Oct 10
26
Is Civil Government a Biblical Concept?
American Vision – October 26, 2010
Is Civil Government a Biblical Concept?
By Gary DeMar
A brief survey of the Bible and its principles will show that it has directives for all areas of life. Does this include civil government? Is God as concerned about the structure and principles of political systems as He is about families? Or has God left the area of political systems for man to develop according to the needs of a particular era or to satisfy the desires of a particular people? Or does the Bible claim “neutrality” in certain areas of life, leaving man to create his own directives? For example, is there a Christian economic system? Or is the study of economics a neutral enterprise? Does the Bible set forth directives in the area of science? Are there certain creational laws that God has established to order the universe? Is it possible to develop an educational system from Scripture? Can educational facts have any meaning if they are not related to God and His word? Can one really be “educated” if Christ is not at the center of his life, giving meaning to all facts and experiences? Are there commandments that address the issues of business?
The Bible clearly teaches that Jesus is Lord and that His lordship extends over all the facets of society and its institutions, including the family, economics, science, education, and for this study, civil government. There is no realm of society where the lordship of Jesus Christ can be ignored. When political systems rule, they rule in accordance with a law system. This is inevitable. There can be no neutral law system. “It must be recognized that in any culture, the source of law is the god of that society”[1]. If man is the source of a society’s laws, then man is the god of that society. If society ignores the governing principles that God has set forth in His word, then that society is competing with the Lord of all creation. But Scripture is clear; God does not compete with His creation: “That they may know that Thou alone, whose name is the LORD, art the Most High over all the earth” (Ps. 83:18). God shares His glory with no man, society, or political system: “I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, nor My praise to graven images” (Isa. 42:8; 48:11).