What is Freedom?

This courtesy of E. Calvin Beisner:

"What is liberty without virtue? It is the greatest of all possible evils. ... it is madness without restraint. Men are qualified for civil liberty in exact proportion to their disposition to put moral chains upon their own appetite .... Society cannot exist, unless a controlling power upon will and appetite be placed somewhere; and less of it there is within, the more there must be without."---Edm

und Burke, Letter to a Member of the National Assembly, 1791.

The Reverend Mark Musser adds:

True freedom is not lawless, but is explicitly designed by God for love and service, "For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another (Galatians 5:13)." Through the liberty of service and love, we fulfill the Law (Galatians 5:14), but this can only be done in the power of the supernatural graces of the ministry of the Spirit working with God's word as Paul writes, says, commands, "Walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh (Galatians 5:16)." Walking by the Spirit produces the fruits of the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22),"against such things there is no law (Galatians 5:23)."

True freedom is not lawless, but is explicitly designed by God for love and service, "For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another (Galatians 5:13)." Through the liberty of service and love, we fulfill the Law (Galatians 5:14), but this can only be done in the power of the supernatural graces of the ministry of the Spirit working with God's word as Paul writes, says, commands, "Walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh (Galatians 5:16)." Walking by the Spirit produces the fruits of the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22),"against such things there is no law (Galatians 5:23)."

The Mosaic Law itself granted the nation of Israel the whole concept of freedom under the rule of Law which our own country used to value. As God graciously saved Israel out of Egypt on Passover in order to grant the Hebrews the promised-land, i.e., real property to deliver them from their slavery, He then gave them the Mosaic Covenant so they could be blessed - if they observe it by faith - which proved to be very difficult for them to do, as it is still the case today too. The false nature worship and idolatrous tyranny of Baalism superimposed itself over the Mosaic Covenant, which eventually led to national destruction over the centuries. The same is pretty much happening today too - serious history lessons which people refuse to learn by faith.

Tim adds:

Liberals think freedom is doing whatever you please without internal restrictions. They think the role of society is to provide guardrails for the individual, who should be able to indulge whatever lusts or fancies he may hold at a given moment. Society is to enable this "freedom" and make sure he doesn't hurt ximself or others while pursuing whatever whim xi may have.

On the other hand Conservatives believe in Natural Law and think true freedom is being able to make the morally correct decisions for themselves. This means one must obey the laws of God and the universe, and do so through internal self-restraint and control. Liberals hate that; they see it as prissy and moralizing and being a killjoy.

Letting it all hang out is more fun in the moment. But the long-term effects for both the individual and society are very bad. In the end license brings nothing but misery for everyone. Freedom leads to an ordered society and an ordered individual. One can only be free if one has an ordered soul.

Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at 09:56 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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