The Patriot Post® · Self-Governance vs. Arbitrary Power

We are continually amazed at the blatant disregard for law, order, and due process in this country, especially from our leadership. Why is it that they exhibit such disregard, even disdain for our law and founding documents? How is it that they can get away with such obvious violations of our law? It is primarily because they are operating from a different world view point then we are. Their principles, morals, and ethics are wholly different, even in opposition to ours, and to the morality this nation was founded on. We call it by many names, Liberalism, Socialism, Marxism, Communism, Humanism, etc., but it all comes down to one thing; they operate by the Rule of Man.

Since the conception of the Christian religion and faith by Jesus Christ, laid as the Cornerstone (Mk 12:10) and the Apostolic foundation laid after Him (Eph 2:20-22, 1 Pt 2:5), one of the key principles of our faith has been self-governance and independence from arbitrary powers (kings, dictators, etc.) and top heavy hierarchies (bureaucrats, man centered religions, etc.). This is one key point that eventually brought the Christians into conflict with the Roman Empire and later with the Roman Catholic Church, both of which are arbitrary powers and top heavy hierarchies. Christians have striven against such efforts since there have been Christians, thus we were labeled “Protestants” as we protested such tyrannical governments, institutions, and leaders.

This is the very spirit the Separatist embodied, or as we better know them, the Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth. They left the arbitrary power of the king of England and the top heavy hierarchy of the Anglican Church to carry on the true faith as Christ laid it out. This is the seed that became America. It had to grow for a time in the shadow of the king of England, establishing a new nation of people here in America. However, beginning with the Great Awakening, we began to sever the ties. This revival broke down the ties to the ritualistic, top heavy Anglican Church, severing us spiritually from England, and putting the ideas of self-government and independence back into the minds of the generation who would then father our Christian Founding Fathers. Before we had such men as George Washington and Patrick Henry, even before George Mason and Benjamin Franklin, there were men such as Jonathan Edwards and George Whitfield who carried on the work of the Pilgrim Fathers who came before them.

When our Christian Founding Fathers began to form the foundation of our government, many ideas flew about, from one extreme to another, of a monarchy with George Washington as king, to a loose confederation of states. They were learned men, steeped in history and looking deep into the wisdom of the ages. What they saw was nation after nation, some with liberty, most with few freedoms, but none with a free people. Every nation was subject to some arbitrary power, whether king, emperor, oligarchy as we often see today under Marxist type systems or top heavy religious theocracies such as under the Catholic church or under Islam. Even the Republic of Rome or the many experiments of the Greeks left the people in subjection to the Rule of Man. In all these nations, the power and authority came from the top down. The leaders ruled by power, as they willed, not wholly by law.

The Founders dug deeper for inspiration, searching for the headwaters of liberty and a solid foundation on which to secure the liberty of a truly free people. They found it only in the Bible. Out of the pages of Scripture they pulled the time tested true principles of liberty, independence, and most importantly; self-governance. While ancient Israel during the period of the theocracy enjoyed most of the freedoms we would claim, they still were under the arbitrary power of judges and the Levite priests. This only worked part of the time because God directly chose some of the judges and sent prophets to keep things in order. So no theocracy could truly work in this New Covenant age, because it sets up men (judges) in positions of arbitrary power and a system of top heavy hierarchy will certainly follow as it has every other time before in such systems as the Catholic church, Islam, Judaism, the Mormon Church, Jehovah Witnesses, Anglican Church etc. The time was not yet ready for self-governance; after all did not God call Israel His “children” (Dt 1:3)?

In the New Testament, we are called to be adult believers. Many times we are exhorted to “act as men” (1 Cor 16:13). This is why the Christian Founders choose a new path when they formed our system of government. It is in principle, wholly based on biblical precepts. The three branches, Executive, Legislative, and Judiciary, were codified in God’s Law (Is 33:22) as follows. The Executive is where God Himself sat during the theocracy period and later where God appointed King David and his line after him (2 Sm 7:8-16). The Legislative we read spoken of in such terms as the council of the princes, “rulers of the father’s households” of Israel, or appointed leaders (Ex 24:1, 2 Chr 23:20, electing reps. Dt 1:13). This concept is carried over into the New Testament when we read about deacons, elders, overseers, and bishops (1 Tm 3, Ti 1:5-9). Whenever leaders and representatives of the people come together in council, this is a legislative body, issuing decrees, laws, or judgments (2 Chr 30, Ex 18). The Judiciary are the judges, by inspiration of Jethro, Moses’ father in-law (Ex 18). Thus, the power of rule was balanced and given checks to keep it that way so as not to depend on any one man, king, judge, priest, etc., to hold the reins of power. We the People of the United States then ratified this Constitution and form of government, just as We the People of Israel agreed to their covenant with God under Moses (Ex 24). The key difference is that God acted more directly back then, whereas, We the People now act as His agents here on earth. Being sons of the Living God (Rom 8:14-16, Hos 1:10), we have been given power and authority for dominion (Gn 1:26, Jas 3:7) and self-governance (1 Cor 6:1-6, 1 Tm 5:8). Thus our elected leaders must run our government by the Rule of Law set securely at the founding of this nation and each state, and amended as needed or as the People saw fit. Our elected leaders do not rule nor hold power themselves because they are only agents appointed by the God given power and authority of the individual citizen, on behalf of the People, for the People, and under God.

In conclusion, because all power and authority originates from God (Gn 1:1, Rom 13:1 ) and He has, by His sovereign right, granted such power and authority to men on earth as His agents, we can see it is by this grant we have liberty, inalienable rights, power, and authority. Since it has been given into our stewardship, as His sons, we do have the right and responsibility to carry out these duties, and the liberty to do as we see fit under and within His moral and civil principles (Ex 18, 2 Chr 30, Acts 15). Thus, by this power and authority from God, through the People, our nation and form of government was founded. This selfsame government must be maintained against all the corrupting forces of human nature and of evil (the Rule of Man), resulting in arbitrary power exercised, creating tyranny. By no other authority or power can true liberty be formed or maintained, short of God Himself. This is the uniqueness of our nation’s founding and form of government; and why no other will guarantee such liberty, even though many claim to.