Newsflash: God Ordained Civil Government

I love a quote I heard the late Dr. Adrian Rogers, former pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee, make over the radio where he asked, “Would God ordain civil government for His people and then tell His people not to get involved?” Any minimally studied Jew or Christian knows it was God who ordained civil government. As documented in the first five books of the Bible, God established the religious, moral and civil laws for social order and society’s benefit.

In His sovereignty, God oversees all matters of law, but He has allowed mankind some participation in the process. Initially, priests and judges were ordained among men by God to govern people. Moral laws were adjudicated by both priests and judges, while civil matters were the strict responsibility of the judges (Lev. 19:15, Deut. 16:18-19). Religious ceremonial matters were that of the priests. The natural and spiritual laws remain in God’s direct control.

God desired His people remain under His care in a theocratic style of government, but His people weren’t satisfied. They demanded a king from among their own, thus worldly governments were birthed. According to the Bible, mankind is governed by men appointed by God (Rom. 6, 13:1; Titus 3:1).

Some governments choose to recognize God of the Bible as sovereign; some do not. America, gratefully, is one place that not only recognized God but also the Bible as the guiding standard in the formulation of our laws and policies.

The Founding Fathers of this great nation all held to a biblical worldview whether or not they personally professed Jesus Christ as their Savior. The evidence for this statement is found in the Declaration of Independence. It was their personal conviction or respect for the biblical worldview that directly influenced the formulation of America’s government.

“The American community presumed a common set of values which were principally biblical” author Greg Koukl said. The Bible is irrefutably the standard the Founding Fathers used to establish our American style of government.

So why aren’t more Christians involved in our governmental process? Could it possibly be because of politics?

For more, visit Pamela Christian’s blog here and listen to the full episode of Faith to Live By on the Charisma Podcast Network here. {eoa}