On the surface, liberalism doesn't sound so bad.
I mean, what's so awful about pursuing "progress," and "intellectual liberty," with the "freedom from restraint" while celebrating the "goodness of the human race?" (Merriam Webster)
Let's find out.
First, liberalism isn't something new. It wasn't invented by Marx or Lenin or the Democrats. In fact, it first appears in Genesis 3 of the Bible, where Satan deceives Eve by questioning the command God had given to Adam.
This is what God said,
"From any tree of the garden, you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat. For from the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die."
That's simple enough to understand, right?
Notice what the deceiver says back to her though,
"You will surely not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be open, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
There it is.
This, from the father of lies, the first to rebel against God. Kicked out of God's heaven for wanting to be "like God," he begins offering the same "freedom from restraint" and "intellectual liberty" that he had coveted, to human beings. Turns out he was, by definition, the very first liberal. Sound harsh?
Stay with me now.
The appeal to be free from God's command, to be her own god, to have the knowledge of good and evil--having her own "intellectual liberty"--was too much for her to refuse. Didn't he offer to Eve everything that God hates? Wasn't he tempting her with the "freedom to pursue progress" apart from God? Wasn't his call to "intellectual liberty," really a freedom from the mindset of God? Yes, and in doing so, he set himself up as a critic and judge over God's Word, and so did she. It's at this point that Eve ingested the same spirit of rebellion, which has come down to all of humanity.
This is liberalism at its' core and it has been devastating.
Liberalism opposes God, His Word, His authority, and His commands. This rebellion is responsible for what we call 'the fall of man.' And what a fall it has been! The slide into the depths of sin is undeniable. Understand, sins committed today aren't worse than at other times in history, but the widespsread participation and acceptance of evil is unlike any other time. If you weren't alive in the 1960's, in the United States, then you missed it. It was a decade that epitomizes liberalism and at the heart of it was godlessness. In many ways, our country has not recovered.
Why has this happened?
In short, the proliferation of liberalism in our churches is responsible. The insurrection against God---the false teachers, tolerance of things God calls evil, lack of church discipline and utter ignorance of His Word have washed over society. We're drowning in it. If there is no true moral authority, then anything goes, right? When men become their own gods, the consequences are staggering and will plumb the depths of human depravity as described by God throughout His Word. This is the goal of liberalism--the secular, spirit of anti-Christ.
All this to say it's not hopeless. You know there is a cure. Mankind is not good, as liberalism states. That is a lie and a reckless one that they use as a basis for all their beliefs. Yes, we are created in God's image and therefore have intrinsic, eternal worth and value, but our hearts are far from Him. The Bible states that "there are none good, no not one," and that we have "become altogether worthless." He says we are destined for an eternity without Him; an eternity of "weeping and gnashing of teeth."
Enter Jesus the Christ, God the Son, Who was sent to earth by God the Father, as a ransom for many. By His grace, I met Him when I was 12. He is my Redeemer, my Salvation and my God. Do you know Him? I pray everyday that you do.
The answer to liberalism and the ensuing lawlessness that pervades our world is Him. So that is why we pray. That is why we ask God to guide our leaders and give them wisdom as He has commanded, and that is why we read and study His Word, that we might share the truth of Him to those around us.
Peace be with you all.
