A Look at God's Word by
Gary Ray Branscome
A key factor in understanding God's plan for government lies
in understanding the proper relationship of law to gospel. For it is
only as we understand that relationship, that we are able to understand the
role that God intended for the law to play in the salvation of souls, and the
role that government should play in calling the world to repentance.
To put it briefly, the law does not
make us righteous in the sight of God. Instead it condemns our sin, thereby
showing us our need of His mercy. Therefore, the purpose of government is not
to make people righteous, but to act as an agent of God's wrath in condemning
and punishing certain heinous sins. When rulers carry out that role as God
intended, not only is justice done, but citizens take the law seriously, and
when the law is taken seriously people are more likely to seek God's mercy
(Matthew 24:12, 1Peter 2:14, 1 Timothy 1:9, Ecclesiastes 8:11).
One common error is the assumption
that the law has changed, or become easier to keep. However, Christ did not
change the law, He fulfilled it (Matthew
That being understood, we can see
that the Old Testament reveals God's will for the state, while the New
Testament reveals His will for the church. While a state religion existed in
Another thing to consider, is the
fact that even though God abolished the religious system of
Those who would rigidly impose the
laws of
Because our natural knowledge of
right and wrong has been corrupted by sin, it is a good idea for our rulers to
look to the political laws of
[NOTE: A clear distinction between the religious and
political laws of
The story of the woman taken in
adultery is often twisted to support the idea that God's law has changed (John
8:1-11). After all, the Law of Moses said that the woman should be put to
death, yet Jesus did not condemn her (Leviticus
Because the gospel is God's message
to those who repent, the story of how Jesus dealt with that woman is gospel. It
was not recorded to encourage the unrepentant (by leading them to think that
the law no longer condemns them) but to assure those who repent that they have
forgiveness in Christ.
While the church does not have the
authority to carry out capital punishment, and has never been authorized by God
to do so, Paul called upon the Corinthian congregation to condemn a man who was
unrepentant (1Corinthians 5:1-5). And he made it clear that politically
speaking, "they which commit such things" are still "worthy of
death" (Romans
While those who are magistrates have a responsibility to carry out the
law, and to punish those who are guilty, there is no need to act mean or
vindictive as if we are more righteous than they. Those who are judges need to
remain objective, to be fair in their evaluation of the evidence, and to
pronounce sentence in accord with the law. At the same time, we who are not judges
need to remember that we are sinners in need of God's forgiveness.
When a man came to Jesus saying, "Master, speak to my brother, that
he divide the inheritance with me" (Luke
When Joseph first learned that Mary was pregnant, he knew
that he had not been intimate with her, so he assumed that she had done wrong.
Nevertheless, because he was a just man (a man justified by faith) he was not
willing to shame her publicly as if he was more righteous than she. Instead he
planned to divorce her quietly. Had she been guilty, the authorities would have
learned of it in time, but he was not going to usurp their job. Thus, even
though we now know that she was innocent, Joseph set an example for us to
follow (Philippians 2:5).
At present our country faces a situation much like what Moses faced, when
Balaam advised the Moabites to commit adultery with the children of
Since rulers are agents of God's wrath, when they execute a
sinner, it is as if judgement day had come early for
that person. And capital punishment is in full accord with the will of God
(Genesis 9:6). Not because God delights in the death of the wicked, but because
those who trust in Him must be protected, and without punishment the guilty are
unlikely to repent (Ecclesiastes
The Ten Commandments were given to
Moses, not Aaron, and the are the basis of the
political law, not the religious law. Therefore, those who would (in the name
of separation of church and state) restrict the Ten Commandments to the church,
are themselves guilty of violating the Biblical distinction between church and
state.
Because the church represents God's
heavenly kingdom, pastors should keep politics out of the pulpit. By getting involved
in politics they only alienate those who do not share their views. At the same
time, outside of church Christians should be an influence for good in the
nation, and should never be so self-righteous that they prefer to remain aloof
lest they soil themselves by contact with the world. At the same time, every
Christian (pastor and layman alike) should condemn the sins of those in power,
just as John the Baptist condemned the sins of Herod.