According to God’s Word in 1 Timothy 3:15 the church of the living God is the pillar and foundation of the truth. The church is the universal body of Christ’s disciples that obey all of Jesus commands (Matthew 28:19) and Jesus (“The Truth,” John 14:6) is the Cornerstone and Foundation of the church (1 Corinthians 3:11 & Ephesians 2:20).
Therefore, consider the following logical syllogism called “The Argument for the Church’s Involvement in Politics and Government;”
- Governments require truth to be beneficial for the people; for as much as a government lies and practices falsehood it will suffer.
- The church (“obedient disciples to Christ’s commands”) is the pillar and foundation of all truth because Jesus (“The Truth”) is the foundation.
- Governments need the church (“obedient disciples to Christ’s commands”) to know, acquire and practice truth.
WHAT ABOUT SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE?
The same legislators who wrote the first amendment in the Bill of Rights, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” also were the same ones who appointed chaplains to the House of Representatives, Senate and military branches. Benjamin Franklin, said during a time of division at the Constitutional Convention in 1787;
“Mr. President, I will suggest another matter; and I am really surprised that it has not been proposed by some other member at an earlier period of our deliberations. I will suggest, Mr. President, that propriety of nominating and appointing, before we separate, a chaplain to this Convention, whose duty it shall be uniformly to assemble with us, and introduce the business of each day by and address to the Creator of the universe, and the Governor of all nations, beseeching Him to preside in our council, enlighten our minds with a portion of heavenly wisdom, influence our hearts with a love of truth and justice, and crown our labors with complete and abundant success!”
The real intention of the separation of the church and state was to limit the control of the government in the local churches and to not allow one church denomintion (like the Church of England) to control the state or other churches. As pictured above, the founding fathers had no problem bringing the church practice of prayer into their meetings. What looks like a prayer meeting is actually a government meeting to make the U.S. constitution.
It was Thomas Jefferson who coined the phrase first in the U.S. for the protection of churches, below is his letter in response to the concerns of a Baptist church as to whether the freedom of religion was a “government given right” or a “God-given natural right” honored by the government;
“Gentlemen, The affectionate sentiments of esteem and approbation which you are so good as to express towards me on behalf of the Danbury Baptist Association give me the highest satisfaction… Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God; that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship; that the legislative powers of government reach actions only and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should “make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” thus building a wall of separation between Church and State.
Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties. I reciprocate your kind prayers for the protection and blessing of the common Father and Creator of man, and tender you for yourselves and your religious association assurances of my high respect and esteem.”
Therefore; it was never the intention of America’s founding fathers to do the following:
- Remove Christian practices like prayer and preaching from U.S. politics and government (ex., “military and congressional chaplains,” “swearing on the Bible,” “Christian holidays” and “national fasts and prayer days“).
- Claim that our rights can come from anywhere other than God. The Declaration of Independence states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
- Support a morality different than the Bible’s. John Adams stated, “We have no government, armed with power, capable of contending with human passions, unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge and licentiousness would break the strongest cords of our Constitution, as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. Oaths in this country are as yet universally considered as sacred obligations.”
WHAT GOD SAYS ABOUT GOVERNMENT
- Psalm 9:7 (NKJV), “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.”
- Psalm 127:1, “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.”
- Proverbs 14:34, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin condemns any people.”
HOW TO BUILD A GOOD GOVERNMENT
- Be a born again Christian.
- Live a godly life as a disciple of Jesus Christ.
- Frame your worldview (ethics, family order, business & educational practices and political stances) on the Bible.
- Preach the truth of Christ, pray for all to live like Christ and persevere until He comes back to establish His Kingdom on earth.
- Vote for principles in platforms that politicians promote.
“God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that his justice cannot sleep forever.” Thomas Jefferson, Panel Three of the Jefferson Memorial.
