God and Government

I am reading a book titled, “God and Government” by Gary DeMar. He shares that when people thing of government, they think of state or federal entities. He describes government having much deeper roots that are founded and established by God and laid out in the pages of the Bible. The basis of all governance rests on God and His truths. He should be at the center of each person’s life as guide in all parts of our life. With God as the head of each person, the next order is the family unit. Husband and wife being one flesh for the purpose of creating a home and raising a family. This unit was to still be God-centered.

Local government can be civil or ecumenical: the church or the community. Both have some jurisdiction over certain areas of those citizens of their ranks. Both have laws to which the citizens must adhere. The church may be able to even handle some legal problems within the laws set down by God.

Then there is the government of the state and on a national level. Each must have their basis on truth and justice. The Constitution of the United States was created to insure that certain God-given rights might not be impinged upon by any government entity. But “No governing document can create freedom, national stability, and security. The best political intentions are no match for the will of the people. Self-governed people who acknowledge the sovereignty of God determine a nation’s future. The choice of autonomous rights over God-prescribed responsibilities will mean the decay of a nation. John Adams wrote, ‘our Constitution was made only for a moral people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” When self-government is abandoned for self-serving opportunism, we should expect a decline in the health of the nation.” This excerpt was taken from the book I’m digesting and closely parallels what is happening in America today.

Responsibility is being overrun by individual rights. The churches are being attacked. Free speech is considered offensive. Politicians seem to be more intent on gathering wealth for themselves without concern for the average citizen.

There are times when the government must be disobeyed, but even here, the Bible sets forth boundaries for non-compliance. It is a last resort, but when autonomous rule is in direct opposition with God’s precepts, under extreme circumstances, disobedience may be necessary. If we read Exodus 1:15-22, the Pharaoh of Egypt ordered the midwives to kill every male child, but the midwives feared God more than the Pharaoh and refused to murder them.