THE BIBLE AND GOOD GOVERNMENT
BY
GARY RAY BRANSCOME
While there are many who think that freedom can only
be preserved by a government that is morally neutral, what are tyranny and
slavery other than moral evils? And, what are governments that tyrannize and
enslave other than immoral governments? True freedom, the kind of freedom that
comes from God, is not freedom from morality but freedom founded upon morality.
God instituted government because He loves and cares
for people, not because He wants rulers to tyrannize and oppress them (Proverbs
It is true that government existed before the Bible
was written. For that reason, it does not derive its authority from the Bible,
but from the law God has written on the heart (Romans
The rejection of Biblical morality by many in
government is one of the major problems in our society, and it is being driven
by the delusion that morality should be separated from government. What those
under that delusion fail to understand is that true
freedom cannot be separated from morality. On the contrary, it is impossible
for freedom to exist without morality. It is impossible for a nation that
allows rulers to take bribes, live above the law, punish the innocent, falsely
accuse, rape, kill, or rob to be free. True freedom cannot exist without
honesty and integrity on the part of public officials.
The First Commandment affirms our God-given right to
worship the God of the Bible, and no ruler has the authority to demand that we
worship him (as did Caesar), or any god other than the God of the Bible.
The Second Commandment affirms our God-given right to
treat God’s name with respect. No ruler has the authority to use God’s name to
justify evil, or cover lies. Nor do they have the authority to make anyone else
curse or speak falsely in God’s name.
The Third Commandment affirms our God-given right to
join with others in worship. No ruler has the authority to forbid
congregational worship.
The Fourth Commandment affirms our God-given right to teach our children, instruct them in God’s Word,
and pass on our faith to them. No ruler has the authority to interfere with, or
in any way infringe on, that right.
The Fifth Commandment affirms our God-given right to
life. No ruler has the authority to murder anyone, to order us to murder
anyone, or to pass laws that allow the murder of some (by abortion etc.). While
the Bible allows capital punishment and defense of the nation in time of war,
it makes a clear distinction between that and murder.
The Sixth Commandment affirms our God-given right to
be chaste. No ruler has any authority to order us to commit immoral acts,
encourage immoral acts, or demand that we condone or approve of immoral
behavior (including homosexuality).
The Seventh Commandment affirms our God-given right to
property. No ruler has any authority to steal from some, either to enrich himself or to give to others. While the Bible does tell us
to pay our taxes, and allows the government to provide assistance during times
of national disaster, taxes are to be a payment for services rendered not an
attempt to redistribute the wealth.
The Eighth Commandment affirms our God-given right to
a good reputation. No ruler has any authority to falsely accuse us, spread lies
about us, or order us to bear false witness against someone else.
The Ninth and Tenth Commandments reaffirm certain
God-given rights. No ruler has the authority to conspire against us, or to use
the law to deprive us of our spouse or our property. On the contrary, all
rulers who use their position to deny our God given rights are exceeding the
authority given to them by God.
"Luther wanted neither autocracy nor mobocracy, but 'lawocracy' book
law, a constitution. He admired the ancient republics and
The legal code put into place by king Alfred (871-899
AD) included both the Ten Commandments and certain laws directly following the
Ten Commandments known collectively as the Book of the Covenant (Exodus 20-22).
Those laws became the basis of English common law. Later, when the barons
forced King John to sign the “Magna Carta”, they made
the law (as set down in the “Magna Carta”) an
authority higher than the king, an authority to which the king was required to
submit. That act shifted the authority of English government from the king to
the law, and thus to God whose authority is manifest in the law. However, it
was only the division of power (between king and barons) that kept the king
from ignoring the law. In time, that system of law,
especially as explained in Blackstone's "Commentaries, became the basis
for the American system of law.
In the Book of Exodus following the Ten Commandments
are further laws, sometimes collectively referred to as the Book of the
Covenant. As a lawyer I was fascinated to discover just how much of our
law - torts, contracts, property and criminal law - is obviously traceable to
this section of scripture." (David Limbaugh)
Although Luther
and Tyndale both advocated separation of church and
state, they most certainly did not advocate a total separation of Christianity
and state. The idea of a secular society, and rulers who reject the Word of
God, refusing to take what it says into account when framing laws, would be
abhorrent to them. What they objected to were Popes who waged war and called on
their followers to overthrow rulers they regarded as heretics, kings who
condemned the Gospel, bishops who wielded political authority, and
ecclesiastical courts with the power to try and sentence to death anyone who disagreed
with the church.
The words, "At the name of Jesus every knee should bow," tell us that
all men (and, thus, all rulers) should acknowledge the Lordship of Jesus Christ
(Philippians
In the past there have been misguided churchmen who
have attempted to control the state and use its power to impose their authority
upon everyone else. However, what they fail to understand is that they are in
rebellion against God (Luke
A government that is being administered according to
the will of God, will not tyrannize the people, but serve them (Luke
The words, “The LORD is our judge, the LORD is our
lawgiver, the LORD is our king,” identify three primary functions of government
(Isaiah 33:22). Therefore, since the depravity of the human heart makes it
necessary to limit the authority of rulers, and make them obey the law, the men
who wrote our American Constitution divided those functions, assigning each of
them to separate branches of government (legislative, judicial, and executive).
The words, “rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil,” tell us
that God gave rulers their authority so they could punish crime, not terrorize
those who have not committed any crime (Romans 13:3). Furthermore, the words,
“Sent by Him for the for the punishment of evildoers,
and for the praise of them that do well,” tell us that rulers should praise
those who do not commit crime, and not turn them into law breakers by saddling
them with regulations 1Peter
The words, “In the sweat of your face you will eat
bread, until you return to the ground,” gave Adam the fruit of his labor to
live by. For that reason, we have a God-given right to the fruit of our labor,
and the commandment, “Thou shall not steal” reaffirms that God-given right
(Exodus 20:15).
The words, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise
lordship over them, and they that exercise authority over them are called
benefactors. But you shall not be so,” tell us that rulers should not take from
some so that others can regard them as benefactors (Luke
In regard to the role of a public servant, it should
be noted that:
1-
No servant is above the law.
2-
Any authority that a servant has comes from his master (the public).
3- No servant is ever justified in usurping authority
that has not been granted to him by his master, or in taking something that has
not been given to him by his master.
4-
No master can give his servant authority or property that is not his to give.
CONCLUSION
The naive belief that giving a ruler more God-like
authority would make him more God-like, led the children of Israel to exchange
the freedom they had under the judges for the tyranny they later experienced
under a king (Judges 21:25, 1Samuel 8). In truth, giving rulers more authority
only gives them more authority to abuse. And, freedom can only exist when the
power of government is limited and rulers are required to obey the law.
Americans need to remember that, until 1930, this song
was our national anthem:
Our
fathers' God to Thee,
Author
of liberty,
To
Thee we sing:
Long
may our land be bright
With
freedom's holy light;
Protect
us by Thy might,
Great
God, our King!