Religious Liberty, or “Soul Liberty” (as Roger Williams termed it), is the right of the soul to be free in its expression of faith toward God, without oppression or interference from others. The cornerstone of this idea is that God is the author of freedom, and that Jesus Christ came to restore this freedom in man.
A. T. Jones was a strong defender of Religious Liberty and the rights of conscience, and even appeared before the United States senate in 1888 to oppose “Sunday Laws”, as being unconstitutional, and un-Christian.
In this booklet, Jones looks at four examples from the Bible, where the right of individual freedom to worship God according to conscience was held to, even in the face of persecution, and where the individual stand was supported even by Divine intervention. These four examples are:
- Daniel’s three friends before the image of Nebuchadnezzar
- Daniel in the Lion’s Den
- Jesus before the combined power of the Jews and Romans
- The Apostles before the Sanhedrin
He also looks at the principles of Romans 14 as a rule for relationships between individuals in the church, when there are differences in personal conviction and practice of the faith.
It would be incorrect to say this is only a study of history. Jones was looking forward to the time prophesied in the book of Revelation, when false worship would be compelled by law, with the threat of fines, imprisonment, and death. Therefore, this study is very much for the times ahead of us. 53p
Contents
- Introduction
- As Related to the Supremacy of Rulers
- As Related to the Supremacy of the Law
- As Related to Church-State Unions
- As Related to the Church Itself
- As Between Individuals
- God and Caesar
- Conclusion
