A Caveat: The Limits of Liberty

Here’s something to think about. . . .

We have as our birthright liberty—correct? God-given. Inalienable. Don't tread on me. But should our liberty be all-encompassing? Some people believe it should. Some believe everyone should be free to make his or her own rules. These folks would say this is the path to total liberty.

Proponents of this line of thinking would do well to ponder the following thoughts.

Consider what Rousas J. Rushdoony writes in Law and Liberty. He argues none of us are “free from the domination of others, and free from restricting circumstances.” Of course the most obvious example of the first instance is “the dominion and domination of God.” Regarding our circumstances, Rushdoony continues: “who is ever exempt from restricting circumstances? After all, your income is a restriction on your liberty; you can spend so much and no more. Having a family is a restricting circumstance; it definitely limits your liberty. The necessity of working is also a restriction on our liberty, as is every other circumstance in our life. Thus [. . .] only God is absolutely free.”

Rushdoony also writes, “Unlimited liberty for man is destructive of liberty itself. Can we give any man the unlimited liberty to do as he pleases? Can a man rob whenever he sees fit, kill at will, lie as he wishes, and generally be a law unto himself? If we permitted this, soon no one would have any liberty. The result would only be anarchy.”

Later he writes, “The Rev John Cotton, Puritan divine, wrote in the earliest days of New England, ‘It is necessary that all power on earth be limited.’ This premise became basic to all colonial government and to the United States. The restoration of true liberty requires the restoration of true law [that is, God’s law]. It is a dangerous and totally false idea that freedom means an escape from law; this can be true only if the escape is from some such system as communism, and communism is not true law but tyranny.”

Yes, liberty means freedom from restraint, but remember Paul writes in Romans 6 that we “have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.” In this we enjoy true liberty—liberty under His law, and life freely-lived within His providence.

So, what’s the point? The point is this: We will never have pure liberty outside God’s law, and and “total liberty” unbounded by His law is harmful and ungodly.

Don’t shout “FREEDOM!” (as did Mel Gibson’s William Wallace in Braveheart—remember that scene?) until you understand the limits of liberty. . . .