Liberty of Conscience

"God alone is Lord of the conscience, and hath left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men which are in anything contrary to his word, or beside it, in matters of faith or worship." (WCF, XX, ii)

We must obey God even when it means disobeying authorities (Acts 4:19; 5:29).

But we are never obligated to obey any authority when it comes to faith and worship, no matter how venerable that authority is.

Isaiah 29:13-14 labels worship as false when it is not based on the Bible.

Jesus expands on this in dealing with human traditions in Matthew 15:7-9,14).

Paul applies Isaiah and warns about people who would impose their ideas on others, stating that they are severing themselves from Christ when they issue commands that are not based squarely on the Bible (Colossians 2:16-23).

People should always ask, "Where is that in the Bible?"