God’s Servant for Good (2)

Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Romans 13.1

Authority of government
In The Westminster Confession of Faith, chapter XXIII, we read, “It is lawful for Christians to accept and execute the office of a magistrate, when called thereunto: in the managing whereof, as they ought especially to maintain piety, justice, and peace, according to the wholesome laws of each commonwealth; so, for that end, they may lawfully, now under the new testament, wage war, upon just and necessary occasion.”

This paragraph was composed under the watchful eye and with the help of Samuel Rutherford, Scottish commissioner to the Westminster Assembly of 1643-48.

Do not fail to hear the repeated emphasis: “lawful,” “wholesome laws,” “lawfully.” Samuel Rutherford understood that the authority of government does not derive from hereditary descent, as in a monarchy. Nor does the authority of government derive from the will of the people, as in a democracy, as in America today.

As Rutherford argued in his classic work on civil government, Lex Rex, the authority of government derives from God and His Law. Where civil government functions best, where it fulfills its appointed role as a servant of God for good, it functions in line with the being and character of God, as expressed in His revealed Law and Word.

Rutherford’s views and insights were radical and dangerous in his day, and they landed him in prison for fomenting rebellion against the English monarch. They probably seem radical and dangerous to some of us even today.

But the principles of Lex Rex were instrumental in forming the framework for a constitutional government founded on law – fixed, unchanging, revealed Law – as was the case with the American Constitution, as the Framers conceived it.

God, Law, and society
Governments are ordained by God, and one thing that is undeniably clear from Scripture is that God relates to human beings and societies on the basis of revealed Law.

God prescribes what is good, upright, just, and loving. Then He holds individuals and nations accountable for living according to what He has revealed. The prophets of the Old Testament railed against Israel and all the nations because of their rebellion against God and His Law. When Paul wrote to the Romans, explaining that governments are ordained by God, implicit in that declaration was the idea of Lex Rex – Law, and in particular, God’s Law, being the last word on all matters relating to a flourishing and secure society, not government, and not the people.

In America we have come to a misunderstanding of what is intended by “We the people.” We the people are not empowered to make the laws by which we are governed. Nor should we elect people to office who promise to make laws agreeable to our wants and whims. Human beings, being inherently evil (though longing for good) cannot be trusted to make laws that are sufficiently good to allow for the safety and flourishing of all citizens.

In a good government, citizens and magistrates together seek the best ways of understanding God’s Law, and of putting that Law into practice for the wellbeing of society.

Good government – government that secures liberty and makes space for every responsible citizen to flourish – good government recognizes its obligation to God and His Law, to exercise oversight and rule in a way that can expect the approval and help of God, which each holder of public office invokes at his or her swearing-in.

Rebellion?
The government we seek must be a government of Law, not merely according to the need of the moment, nor of what may be the opinion of some Americans, as if law is what we say it is.

Such a view of government cannot please God and cannot expect to realize His good purposes in creating government in the first place.

The government we seek must seek to learn from God, and it must adopt policies and enact legislation that conform to the pleasure and purposes of our Divine Lawgiver. Anything other than that is rebellion, pure and simple.

Next steps: Can we expect to have a government that honors God’s Law if we don’t honor God’s Law in the Church? Talk with a Christian friend about this question.

T. M. Moore

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This week’s study, God’s Servant for Good, is part 2 of a 5-part series on The King’s Heart, a Biblical view of government and politics, and is available as a free download by clicking here. We cannot understand God’s view of government, or how to function in a political environment apart from faith in King Jesus and His rule. Order T. M.’s book The Kingship of Jesus  to supplement our studies of God and government..

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.