God’s Law – Foundation for the Nations

The nations in the Middle East are in turmoil now, at the latest, with Libya in a fight for its soul. We think of this as something new and wonder if maybe they will finally embrace democracy. After centuries of harsh governments maybe they will finally try things the way the western nations have. The media are all a flutter with panting breath to see who will win, the tyrants or the commoners. The neo-cons are revving the jets to enforce a no fly zone and maybe (not so surreptitiously) muster some arms unloading at the docks.

Meanwhile, here we are, conservative Christians, raking through our thoughts and counter-thoughts to decide what ought to be done. One of the things this tells us is that we have been taught close to nothing by our established churches about nation building, God’s law, or the Biblical vision for Godly government. I am not trying to be overly critical here but really, how is it exactly that we can grow up in Christian churches all our lives and hear nothing whatever taught on God’s law for nations, His building up and tearing down, or the right response for national direction? The answers to these kinds of questions ought to be common knowledge among our people, certainly among our leaders. We cannot go into everything in one tiny column but here are a few thoughts to start the process.

First, we should remember that democratic government i.e. a democracy, is never found nor recommended in the Bible. Rather, we find that when God gave His people the government He approved, He gave them His law, and then established judges to decide disputes. The judges served double duty as generals in time of war. For 400 years (our republic is around 220 years old) God’s people lived under His law. There was no legislature to make new laws. The original civil law found in Exodus-Deuteronomy was sufficient to run a nation for four centuries. After that God’s law remained the basis for Israel’s legal system for hundreds of years under their kings. In fact, the times when His people came under judgment were when they abandoned the law of their God.

It has been said that when the state of Pennsylvania was first established someone asked William Penn what they should use for law. His response was ‘the Bible’. He assumed as did many of our founding fathers that God’s word contained all we need for the foundations of a successful society. They understood that the principles of God’s law are timeless even though the case law brings forth different questions in every era. They believed that God has a perfect right to define justice and that He is in fact the definition of justice. God does not look to find the best law. Rather His own character and His own revelation are the foundation of righteous law. Therefore His law and the principles found in it are eternal and right for all ages. This is why Jesus said that He did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill and that not a jot or tittle of the law would pass away (Sermon on the Mount). He fulfilled the sacrificial and ceremonial law but left the civil law in force. It is the original law of the nations.

Hence to say, that if we want to do nation building we can best do so by teaching God’s law as the foundation for civil society. The Muslims want Sharia law, the secular people want law based on their ever shifting notions of right. Both lead to tyranny. Every system of law not founded on Scripture leads to tyranny in the end whether it be communist, fascist, or just our sloppy local humanism. I understand that our souls are not saved by the law. However, national righteousness and liberty are founded upon the teaching of and obedience to God’s eternal laws of right. If we wish to build nations this is the place to start.

For Christian Culture,

Don Schanzenbach