A STUDY BY
GARY RAY BRANSCOME
Throughout history Christian
leaders have held widely varying views on government. Some have denied that
government could ever be truly Christian, while others have regarded monarchy,
democracy, or even oligarchy as the "Christian" form of government.
However, our present generation is held in such a grip of satanic delusion that
the very mention of the term "Christian government" gives rise to
thoughts of religious dictatorship. Nevertheless, because our God is a God of
freedom, truth, and justice that is the opposite of the way things ought to be
(John
It is safe to say that as long as
this world exists no government will ever be Christian in the sense that all of
the people, or even all of the rulers, are saved. We might also conclude that
since government existed before the Bible was written, it does not derive its
authority from the Bible, but from the law God has written on the heart (Romans
2:15). However, while the law written on the heart should be understood in a
way that is reasonable and just, it can easily be denied, distorted, and
twisted to serve the ends of evil and selfish men. For that reason, rulers
usually wind up interpreting it in the light of the religious precepts held by
the people they govern. And, for a Christian people those precepts are
summarized in the Ten Commandments.
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.
Those who are of that persuasion assume that freedom can only be preserved by a
government that is morally neutral. But 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. In fact, since 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, freedom
cannot exist without honesty and integrity on the part of public officials. For
that reason, a truly free government will be a government that accepts God's
moral law. Therefore, let me define a Christian government, as a government
which, because of Christian influence, officially acknowledges the divinity and
lordship of Jesus Christ, conforms its legal code to
Christian standards of morality, and requires those who hold public office to
obey the law. [Philippians 2:10, Romans 13:1, Daniel 4:25, Deuteronomy
17:18-19, 2Chronicles 19:7]
"Luther
wanted neither autocracy nor mobocracy, but 'lawocracy' book law, a constitution. He admired the ancient
republics and
Since the Bible plainly tells us
"that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow," everyone: angels,
rulers, and even devils should and indeed will bow before Jesus Christ
acknowledging Him to be their Lord and their God (Philippians
Although every ruler should
acknowledge the lordship of Jesus Christ and keep the Ten Commandments, the
influence of the political laws of
Church and
state should be separate in the sense that the church is not to use the power
of the state, nor is the state to control and use the church. They are to be
separate institutions. However, rulers are perfectly free to read the Bible,
learn from the Bible, and borrow ideas from the political law set forth in the
Bible, and that has been done throughout history. Referring to this Biblical
influence upon our law, lawyer and columnist David Limbaugh once said:
"Joe
Farah made the excellent point that 'the Ten
Commandments form the very basis of Western law.' We should be aware that other
Biblical laws were also foundational to our system of jurisprudence. 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."
If some people think that a Christian government will be
tyrannical, part of the reason lies in the fact that 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 many fail to
understand is that the abuse of political power is clearly contrary to the Word
of God. God has given rulers authority so that they can punish criminals not
regulate the law abiding (Romans 13:3,4, 1Peter
God instituted government because
He loves and cares for people, not because He wants rulers to tyrannize and
oppress them (Proverbs
The English and American system of
free government began when King John was required to submit to the law as set
down in the "Magna Carta" or Great Charter.
By making 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, the "Magna Carta" shifted the
authority of English government from the king to the law, and thus to God whose
authority is manifest in the law.
Once the "Magna Carta" had been signed, the only thing that prevented
the king from ignoring it was the power of the nobility. When King John died,
the barons assumed control of the government and made John's son (Henry III)
confirm the "Magna Carta." Therefore, while
the power struggle between the king and the barons continued for some time, it
was this division of power (between king and barons) that made it possible to
enforce the provisions set down in the "Magna Carta."
In time, the power of English government came to be divided between the king,
the nobility (House of Lords), and the people (House of Commons).
Over the centuries, the laws
restraining rulers from the abuse of power were expanded, and two important
safeguards against tyranny were added to the body of English law. The
"Petition of Right" in 1628, and the English
"Bill of Rights" in 1689. These additions to English law helped to
define the rights of the people, and like the "Magna Carta",
were made enforceable only by the division of power in English
government. Moreover, because the power is divided in English government,
we err to think of it as a monarchy. Although the king is a monarch, the House
of Lords is essentially an oligarchy (rule by few), while the House of Commons
is a democracy. And, since a republic is essentially a mixed form of government
in which law is supreme, the government of
[NOTE: Since the word "republic" originated
with the mixed form of government that existed in ancient
Because the men who founded our
Over the years there has been a
trend to change our American government from a mixed form of government to a
pure democracy. For all intents and purposes, our President and senators are
now chosen by popular vote. However, because pure democracies have historically
been unstable and oppressive governments we ought to view this trend as a
threat to our freedom. Ask yourself. What safe guard to freedom can a democracy
provide if the law does not place any limitations or restraints upon the men
whom the people elect? Without such limitations a democracy would quickly turn
into a dictatorship. In fact, Hitler, who was elected by a democracy, is a
prime example of this. I might also point out that it was majority rule that
sentenced Jesus to death on the cross. In fact,
Furthermore, what if a democratic
government did have laws limiting the power of those who were elected? What
good would such laws be if there was no division of power? Who would enforce
them? In
The delegation of legislative
authority to regulatory agencies, that are neither authorized by the
constitution nor accountable to the people, constitutes another trend toward
dictatorship. Our media never seems to mention the fact that Mussolini invented
regulatory agencies and they are essentially Fascist in origin. Furthermore,
the infatuation of our society with democracy is totally irrational because it
stems from the naive and foolish belief that all men are inherently good.
Frankly, even those who profess to believe such nonsense, usually have enough
sense to lock their doors at night. Just as good sense tells us that thieves
must be kept from entering our homes it also tells us that rulers must be kept
from committing crimes. If they are not, tyranny and oppression will come as
surely as night follows day. And, in my opinion, that is one reason why the
United Nations is doomed to fail. [Psalm 127:1, Jeremiah 17:9]
[NOTE: In a purely democratic government the Ten
Commandments can easily come to be seen as nothing more than the opinion of the
majority. When that happens, those who do not want to be bound by the Ten
Commandments will work to change that opinion, thus undermining the very
foundation of freedom.]
The English system of common law
originated with King Alfred, whose legal code included the Ten Commandments
along with other excerpts of Mosaic Law (871-899 A.D.). The Jewish laws of
commerce, as codified by Rabbi Moses Ben Maimon,
later became the basis for much of English commercial law. The laws of
In this essay I have emphasized these important
truths.
1- All rulers should acknowledge the divinity and
lordship of Jesus Christ (Philippians
2- The Ten Commandments are a higher law that all
rulers should obey, and to which all earthly law should conform (Romans 13:1).
3- In order for freedom to prevail, rulers should be
subject to the same laws as everyone else, and rulers who violate those laws
should be tried and punished for their crimes.
I have also sought to make it
perfectly clear that a Christian government will be a free government, not a
religious tyranny, and need not be radically different from what we have now.
To that end, I have summarized the influence of Biblical law upon the English
and American systems of government, while pointing out key events of history by
which the power of English government was brought under control, and rulers
made accountable for their crimes. I have also pointed out that honesty and
integrity on the part of public officials is vital to good government, and to
the preservation of freedom. At the same time, I do not want to cover up or
ignore the wickedness and shortcomings of specific rulers. Since human nature
has not changed from the days of Herod, there have been wicked rulers in both
Therefore, since freedom is a gift
of God, if we are to preserve freedom we must not separate God from government,
but instead must return our government to God (1Timothy 2:2). To that end I
close with the words of a song that until 1930, was
regarded as 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!
The following resources may be helpful to those who would like to learn more
about Biblical foundations of our government.
"The Story Of Liberty" — by Charles Carleton Coffin
"Sweet Land of Liberty" — by Charles Carleton Coffin
"Christianity And The Constitution" — by John Eidsmore
"Faith And Freedom" — by Benjamin Hart
"America's Godly Heritage" (video) — by David Barton
"America's British Culture" — by Russell Kirk
"A Better Guide Than Reason" — by M.E.
Bradford
"Basic American Government" — by Clarence B. Carson
"Basic Economics" — by Clarence Carson
"The Roots of American Order" — by Russell Kirk
"The Law" — by Frederic Bastiat
"What Is Seen And Not Seen" — by Frederic Bastiat
"Economics In One Lesson" — by Henry Hazlitt
"The Revolution Myth" — by Gene Fisher and Glen Chambers
"The United States: A Christian Nation" — by David J.
Brewer, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court
"The State vs. The People, The Rise of the American Police
State" — by Claire Wolfe and Aaron Zelman