Tyranny of Conscience (Rom 13:8-14:10) Intro: When private judgment runs amok As of 2001, there were 33380 registered Christian denominations, not including large number of independent churches.
Exposition 1. Love is the fulfillment of the law (Rom 13) All these things are wrong in themselves, violations of God's law & holy character. Love manifests itself toward our neighbor when we keep the law of God. There is no love in breaking these commandments.
2. Love is receiving the weak without disputations on doubtful matters (Rom 14) Gal 5:1 & Rom 15:1. Both are true.
Doctrine: Toleration vs accommodation - Toleration: there should be a different church to satisfy every man's conscience. Christian church & Christian magistrate need to tolerate every sect & schism, as long as w/i broad scope of orthodoxy - liberty of conscience requires it - Accommodation: there is to be one orthodox church, with a thorough, orthodox confession. But, each man's conscience must be carefully accommodated in love, so long as individual believer is in broad scope of orthodoxy - liberty of conscience requires it
Conclusion "...considerable numbers should be willing to join a system which gave such irresponsible power to ordinary Church members; ... tended to encourage the feeling of spiritual pride in those who, in being admitted, were recognized as truly regenerated persons.
"... while assuming so much purity & reality in its members, its want of the power either to inflict Church censures or to appeal to higher authority, rendered it peculiarly unable to preserve that very purity in which it assumed its superiority over other Churches to consist" (Hetherington).
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