Christians Are To Be Radical, Liberal, and Institutional

Young man thinking

Should we be able to describe faithful Christians as radical, liberal, or institutional? If you have followed the writing and teaching that I have done, you will probably expect me to answer this question in the negative. After all, we are to be conservative and non-institutional, right?

When we use labels such as these, we generally use them in regard to certain erroneous positions, issues, and movements. Yet when we change the context, we can make the case from the Bible that, in certain ways, Christians are to be radical, liberal, and institutional. So let us consider some other ways we can use these terms.
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Was Jesus a Liberal? (Part 3)

Was Jesus a Liberal? This is the accusation we set out to address. We have looked at His approach to Scripture, events in His life, and various teachings of His law. Do the things we have noticed fit into the definition of what it means to be “liberal”? Let us reexamine the terms used to describe the concept and see if Jesus fits the pattern.

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Was Jesus a Liberal? (Part 2)

[Last month we began this study to examine the claim that Jesus was a Liberal. We identified what “liberal” means and examined how Jesus approached Scripture to see if He had a liberal mindset in doing so. This month, we will consider certain events in Jesus’ life and how the teachings of the gospel compared with the precepts of the Law of Moses.]

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Was Jesus a Liberal? (Part 1)

You may have seen it on a bumper sticker or some other place: “Jesus is a liberal.” That is the claim by some. What exactly does this mean? Is it a fair description of our Lord? We need to be careful with terms like “liberal” or “conservative.” Anyone who has studied the Bible very much knows that those terms are not found in Scripture. Generally, in the realm of religion, “conservative” means one is more careful and particular with their handling of the Scriptures and application of them. To be “liberal” means one interprets the word of God more loosely and takes liberties in application of Biblical principles.

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