to keep the peace.

While these laws and rules will never bring us into favour with God if we keep them, their obedience will show how much we really love the Lord, and the result will be seen in the happiness, peace and freedom that has been promised to us. He has promised us peace and we can find peace only while keeping His commandments and His laws. They really are not a yoke of bondage, contrary to the belief of many people, both Christian and non-Christian, today. If everyone kept the laws of God, what a wonderful society we would live in. In heaven everyone keeps His laws and rules, and someday, if we are faithful, God has promised us a new home in heaven along with the other redeemed, where we can live a life of peace, in true, eternal, everlasting freedom.
AMEN