THE BIBLICAL PRINCIPLES OF
GOOD GOVERNMENT
GARY RAY BRANSCOME
In seeking a Biblical standard of good government, I have sought to look beyond
the governments mentioned in Scripture to the standards by which those
governments are judged. At the same time, I have tried to avoid subjective speculation
while concentrating on truths clearly stated in Scripture, the first of which
is found in 1Timothy 2:1-2.
"I
exhort, therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions,
and giving of thanks, be made for all men, for kings and for all who are in
authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and
honesty." (1Timothy 2:1-2).
This passage makes it clear that,
when God's will is done we will be free to live "a quiet and peaceable
life in all godliness and honesty." Moreover, since both criminals and
tyrants can keep us from living quiet and peaceable lives, we can be certain
that God wants government to punish criminals, thus making the streets safe,
while otherwise leaving us alone so that we might live in peace.
Looking a bit deeper, let us
consider the fact that we can only live quiet and peaceable lives when our
life, liberty, and property are secure. This is true, because without such
security we would constantly be forced to fight those who would deprive us of
life, liberty, or property while living in fear of them. Therefore, a
government that is being administered according to the will of God will respect
our right to life, liberty, and property, and the fruit of such government will
be peace, law, and order.
Looking deeper still, consider what a beautiful description of freedom and free
government is given to us in the words, "a quiet and peaceable life in all
godliness and honesty" (1Timothy 2:2). That expression of freedom is so
fundamental that the words, "Life,
THE FORM OF GOVERNMENT
While the words, "The LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the
LORD is our king; he will save us," divide the functions of government
into three branches (legislative, judicial, and executive), what the Bible says
about human depravity makes it clear that it is not wise to allow one person
(or group of people) to control all three
branches (Isaiah 33:22, Jeremiah 17:9). Furthermore, the words,
"concerning any of the priests and… ministers of this house of God,
it shall not be lawful to impose toll, tribute, or custom, upon them,"
tell us that the church is to be separate from the state and, therefore, exempt
from taxation (Ezra
One statement of scripture tells us
that the ruler is a "minister of God… a revenger
to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil," while another tells us that
rulers are sent "for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of
them that do well" (1Peter 2:14, Romans 13:3-4).
Those statements make it clear that
when government is administered according to the will of God, criminals will
receive swift and sure punishment. Moreover, a comparison of those statements
with 1Timothy
Contrasting the way of the world
with His will for those in authority, Christ said, "The kings of the
Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and they that exercise authority over
them are called benefactors. But ye shall not be so," (Luke
In order to grasp what Christ
is saying let us consider the words, "lordship" and
"benefactors." Since a ruler exercises lordship over people when he
deprives them of their life, liberty, or property and a "benefactor"
provides something of value, rulers exercise lordship over us when they take our
money, and they are called benefactors when they give to some what they have
taken from others. This goes on all the time, yet Jesus condemned it and told
His followers that this was not what He wants done. Furthermore, by taking our
money (high taxes) rulers punish those who work, and by giving it to others
they encourage them not to work. That sort of thing always hurts the economy.
[2 Thessalonians 3:10,12]
Since Christ referred to rulers in
this passage, what is said clearly applies to politics. Therefore, since He
goes on (verse 26) to tell His followers that they should seek to serve, it is
clear that He wants rulers to think of themselves as public servants rather
than lords. In that regard, I would like to share four thoughts.
FIRST:
No servant is above the law. A servant is not only subject to his master but to
every law that his master is subject to. For that reason, any ruler who is
truly a public servant will be subject to the same laws that the people are
subject to, as well as any limitations that they place on his power.
SECOND: Any authority that a servant has comes from his master. A servant only
has the authority to do what his master has authorized him to do. Therefore,
any ruler who is truly a public servant will not have the authority to do
anything that the people have not authorized him to do.
THIRD: 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. Therefore, any ruler who is truly a public servant is never
justified in usurping authority that has not been delegated to him by the
people, or in taking anything that has not been given to him by the owner.
FOURTH: No master can give his servant authority or property that is not his to
give. In short, if a master does not have the authority to take his neighbor's
property, then he cannot give his servant the authority to take that property.
For that reason, the people can never give a ruler authority or property that
is not theirs to give.
God's words, "In the sweat of thy face shalt
thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground;" gave Adam the fruit of
his labor to live by. For that reason, we have a God given right to keep the
fruit of our labor, and the commandment, "Thou shall not steal"
reaffirms that God-given right (Exodus
When rulers perform a service by protecting us from the
violence and injustice of evil and selfish men, we have a responsibility to pay
for that service (1 Samuel 25:21). In fact, fair taxation is simply a bill for
that service. However, God has never given any ruler the right to simply take
our money or property, either to make himself rich or
to appear as a benefactor at our expense. Furthermore, deficit spending on the
part of government is little more than a way of robbing future generations, for
they will be the ones who have to pay the debt (2 Corinthians 12:14).
Since it is clearly the will of God
for rulers to punish evildoers, while protecting and defending the law-abiding,
those who would protect evildoers while condemning those "who do
well" do not have the authority of God behind what they do. In fact, a
government that forbids schools to teach the Ten Commandments, while punishing
parents who homeschool their children, is just as
tyrannical as a dictator who kills law-abiding Jews. As Christians, we should
be grieved by injustice, and want to see justice done. To that end, we need to
seek God's help in sending "men to the legislatures who cannot be bought,
who refuse to connive with evil, and will stop the enactment of legislation
contrary to divine Law!" (From the sermon, GOD IS OUR DEFENSE, by Dr.
Walter A. Maier)
The naive belief that government can solve every problem led the children of