John Q. Adams, the Law, and Us

“We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and true religion. Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

-- John Quincy Adams




A few days ago, Rush Limbaugh, referring to John Quincy Adams, made the point that our laws and Constitution were deliberately hard on immorality because the nation could only thrive through the living of moral and religious people. He went on to say that those who reject biblical or traditional morality find our constitution and laws restrictive and counter to their “freedom,” preferring instead to engage in unbridled hedonism. But as Adams said, we have no mechanism in place to deal with those who are fundamentally immoral or irreligious. Since, then, we have no such mechanism to deal with the current climate of unrestraint and rejection of traditional morality, it forces us to expect a future of either chaos or authoritarianism—chaos from the throwing off of morality, or authoritarianism (even totalitarianism) required to deal with lawlessness in our streets, homes and businesses. That’s a gloomy view, but it is the only logical outcome if there is no return to biblical morality (which is the foundation from which Adams clearly writes).

Adams’ quote assumes this: “religion” and “morality” are inextricably linked. He is absolutely correct. Without the instruction and correction of God’s word, we are lost in our selfishness, and consume ourselves in the process of consuming others.

The Bible puts it in clearer and simpler language:

Jeremiah wrote, “The heart is evil above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?”

Isaiah describes us as turning away from God and being loaded with sin and iniquity. He writes, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”

Paul, in his direct way, quotes the Psalmist saying, “There is none who does good, no, not one”, then goes on to say, “all have sinned…”

The condition of the human heart is right now as bad as Jeremiah described it centuries ago. Removing the bounds of morality from our laws simply gives it unrestrained opportunity to express its corrupt, wicked nature. But at the core of our present condition, and alluded to by Adams, is the fact that laws can only do so much. They can merely define acceptable behavior—not extract it. Living out morally acceptable behavior as defined by our founding laws is linked to, as Adams said, religion. Now the word religion has become, to some degree, a pejorative in our time—something that is associated with haughtiness, intolerance (whatever that means) or hypocrisy. But the religion of Adams’ time was that of a changed heart. The Great Awakening, out which the United States was born, had as its central tenet, the necessity of being converted. That is, a supernatural change in the character of man’s heart—a change that destroyed the original evil, corrupt nature and replaced it with one prone to morality, not immorality.

As the condition of the human heart is as bad now as it has ever been, so the remedy for that condition is as necessary and drastic as it has ever been: we need a supernatural “heart transplant.” We remain incapable of improving our moral character, which is naturally bent to selfish consumption resulting in death, and must rely on a fundamental conversion at our very core in order to live in freedom. Real freedom is marked not by decadent hedonism in the absence of legal restraint, but true selflessness and morality compelled by gratitude toward the Surgeon who accomplishes the spiritual transplant.

A so-called return to traditional values in terms of our laws and constitution is wholly inadequate. Laws cannot change the heart, and Adams correctly said we have no mechanism to deal with a corrupt heart. The only thing that will heal the disintegration of Western culture in general, and the fabric of America in specific, is the conversion of individual hearts, from which will spring morality, selflessness and charity. Any other goal or agenda falls fatally short and insures the continued disintegration of a nation and people.

This singular goal—conversion of the heart—should easily clarify the mission of God’s people in the United States and around the world. We must quickly jettison the worthless, heavy burden of political solutions for a sinful people and urgently and passionately pursue the dual blessable assignments of prayer and disciple-making through telling others about the Savior Jesus and urging them to follow Him. Failure here is failure everywhere.

It is not yet too late to see another Great Awakening in the United States. Indeed, it is our only hope.