Last week we expressed our concern with the growing pressure on churches to support political parties and politicized entities. You can read that article here. In it you'll find a list of links to other articles we’ve written on the intersection of law, culture, and faith.

Over the next two weeks I wanted to attempt to provide a framework of 15 principles from scripture that will help us see the role and limits of government. The philosophies of politics are diverse and complicated. And so are various understandings of how faith intersects with them. Christian thinkers such as Theophilus, Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, and Calvin have each varied in details but have added their perspectives to the conversation. This week we will take a quick tour through our first 8 principles for a biblical framework.

1. God is the supreme judge of all the earth.

God alone is the Creator and Judge of the whole sphere of human life and existence. Within the scriptures we see a wide latitude for human freedom and independence, even to rebel against God without immediate consequence. However, all humanity will ultimately be judged for their actions by their Creator.

• Genesis 18:25 Will not the judge of all of the earth do what is right?
  
  
• Acts 17:31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.

2. Authority is granted by God.

The idea of “authority” is not evil. Authority begins with God who delegates to humans the authority to lead each other. Humans are responsible for leading in ways that reflect God's values and delegated leadership. In that sense, all authority, in each of its distinctive capacities, should conform to the character of God.

• Romans 13:1 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.

3. There are different kinds of authority.

God gives humanity different kinds of authority to lead and guide one another in various domains of life: families, churches, governments, schools, organizations, etc. Though the Apostle Peter was speaking to a first-century audience, we can still observe the different kinds of delegated authority in the epistle of 1 Peter. Modern-day structures and cultural hierarchies may look different, but the broad principle of diversified domains of authority still applies:

• 1 Peter 2:13 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors…(18) slaves, in reverent fear of God submit yourselves to your masters...(3:1) Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands… [Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.—Paul adds the injunction to children in his list in Ephesians 5-6.]
  
  
• See also the prophet Isaiah’s description of society and its layers of authority in Isaiah 3:5.

4. Governments possess limited authority.

The government doesn’t possess infinite power to do whatever it wants or to coerce people into the arbitrary will of the governors. The government wields the “sword” to suppress evil, such as stopping crime, theft, murder, slander, etc. Some Christian thinkers like Luther believe that the state’s power should only be a restrictive force against sin and evil. Other Christian thinkers such as Aquinas or Calvin believe the state also carries the authority to promote the general good of the people. Power is then expanded—within limits—to provide things such as civic management, a social welfare safety net, environmental stewardship, etc. Therefore, even within Christian interpretations, we have a liberal and a conservative approach to political power. Ultimately, if the state needs to consider legislation, it should always be asking what other institutions and domains of society can best deal with this problem.

• 1 Peter 2:13-14 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right.
  
  
• Romans 13:4 For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.

5. Governments collect taxes to provide their services.

Both Jesus and the Apostle Paul recognized the limited role of governments and their need to collect tax revenue to govern human affairs.

• Luke 20:25 (Jesus) said to them, “Then give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
  
  
• Romans 13:6 This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing.

6. The goal of government should be to promote justice and the good of the people.

The spirit and aim of the government's limited authority is to enforce an equal standard of justice and to serve the good of the people. Within the Israelite monarchy, kingship carried with it the responsibility to repulse politically and economically oppressive structures. Yet governments also must be restrained from enslaving their people.

• 1 Kings 10:9 he has made you king to maintain justice and righteousness.
  
  
• Isaiah 56:1 Maintain justice and do what is right for my salvation is close at hand.
  
  
• See scriptures for point #4
  
  
• In 1 Samuel 8, the prophet warned the Israelites that a monarchy's centralization of power would result in tyranny.

7. National law should be universally blind and hold all individuals to equal standards.

Universality was a distinctive nature of the Mesopotamian Law codes—the code of Hammurabi—which provided a foundation and background for the Mosaic Law in the Bible. Judgment was no longer prejudicial to the whim and mood of the judge. It was externalized and written down into a legal system. And that system was designed to be blind to any particular person under its jurisdiction. Wealth, social standing, family background, foreign origin, or social pressure were not to affect the outcome of the law’s verdict on a person’s actions.  

• Proverbs 24:23 To show partiality in judging is not good: Whoever says to the guilty, “You are innocent,” will be cursed by peoples and denounced by nations.
  
  
• Leviticus 19:15 Do not act unjustly when deciding a case. Do not be partial to the poor or give preference to the rich; judge your neighbor fairly.
  
  
• Numbers 15:15-16 The assembly is to have the same statute for both you and the resident alien.
  
  
• Exodus 23:2-3 You must not follow a crowd in wrongdoing. Do not testify in a lawsuit and go along with a crowd to pervert justice.
  
  
• Job 34:19 God is not partial to princes and does not favor the rich over the poor, for they are all the work of his hands.

8. The distinction between legislative, executive, and judicial powers is present in God himself.

Even within Hebraic law, we see the three-tiered separation of powers within the judicial system. The prophet Isaiah called the failing nation of Judah back to judicial reforms under God's three-part guidance. Look closely...

• Isaiah 33:22 For the Lord is our judge (judicial), the Lord is our lawgiver (legislative), the Lord is our king (executive); it is he who will save us.
  
  
• In Exodus 18, Moses sets up a network of judges called to function ethically and enforce the law God provided legislatively on Mt. Sinai.

As you have observed in these first eight principles, government fulfills a necessary and important function within society. Governments must also be careful not to overstep their role and delegated authority. The distinction of authority from other institutions, and the separation of powers within the apparatus of government itself are healthy parameters to keep the use of power "in check." And ultimately, government's use of power should reflect the truth of God's moral laws in human relationships. Next week we will look more closely at scriptures that address the corrections to governmental power, when civil disobedience is permissible, and further distinctions between the church's authority and the state's authority. 

Tags: god, kingdom, righteousness, justice, leadership, authority, government, law, judge, politics, society, delegation, governors