Can the US Constitution govern America? Founding Father John Francis Mercer answered this question during the Constitution Convention of 1787. He said:
“It is a great mistake to suppose that the paper we are to propose will govern the United States. It is the men whom it will bring into the government and interest [they have] in maintaining it that are to govern them. The paper will only mark out the mode and the form. Men are the substance and must do the business.”
The Constitution gives American citizens the power to elect leaders, but it is our responsibility to elect the right kind of leaders. If we elect incompetent, unrighteous, and dishonest leaders, the Constitution becomes feckless.
If we consider Israel and ask, ‘Was there any nation in the history of the world with better civil laws?’, we have to answer no! God Himself wrote their laws and His laws are perfect. Yet, how good were those laws under wicked leaders such as Ahab, Jezebel, Manasseh, and other disastrous and un-Godly leaders found throughout biblical history? Despite laws coming directly from God, corrupt, self-serving, and morally deficient leaders completely disregarded them and, consequently, the law became useless to Israel.
Our Founding Fathers fully understood this biblical truth. For example, William Paterson, a signer of the US Constitution and placed on the US Supreme Court by President George Washington, paraphrased Proverbs 29:2 and reminded citizens:
“When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice.”
Proverbs 29:2 declares:
“When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, but when a wicked man rules, people groan.”
America’s founders and preachers of the 1700s quoted Proverbs 29:2 and stressed its core principle frequently. Our early leaders knew the key to sound government was not how good the documents or laws are, but rather how moral the leaders are. Negligent, incompetent, or unrighteous individuals rarely enforce good laws; and even the US Constitution, the best and longest-lasting freedom document ever written by man, is an inadequate guarantee for good government if administered by incompetent, unreliable, and immoral people. In America, however, whether the righteous or the wicked govern depends entirely on the choice of the voters. American citizens, therefore, require education concerning the establishment of our nation and the importance of choosing leaders with moral and religious integrity. The majority of Americans have not had this training. On this topic, Noah Webster stated:
“When you become entitled to exercise the right of voting for public officers, let it be impressed on your mind that God commands you to choose for rulers just men who will rule out of fear of God (Exodus 18:21). The preservation of a republican government depends on the faithful discharge of this duty. If the citizens neglect their duty and place unprincipled men in office, the government will soon be corrupted; laws will be made not for the public good so much as for selfish or local purposes; corrupt or incompetent men will be appointed to execute laws; the public revenues will be squandered on unworthy men; and the rights of the citizens will be violated or disregarded. If a republican government fails to secure public prosperity and happiness, it must be because the citizens neglect the Divine commands and elect bad men to make and administer laws.”
Exodus 18:21 clearly defines our responsibility toward choosing leaders who are able to do the job, God-fearing, trustworthy and honest. In similar fashion as Webster, Declaration of Independence signer and the Father of the American Revolution Samuel Adams stated:
“He who is void of virtuous attachments in private life is, or very soon will be, void of all regard of his country. There is seldom an instance of a man guilty of betraying his country who had not before lost the feeling of moral obligations in his private connections… The public cannot be too curious concerning the characters of men.”
Moreover, Pastor John Witherspoon warned:
“… those, therefore, who pay no regard to religion and sobriety in the persons whom they send to the legislature of any state are guilty of the greatest absurdity and will soon pay dear for their folly.”
If the electorate does not recognize, know, or understand this responsibility, the law of our Constitutional Republic, the US Constitution, will not prevail.
The problem, however, goes beyond voting. Some Christians today are convinced that becoming involved with politics and civil government activities diminishes time available to share the Gospel message and build strong families. I am convinced the opposite is true. While the overall well-being of a family depends on many factors, one very important influence is a strong, moral civil government. Furthermore, we enjoy freedom of religion now, but if that right vanishes because liberty is lost, sharing the Gospel would become an anti-government activity. The State would become god. History proves that governments filled with ungodly and unrighteous leaders create and enforce laws and policies contrary to the values, beliefs, and practices necessary for freedom of religion (which truly is freedom of conscience) and the preservation of stable families. If one examines the negative influences in America working against the church and against families over the past seven or eight decades, it should be evident that governmental policies and programs created numerous moral problems for the American family and exacerbated those same problems over time. Therefore, for the sake of our freedom to extend the Gospel message, which was the driving force behind the Pilgrims trek to America, and the liberty to train our children in the ways of God, Christians must reinvigorate their involvement in and influence over every level of civil government.
The current condition of our government and our country is, in large measure, a reflection of the spiritual condition of its people, Christians included, and what we value or tolerate. I truly believe some of the fruit we harvest daily in our current culture is God’s chastisement because the Church failed to stand up, speak truth, and do the right thing. If we desire to be a God-fearing nation, our action, or lack thereof, will be the determining factor of the type of government we enjoy, or endure going forward. In 1881, our 20th President, James A. Garfield, who was a Christian and a preacher of the Gospel during the Second Great Awakening, succinctly made his point reminding Americans:
“Now, more than ever before, the people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless, and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness, and corruption. If it be intelligent, brave, and pure, it is because the people demand these high qualities to represent them in the national legislature… If the next centennial does not find us a great nation with a great worthy Congress, it will be because those who represent the enterprise, the culture, and the morality of the nation do not aid in controlling the political forces.”1
In a message preached during the Second Great Awakening, Rev. Charles Finney warned:
“The church must take right ground in regard to politics… Christians must vote for honest men and take consistent ground in politics… God cannot sustain the free and blessed country, which we love and pray for unless the Church will take right ground. Politics are part of religion in such a country as this, and Christians must do their duty to the country as a part of their duty to God. It seems sometimes as if the foundations of the union were becoming rotten, and Christians seem to act as if they thought God did not see what they do in politics. But I tell you, He does see it, and He will bless or curse this nation according to the course they take.”2 (full quote)
The responsibilities facing God-fearing Americans today are somber and the potential repercussions from our actions, or lack of actions, are both far-reaching and long lasting. To have the God-given power to determine the quality of our government and its leaders through civil involvement and ability to freely vote, and then to squander that power or to use it unwisely is reminiscent of the servant who received trust from the Master and decided to do nothing with it (Matt. 25:24-28; Luke 19:20-24). This man did nothing with the treasure given to him and demonstrated poor stewardship responsibility. God bestowed inalienable rights and a constitutional republic on us in which to exercise our liberty in Him.
If Christians claim politics are dirty and abstain from involvement on any level, we will not recognize the treasure received and our duty to keep it. God will judge us as irresponsible and poor stewards. Some believers adopt a policy of non- engagement and are more concerned and convinced of the imminence of Christ’s return. While we are told in Thessalonians 5:2 to expect Christ’s return as a thief in the night, Jesus also told us to do business with what we’ve been given until he comes back (Luke 19:13). An eschatological position of Christ’s imminent return should lead to action, not inaction. As we wait for His return, we are to live holy, engaged lives proclaiming truth to the world. At the very least, we should ask ourselves the question, “what legacy will I leave my children and grandchildren?” Our answer should guide our response. What we sow now, they will reap later.
It is time for Christians, the Church, to repent, to turn to God and to re-involve ourselves in governmental stewardship. How else can we be salt and light in our culture? We must re-internalize the truth of Proverbs 29:2 and recognize “when the righteous increase, the people rejoice, but when a wicked man rules, people groan.” Righteous cannot increase without Christian engagement in the public square, without prayers of the believers (1 Tim. 2:1-5), without Christian candidates and without support from other believers for those running for office. Ignorance in politics, as in religion, ends in death. We know that all it takes for evil to prosper is for good men or women to do nothing.
1 https://www.azquotes.com/author/5343-James_A_Garfield
2https://how-doyouknow.blogspot.com/2008/11/church-must-take-right-ground-in-regard.html
Great article! We have tolerated corruption way too long in this nation and are now reaping the results.