Evangelism & Liberalism: A Biblical Critique of Modern Liberalism
- Ricky Kyles
- Jan 13
- 3 min read
Updated: Jan 28
Introduction: A Term Used Often, Defined Rarely
Few words are used more frequently — and more imprecisely — than liberalism. In contemporary discourse, the term is often reduced to a political label or a partisan insult. Yet liberalism is not merely a voting preference; it is a comprehensive moral and philosophical framework that shapes how truth, freedom, authority, and the human person are understood.
If Evangelicals are to engage culture faithfully, they must move beyond slogans and examine liberalism at the level of first principles.
Modern Liberalism and the Fragmentation of Moral Truth
Modern liberalism redefines freedom as self-definition, severing moral truth from authority and replacing biblical obedience with expressive individualism.
Liberalism’s Core Assumption: Freedom as Self-Definition
At the heart of modern liberalism is a particular understanding of freedom: the belief that the highest good is the individual’s ability to define their own meaning, identity, and morality.
Authority becomes suspect. Tradition becomes optional. Moral limits become negotiable.
Scripture presents a starkly different vision:
“Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” (2 Corinthians 3:17)
Biblical freedom is not self-creation but liberation from sin in order to obey God. Liberalism reverses this logic, defining freedom as the absence of constraint rather than the presence of truth.
Liberalism and the Fragmentation of Moral Truth
Liberalism insists that moral claims must be privatized. Truth is permitted so long as it remains personal and non-binding. What cannot be tolerated are moral judgments that claim universality.
This is why liberal societies struggle to sustain shared moral norms. Once truth is detached from authority, coherence collapses.
“In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 21:25)
What Scripture describes as disorder, liberalism reframes as progress.
Tolerance, Autonomy, and the Loss of Moral Courage
Liberalism elevates tolerance as a supreme virtue. But tolerance, untethered from truth, quickly becomes moral indifference. Conviction is recast as intolerance. Disagreement is framed as harm.
Ironically, liberalism proves least tolerant of views that challenge its own assumptions. Moral absolutes grounded in Scripture are marginalized as dangerous or regressive.
Jesus offers no such neutrality:
“Whoever is not with me is against me.” (Matthew 12:30)
Christian faith cannot be reduced to a private preference without ceasing to be Christian.
The Church’s Temptation: Accommodation Without Discernment
Many churches attempt to baptize liberal assumptions in Christian language — speaking of inclusion without repentance, love without truth, and freedom without obedience.
The result is a hollowed-out gospel that affirms without transforming and comforts without confronting.
Paul’s warning is instructive:
“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching.” (2 Timothy 4:3)
Accommodation may preserve cultural acceptance, but it erodes theological fidelity.
Why Liberalism Cannot Sustain Human Flourishing
Liberalism promises freedom but cannot explain:
Why some choices are destructive
Why truth should bind anyone
Why sacrifice is noble
Why obedience is good
Christianity offers a richer account — one in which freedom is ordered toward the good, dignity is grounded in creation, and authority is exercised for human flourishing.
“You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32)
Freedom without truth enslaves. Freedom grounded in truth redeems.
Video: Evangelical Worldview Response
Watch more Evangelical worldview analysis on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@thinkingcriticallyfromanev3590
This channel exists to help Christians evaluate cultural ideologies and remain anchored in biblical truth.
👉 Subscribe for Evangelical analysis, theology, and cultural clarity.
Conclusion: Freedom Reordered by Truth
Liberalism is compelling because it flatters the self. Christianity confronts the self. One promises autonomy; the other offers transformation.
Evangelicals must resist the temptation to soften this contrast. The gospel does not coexist comfortably with liberalism’s first principles — it challenges and reorders them.
True freedom is not found in self-rule, but in joyful submission to the God who made us.
With fear & trembling,
Ricky V Kyles Sr. DEd.Min
Comments