The Bible and Government

Biblical Principles: Basis for America's Laws


PRINCIPLE LEGAL DOCUMENT BIBLE
Sovereign authority of God, not sovereignty of the state, or sovereignty of man Mayflower Compact, Declaration, Constitution, currency, oaths, mention of God in all 50 state constitutions, Pledge of Allegiance Ex. 18:16, 20:3, Dt. 10:20, 2 Chron. 7:14, Ps. 83:18, 91:2, Isa. 9:6-7, Dan. 4:32, Jn. 19:11, Acts 5:29, Rom. 13:1, Col 1:15-20, 1 Tim. 6:15
Existence of objective moral values, Fixed standards, Absolute truth, Sanctity of life Declaration ("unalienable" rights—life, etc., "self-evident" truths) Ex. 20:1-17, Dt. 30:19, Ps. 119:142-152,  Pr. 14:34, Isa. 5:20-21, Jn. 10:10, Rom. 2:15,  Heb. 13:8 
Rule of law rather than authority of man Declaration, Constitution Ex. 18:24-27, Dt. 17:20, Isa. 8:19-20, Mat. 5:17-18 
All men are sinners Constitutional checks and balances Gen 8:21, Jer. 17:9, Mk. 7:20-23, Rom. 3:23, 1 Jn. 1:8 
All men created equal Declaration Gen. 1:26, Acts 10:34, 17:26, Gal. 3:28, 1 Peter 2:17
Judicial, legislative, and executive branches Constitution Isa. 33:22 (See Madison)
Religious freedom First Amendment 1 Timothy2:1-2
Church protected from state control (& taxation), but church to influence the state First Amendment Dt. 17:18-20, 1 Kgs. 3:28, Ezra 7:24, Neh. 8:2, 1 Sam. 7:15-10:27, 15:10-31, 2 Sam. 12:1-18, Mat. 14:3-4,  Lk. 3:7-14, 11:52, Acts 4:26-29 

Republican form of government and warnings against kings but in favor of Godly rulers

 Constitution

Ex. 18:21, Dt. 1:13, Jud. 8:22-23, 1 Samuel 8, Pr. 11:14, 24:6  
Importance of governing self and family as first level of governance First, Second, Ninth, and Tenth Amendments Mat. 18:15-18,  Gal. 5:16-26, 1 Cor. 6:1-11, 1 Tim. 3:1-5, Tit. 2:1-8 
Establish justice Declaration Ex. 23:1-9, Lev. 19:15, Dt. 1:17, 16:19-20, 24:17-19, 1 Sam. 8:3, 2 Sam. 8:15,  1 Kings 3:28, 10:9, Mic. 6:8, Rom. 13:4 
Fair trial with witnesses Sixth Amendment Ex. 20:16, Dt. 19:15, Pr. 24:28, 25:18, Mat. 18:16 
Private property rights Fifth Amendment Ex. 20:15-17
Biblical liberty, Free enterprise Declaration Lev. 25:10, Jn. 8:36,  2 Cor. 3:17, Gal. 5:1, James 1:25, 1 Peter 2:16 
Creation not evolution Declaration Gen. 1:1
Biblical capitalism not Darwinian capitalism (service and fair play over strict survival of the fittest) Anti-trust laws Ex. 20:17, Mat. 20:26, 25:14-30, 2 Thes. 3:6-15, 1 Pet. 2:16 
Importance of the traditional family State sodomy laws, few reasons for divorce Ex. 20:12-14, Mat. 19:1-12, Mk. 10:2-12, Rom. 1:18-2:16, 1 Cor. 7:1-40, 
Religious education encouraged Northwest Ordinance Dt. 6:4-7, Pr. 22:6, Mat. 18:6, Eph. 6:4, 
Servanthood not political power Concept of public servant Ex. 18:21, Rom. 13:4, Php. 2:7, 
Sabbath day holy "Blue laws" Ex. 20:8
Restitution Restitution laws Lev. 6:1-5, Num. 5:5-7, Mat. 5:23-26

To understand why some of these passages above are applicable to our laws, one has to go back to the formative era of our nation and to America's culture and thinking at the time. The leaders of the various colonies, states, and ultimately the Founding Fathers themselves were steeped in biblical thinking. They drew from the Bible examples and looked for confirmation of ideas for government in Scripture.

We had an atheist visit our site and expressed a good bit of displeasure with some of the above citations. We responded that he should relish the freedom of expression that a Christian culture put in place for him. And that he should be thankful that our culture was not founded on atheism, given the horrible result of atheistic governments in the past (such as Communist Russia, etc.).

Jesus did not usher in a political kingdom. But Christianity has been the single largest influence on western society. America's Founding Fathers had the benefit of thousands of years of history to draw on when establishing their government. They could see what had failed in the past. There had been times when the state had absolute authority and persecuted the church. At other times the church had effective control of the state. The founders saw that neither of these extremes were ideal. They developed a system that stood the test of time. Observers everywhere generally agree that American's Founding Fathers achieved a solid balance between church and state, one consistent with biblical concepts.

In a ten-year study undertaken at the Univesity of Houston, researchers examined 15,000 documents from America's founders and determined that 34% of their quotations came from the Bible, the highest by far of any source.

But many people today reject the notion that the Bible should be used as a basis for law. "Narrow minded and outdated!" they say. Ideas have consequences. Let's examine the implications if the Bible is or is not the standard for society and its legal system.

Without an objective standard of truth upon which to base society, the result is that whoever gains the most political power will dominate. Christians believe that the Bible offers ultimate, objective, and absolute truth—as opposed to relative "truth" (i.e., arbitrary "absolutes"). There was a general consensus on this point in America from the earliest settlers until only very recently.

Founding Father and educator Noah Webster (1758-1843) had this to say: "The moral principles and precepts contained in the scriptures ought to form the basis of all our civil constitutions and laws. All the miseries and evils which men suffer from vice, crime, ambition, injustice, oppression, slavery, and war, proceed from their despising or neglecting the precepts contained in the Bible."

So it was natural for the early Americans to turn to the Bible for guidance as to how to make civil law. This was the standard for law beginning with the Mayflower Compact all the way through the constitutions of all 50 states. By the way, what was the stated purpose of the Pilgrims as expressed in the Mayflower Compact? Contrary to revisionist history, their purpose was not to find religious freedom—they already had found religious freedom in Holland. Their purpose is clearly stated as being for the "Glory of God and advancement of the Christian Faith." The Pilgrims were missionaries.

The first state constitution was the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut (1639). You may read this document at http://www.law.ou.edu/hist/orders.html. The framers of this document desired that every aspect of it be based on the Bible (See DeMar's book listed below, America's Christian History, pgs. 57-58). This document was a model for other constitutions, including the U.S. Constitution which followed. The above table outlines the widespread influence of biblical thought on America's legal system. See also the link at the bottom entitled Puritans and the Bible.

Biblical absolutes enshrined into law offered a consensus that meant freedom without chaos. One aspect of this is that, as stated in the Declaration of Independence, there exists "unalienable rights" of men. Rights were unalienable because they were given by God. This is very significant because in most societies up until that time (and indeed even today), rights are only conferred by whoever is in power at the time.

Because the American consensus was that the Bible was TRUTH, the tyranny of a few or even the tyranny of the majority could be overcome by one person standing up and appealing to the Bible. The freedom of expression in general in America is a result of our biblical system. Those people who feel free today to condemn the Bible are, ironically, among those who benefit most by the freedoms inherent in our biblical system!

An important aspect of our system of government is that it is based on the Rule of Law. This concept is a direct descendant of Hebrew law and the Ten Commandments. Together with the concept of unalienable rights from God, these concepts helped ensure a way of life that respected the dignity of every individual. The combination of these biblical concepts is a foundation of our government that helps subjugate political power of potential tyrants. One only has to notice how every tyrant has a practice of changing the country's constitution to suit himself (or to butter the bread of those who put him in power).

It is helpful to contrast the American Revolution of 1776 with the French Revolution of 1789. While the American revolution began with an appeal to the sovereignty of God, the French Revolution was founded on the sovereignty of man. The French movement was a product of Voltaire's philosophy which specifically attempted to replace biblical Christianity with man's reason as the ultimate standard.

But the French revolution was a disaster. Anarchy and tyranny reigned with 40,000 people being murdered, the favorite method being the guillotine. Their new constitution only lasted 2 years. Indeed, France has had 7 constitutions during the time that America has only had one.

Another important aspect of America's constitution is that it has as its basis the distinctly Christian idea that man is basically sinful. Every one of our founding fathers understood this truth. It has been said that the 16th century Protestant reformer John Calvin, who is the theologian most associated with the biblical doctrine of man's "depravity," was the single most influential person to our Constitution. The result was that the founders built into the Constitution an elaborate system of checks and balances. This is evident in the horizontal plane of executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government. It is also evident in the vertical plane of federalism—states' powers versus federal powers.

Again, let's look at the evidence by contrasting the American system with other systems. Other systems are based on the idea that man is basically good, or at least perfectible by law and education. This is the basis for communism as well as the religious states of Islam. But states based on these utopian ideas are always failures and particularly repressive to their citizens. These governments end up as a police state and take away the rights of the citizens.

It has been said that America has never been a Christian nation, or that our founders were a bunch of atheists, agnostics, and deists. But consider the facts. At least 50 of the 55 framers of the U. S. Constitution were Christians (see M. E. Bradford's book listed below). Every American president has taken his oath on the Bible (except John Quincy Adams and Theodore Roosevelt) and referencing God in his inaugural address is standard (Oath). Every one of the 50 state constitutions calls on God for support. The Supreme Court, in 1892 after a an exhaustive 10-year study of the matter, said: "This is a religious people. This is a Christian nation." See Holy Trinity Decision. Even today, the Supreme Court opens each session with the verbal declaration, "God save the United States of America."

Perhaps the most famous statement in America's Declaration of Independence is, "All men are created equal." The concept of universal human rights and equality comes exclusively from the biblical ideas that all people are created in the image of God and from Jesus' sacrificial death for all. This concept was unkown in history outside of biblically based cultures.

There are, however, two areas in which the American system can be faulted— (1) racial slavery and (2) compassionateless wealth. But both of these flaws are failures to implement biblical Christianity, rather than being caused by it.

A few comments about slavery are important because so many people throw it in the face of Christians. Racial slavery is not a biblical ethic. Yes, a form of slavery—indentured servitude— is condoned in the Bible. But this was a method in which people could pay off debts and was not what we think of as racial slavery (Bible and Slavery). In fact, the Bible specifically condemns the slave trade (Exodus 21:16; 1 Timothy 1:10). The Bible offers a unique framework for people as being equals: We were all are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27) and we are all equal in God's sight (1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:28). Race, interestingly, is never even mentioned in the Bible.

Historian Glenn Sunshine in his book Why You Think the Way You Do explains that, "Christians were the first people in history to oppose slavery systematically. Early Christians purchased slaves in the markets simply to set them free." 

Most people are under the false impression that America's Founding Fathers were overwhelmingly in favor of slavery. For the truth about this see Barton on Slavery.

Professing Christians who held slaves prostituted the Bible by letting culture influence their faith (just as some unfaithful Christians today have abortions). Yet, the abolition movement was primarily a Christian movement. Slavery was stopped in England largely as a result of the tireless efforts of an evangelical Christian by the name of William Wilburforce. Through his work in Parliament, England stopped the slave trade in 1807 and abolished slavery totally in 1833. Unfortunately, there was no such early dynamic abolitionist leader in America. But the "created equal" standard in our Declaration of Independence was in time honored fully into law.

The other problem in western culture has been unredistributed wealth. Neither the Bible (Mark 14:7) nor the American system seeks to have all people have equal outcomes. We are all created equal and we all have an equal opportunity to pursue our dreams, but we are not expected to all achieve equally.

Yet, the industrialization of the West brought great wealth to a few, while some were victimized. It can be argued that the working class was victimized to a degree in the early days of the industrial revolution. Fortunately, laws are now in place that protect the worker.

Christianity is an important component of capitalism because it places a moral restraint on a person's activities. If a person feels that there is no consequence to his actions beyond civil law, he is less constrained to treat people fairly. But a Christian has a moral restraint because he believes that he his ultimately accountable to God for his actions, for his fair treatment of others.

The issue is unrestrained capitalism. From the earliest days of our nation, we enforced laws to protect property, enforce contracts, and protect against fraud. Later in our history, America instituted anti-trust laws and environmental laws. These laws can be seen as consistent with biblical capitalism ("Christian capitalism") as opposed to darwinian capitalism. Instead of capitalism based solely on the survival of the fittest, modern American capitalism uses law to make the playing field more equal and provide equal protection under the law—while still encouraging entrepeneurism. Appropriate and helpful laws assist free enterprise, placing moral boundaries around activities without hampering freedom or interfering with competition. (Antitrust laws are only valid if they truly enhance capitalism and free enterprise. Sometimes they have been used to restrain capitalism by protecting a large corporation.)

A free society must have an over-arching objective moral constraint upon its people. An absence of this moral constraint, as John Adams insisted (quote below) will destroy not only government but business as well. Politicians without such constraint will find ways to destroy the Constitution to suit their desire for power. It is such moral constraint that monitors business people to charge a fair price, pay a fair wage, not cheat customers or employees, to help the needy, etc. We once asked an applicant applying for a job whether he believed in moral absolutes. Reflecting the secular attitude of his business school background, he quickly replied, "No." We then asked him, "Then how do we know you won't cheat our customers?" He was stunned by the question and had no realistic answer.

As a general statement, it is an inherent truth of capitalism that in the long run people succeed in business if they provide services and goods that people want. Biblical capitalism—even more so—emphasizes service over strict selfish ambition.

It should be emphasized that capitalism has its roots in Christianity. Historian Glenn Sunshine in his book Why You Think the Way You Do points out that the work ethic in Christianity is rooted in the Bible. God himself works, so Christians have seen an inherent goodness in labor and productivity. We have heard of the concept, "the Protestant work ethic." The importance placed on work is an important reason for America's economic success.

As we write this today, America has fewer and fewer people in the work force, partly as a result of liberal welfare programs. People have become addicted to handouts. This is neither good for those involved, or for the economy as a whole. It is a major reason the America is sliding into mediocrity, and ultimately liberal policies could be the death of America. See The Dirty Little Secret of Liberalism.

Another key component of capitalism is property rights. The Old Testament focuses on rules for property ownership. Throughout history, societies influenced by Christianity have had a stronger emphasis on property rights than other cultures. The idea that people are entitled to the fruits of their labor, together with property rights and the rule of law, laid a firm foundation for capitalism and the tremendous economic success that America has enjoyed. Yes, we have had our ups and downs, like life itself, but we have always come back stronger than before because of our fundamentally successful system. But we are in danger of losing it all.

So again, the flaws in American society are not in biblical Christianity, rather in the failure to implement it. If the voluntary individual compassion of Christ were to dominate society, poverty—while it would never disappear (Mark 14:7)—would be lessened. The solution is not forced redistribution of wealth, which is tantamount to stealing. The solution is public emphasis on biblical ethics.

In summary, let's refer to our nation's creed—The Pledge of Allegiance—which sums up our way of life. It is a based on a three-legged stool of God, liberty, and justice. All three must be there. If God is not there, ethics and rights are defined by whoever has the most power. And in order to have liberty, we must have justice. The first role of government is to prevent evil (Romans 13:1-5, 1 Peter 2:13-17) so that the rest of society can live in peace. Evil is only meaningful within a biblical context.

When our culture desperately needs what Christianity offers, the courts are foolishly removing the Bible. Liberty demands ethical obligation. We must have a common understanding of moral absolutes, or as John Adams said, "We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

America is grounded in the idea of "self government." What does this mean? To say that self-government is only the ability of citizens to vote and to elect their representatives is to have an incomplete notion of self-government. Government in biblical thought is not just civil government. In fact, civil government is the least important aspect of government. Government is first that of the individual being able to govern himself. This is why religion must be encouraged, as John Adams noted. The founding fathers of America clearly understood this. The second most important level of government is the family. The third is the church. Last is civil government.

And within civil government, our Founding Fathers understood that local and state government was more important than federal government. Our Constitution specifically limits the powers of the federal government, even though this precept has been continually usurped.

The Founders referenced 2 Corinthians 3:17 in support of freedom above all else. This passage states, "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." The Liberty Bell declares from Leviticus 25:10: "Proclaim Liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof."

Liberals and secularists have it backwards. They think that the federal government is the most important. This is consistent with totalitarianism, but not with the American concept of self-government. Big government socialism is not consistent with the Bible. Not only is the government inefficient in delivering most services, it more often than not hurts those it is intended to help. The welfare mess is a classic case in point, now proven over decades of failure. (See our Biblical Capitalism blog post.)

Finally, let us comment on the philosophy of libertarianism. This is the idea that our system of government should allow complete freedom except in the case when one person directly harms another. Many Christians today claim to be libertarians. We see numerous flaws in such an idea. We think that Christian libertarians have been duped into thinking like liberal secularists instead of thinking like Christians. Among the problems are these:


This worldview is determined by a secular philosophy rather than a biblical worldview. Even Christians frequently quote Ayn Rand for support of their theory. The fact that Rand was an ardent atheist and hater of Christianity should give considerable pause. While libertarianism is not exclusively atheistic, a Christian that walks into that sphere is giving the devil a foothold, against which there is a strong commandment from Scripture (Ephesians 4:27).

 
Libertarianism is ultimately arbitrary. It is an attempt to define morality without God. But as Dostoevsky said, "If there is no God, everything is permitted." Any view of government not based on an unchangeable objective standard (the Bible!) is subject to be altered at the whims of political power brokers. Christianity, on the other hand, is not arbitrary. Our website is dedicated to demonstrating through reason and evidence that Christianity is objectively true.
 
Any philosophy (whether Jean-Paul Sartre's Existentialism, Darwin's Evolution, or Ayn Rand's Objectivism) that has a non-theistic foundation ultimately bumps into the problem of nihilism. This means, ultimately, no basis for meaning and purpose for life. (We come from nowhere, we go to nowhere, but somehow life in between has meaning?)
 
Despite attempts to meld biblical Christianity with this political philosophy, libertarianism inevitably interferes with the individual Christian's reliance on his faith as the sole lens from which to see the world, moving him away from a biblical worldview. Libertarianism, at its core, is a non-religious philosophy. This thinking is a dangerous diversion for the Christian and can be insidiously damaging to his or her faith, indeed to the Christian's soul.
 
Libertarians often define "harm to another person" too narrowly. Morality should be defined solely by the Bible. For example, while libertarians may support laws against abortion (many libertarians actually support abortion), they usually side with liberals who are against laws that define marriage as between one man and one woman. They think that mutual consent of sexual perversion does not fall within the definition of hurting someone. This utopian thinking has blinders on; it is naive. Homosexuality is devastating to those involved and to society at large. "Mutal consent" is a post-modern illusion that does not change the fact that people are hurt when immorality occurs. The Bible says, "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil." (Isaiah 5:20-21) See our article Gay Rights.
 
Libertarians fail to appreciate the huge positive influence Christianity has had on America. See our article The Impact of Christianity. America's success is not based on libertarianism, but on Christianity. We should not confuse true biblical Christianity with the modern distorted, liberal, or half-baked versions of Christianity. While Jesus was a not a political figure per se, there is no need to search for a political theory outside of Christian thought. We are commanded to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ--not just certain thoughts. (2 Corinthians 10:5)
 
Libertarian Christians usually think that Christians can segregate their faith--their personal faith relegated to their private lives. This is falling for the secularist mentality! It's a trap that marginalizes Christianity just like secularists want! Secularists say, "Sure. You can have your faith. Just leave it over there in the corner of society somewhere and don't bother anyone else with your stupid ideas." Falling for this has numerous negative consequences, including giving the impression to potential converts to Christianity that our faith is not universally applicable, that it is only one of many possible worldviews, and Christianity is only a crutch for weak individuals. Jesus' was given "all authority on heaven and earth" (Matthew 28:18)--not just some authority. This notion--that the Christian faith can be marginalized from society--is directly responsible for the decline of Christianity in America. The inclination to segregate one's faith so as not to "impose" our values on others smacks of "true for me, but not for you." It is amazing that any Christian would buy into this post-modern relativism. Further, attempting to segregate our faith is dishonoring to God: God is god of ALL or He is not God AT ALL. (Psalm 24:1)
 
Our COMPASSION as Christians demands that we institute biblical values in society. What other basis for a successful and compassionate society could possibly be better than the Bible?! Who are you going to go with: Ayn Rand or Jesus? Jesus allowed no human partner; we are either with Him 100% or we are against Him. (Matthew 12:30)
 
We cannot miss the similarities between libertarianism and liberalism. While libertarians claim to be opponents of liberalism, it is not accidental that they have the same root word. There is an insidious mix of thought between libertarianism and liberalism. Both have certain political goals in common, such as utopian anti-war sentiment and pro gay rights. While there are versions of libertarianism that claim compatibility with Christian theism, something classic libertarianism has in common liberalism is that both are often at war with, or marginalize, God. Liberalism, when taken to its logical conclusion, leads to life without God--socialism, communism, humanism, and other non-theistic worldviews. Liberalism in any form, if properly understood, results in devastating results for a society--even harming those it was intended to help. See our articleThe Dirty Little Secret of Liberalism.
 
Libertarianism is at its core a selfish worldview. This is distinctly different from biblical Christianity. Christianity subjugates the self to God, and to other people (Matthew 22:34-39). In contrast, classic libertarianism and liberalism alike are opposed to, or have no need for, a moral authority above the individual self.
 
Libertarian Christians have, amazingly, adopted other concepts and the language of liberal secularists. They say to other Christians, "We don't want a theocracy." This charge is a red herring. Theocracy is when the church, as an institution, has all political power, including administering civil law. Biblical Christians want no such thing. We support the separation of church and state, properly understood. And we certainly do not want Old Testament civil and ceremonial laws instituted in society. Such laws were repealed in the New Testament (Acts 10:12-15; Colossians 2:11-16; Romans 14:17).
 
While civil and ceremonial laws were repealed in the New Testament, moral law stands forever. Biblical moral law is applicable to everybody whether they believe it or not. Judicious application of biblical moral law to civil law is infinitely compassionate and positive for society. The idea that "you cannot legislate morality" is also an idea adopted from liberal secularism. It is a false idea. Virtually every law is a put in place based on someone's idea of morality.
 
Anarchism is a branch of libertarianism. See Libertarianism.
 
There are strong biblical commands for Christians to influence society, including civil government. See the list at the bottom of our Bible and Government article.

 

Our message to Christians and non-Christians alike is this. If you want true freedom, a vigorous economy, and a compassionate society, the answer is biblical Christianity. See our blog post Biblical Capitalism.

What is the purpose of civil government, according to the Bible? The purpose of civil government is, very simply, to be God's servant to restrain evil and reward good (Romans 13:1-7; 1 Peter 2:13-14). Christians are (a) to pray for and obey governmental authority (1 Timothy 2:1-4), (b) unless it forbids what God requires or requires what God forbids, in which case Christians cannot submit, and some form of civil disobedience becomes inescapable (Acts 4:18-31, 5:17-29), (c) to influence government because all of life is under God's authority (Psalm 24:1; Psalm 83:18; Isaiah 42:8; Matthew 28:18-20; 2 Corinthians 10:5). In a participatory democracy, Christians are under obligation to participate in civil government (Matthew 22:21).

As put by Dinesh D'Souza in his book What's So Great about Christianity, "Christianity enhanced the notion of political and social accountability by providing a new model: that of servant leadership. In ancient Greece and Rome no one would have dreamed of considering political leaders anyone's servants. The job of the leader was to lead. But Christ invented the notion that the way to lead is by serving the needs of others, especially those who are the most needy. Mark 10:43 quotes Christ:'Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant...for even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve.' And in Luke 22:27 we hear Jesus say, 'Who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.' In the new Christian framework, leaders are judged by how well they respond to the concerns and welfare of the people. Over time, people once known as 'followers' or 'subjects' become 'customers' and 'constituents'."

Should Christians be involved in politics and government? We argue that Christians should care about politics because, ultimately, we care about people. Government has an increasingly large influence on the lives of people, thus we cannot ignore politics. Further, almost every law reflects someone’s idea of morality. Since God’s morality is ultimate and universal, society benefits from the Christian’s participation in the public square. That is, society benefits when biblical truth is reflected in law. Indeed, Christians should be involved in all aspects of society, including law, art, music, economics, science, etc.

There are numerous Bible passages that confirm the importance of God and Government. These include:

Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's. (Matthew 22:21)

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. ( 2 Cor 10:5)

The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof. (Psalm 24:1)

We must obey God rather than man. (Acts 5:29)

You are the salt of the earth…the light of the world. (Matthew 5:13-16)

The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget about God. (Psalm 9:17)

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. (Psalm 33:12)

On account of me, you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. (Mark 13:9)

The good influence of godly citizens causes a city to prosper. (Proverbs 11:11)

I, the Lord, speak the truth; I declare what is right. (Isaiah 45:19)

We are not trying to please men, but God, who tests our hearts. (1 Thessalonians 2:4)

Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil. (Isaiah 5:20-21)

Thou shalt not kill. (Exodus 20:13-15)

Do not give the devil a foothold. (Ephesians 4:27)

A wise man attacks the city of the mighty and pulls down the stronghold in which they trust. (Proverbs 21:22)

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness. (Matthew 5:10-12)

Furthermore, you shall select out of all the people able men who fear God, men of truth, those who hate dishonest gain; and you shall place these over them, as leaders, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens. (Exodus 18:21)

When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn. (Proverbs 29:2)

When rulers are wicked, their people are too. (Proverbs 29:16)

For the wicked shall not rule the godly, lest the godly be forced to do wrong. (Psalm 125:3)

Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. (Psalm 127:1)

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves. (Proverbs 13:8-9)

To the Jews I became like a Jew....  (1 Corinthians 9:20-24)

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me.”  (Matthew 28:18)

Fill the earth and subdue it. (Genesis 1:26-28)

Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10)

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked way, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

The warning for Americans is that there is no longer a consensus that biblical ethics are truly absolute. Our liberties are eroding as big government tries to take over where our biblical consensus left off. Tyranny and social tragedy are the logical results unless we reverse this trend.

We highly recommend this article by Patrick Leduc entitled "Christianity and the Framers: The True Intent of the Establishment Clause":

Establishment Clause

Bibliography and Resources for study:

  • David Barton, God in the Constitution
  • Bradford, M. E., A Worthy Company; Brief Lives of the Framers of the United States Constitution.
  • Barton, David, America's Godly Heritage (video); and The Spirit of the American Revolution (video); and Barton, David, The Myth of Separation (book). These and many other resources are available at Wallbuilders.
  • DeMar, Gary, America's Christian History: The Untold Story; and God and Government: A Biblical and Historical Study (3 volumes). These books and other excellent resources available from American Vision.
  • DiLorenzo, Thomas, How Capitalism Saved America.
  • D'Souza, Dinesh, What's So Great about Christianity.
  • Eidsmoe, John, Christianity and the Constitution: The Faith of Our Founding Fathers
  • Federer, William J., America's God and Country: Encyclopedia of Quotations.
  • Foster, Marshall and Swanson, Mary-Elaine, The American Covenant: The Untold Story.
  • Gibbs, David C., Jr. (President of the Christian Law Association) with Jerry Newcombe, One Nation Under God: Ten Things Every Christian Should Know About the Founding of America.
  • Marshall, Peter and Manuel, David, The Light and the Glory; also From Sea to Shining Sea.
  • Schaeffer, Francis A., A Christian Manifesto.

See other related articles on our site: The Impact of Christianity, Biblical Capitalism in Uncertain Economic Times, and Why Socialism Is Not Compassionate.

This video series is extraordinarily helpful:

Richard Church on American History

Also, here other helpful articles:

God and Liberty

Christian vs. Libertarian Capitalism

Does the Bible Support Communism?

The Declaration and Religion