Liberty in Obedience

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Apr 20, 1888

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 14, No. 16.

Liberty in Obedience

THERE are few words more abused than the word “liberty.” Charlotte Corday exclaimed, when on the way to the guillotine, “Oh liberty, how many crimes are committed in thy name!” And true it is; for most of the so-called liberty of the present age, or of any age, is sin. Men think that the throwing off of restraint is liberty. They chafe against the restrictions of the law, and think to find liberty by breaking through these restraints. But when they find themselves behind prison bars, they learn that liberty is found only in obedience. Said David: “I will walk at liberty; for I seek thy precepts.” Ps. 119:45. The law of God is the will of God. It is that by which the universe is governed. It is as pure as God himself, and as boundless as God’s infinity. Within its just and mild sanctions, there is room for the largest freedom of action. It comprises all the thought and actions of God. What larger scope could one want? It will eventually give the one who walks in it here, the freedom of the universe of God; while on the other hand, the transgressor is always in bondage here, and will at last be deprived not only of liberty, but of life itself. There never was a greater mistake than for a man to think that he could find liberty in having his own way in opposition to the law of God. Far better would it be to make God’s way our way. The grace of God can, if a man will allow it to, so transform him that his highest enjoyment and pleasure will be found in keeping the commandments of God.