"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." {James 1:5)

To be labeled a liberal preacher, a liberal church, a liberal denomination, a liberal college, a liberal professor, a liberal theologian, a liberal author, a liberal politician, or a member of the liberal media elite is to be branded a virtual traitor to the cause of Christ, and an enemy of Biblical Christianity. Yet, the Bible that is the foundation of our faith uses the word "liberal" in an almost exclusively positive sense.

To be deemed liberal -- as the word is used in the Bible -- is to be complimented, not condemned. In fact, in our text, God Himself is viewed as being liberal. Is there, then, a contradiction among us who are Biblical fundamentalists, when we utilize the word "liberal" as a negative classification? How can we justify our general use of "liberal" as a curse when, in the Bible, it is more readily attached to a blessing? Have we inadvertently fallen into a terrible trap in which we find ourselves calling evil good, and good evil?

No, it is not a contradiction to use the word "liberal" as a disparaging designation in the context of our modern world, and to forcefully denounce those to whom the word is most commonly attached. Yet, even as Christians censure contemporary religious, social, and political liberals, would to God we would practice true Biblical liberalism!

To be liberal in the sense that it is used in the Bible is to be worthy of praise; but to be liberal in the contemporary sense is to be worthy of reproach. The issue is not one of definition, but of application. Biblical liberals are liberal about the right things; modern liberals are liberal with the wrong things.

"The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself." {Proverbs 11:25}

What does it mean to be a "good" liberal, in the Biblical sense? Let's examine those instances in which the Holy Spirit uses the Word in Scripture.

First, note the context of the first mention of "liberal", found in Proverbs 11:25. Note that "the liberal soul" finds himself numbered among the good company of "the righteous" (v.23). He is placed in the blessed category of the person "that scattereth" -- that is, he freely and generously shares of his abundance with others. He is given a promise by God that he "shall be made fat". This brings into play definitions of "fat" that have broader and far more desirable implications than that with which we grossly limit the word today; definitions such as: "Fertile or productive: rich. Having an abundant supply. Yielding profit and plenty: lucrative." Suddenly, becoming fat is a wonderful condition -- at least in the Bible sense as it is being applied to a liberal soul "that watereth" others with blessings from his own bounty. God, in turn, assures such a one that he "shall be watered also himself ".

The Proverbs 11 passage continues by describing a person who, having corn (a bible word for kernels of wheat) does not hoard it. He does not hold it for his personal use, nor to exact increasingly exorbitant prices from his progressively hungrier neighbors as days of want drag on. No, the Bible says God will bless him because he "selleth it" -- he makes that which is his own available to others at prices which keeps it accessible to all.