The 'Privatization of our Faith' (Joseph Boot)

The Godly Kings of Judah are Examples For Christian Magistrates

A depiction of Israelites destroying idols, by order of King
Hezekiah. The Bible considers Hezekiah a very godly king,
and a major reason was that he did not tolerate political
polytheism (i.e., religious pluralism).

by Rev. Brian Schwertley

Reformed Online

(The following is an excerpt from the section, "The Godly Kings of Judah Serve as Examples for Christian Magistrates," in  Political Polytheism by Brian Schwertley)

Many Christians regard the Old Testament nation of Israel as an example for the church but not for non-Israelite states, and certainly not for the modern nations. After all, wasn’t Israel a theocracy? Didn’t Israel have a special covenant relationship to Jehovah? Shouldn’t modern nations be religiously pluralistic? Isn’t the open practice of one’s religion a fundamental human right? Although it is true that Israel was a theocracy and had a special covenant relationship to God there is abundant scriptural evidence that the law system in Israel was to serve as a paradigm, a   model for all nations.[1] This was noted in our examination of Deuteronomy 4:5-8. If Israel’s law system served as a model for the heathen nations during the old covenant era, then it also serves as a model for nations today. 

Furthermore the great commission (Mt. 28:18-20) implies that whole nations will submit to Christ and become explicitly Christian nations. The goal of the great commission is that whole nations will be discipled, whole nations will make a covenant with Jesus Christ. This means that the behavior of the Old Testament kings does serve as an example of how Christian magistrates should or should not behave. What was most pleasing to God? Kings who permitted freedom to openly practice heathen religions—who permitted open religious pluralism—or, kings who suppressed the open practice of false religions? A brief examination of some of the kings in Israel and Judah will prove that God hates religious pluralism.

King Asa is praised by the Holy Spirit for his tough stance against false religions. He "removed all the idols that his fathers had made." A study of First and Second Kings shows that godly civil magistrates are very concerned about promoting true religion in the land. This is done by enforcing the first table commandments and their case laws against idolatry or false religions. King Asa is praised by the Holy Spirit for his tough stance against false religions in Judah. “Asa did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, as did his father David. And he banished the perverted persons from the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. Also, he removed Maachah his grandmother from being queen mother, because she had made an obscene image of Asherah. And Asa cut down her obscene image and burned it by the Brook Kidron” (1 Kgs. 15:11-13). King Jehu of Israel was not a godly king. However, he was blessed by God for what he did to the prophets, priests, and servants of Baal. “Now it happened, as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the guard and to the captains, ‘Go in and kill them; let no one come out!’ And they killed them with the edge of the sword; then the guards and the officers threw them out, and went into the inner room of the temple of Baal. And they brought the sacred pillars out of the temple of Baal and burned them. Then they broke down the sacred pillar of Baal, and tore down the temple of Baal and made it a refuse dump to this day. Thus, Jehu destroyed Baal from Israel” (2 Kgs. 10:25-28).

Under the godly leadership of the priest Jehoiada the wicked government of Athaliah was overthrown and replaced by Jehoash. “Then Jehoiada made a covenant between the LORD, the king, and the people, that they should be the LORD’s people, and also between the king and the people. And all the people of the land went to the temple of Baal, and tore it down. They thoroughly broke in pieces its altars and images, and killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars” (2 Kgs. 11:17-18). Did God think that the actions of Jehoash and Jehoiada were unfair or harsh? On the contrary the Bible says, “Jehoash did what was right in the sight of the LORD all the days in which Jehoiada the priest instructed him” (2 Kgs. 12:2). There is also godly Hezekiah of whom the Bible says, “He did what was right in the sight of the LORD” (2 Kgs. 18:3). “He removed the high places and broke the sacred pillars, cut down the wooden image and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made; for until those days the children of Israel burned incense to it, and called it Nehushtan. He trusted in the LORD God of Israel, so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor who were before him. For he held fast to the LORD; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the LORD had commanded Moses. The LORD was with him; he prospered wherever he went” (2 Kgs. 18:4-7). Hezekiah did all that he could to remove false religion and worship from Judah. He also steadfastly refused to make alliances with the heathen as his father had (2 Kgs. 16:7), and also Asa (1 Kgs. 15:18-19).

After tearing his clothes in grief over his nation's idolatry, King Josiah proceeded to stamp out the open practice of false religion. The Bible says of him, "Before him there was no king like him, who turned to the LORD with all his heart ... nor did any like him arise after him."(2 Kings 23:25) Another great revival of true religion occurred under king Josiah. After the book of the law was found in the temple and read to the king, the king and the people covenanted with the LORD. “And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, the priests of the second order, and the doorkeepers, to bring out of the temple of the LORD all the articles that were made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven; and he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel. Then he removed the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense on the high places in the cities of Judah and in the places all around Jerusalem, and those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, to the moon, to the constellations, and to all the host of heaven.... He executed all the priests of the high places who were there on the altars, and burned men’s bones on them.... Morever Josiah put away those who consulted mediums and spiritists, the household gods and idols, all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might perform the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the LORD” (2 Kgs. 23:4-5, 20, 24). Josiah is commended above all other kings (2 Kgs. 23:25) because he turned to the Lord with his whole heart. He exterminated the outward gross idolatry, the sycretistic priests, the mediums and so on. Josiah (not Bob Dole, or Ronald Reagan) is the type of king set forth as precisely what a Christian nation should strive for. Matthew Poole writes: “Like unto him there was no king before him, to wit, for his diligent study in God’s law, and his exact care, and unwearied industry, and fervent zeal, in rooting out of idolaters, and all kinds and appearances of idolatry, not only in Judah, but in Israel also; and in the establishment of the true religion in all his dominions, and in the conforming of his own life, and his people’s too, (as far as he could), to the holy law of God."[2]

One of the primary lessons from the book of Kings is that righteous civil magistrates uphold true religion by enforcing the penal sanctions against idolatry, witchcraft, sorcery, astrology, etc.; that is, all false religions which by nature enrage Jehovah and defy His law order. Contrary to Christian socialists and certain paleopresbyterians,[3] one does not observe these Old Testament godly kings establishing public schools, hospitals, welfare programs, orphanages, and so on. In accordance with the law and Romans 13:1-6, the righteous kings wield the sword against the wicked and praise the righteous. They execute and banish those who openly practice false religions; they obliterate all idols and the remnants of idolatry; and they completely destroy all idolatrous temples. These kings recognized that a Christian nation that permits the open violation of the first commandment has committed spiritual adultery and has violated the covenant. Any nation that claims to have a commitment to Jesus Christ and His law must publicly covenant with Him. “Without a covenant, there is no law; a covenant requires law.”[4] That is why “every renewal of the covenant was a renewal of the law of the covenant. This was true of Josiah’s reformation, and of every reformation in biblical history.”[5] Any national revival of biblical Christianity requires national repentance; national repentance requires the suppression of all false religions and requires a national covenant. To fully commit to Jehovah, a nation (a moral person) must put off political polytheism and replace it with a public commitment to God and His law word.[6]

All civil magistrates in a Christian commonwealth must submit themselves to the Lord Jesus Christ (cf. Ps. 2:10-12; 20:9; 24:8-10; 47:2-3, 6-7; 84:6). They are to apply both tables of the laws and the appropriate case laws within their God-limited sphere of activity—punishing civil crimes. Godly magistrates are to do everything within their power to insure that the people within their borders are faithful to the covenant. Therefore, righteous magistrates have a duty to continually study the word of God in order to apply the moral principles therein faithfully within the civil sphere. “Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites. And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes, that his heart may not be lifted above his brethren, that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, and that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel” (Dt. 17:18-20). Matthew Poole writes, “That his heart be not lifted up; he intimates, that the Scriptures, diligently read and studied, are a powerful and probable means to keep him humble, because they show him that, though a king, he is subject to a higher Monarch, to whom he must give an account of all his administrations, and actions, and receive from him his sentence and doom agreeable to their quality, which is sufficient to abate the pride of the haughtiest person in the world, if he duly consider it.”[7]

Notes

---

    

[1] “What, then, was the true province of the theocracy? What were its leading objectives? These objectives, as I conceive, without excluding others, were chiefly two. One was to teach mankind the true science of civil government. It corresponds with the goodness of God in other respects, that he should make a special revelation on this subject. I hold it to have been an important part of the legislation of the Most High, as the lawgiver of Israel, to show how civil authority among men should be created, and how it should be administered, so as best to promote the welfare and happiness of a nation; and also how the relations between rulers and ruled should be adjusted and regulated. But another object of the theocratic feature of the Hebrew government, and the leading one undoubtably, was the overthrow and extirpation of idolatry. The design was, first, to effect a separation between the Israelites and their idolatrous neighbors, and, secondly to make idolatry a crime against the state, that so it might be punishable by the civil law, without a violation of civil liberty. A fundamental purpose of the Mosaic polity was the abolition of idolatrous worship, and the substitution in its place, and the maintenance, of a true religion in the world. The only agency, adequate to the production of this result, as far as wisdom can see, was the very institution of the Hebrew theocracy” (E. C. Vines, The Hebrew Republic, p. 65).

[2] Matthew Poole, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1962 [1685]), Vol. I, p. 770.

[3] Paleopresbyterians refer (generally speaking) to certain Presbyterian conservatives who uncritically regard everything done during the period of the Second Reformation period in Scotland as scriptural. They argue that since John Calvin, John Knox and the Scottish church believed in a public school system, etc. it must be biblical. They also argue that since theonomists disagree with Calvin, Knox and the Second Reformation on some issues as to the limited role of the state, theonomy must be wrong. Although the modern theonomy movement has a very poor record on the issues of worship, ecclesiology and the keeping of the Sabbath, its stance regarding the roles of the family, church and state in education and charity are exegetically sound. The only passages which could be used to support the paleopresbyterian position on public schools would be Isaiah 49:23 and Isaiah 60:16. However, given the fact that clearer portions of Scripture must be used to interpret the less clear and what the Law, the history of Israel and the New Testament say about the state, the author must side with the theonomists on this issue (i.e., concerning public schools, state charity, etc.).

[4] R. J. Rushdoony, The Institutes of Biblical Law, p. 676.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Most modern Christian political reform movements act as if Christians can pick and choose which laws should be applied to modern society. The first table laws which obviously are the most unpalatable to American ears are a priori ruled off limits by most Christian reform leaders. These reform movements also work and act as if we can have a Christian nation without a national public commitment to Jesus Christ. There is no question that the pluralistic Baptist paradigm for culture has had and continues to have a strong influence on America’s conservative Christian political leaders. Once Christians understand that natural law theory alone cannot be a basis for Christian civilization and that God’s law is covenantal, they will be left with the only biblical alternative: a society modeled after God’s law and public national covenanting.

[7] Matthew Poole, A Commentary on the Holy Bible, Vol. 1, p. 371.

Bible Magistracy: Christ's Dominion Over the Nations: With An Examination Of The Civil Institutions of the United States

A Covenanter examination of the biblical doctrine of the kingship of Christ and the civil magistrate. Written in 1842 by James McLeod Willson, the son of James Renwick Willson, this book also contains a critique of the United States' Constitution in light of scripture.

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Why Religion has Everything to do with Politics (John Mitchell Mason)

In a sermon in 1800, American pastor John Mitchell Mason (1770-1829) said this about religion and politics:


That religion has, in fact, nothing to do with the politics of many who profess it, is a melancholy truth. But that it has, of right, no concern with political transactions, is quite a new discovery. If such opinions, however, prevail, there is no longer any mystery in the character of those whose conduct, in political matters, violates every precept, and slanders every principle, of the religion of Christ. 

But what is politics? Is it not the science and the exercise of civil rights and civil duties? And what is religion? Is it not an obligation to the service of God, founded on his authority, and extending to all our relations personal and social? 

Yet religion has nothing to do with politics! Where did you learn this maxim? The bible is full of directions for your behaviour as citizens. It is plain, pointed, awful in its injunctions on rulers and ruled as such: yet religion has nothing to do with politics. You are commanded "in all your ways to acknowledge him." [Proverbs 3:6a] "In every thing, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, to let your requests be made known unto God," [Philippians 4:6b] "And whatsoever ye do, in word or deed, to do all in the name of the Lord Jesus." [Colossians 3:17a]

Yet religion has nothing to do with politics! Most astonishing! And is there any part of your conduct in which you are, or wish to be, without law to God, and not under the law of Christ? Can you persuade yourselves that political men and measures are to undergo no review in the judgment to come? That all the passion and violence, the fraud and falsehood, and corruption which pervade the systems of party, and burst out like a flood at the public elections, are to be blotted from the catalogue of unchristian deeds, because they are politics? Or that a minister of the gospel may see his people, in their political career, bid defiance to their God in breaking through every moral restraint, and keep a guiltless silence because religion has nothing to do with politics? 

I forbear to press the argument farther; observing only, that many of our difficulties and sins may be traced to this pernicious notion. Yes, if our religion had had more to do with our politics; if, in the pride of our citizenship, we had not forgotten our Christianity: if we had prayed more and wrangled less about the affairs of our country, it would have been infinitely better for us at this day.

John Mitchell Mason, "The Voice of Warning to Christians," 1800. 

Messiah the Prince (by William Symington)

Description 

This is the classic and unsurpassed work on the doctrine of Christ's mediatorial reign over all things in heaven and earth.

The doctrine of the mediatorial reign of Jesus Christ declares that at His ascension Jesus Christ was exalted to sit at the right hand of God the Father, and was invested with supreme authority over all things in heaven and on earth (Ps. 2:6-12; 110:1-2; Dan. 7:13-14; Isa. 9:6-7; Acts 2:33-36; Matt. 28:18; Eph. 1:20-22; Phil. 2:9-11). Christ is not only the Head of the church, but Lord of all; His authority extends over all men, nations, and spheres of life, including the sphere of civil government. No one has ever articulated the doctrine of the mediatorial reign of Jesus Christ with as much clarity, vigor, and spiritual power as William Symington; and his message is needed today more than ever.  In reading this book the mind is enlightened, and the spirit is stirred. Symington’s work inspires zeal for Jesus Christ in all His mediatorial power and glory. A true Christian cannot read it without being moved to worship anew the King of kings, and to earnestly contend for His crown rights in all spheres of life.

Table of Contents 

Chapter 1 - Necessity of Christ's Mediatorial Dominion

Chapter 2 - Reality of Christ's Mediatorial Dominion

Chapter 3 - Christ's Qualifications for the Kingly Office

Chapter 4 - Appointment of Christ to Mediatorial Dominion

Chapter 5 - Spirituality of Christ's Mediatorial Dominion

Chapter 6 - Universality of Christ's Mediatorial Rule

Chapter 7 - Kingly Office of Christ in Relation to the Church

Chapter 8 - Mediatorial Dominion of Christ over the Nations

Chapter 9 - Mediatorial Dominion of Christ over the Nations (cont.)

Chapter 10 - Perpetuity of Christ's Mediatorial Dominion

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Jonathan Edwards on God as the Supreme Magistrate

Mankind cannot subsist out of society, especially if we comprehend families in the number of societies, and families cannot subsist without the protection of greater societies. As children depend absolutely on families for subsistence, so do families on kingdoms and commonwealths, for peace, security, property, life and everything. And societies cannot subsist without laws. Its members must know by what constitutions or customs they are to regulate their actions. And magistrates are as necessary as laws, for let the laws be never so good, they cannot execute themselves. 

And that laws and magistracy may answer that end, there is need of a Supreme Magistrate, who is almighty, perfectly wise and just, all-knowing, and perfectly acquainted with the conduct of inferior magistrates and of all subjects. Otherwise, the greatest irregularities and enormities may be committed by both with impunity. And it is necessary officers and subjects should know that they are under such a Supreme Magistrate, thus perfectly wise and just, who perfectly inspects and takes care of the society, will judge all, will reward and punish, and that all must give an account of themselves to him, otherwise the welfare of society will not be influenced by his government. That man, who does not believe that he is to account, in the severest manner, for the use and application of his power, ought never to be trusted with any power, because he will endeavor to draw all the advantages of society to himself and his instruments, and turn all its weight and strength against those who thwart his usurpations. 

How can mankind be more unhappy than under a fallible, or I should rather say, a corrupt administration that stands in awe of no superior? As to the subjects, if they do not look upon themselves as accountable to one that is omniscient, omnipotent, and inflexibly just, they will follow their own private ends, in all cases wherein authority can be resisted or evaded, which may be done in most cases. Public societies cannot be maintained without trials and witnesses. And if witnesses are not firmly persuaded that he who holds the supreme power over them is omniscient, just, and powerful, and will revenge falsehood, there will be no dependence on their oaths, or most solemn declarations.

God therefore must be the supreme magistrate. Society depends absolutely on him, and all kingdoms and communities are but provinces of his universal kingdom, who is King of kings, Lord of lords, and Judge of judges.

Thus, as mankind cannot subsist out of society, nor society itself subsist without religion. I mean, without faith in the infinite power, wisdom, and justice of God and a judgment to come; religion cannot be a falsehood. It is not credible that all the happiness of mankind, the whole civil world, and peace, safety, justice, and truth itself, should have nothing to stand on but a lie. It is not to be supposed that God would give the world no other foundation. So that religion is absolutely necessary, and must have some sure foundation.

Jonathan Edwards, Deism Revealed (2nd edition). Cited in "Reason by Jonathan Edwards" at A Puritan's Mind. Retrieved June 11, 2014 from http://www.apuritansmind.com/puritan-favorites/jonathan-edwards/miscellaneous-writings/reason

Christ on His Throne is the Ultimate Foundation (Joel Saint)

James H. Thornwell's Critique of the Constitution, and Appeal for the Confederate States of America to Recognize Christ as King of kings

James H. Thornwell notes that in the U. S. Constitution's failure to
acknowledge the lordship of Christ, "A foundation was thus laid for the
worst of all possible forms of government--a democratic absolutism,
which, in the execution of its purpose, does not scruple to annul
the most solemn compacts and to cancel the most
sacred obligations."

During the War Between the States, James H. Thornwell submitted a paper in December 1861 to the first General Assembly of the Southern Presbyterian Church at Augusta, Georgia, to petition the Congress of the Confederate States of America to recognize in its constitution Jesus Christ as the highest political authority. 

Thornwell would later withdraw the paper "on the ground that circumstances did not permit a full discussion of the subject."[1] It does not appear to have been taken up again later.[2] 

In any case, while the Confederate Constitution acknowledged God, it would never specifically acknowledge the name of Jesus Christ. And, while only God knows the reason why He didn't grant the south victory, perhaps it was for this reason; perhaps it amounted to a refusal to "Kiss the Son," per Psalm 2. 

Thornwell's petition is an excellent defense of the necessity of recognizing Christ's lordship over civil government. Unfortunately, it also includes statements that undermine it, such as allowing for non-Christians to be civil rulers, and what seems to be an extreme allowance of religious toleration. 

Nonetheless, barring such statements, Thornwell's paper is a well-written, inspiring piece. Below is much of Thornwell's paper, which entails the portions more consistent with Christ's lordship over civil government.[3]

Relation of the State to Christ

by James H. Thornwell 

The petition of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the Confederate States of America, now met and sitting in the city of Augusta, in the State of Georgia, to the Congress of the Confederate States of America, now met and sitting in the city of Richmond, in the State of Virginia, respectfully showeth:

That this Assembly is the supreme judicatory of those Presbyterian churches in the Confederate States which were formerly under the jurisdiction of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States; that it comprises ------ Presbyteries, ------ Synods, and ------ members; that it represents a people devotedly attached to the Confederate cause, and eminently loyal to the Confederate Government. 

The changes which your honorable body has made in the Constitution of the United States, and which have been ratified and confirmed by the various States of the Confederacy, have received the universal approval of the Presbyterian population of these States; and none have been more grateful to Cod than themselves for the prudence, caution, moderation and wisdom which have characterized all your counsels in the arduous task of constructing the new Government. We congratulate you on your success. 

"The religion of the
State is embodied
in its Constitution,
as the concrete form
of its organic life."
-- James H. Thornwell

But, gentlemen, we are constrained, in candour, to say that, in our humble judgment, the Constitution, admirable as it is in other respects, still labors under one capital defect. It is not distinctively Christian. It is not bigotry, but love to our country, and an earnest, ardent desire to promote its permanent well-being, which prompts us to call the attention of your honorable body to this subject, and, in the way of respectful petition, to pray that the Constitution may be amended so as to express the precise relations which the Government of these States ought to sustain to the religion of Jesus Christ.

The Constitution of the United States was an attempt to realize the notion of popular freedom, without the checks of aristocracy and a throne, and without the alliance of a national Church. The conception was a noble one, but the execution was not commensurate with the design. The fundamental error of our fathers was, that they accepted a partial for a complete statement of the truth. 

They saw clearly the human side—that popular governments are the offspring of popular will; and that rulers, as the servants and not the masters of their subjects, are properly responsible to them. They failed to apprehend the divine side—that all just government is the ordinance of God, and that magistrates are His ministers who must answer to Him for the execution of their trust. 

The consequence of this failure, and of exclusive attention to a single aspect of the case, was to invest the people with a species of supremacy as insulting to God as it was injurious to them. They became a law unto themselves; there was nothing beyond them to check or control their caprices or their pleasure. All were accountable to them; they were accountable to none. This was certainly to make the people a God; and if it was not explicitly expressed that they could do no wrong, it was certainly implied that there was no tribunal to take cognizance of their acts. 

A foundation was thus laid for the worst of all possible forms of government—a democratic absolutism, which, in the execution of its purpose, does not scruple to annul the most solemn compacts and to cancel the most sacred obligations. The will of majorities must become the supreme law, if the voice of the people is to be regarded as the voice of God; if they are, in fact, the only God whom rulers are bound to obey. 

It is not enough, therefore, to look upon government as simply the institute of man. Important as this aspect of the subject unquestionably is, yet if we stop there, we shall sow the seeds of disaster and failure. We must contemplate people and rulers as alike subject to the authority of God. His will is the true supreme; and it is under Him, and as the means of expressing His sovereign pleasure, that conventions are called, constitutions are framed and governments erected. 

To the extent that the State is a moral person, it must needs be under moral obligation, and moral obligation without reference to a superior will is a flat contradiction in terms. If, then, the State is an ordinance of God, it should acknowledge the fact. If it exists under the conditions of a law superior to all human decrees, and to which all human decrees behoove to be conformed, that law should be distinctly recognized. Let us guard, in this new Confederacy, against the fatal delusion that our government is a mere expression of human will. 

It is, indeed, an expression of will, but of will regulated and measured by those eternal principles of right which stamp it at the same time as the creature and institute of God. And of all governments in the world, a Confederate Government, resting as it does upon plighted faith, can least afford to dispense with the supreme Guardian of treaties.

Thornwell warned that "our republic
will perish like the Pagan republics of
Greece and Rome, unless we baptize
it into the name of Christ."

Your honorable body has already, to some extent, rectified the error of the old Constitution, but not so distinctly and clearly as the Christian people of these States desire to see done. We venture respectfully to suggest, that it is not enough for a State which enjoys the light of Divine revelation to acknowledge in general terms the supremacy of God; it must also acknowledge the supremacy of His Son, whom He hath appointed heir to all things, by whom also He made the worlds. To Jesus Christ all power in heaven and earth is committed. To Him every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess. He is the Ruler of the nations, the King of kings, and Lord of lords.

Should it be said that the subjection of governments to Jesus Christ is not a relation manifested by reason, and therefore not obligatory on the State, the answer is obvious—that duties spring not from the manner in which the relation is made known, but from the truth of the relation itself. If the fact is so that Jesus Christ is our Lord, and we know the fact, no matter how we come to know it, we are bound to acknowledge it, and act upon it. A father is entitled to the reverence of his son, a master to the obedience of his servant, and a king tothe allegiance of his subjects, no matter how the relation between them is ascertained. Now, that Jesus Christ is the supreme Ruler of the nations, we know with infallible certainty, if we accept the Scriptures as the Word of God. ... 

[I]f by "accepting the Scriptures" it is meant that the State may itself believe them to be true, and regulate its own conduct and legislation in conformity with their teachings, the answer must be in the affirmative. As a moral person, it has a conscience as really and truly as every individual citizen. To say that its conscience is only the .aggregate of individual consciences, is to say that it is made up of conflicting and even contradictory elements. 

The State condemns many things which many of its subjects approve, and enjoins many things which many of its subjects condemn. There are those who are opposed to the rights of property and the institution of marriage, yet the public conscience sanctions and protects them both. What, then, is this public conscience? It is clearly the sum of those convictions of right, that sense of the honorable, just and true, which legislators feel themselves bound to obey in the structure of governments and the enactment of laws. It is a reflection of the law of God; and when that law is enunciated with authoritative clearness, as it is in the Scriptures, it becomes only the more solemnly imperative. 

And as the eternal rule of justice, the State should acknowledge it. Considered in its organic capacity as a person, it no more violates the rights of others in submitting itself to the revealed will of God, than a Christian, when he worships the supreme Jehovah, violates the rights of an Atheist or idolater. What the States does itself, and what it enjoins upon others to do, are very different things. It has an organic life apart from the aggregate life of the individuals who compose it; and in that organic life, it is under the authority of Jesus Christ and the restraints of His holy Word. ...

The religion of the State is embodied in its Constitution, as the concrete form of its organic life. ...

[T]he separation of Church and State is a very different thing from the separation of religion and the State. Here is where our fathers erred. In their anxiety to guard against the evils of a religious establishment, and to preserve the provinces of Church and State separate and distinct, they virtually expelled Jehovah from the government of the country, and left the State an irresponsible corporation, or responsible only to the immediate corporators. They made it a moral person, and yet not accountable to the Source of all law. It is this anomaly which we desire to see removed; and the removal of it by no means implies a single element of what is involved in a national Church.

The amendment which this General Assembly ventures respectfully to crave we have reason to believe is earnestly desired, and would be hailed as an auspicious omen by the overwhelming majority of the Christian people of these Confederate States. ... They simply crave that a country which they love should be made yet dearer to them, and that the Government which they have helped to frame they may confidently commend to their Saviour and their God, under the cheering promise that those who honor Him He will honor. 

Promotion cometh neither from the East, nor from the West, nor from the South. God is the ruler among the nations; and the people who refuse Him their allegiance shall be broken with a rod of iron, or dashed in pieces like a potter's vessel. Our republic will perish like the Pagan republics of Greece and Rome, unless we baptize it into the name of Christ. "Be wise now, therefore, 0 ye kings; be instructed, ye judges of the earth; kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and ye perish from the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little." [editor's note: from Psalm 2:10, 12a; verse 11 is omitted]

We long to see, what the world has never yet beheld, a truly Christian Republic, and we humbly hope that God has reserved it for the people of these Confederate States to realize the grand and glorious idea. God has wooed us by extraordinary goodness; He is now tempering us by gentle chastisements. Let the issue be the penitent submission of this great people at the footstool of His Son.

The whole substance of what we desire may be expressed in the following or equivalent terms to be added to the section providing for liberty of conscience:

Nevertheless we, the people of these Confederate States, distinctly acknowledge our responsibility to God, and the supremacy of His Son, Jesus Christ, as King of kings and Lord of lords; and hereby ordain that no law shall be passed by the Congress of these Confederate States inconsistent with the will of God, as revealed in the Holy Scriptures.

Notes
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[1] Dr. James H. Thornwell, "Relation of the State to Christ," Christian Nation, 19 February 1902, p. 1.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid., 1-3.

photo credit:

Confederate flags from My Story of the War

© Old Book Art (CC BY -SA 3.0 US)

Messiah, Governor of the Nations (Thomas Houston)

Thomas Houston

Thomas Houston reminds us that the kingship of Christ shall be universally acknowledged during the church’s latter-day glory:

3. The Headship of Christ, the Mediator, shall be universally acknowledged.

The central principle of the Divine administration is the supremacy of the Mediator.  He has the right of universal sovereignty in virtue of the Father’s designation, and as the reward of his finished work.  He has been set King upon Zion’s holy hill.  For the suffering of death He has been crowned with dignity and honour; and set at the Father’s right hand, all things throughout the universe are put in subjection under Him.  In virtue of his high exaltation, the ready homage and submission of men in all ranks and conditions are claimed for the Lord’s Anointed.  To Him the appointment is given, “Rule in the midst of thine enemies;” and earth’s potentates, judges, and mighty ones are commanded, at their peril, to “Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and they perish from the way, if his wrath is enkindled but for a little.”  The Messiah is “Governor among the nations,” and from associated communities, as being under law to Him, He claims the recognition of his right to rule, and submission to his paramount authority.  Upon his vesture and thigh He has a name written – “King of kings, and Lord of lords;” and on behalf of Christ and his Church, it is declared, “The nation and kingdom that will not serve Thee shall perish; yea, all these nations shall be utterly wasted.”

Thomas Houston, The judgment of the papacy: and the reign of righteousness (1851) in Works doctrinal and practical of the Rev. Thomas Houston, D.D., Knockbracken (4 vols, Edinburgh, 1876), i, 328-9.

originally posted at Reformed Covenanter

  

Download: Theocracy or the Principles of the Jewish Religion and Polity Adapted to all Nations and Times

Defense of a theocratic approach to national life by a minister of the Free Church of Scotland, the Revd Robert Craig of Rothesay (1848). 

Excerpts: 

"And, since the principles and infallible rules of justice ought not to be left to the ever-varying opinions, judgments, or customs of men, but should be sought for in the law given, in the rules observed, and in the examples set by the supreme lawgiver, it becomes the duty of Christians to ascertain and act upon what the divine Word declares on this important and difficult subject." p. 280

"Transgressions of the law of property are ... punished by the demand for restitution, which is compensative to him who has suffered from theft or robbery, together with such additions as are necessary to indemnify him for the loss he may have temporarily sustained, and for the trouble he may have had in obtaining redress of his wrong. Thus, by the law of God, a thief was compelled to restore fourfold." p. 282

"Those offences ... which consist in destroying the virtue, order, or happiness of society—those acts which are directed against what is essential to the well-being of all around—and for which no sacrifice of personal service, no payment of money, no loss of liberty, can compensate, are to be punished with death; that is, with the forfeiture of the power which has been so abused, that the individual may never be able to repeat the crime. Thus treason, adultery, blasphemy, &c., are by the divine law visited with capital punishment, because they are directed against the very first principles of law, government, and society, whether these be human or divine." pp. 282, 283

"How monstrous a thing is it for any one to advocate a liberty, nay, right, to deny or blaspheme the Creator of all things, and even his own Maker! What could be said of the man who should insist on a perfect immunity for denying, vilifying, and trampling on the laws of his rightful sovereign? Such a one, by the consent of all, deserves to be driven beyond the bounds of his nation, and to have all means of communicating with its inhabitants, and enjoying its privileges, removed out of his power for ever." pp. 287, 288

"That the civil magistrate has to do with the first table of the law, is clearly proved from the subject now under consideration, many of those offences which were punishable with death, being transgressions of that table. It will not do to say that the rule does not apply to Christian States, since the Jews were under a theocracy.  No doubt they were so; but it is equally true of Christian States, that they also are under a theocracy." p. 290

Download Theocracy or the Principles of the Jewish Religion and Polity Adapted to all Nations and Times

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni Dedicates Uganda to God (Theonomy Applied)

Recently, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni set a great example for leaders around the world by openly repenting of both his own sins and the sins of his country, and by dedicating his nation to God. 

The following Museveni said at the National Jubilee Prayers in Namboole:

"Father God in heaven, today we stand here as Ugandans, to thank you for Uganda. We are proud that we are Ugandans and Africans. We thank you for all your goodness to us.  

"I stand here today to close the evil past and especially in the last 50 years of our national leadership history and at the threshold of a new dispensation in the life of this nation. I stand here on my own behalf and on behalf of my predecessors to repent. We ask for your forgiveness. 

"We confess these sins, which have greatly hampered our national cohesion and delayed our political, social and economic transformation.

"We confess sins of idolatry and witchcraft which are rampant in our land. We confess sins of shedding innocent blood, sins of political hypocrisy, dishonesty, intrigue and betrayal. 

"Forgive us of sins of pride, tribalism and sectarianism; sins of laziness, indifference and irresponsibility; sins of corruption and bribery that have eroded our national resources; sins of sexual immorality, drunkenness and debauchery; sins of unforgiveness, bitterness, hatred and revenge; sins of injustice, oppression and exploitation; sins of rebellion, insubordination, strife and conflict. 

"These sins and many others have characterised our past leadership, especially the last 50 years of our history. Lord forgive us and give us a new beginning. Give us a heart to love you, to fear you and to seek you. Take away from us all the above sins. 

"We pray for national unity. Unite us as Ugandans and eliminate all forms of conflict, sectarianism and tribalism. Help us to see that we are all your children, children of the same Father. Help us to love and respect one another and to appreciate unity in diversity. [Editor's disclaimer: we do not like this statement, as it sounds like universalism; only Christians are God's children, not those of other religions, and surely Uganda is not 100% Christian]

"We pray for prosperity and transformation. Deliver us from ignorance, poverty and disease. As leaders, give us wisdom to help lead our people into political, social and economic transformation.

"We want to dedicate this nation to you so that you will be our God and guide. We want Uganda to be known as a nation that fears God and as a nation whose foundations are firmly rooted in righteousness and justice to fulfil what the Bible says in Psalm 33:12: Blessed is the nation, whose God is the Lord. A people you have chosen as your own. 

"I renounce all the evil foundations and covenants that were laid in idolatry and witchcraft. I renounce all the satanic influence on this nation. And I hereby covenant Uganda to you, to walk in your ways and experience all your blessings forever.

"I pray for all these in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen."

Notes

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[1] Cited in "For the sins of Uganda, I repent -- Museveni," New Vision: Uganda's Leading Daily (October 18, 2012). Retrieved November 24, 2012. 

photo credits:London, 11th July 2012. President Yuweri Museveni of Uganda, speaking at the London Summit on Family Planning.

© Russell Watkins/Department for International Development / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY -SA 2.0)

Note about the Theonomy Applied Series: In quoting any particular law, we do not necessarily endorse every aspect of that law as biblical, whether it be the prohibition, sanction, court procedure, etc. Rather, we are merely showing the more or less attempt to apply biblical law in history, whether or not that application was fully biblical. Moreover, in quoting any particular law, we do not necessarily consider those who passed and/or enforced such a law as being fully orthodox in their Christian theology. Professing Christian rulers in history have ranged in their theology from being orthodox (that is, Reformed Protestants) to heretical (for example, Roman Catholics).