Chapter 2
The Liberal
Most Liberals come from the background of the old Legalistic Church. A Liberal is the opposite of the Legalist. In fact, Liberals pride themselves on not being anything like their forefathers; “with all their works and rules.” The Liberal has been liberated from the legalism of old and into the reformed ways of Christianity.
Their understanding of Faith in Jesus is the simple belief in Jesus: mental acknowledgment of who Jesus is and what he did on the cross; and believing that he is the only one who can save them. Once a person makes a confession such as this, the person is “saved”. Their understanding of saved usually means: saved from the punishment of Hell. They get their understanding from scriptures like John 3:16 and Ephesians 2:8-9.
Liberals also teach that no other work is required because, “It’s not by works, but by faith we are saved…” And no work of iniquity (which is sin) will lead to the loss of their salvation because “salvation is a free gift we cannot earn, nor can it be taken away.” Once a person has faith, the believer is eternally secure, they can never fall away, and they are guaranteed a ticket into Heaven no matter what. They call this doctrine: “eternal security” or Once Saved Always Saved (OSAS); and it is adamantly preached with scriptures to support this belief; and to refute anyone who claims the opposite. This is the biggest and most contrary belief to their legalistic forefathers. Because of the OSAS doctrine, Hell is a taboo subject. They believe it doesn’t apply to them; neither does demonic oppression because they’ve been freed from such things and are “covered” in Christ.
Because their forefathers were so judgmental and condemning when it came to the topic of sin, the Liberals have taken an opposite approach. Whenever someone is caught in sin or is known to be living in sin, the Liberal Church is often told not to condemn them (which is great). Liberals always use the account of the woman caught in adultery and how the Pharisees treated her as opposed to Jesus.
In a Liberal Church, anyone found condemning someone is looked upon as a disappointment for being so “un-Jesus-like”. Most Liberals (that I know) have taken this rule a step further and confused “reproach” or “rebuke” with “passing judgment” and condemning someone to Hell. So now, a fellow Christian cannot even make a judgment call, or rebuke another’s sinful actions without being labeled “an unloving, condemning Pharisee”. But condemnation and rebuke are two totally different things.
Rebuke is something done very infrequently in Liberal Churches. It’s often viewed as cruel and uncomfortable and Liberals don’t want to resemble anything of their forefathers. Religious leaders seldom preach on repentance, and wickedness is usually swept under the rug. It is often decided that “the person will grow out of that sin… we’re all on a journey”, is what you’ll hear. Religious leaders who’ve “fallen” are rarely brought publicly before the Body as instructed by the Word (1 Tim 5:19-20). When discovered in terrible offenses, in which they’ve damaged others, the “wolf” is usually quietly excused, their title removed, or simply transferred to another church.
The Liberal’s cautiousness when dealing with sin in their churches is called “love”. “We don’t want to be like the unloving Legalists of old… God will deal with them, you just mind your own business… don’t confront my sin and I won’t confront yours”, is what I hear. Sin is in the open, everyone knows it, but they won’t address it, instead, they gossip about it.
Because of the Liberal’s approach to sin and their doctrine of Eternal Security (no matter how much a Believer commits sin, they can’t go to Hell), sin is ramped. I have never heard a Liberal leader preach that sin is OK, but based off their teachings, it is implied. “Even if God doesn’t like it, He still will accept the Christian who continues in wickedness because that person ‘believed in Jesus’; therefore that person is eternally secure”.
The majority of the Liberals I know do not say that Eternal Security gives them a license to sin, but it did give them something else: a security net. It let them know that in the event that the Christian Race got too tough; they could take a breather, sit on the sidelines for as long as they wanted and rest comfortably. They’re safe, no matter what, there is no danger in complacency, and they can never fall away and die. So backsliders are often viewed as people “out of fellowship” or “out of agreement with God”, this is all they are, “they too will go to Heaven”.
Liberals treat God like the gym. It’s good to go and get muscular and fit, but it’s not required. The average American doesn’t look at the gym as a requirement for life. Likewise with Liberals and God: it’s fun to “get spiritual” at times, to draw near to God when in trouble, but it isn’t required; it isn’t necessary; they’re still going to Heaven regardless of the condition of their lifestyle.
Because Liberals have been liberated from the old ways, Liberals often come off as selfish. In my experience, Liberals look no different from the world other than their weekly church attendance. Another thing to mention: you cannot tell a Liberal that they are wrong or they will detest you for it. Why should they allow themselves to be corrected? They’re doctrine of OSAS seems to protect them from eternal consequence and even guilt. So when you see a Liberal, you often see a person who’s comfortable in sin, doing whatever they want no matter how it affects God or the neighbors they claim to love.
In turn, it is very difficult to get any favorable results from the instruction Jesus gave to Christians who’ve been offended by other Christians in Matthew 18:15. The majority of the brethren aren’t striving to be Holy in the first place, nor are they trying to “right wrongs” and take responsibility for the wounds they’ve carelessly inflicted on others. At most, they’ll try to avoid responsibility and will surely detest you for even calling a meeting such as Jesus instructed. Finding a godly “third-party referee” to manage the situation will be tough too because of the beliefs and attitude of the average Liberal leader. So don’t be surprised if you’re not treated with fairness. And if the Bible is even opened, you may be amazed to see it twisted before your very eyes.
Liberals “dress down”, (there isn’t a dress code like the Legalists command) their motto is: “Come as you are”. This often becomes a problem when women decide to come in what they wore on Saturday night; what a stumbling block for some of the men. Fornication is a big issue in the Liberal Church just like their forefathers, except it isn’t hidden, you will always find at least one couple “living together” or know of some engaging in premarital sex – many will admit it and some will even justify it. You can even listen in as they discuss what they did on Saturday night on Sunday morning at church. Pornography is the underground sin that nobody talks about but many men engage in, as I did, ashamed, but keeping it to myself until I decided to stop rebelling against God (oops, maybe I shouldn’t have revealed that, now the Legalists will talk about me).
In the Liberal Church a man can become a self-made leader (claiming he heard from God) and start ministries that seem more like entrepreneurial ventures. Some of these ministries abuse the people’s tithes and government grants to serve their selfish ambitions.
Many of the works that their predecessors deemed a person “Faithful Christian”, Liberals have also adopted, but without the standard that you have to do them to be saved. But anyone not following this unwritten rule may still be regarded as lazy, though they would never tell you to your face. Works continue to burn out and bring depression to those who think they serve God by serving their pastor, the facility and the many external ministries. Their religious leaders rule over them with insensitivity and tyranny; “who cares if you’re spiritually empty, you need to sacrifice for the Lord”, is what I heard implied in not so many words but on so many occasions. The workers are angry, malnourished and frustrated but don’t know why, yet they press on, or are pressured to keep working. And all the while, the Liberals pat themselves on the back and say, “God is pleased with me.”
