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This is the second in a series of blogs on a biblical view of civil government. The first blog discussed civil government as it existed at creation. You can find it here.
However, Adam and Eve sinned, and sin changed everything. When Adam sinned the governmental utopia that God created
him to enjoy unraveled. Sin placed Adam under the rule of Satan, not God. Now
Satan became, in Jesus’ words, “the
Prince of this World” (Jn 12:31).
In addition, God punished Adam, Eve, and all of their
descendants with the principle of Sin. Because we inherit “Sin” from Adam we come out of the womb inherently proud, greedy,
discontent, self-centered, insecure, anxious, rebellious, and dominated by self
will. And this is the short list.
This means that most men must now be externally coerced to
do good. Civil Government is the external coercion that allows some modicum of
order in our social lives. In the words of D. A. Carson, “As a whole, the Scriptures recognize that civil
authority restrains evil. Arguably, that is its primary purpose.”
What does this coercion look like? First it is financial. Civil
government contributes to the common good by taxing its citizens. That money is
used to build infrastructures such as roads, bridges,
schools, etc. The money is also used to hire and train judges, courts,
sheriffs, policeman, fireman, and a standing army––all social structures to
protect us from the expressions of sin in fallen men.
Second, Civil government enacts laws for the common good and
enforces those laws.
However, there is a problem. Those engaged in Civil
Government are themselves sinners. In addition, as we have seen, the whole enterprise of Civil
Government is under the dominion of Satan. This means that taxes are abused. It
means that Civil Government promotes sinful agendas such as homosexual
marriage, abortion, etc. In the words of Bob Dylan, “lawbreakers are
making the rules.” (e.g. The man who doesn’t pay his taxes , Timothy Geithner,
is appointed Secretary of the Treasury). And it also means that throughout
history Civil Government has often used its power to oppress the church. Therefore, Civil Government in a fallen world is a very
imperfect system. It is a temporary stop-gap to make life in a Fallen World
bearable.
Sin brought Civil Government into existence, and the return
of Christ will abolish Civil Government as we know it. “The state belongs to the
order of preservation, not of creation…" wrote Martin Luther. "God gives [humanity] an
institutional instrument [Civil Government] for the preservation of the race from
violent self-destruction.”
Because we live in fallen world Civil government is
limited. It can provide no ultimate temporal salvation. Those who look to Civil
Government for temporal salvation expect from the State what only God can give.
The word for this expectation is “Statism.”
It is a form of idolatry. It is the worship of the State, and it is one of the
most common god-substitutes in the modern world.
In summary, God has given us Civil Government. "Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is not authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God" (Rom. 13:1). It is a gift to restrain evil, but it was not part of his original plan.
We have looked at Civil Government through the lens of Creation and Fall. Our next blog post will view Civil Government through the lens of Redemption.
Labels: civil government, culture, culture wars, politics, the fall, worldview
