There are many, many, many other ways in which all of us can fall into the trap of unbiblical conscience binding. The best thing for us to do is to stay in the Scriptures–comparing Scripture with Scripture, and learn to be cautious about pushing our own personal applications of a perceived principle on the consciences of others. We should be zealous to quietly live out, exemplify and teach the principles of holiness that are clearly taught in Scripture.

In what is one of the most beloved statements penned in all of church history, the Westminster Divines explained that “God alone is Lord of the conscience, and has left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men, which are, in anything, contrary to his Word; or beside it, if matters of faith, or worship” (WCF 20.2). Few things can be so damaging to the church as when one believer seeks to bind the conscience of another believer with a personal application of a biblical principle of holiness. To be sure, we should all be zealous to teach and exemplify every principle of holiness taught in Scripture; but more often than not, individuals who are most zealous for holiness fall into the trap of teaching their personal applications of a biblical–or a supposedly biblical–principle of holiness rather than simply teaching the principle. After all, very refined personal applications of a principle tend to feel more potent–they make us feel more effective in our attempts to help people grow spiritually. However, the more refined the application the more we are in danger of crossing the fault line of legalistic conscience binding. To be sure, the line between pious advice and unbiblical conscience binding is a razor’s edge.

Many times such unbiblical conscience binding occurs in less than explicit ways. The personal applications are subtly presented as the principle. Sometimes they come in the form of an individual setting himself or herself up as the example of piety in application specific ways. You’ve witnessed this sort of thing. One believer tells another believer how often he or she prays every day, or how long he or she spends in the Scriptures each morning. Then, the conversation slides into exhortation without differentiation: “I’ll be glad to hold you accountable to doing this too,” or “I don’t know why more people don’t spend as much time praying…” Such attempts at unbiblical conscience binding occur in every sphere of life and ministry–often resulting in creating undue guilt in the minds and hearts of God’s people. Consider the 7 following areas in which you have most likely witnessed such unbiblical conscience binding:

1. Etiquette, Dress and Hygiene

Before we consider the danger of binding consciences with personal applications of biblical principles regarding etiquette, we have to understand what principles the Scriptures do and do not teach on this subject. “Cleanliness is next to godliness,” right? Not according to Scripture! James tells us that if a man with “filthy” clothes comes into the assembly of the saints and we give preference to those with costly and clean clothes than we are the transgressors–not the man in the filthy clothes. “But, what we wear outwardly reflects what’s on the inside, right?” Maybe. It all depends on what guidelines the Scriptures give us on that issue.

The ceremonial laws of the Old Testament have absolutely no binding application to our external etiquette, dress or hygiene. They were given to point to the internal cleansing accomplished by the blood of the sacrifice–which, in turn, pointed to the cleansing blood of Jesus. They were cultic in nature. They had to do with the worshiper’s acceptance before the infinitely holy (clean) God.

There were those, in Jesus’ day who were really into external cleanliness. They were called Pharisees. The Pharisees were so commited to external cleanliness that they made it their life’s ambition to bind others to both those ceremonial washings that God had ordained in the Old Testament Law as well as to washings that weren’t God ordained. On account of this, Jesus purposely didn’t wash His hands before he ate to prove a point (Luke 11:38). Furthermore, nothing is more ridiculous than parents teaching their children that they need to clean their rooms and fold their clothes because Jesus folded His grave clothes after he rose from the dead. I have actually heard parents say that sort of thing to their children. Children need to obey their parents with regard to cleaning their rooms or folding their clothes because they are commanded to obey their parents in the moral law of God–not because Jesus folded his grave clothes. We have to make sure that the principle of holiness is founded squarely on the clear and divinely intended meaning of the teaching of Scripture.

What about our “Sunday Best?” That’s clearly taught in Scripture, right? Actually, the only dress code set out in the Apostolic writing is that we are to be clothed in the righteousness of Christ and that we are to dress modestly. Even when we begin to unpack modesty, we run up against the same challenge that we have been addressing. If you asked most Christians what modesty dress is, you will almost certainly get responses about how covered a Christian sister’s body should be. True though some of the responses may be, the biblical teaching on modesty actually has to do with the immodesty of heaping up clothing and jewelry (which might be even called someone’s “Sunday best”) in order to get attention from others (1 Tim. 2:9; 1 Pet. 3:3).

I have witnessed one theologian attempting to bind the consciences of seminary students regarding their need to wear their “Sunday best” by appealing to the command of God for the Israelites to wash their clothes before they came to the mountain to worship (Ex. 19:10). This is clearly ceremonial in nature. To suggest that God cares whether someone’s clothes are clean or not is to bring God down to the creature’s level. God Himself says that He “does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7). Matthew Henry, in his comments on Exodus 19:10, wrote:

In token of their cleansing themselves from all sinful pollutions, that they might be holy to God, they must wash their clothes (v. 10), and they did so (v. 14); not that God regards our clothes; but while they were washing their clothes he would have them think of washing their souls by repentance from the sins they had contracted in Egypt and since their deliverance. It becomes us to appear in clean clothes when we wait upon great men; so clean hearts are required in our attendance on the great God, who sees them as plainly as men see our clothes.1

2. Purity

Jesus said, “Whoever looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Applications of biblical principles don’t get any clearer than that. However, when we move from that to telling others that they have to put certain filters on their computer, have their wife lock down their iPhone from allowing them access to download apps, etc. we move from the realm of principle to the realm of personal application. Don’t get me wrong. I think that having Covenant Eyes and having someone lock down your iPhone is wise–really, really wise. However, we must be careful not to try to bind the conscience of another regarding how they seek to protect their heart from the sin of adultery.

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