God alone is Lord of the conscience, and has left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men, which are, in any thing, contrary to His Word; or beside it, if matters of faith, or worship. So that, to believe such doctrines, or to obey such commands, out of conscience, is to betray true liberty of conscience: and the requiring of an implicit faith, and an absolute and blind obedience, is to destroy liberty of conscience, and reason also.
No one or nothing else besides God may bind the human conscience. In the long history of religion there has been no dearth of attempts to tell men and women what they must do in order to please God or be faithful practioners of the faith. Lists of dos and don'ts are legion.
Many have gone along with such extra-biblical requirements to get along in the communities of which they have been part. But this is wrong. The Christian is duty-bound to resist unlawful attempts to bind the conscience. To go along with such is itself sin, for it puts another in the place of God.
No one in the leadership of the church has the right to insist on "absolute and blind obedience." Good leadership must exercise particular care not to transgress in this way. In fact, it is legitimate to challenge leadership when it attempts to assert such demands for obedience.
Tomorrow: The abuse of liberty.
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