TRUE PERSONAL LIBERTY by J. Edwin Collins

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Nov 11, 1897

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 23, No. 44.

TRUE PERSONAL LIBERTY.

By J. Edwin Collins

THE clamor for more stringent Sunday legislation, which has become almost universal throughout this government, brings forcibly to our minds the fact that, tho flaunting the magic word 'freedom' in the teeth of other people, we, as a nation, have but crude conceptions of that intensely comprehensive word. Many are in comparative ignorance of the exceeding broadness and far-reaching qualities of the underlying principles of this inspiring term.

The words of that wonderful instrument—the Declaration of Independence—'That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights and privileges, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,' are but the echo of that broader proclamation of personal liberty granted to the human race by Him who 'hath made of one blood all nations of men' (Acts 17:26), when He said, 'I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil,' 'Choose you this day,' and, 'Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes; but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.' Deut. 30:15; Josh. 24:15; Eccl. 11:9.

Thus did God promulgate the doctrine of true moral freedom, reserving only the right to vindicate the righteousness of the eternal law of his kingdom, by bringing into judgment every work, whether good or evil. This he has reserved to himself alone: 'Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.' Rom. 12:19.

The freedom of choice granted in the foregoing inspired language is not limited to people as nations, municipalities, nor associations, as such, but is guaranteed to the individual. It is, in fact, full personal liberty,—liberty to choose good or evil, life or death, to love God or to rebel against him, to be a man of the purest motives, of the highest and holiest ambitions, of the noblest purposes, or to become the most degraded of beings, to descend below the level of the brute, with a groveling mind that can grasp naught but the vilest contents of the cess-pools of corruption and wickedness. These are the fundamental principles of true personal liberty.

A man may sink into iniquity as far as a corrupt mind may lead him, and, so long as the effect of his evil course is confined to his individual life, no man, corporation, nor government can legitimately abridge that liberty; but the moment his acts infringe on the equal rights of another, by restricting that liberty which was given to all men without respect of persons, so soon the principle of perfect freedom is violated, and it becomes necessary to arrange some means to protect men in their divinely-appointed rights.

Here we discover the origin of true civil law, and its proper exercise. This principle of protection is, to a greater or less extent, incorporated in the civic laws of earthly governments.

By these man should be fully protected in his rights to 'life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,' in whatever manner or direction most agreeable to him. One man may choose the pleasures of the world, and utterly disregard the teaching of the Bible. No man or government has a right to compel him even to seem to respect that which his soul abhors. Compulsory law could at the best only make of him a hypocrite.

Another man finds happiness in the hope of eternal life, in a life consecrated to the service of God, in contemplating his wonderful love to a fallen race as revealed in the great scheme of redemption. While deeply investigating this marvelous exhibition of the Lord's infinite love, he may see the finger of divinity pointing, and hear a still small voice saying, 'This is the way, walk ye in it.' Isa. 30:21. This may be 'the old path,' which has been well-nigh lost beneath the rubbish of human tradition, but which is now to be restored. Jer. 6:16; Isa. 58:12. He may thus be led in paths he has not before known. See Isa. 42:16. There may be comparatively few who have as yet been thus influenced, but even tho their religious practises may be different from the rest of the religious world, so different as to draw the attention of the world to their peculiarities, yet God has given them the unqualified privilege of following the dictates of their consciences, provided always that such practises do not infringe on the same rights of others.

Therefore, when an honest investigator is convinced that God has enjoined the observance of one day as the Sabbath, and that day is the seventh, no man, nor number of men, can compel him to receive another day without abridging his rights, and thus violating the eternal principle that 'all men are created equal.'

J. EDWIN COLLINS.

Noblesville, Ind.