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Governance is a lot bigger than government. There is a thriving market for a variety of accountability and protection products and services. The invention of financial bookkeeping made sophisticated financial audits possible. Computer software has made managing these records and auditing them faster and easier. Many journalists have made careers out of revealing scandals of public concern or reviewing products to expose the dangerous and unreliable ones.

Underwriters Laboratories has been a leading product safety testing and certification firm for more than a century, and it earns billions of dollars every year doing it, largely motivated by concerns of insurance companies that would lose money if policyholders suffer a loss. Burglar alarms, security cameras, fences, locks, and self-defense products are all produced by entrepreneurs serving the demand for protection against wrongdoers.

Make no mistake: we live in a fallen world. In this fallen world, we will face a variety of perils to which we apply our God-given talents and material resources. Libertarians do not promise a utopia. Libertarian Christians benefit from the insight of scripture. We know that a perfect human society is not possible so long as the world is in the thrall of sin. As Christians, we should prepare for tomorrow with prudence and diligence. We must be careful, though, to always put our trust in God, not in our own strength or in the plans of secular leaders. We do not always know how God is planning to work things out. However, we know our God is good and that he will lead us if we acknowledge him and look to him for guidance (Prov 3:5–6).

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Libertarianism only speaks to what is just or unjust for an individual to do. The boundary between justice and injustice is based on the ownership of property, including your own body. Libertarianism categorically rejects violations of other people’s property rights as wrong. However, if an act does not violate another person’s rights, it is not “unlibertarian,” which is to say that it is not an injustice. Libertarians agree that the use of force against others is only permissible if they are aggressors whose actions violate the rights of others. Otherwise, libertarianism leaves the individual free to choose what to do with his time and property.

But remember, libertarianism only speaks to what should be legal. As Christian libertarians, we recognize that a thing’s being lawful is not enough to make it good. Believers must also consider whether a particular choice is spiritually expedient; that is, whether it glorifies God (1 Cor 6:12, 1 Cor 10:23–29). Justice tells us what people can be compelled to do or not do. The teachings of our Lord in scripture and through the moving of the Holy Spirit show us how we ought to live in order to please and glorify him (2 Tim 3:16, 1 Cor 2:6–16).

This question is from Faith Seeking Freedom: Updated & Expanded, launching June 2026 in paperback, PDF, and Kindle. Subscribe to this Substack so you don’t miss updates, previews, and the launch announcement.

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As Christians, we know that sin has consequences both in this temporal life and in eternity. A person who diligently works to provide for future needs will usually receive favorable consequences from his actions: he and his family will eat! Labor is often unpleasant, but it brings the joyful reward of the harvest. “May those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! Those who go out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, carrying their sheaves” (Ps 126:5–6).

A person who is lazy and irresponsible will eventually be both humbled and hungry (Prov 10:4, 13:4; 20:4). The sin of idleness is not just something that has consequences for the idle person. Scripture warns that failure to provide for one’s family members, especially one’s own household, is a denial of the Christian faith (1 Tim 5:8).

There are many other vices that are currently treated as crimes by the state: activities related to drug and alcohol abuse, prostitution, gambling, and so forth. As Christians, we should counsel our brothers and sisters to avoid polluting their bodily temples. We should encourage wise stewardship instead of frivolous frittering away of the resources with which God entrusts us. But the Bible does not teach us to use violence to exhort others to good works. Indeed, strict, external enforcement of rules about touching, tasting, and eating forbidden things does not help to restrain sensual indulgence (Col 2:16–23). Using violence for reasons other than responding to violent aggressors is not a proportionate response to wrongdoing (Lev 24:19–21).