The word “federalism
comes from the Latin “foedus” meaning covenant, compact, or treaty. One of the arguments that the United States
was a Christian nation comes from the concept of federalism being derived from
the teaching of Scripture. Heavily influenced by John Knox and his Book of
Order, America may have been founded under the principles of “covenant” with
the God of the Universe. It was to be a government by representation as indicated
in Deuteronomy 1:13. Here, Moses reminded the Israelites of choosing wise and
discerning men to represent them. The government of the United States would be
a government “of the people, by the people, and for the people.” Without wise
and discerning men to represent us, we will become as bait for the wolves. In
fact, Thomas Jefferson once said, "If a nation expects to be ignorant
and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will
be." In other words, an
ignorant people have never be free.
The three
divisions of government sound very similar to Isaiah 33:22, which describes God
as a judge, lawgiver, and king. Hence,
the judiciary, the congress, and the executive branch of government reflect
various aspects of the character of God. The Scottish Covenanters had a great
influence in the founding of American government. Part of it came through the
teaching of John Witherspoon who was President of Princeton during the
Revolutionary War period of America. He influenced two thirds of the signers of
the Declaration of Independence and many others who became part of the integral
founding and ruling of Colonial America to include James Madison, a Virginian
sent to Princeton to be educated under Witherspoon.
The dual nature
of government in obeying God and magistrates was a Covenanter principle. The
principle was derived from Matthew 22:38-40 in which Jesus said that the
foremost commandment is to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind; and to
love your neighbor as yourself. Since
Jesus was King over all peoples and nations, subjects answered to Him.
Obedience was to God and the men that were appointed by God to run the nation
(Rom. 13:1ff). The idea of Church and State coexisting for mutual benefit was
derived from the Covenanter principle known as the “Mediatorial Kingship of
Jesus Christ.” It could be diagrammed as follows:
CHRIST
(over)
CHURCH (and) STATE
(over)
PEOPLE
God in Christ
is the ruler of all nations (Psalm 47:8). Christ does not cease to rule over
the state because governments fail to recognize Him. He is the King of the Universe and laughs at unbelieving
nations, holding them in derision (Psalm 59:8). The State exists because of Him
who is no respecter of nations (Isa. 40:17), but He does rule over them; and
those who are magistrates have an obligation to rule under Him according to His
dictates, which are found only in Scripture (Rom. 13:1ff). The State therefore exists
to rule for the common good and to protect the Church and its teachings about
Christ and religion. The Church exists to teach the State how to rule for the
common good in accordance with the principles of Scripture. The Church is
charged by Christ to teach the values and morality of the Christian religion
and the State is to protect the right to do so. Civil government therefore is a
divine institution and is subject to the law and authority of Christ. Nations claiming to be Christian have by
covenant declared so. Christ has
authority over nations, governors, and legislatures, and it is their duty to
serve and obey Him. Ignorance of the
Word is no excuse.
It is sad that
our own United States no longer recognizes Him who is King over all nations. We
may pay a price for relegating the Lord of the Universe to a position of scorn
and disparagement. A lion has gone up
from his thicket, a destroyer of nations has set out; he has gone out from his
place to make your land a waste; your cities will be ruins without inhabitant
(Jer. 4:7 ESV).
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