The Perfect Law of Liberty

But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. (James 1 vv 19-27)

The "Law of Liberty", or as the NIV puts it, "the law that gives freedom" - it's one of those beautifully oxymoronic enigmas that crop up in the Good Book from time to time. And it's something about which the church is confused.

We can cope with "Law"; that's an easy concept because it's about rules and there are rules everywhere. Rules tell us how to do things, so of course it's terribly useful to know what they are. We understand "Liberty" too, because that is what Jesus gave to us through his sacrifice on the cross - we constantly remind ourselves of our freedom in Christ and quite rightly rejoice in it, as we continue to live in glorious liberty.

Within the boundaries of the aforementioned rules, of course.

This is where problems occur, in the failure to knit together the concepts of law and liberty. When there's a conflict, it's usually law that wins out. Many Christians will accept the esoteric idea that they are "free", but for practical purposes fall back on a list of what they can and can't do in strict black and white terms, which acts as a kind of comfort blanket, a reassurance that they are doing what God wants. Or, conversely, a helpful reminder that they need to feel guilt about certain issues.

I find it deeply worrying that, while the Gospel of Jesus Christ has more to do with freedom than any other philosophy or religion, Christianity is still perceived as dictatorial and restrictive. Christians are seen by so many people in the world as little Oliver Cromwells, on a mission to impose order, crush enjoyment, close theatres and close minds. As an actor, I have a fundamental objection to closed theatres. As a Christian, I have a fundamental objection to closed minds. The latter is rather more of a problem in the 21st century.

It is probably because of the potentially comforting nature of rules that Christians are so often intent on restricting God's freedom with them. Rules are easy - all you need to do is follow them. Furthermore, they offer a standard for measuring levels of Christianity: I have avoided these areas of sin and have been obedient in the following ways, therefore this week I have been 78% righteous (that's above average, in case you were wondering). If you get very good with rules you can actually reach the point where you are not doing anything wrong at all. The Pharisees had it down to a tee.

Forget it. Throw away the rulebook. Even with a flawless set of scores nobody can achieve righteousness by what they do themselves. (Galatians 2 v 21) The freedom preached by Jesus emphatically has nothing at all to do with rules. His "perfect law of liberty" was about a whole way of living, an attitude, a lifestyle. Yes, Jesus did say that we weren't to think he came to destroy the Law; some people interpret this as meaning that Jesus came to add to the law, as if the world graduated from the beginner level of Old Testament to the rather more complicated intermediate level of New Testament. (If that's the case, God help us if we ever move on to advanced…)

That's not how it works. Jesus said "I did not come to destroy but to fulfil", and in fulfilling the law he replaced it. Jesus not only ignored, but disobeyed the old law in favour of the living knowledge he had of God, an understanding of the law which was grounded in love. (When asked about rules, which were the commandments which Jesus considered the most important?)

Not that the idea of a discerning, living interpretation of the law was a new one:

Yes, if you cry out for discernment,
And lift up your voice for understanding,
If you seek her as silver,
And search for her as for hidden treasures;
Then you will understand the fear of the LORD,
And find the knowledge of God.
(Proverbs 2 vv 3-5)

Even in Old Testament terms, the knowledge of God was something to be sought - hidden treasures. Blind obedience to a set of instructions was, and is, inadequate. That is why James says that people who are hearers of the word only are deceiving themselves - we are called to question, weigh up and understand what God desires for his people. That means questioning the received wisdom of previous generations, questioning our interpretation of the bible, assessing everything not by an immovable list of rules but by the love and wisdom of God in us. As James says:

So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. (James 1 vv 18-19)

And if Jesus, who was without sin, could be swift to hear and slow to speak when talking to sinners, how can we (being sinners) afford not to be? It is that attitude that Jesus applied when he healed people on the Sabbath. When the Pharisees could quote chapter and verse to say what he was doing was wrong, Jesus was acting by God's love - his "perfect law". It is an attitude more removed from rules than so many people want to be, because it is an attitude which says there are no simple answers or pigeonholes to put people into. It is an attitude that means we can not judge people by the same understanding of scripture that we perhaps apply to ourselves, so it also challenges the rules which the church applies to its people. Because if the church is to understand God's will, it is not enough to have a list of "things we believe" without any further explanation. Personal revelation needs to be central to our understanding of right and wrong.

This is a worrying idea to some Christians. There are people who will argue that this idea of freedom, this ability - indeed, duty - to interpret and understand the word of God for ourselves, will lead to permissiveness. That without rules set in stone the church will descend into uncontrolled anarchy. This worry is itself indicative of a people who are unwilling to fully accept God's freedom. A people who would retreat to the safety of law (just to ensure that nothing goes wrong) rather than live in the fullness of God's gift of life.

Naturally, people who interpret God's freedom as meaning "anything goes" are as deceived as those who are bound to law. I'm certainly not advocating everyone choosing their own interpretation of God's instructions to best suit themselves - quite the opposite, in fact: I'm suggesting that having a discerning communion with God we should be even more prepared to let God change the way we think and act. This is where the church (as a body) is vital in guiding people into a deeper knowledge of God and a correct interpretation of his word. The operative word being "guiding" - there is no way anybody can force understanding upon somebody else. Look at the way Jesus patiently allowed his disciples to discover who he was; he didn't call them all together and say "Listen guys, you don't seem to have noticed, I'm the Messiah - I mean, dur, you'd have thought that trick with the loaves and fishes would've been a bit of a giveaway!" No, he waited until he had developed a relationship with the disciples, when they had been following him and observing him for quite some time, then asked "Who do you say I am?" And if Peter hadn't come up with the goods at that point, I can't see Jesus going all Anne Robinson and ticking the disciples off for getting the answer wrong.

Of course there is a place for correction. Paul tells Timothy to "convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching." (2 Timothy 4 v 3) But how many people forget about all but the first two words of that instruction? What about the all-important longsuffering? (Once again, look at Jesus' loving patience when dealing with sinners.) I've met several people who are extremely good at correcting and rebuking, who can home in on sin as if they have a radar designed for that exact purpose, and root it out with all the enthusiasm of an amateur gardener. None of this pussy-footing around being swift to hear and slow to speak; there's precious little time for teaching in their war against sin, and as for exhorting - encouraging - sinners can forget all about that privilege. It's a mentality of "tough against sin, tough against sinners," the justification being that action has to be taken "out of love". Indeed.

I have seen Christians marginalised, ignored and rejected because their personal beliefs are viewed as unacceptable; I have seen faith shattered in people who, when they needed love, were merely told what they'd done wrong; I have heard countless criticisms from people who won't go near a church because all they see is an institution which tells you what you can and can't do. Love has nothing to do with that; neither does freedom. If the extent of our "correction" is to lay down the letter of the law, then we are not offering freedom at all - and we have not understood the Gospel.

Having been at the receiving end of such correction, I'm with Paul when he says "I care very little if I am judged by you or any human court." (1 Corinthians 4 v 3) It is God who weighs up the motives of our hearts.

What's this? Surely such disrespect for the judgement of other people is arrogant - or worse still, liberal?

It's interesting that "liberal" has become a dirty word in some parts of the church, the antithesis of "conservative". Liberal means "free" - isn't that what we're meant to be? If conservative means a cautious adherence to a strict code, then I pray that God will make the church more liberal. The question is, is the church brave enough to fully accept the implications of this freedom, to step out of the shelter provided by plain rules and into the righteousness that comes from a living understanding of God's law?

It is possibly a more challenging place to be in, certainly a more exciting one. But a church looking to the perfect law of liberty will be stronger, more relevant and most important of all more loving. Proverbs 3 v 6 says "in all ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight" - when we allow God to live in us and instruct our understanding, that is when we will have a genuine knowledge of the standards he wants us to come up to, whilst at the same time truly living in freedom.

© Copyright James Lark