Liberty of Conscience 101: The Foundation of Our Faith and Freedom
Greetings in the name of our Lord on this beautiful Sabbath day. It is a privilege and a joy to gather with you, both here in Toronto and those joining online, to explore a foundational principle of our faith: liberty of conscience and religious liberty.
This isn’t just a theoretical concept for me; it’s a conviction that was planted in my heart from a young age.
A Childhood Discovery
My first encounter with religious liberty came when I was about nine years old. My father, a pastor, used to run stop-smoking clinics. I’d help him with a mannequin we called “Smoking Sam,” using it to show the devastating effects of tobacco on the lungs.
After these clinics, my father would collect everyone’s tobacco products and store them in his office before disposing of them. One day, my childhood curiosity got the better of me. I snuck into his office, not to find the tobacco, but to investigate. I came across a brown envelope containing a paper my father had written during his time at Andrews University. Its title was “Religious Liberty and [the] Jones.”
At nine years old, I didn’t understand much of it, but something in that paper captured my attention. I had to know: “Who is this Jones guy?” That question led to a conversation with my father—first about the paper, and then a more uncomfortable one about why I was rummaging through his office! Perhaps I should have argued it was my religious liberty to search for truth, but the lesson was learned.
That early exposure, combined with later experiences living in Europe during the Cold War and hearing stories from persecuted refugees, shaped my understanding. I learned that while persecution is never pleasant, we can look back on it not with joy, but with gratitude—gratitude for how God carries us through, shapes us, and burns away the meaningless noise of this world to reveal what is truly important.
Our Journey This Morning
This morning, in “Liberty of Conscience 101,” we will explore the biblical and practical foundations of this vital freedom. Our journey will take us through:
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The Order of Creation
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The Lordship of Jesus Christ
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The Conscience in Scripture
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The Separation of Church and State
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Martin Luther and Liberty of Conscience
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The General Conference Definition
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Liberty of Conscience in Wider Society
In a world increasingly defined by cancel culture and coercion of conscience, this topic is not only a defense of our faith but also a powerful tool for evangelism. After all, nobody says, “I don’t want liberty.”
1. The Order of Creation: Our Primary Relationship
We begin in Genesis 2:15-17, where God gives Adam his first command before Eve was even created. This sequence is profoundly important.
“The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.’”
This tells us we are moral beings in a moral universe, accountable first and foremost to our Creator. Our primary relationship is not with our spouse, children, employer, or government. It is with God.
Jesus affirmed this in Matthew 22:37-39, stating the greatest commandment is to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind. The second, to love our neighbor, flows from the first. If we get our relationship with God right, it overflows into right relationships with others.
Liberty of conscience, therefore, is the principle that governs our relationship with our Heavenly Father before we deal with our fellow human beings. As Peter declared in Acts 5:29, “We ought to obey God rather than men.”
2. The Lordship of Jesus Christ: He is Our Lord
To be a Christian means Jesus is not only our Savior but also our Lord (Acts 2:36). The Great Commission in Matthew 28:20 commands us to teach others to observe all that He has commanded. Our lives should be a living sermon of His teachings.
He has also given us the Holy Spirit to guide us. A critical point for liberty of conscience is that the Holy Spirit’s convictions are not always limited to what is explicitly written in Scripture.
Consider Acts 16:7. Paul and his companions were prevented by the Spirit from preaching in Asia, a matter not directly addressed by any specific biblical command. This shows that the Holy Spirit can and does guide individuals on matters where Scripture is silent.
During the pandemic, many were told their religious objections were invalid because “the Bible says nothing about vaccines.” But this scriptural example affirms that a conviction born of the Holy Spirit is valid, even when it comes at a great personal cost. It is not our place to second-guess or override the convictions the Holy Spirit places on another person’s heart.
3. The Conscience in Scripture: God’s Inner Voice
So, what is the conscience? It is the God-given inner faculty by which the Holy Spirit makes us aware of the morality of our thoughts, deeds, and decisions.
Romans 2:14-16 explains that even those who have never read the Bible have a moral law “written on their hearts.” Their consciences bear witness, and their thoughts will accuse or excuse them on the day of judgment. God judges the secret thoughts of all, and the sacrifice of Jesus is the foundation for salvation, even for those who may not know His name explicitly.
The Holy Spirit strives with us (Genesis 6:3), teaches us (Luke 12:12), convicts us (John 16:8), and sanctifies us (1 Peter 1:2). However, the conscience can be seared (1 Timothy 4:1-2) when we repeatedly reject the Spirit’s promptings, making it an unreliable guide.
This is why Paul’s words in Romans 14:23 are so crucial: “Whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.” If you do not believe an action is God’s will for you, but you do it anyway, you are sinning. To go against God’s will as revealed by the Holy Spirit to your conscience is a sin.
4. The Separation of Church and State: Whose Image Do You Bear?
The classic text on this is Matthew 22:15-22. When asked about paying taxes, Jesus replied, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
He held up a Roman coin bearing Caesar’s image and said it belonged to Caesar. But we must ask: what bears God’s image? We do. Genesis 1:27 tells us we are created in the image of God. Therefore, we belong to God.
Our primary obedience, our primary love, and our primary submission are to our Heavenly Father. We are His image-bearers, and as Christians, we are in the process of having that image restored. This is an invitation to spiritual growth, to become more like Christ each day.
5. Martin Luther: “Here I Stand”
Martin Luther’s stand at the Diet of Worms is a pillar of Protestantism. He declared:
“Unless I am convinced by Scripture and plain reason… my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. God help me. Amen.”
For Luther, the conscience is the most intimate meeting point between God and man. He championed the freeing of our relationship with God from the need for human intercession. No priest, pastor, or conference president can come between you and God. Your conscience, guided by the Holy Spirit through prayer and Bible study, is sacred.
6. The General Conference Definition and a Modern Test
The General Conference’s working policy contains a fine definition of religious liberty, calling individual liberty of conscience “the most intimate of freedoms.”
Tragically, during the COVID-19 pandemic, a church statement declared that vaccination programs were for the “greater good” and that “claims of religious liberty are not used appropriately in objecting to government mandates.”
With this, our leadership made an official declaration to members worldwide that their deeply held, prayerfully considered convictions were not a valid basis for religious exemption. This was a claim to authority that has no basis in Scripture.
Church leaders are not to “lord it over your faith” but are to be “workers with you for your joy” (2 Corinthians 1:24). Our role is to teach one another to hear, recognize, and follow the Good Shepherd—not to compel followers for ourselves. As Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice… and they follow me” (John 10:27).
The core question after COVID is this: Is individual liberty of conscience absolute, or must it submit to the “common good” as defined by secular governments? If the latter is true, then whoever defines the common good takes the place of God—which is the spirit of antichrist.
7. Liberty of Conscience and a Flourishing Society
Why does this matter for everyone, even in a secular society?
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It Protects Inalienable Rights: It recognizes that our rights to pursue life’s big questions come from our Creator, not the government.
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It is the Foundation of Civil Liberties: Freedom of speech, assembly, and press all rest on the foundational right to think for ourselves.
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It Fosters a Self-Governing People: A moral people, governed from within by virtue, requires less external government control.
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It Leads to Personal and Social Flourishing: Faith communities are often the most generous, providing charity, social services, and care for the needy.
As Samuel Adams said, “Religion and good morals are the only solid foundations of public liberty and happiness.”
Conclusion: How Then Shall We Live?
Martin Luther King Jr. rightly said the church is to be “the conscience of the state,” not its master, servant, or tool.
Societies are not changed by government mandates but by transformed hearts. The most powerful thing we can do to promote liberty of conscience is to live out the teachings of Jesus daily. When we nurture a sensitive conscience through prayer and Bible study, and when we allow Christ’s character to shine through us, we become His ambassadors.
In a nation that often promotes godless ideologies, the world needs to see the love, grace, and truth of Jesus manifested in His people. Let us be that church. Let us be those people.
Shine for Jesus. Walk with Him. And in doing so, defend the most intimate freedom—the sacred liberty of a conscience captive to the Word of God.