One of the great teachings of the Bible is how God is interested in the individual. This is shown by God sending His Son to pay the sin debt for every individual on earth!

In order for an individual to thrive (instead of just survive) in society, God has instituted three authorities that help and steer the individual to find and perfect the will of God. Finding the will of God is what life is all about. Once a person finds and starts doing the will of God, their life has purpose, and God can bring happiness and success to that individual! To help an individual find the will of God for their life, God has established three authorities.

God uses the idea of threes to bring balance. All of creation is made up of groups. There are only three dimensions: time, space, matter; there are only three states of time: past, present, future; and there are only three states of space: here, heaven, hell. The three states of matter are solid, liquid, and gas. 

The three authorities that God has instituted for the success of society are Family, Church, and Government. For these to be absolutely effective, God needs to be involved in all of them. God uses the Bible to help individuals in these three groups to lead these groups so that they obtain their maximum purpose in helping the individual succeed.

These first statements from the Declaration of Independence give a clear understanding of the purpose and power of government:

 

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.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

            These authorities come from God not government, but for the authorities to be effective, it is government's purpose to allow the liberty for these authorities to prosper as God intends!

All of these authorities are important and like a three-legged stool, if any one of them is missing, the stool will not stay upright and function as intended. For society to flourish and be successful, all three authorities are needed!

            Today all three of these entities are in jeopardy! The purpose of this study is to bring a focus on God and the Bible into the mind of the readers to that they use and alter these authorities to bring Glory to God, to allow the success of the readers to find the perfect will of God, and to allow society to thrive as God intended!

Family

            The first "unalienable right" is the right to life. The authority for life is the family. I am amazed that the first thing God tells Adam and Eve to do in Genesis 1:28 is "…be fruitful and multiply…"!

            Notice this is after He blesses them and says to them!

Genesis 1:28 "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply…"

            What is so amazing about this advice given to the first couple is that it is the solution for all of the problems that mankind is facing, not only today, but for all time! It is just like God to reveal how wise and loving He is by revealing solutions to societies problems! The first thing He ever tells men and women is the solution to all of the problems they are going to face!

            God didn't just want a world full of people. He wanted a world full of people that would choose to love Him back! He had a world full of people in Noah's day, but it was so wicked that He had to destroy it! That is why He told them to be fruitful first and then multiply! This world doesn't just need more families, it needs godly families that love and glorify God!

            What does a Biblical family look like? The picture is simple:

One man and one woman in love for life. Into this relationship God sends children. The number of children is up to God. Sometimes a couple can't have biological children so adoption is a blessing to those who can. If no children are available, the couple can help other families by being good uncles and aunts!

To strengthen and nourish this Biblical family God uses the other two authorities: the church and the government.

Church

The purpose of the local church is to strengthen the family by teaching and preaching the Bible. The church helps the family by being there to help them solve the problems that they face as they live for God. A good local church will be a place where friendships are made and older men and women can help and teach the younger men and women the things about God. The local church is the place that trains leaders to go into government also. Good godly leaders that read the Bible and seek God are important. One of the lessons from the book of II Chronicles is that those kings that sought God prospered, even when they made leadership mistakes. God many times overruled their stupidity!

The "pursuit of happiness" is connected to the local church because this is where an individual finds the perfect will of God for their life! Happiness is found in loving and serving God!

Government

The purpose of the authority of government is to allow the other two authorities to exist and have the liberty to seek and serve God!

The Purpose of Good, Godly Government

 

The Bible gives the purpose of Government in several places: Romans 13, 1 Timothy 2:1, but especially in Exodus.

The phrase "Let my people go that they may serve me"appears 6 times in Exodus. Before it appears, the admonition is to let them go so that they may hold a feast unto God:

Exodus 5:1 "And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness."

Exodus 7:16 "And thou shalt say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness: and, behold, hitherto thou wouldest not hear."

Exodus 8:1 "And the LORD spake unto Moses, Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me."

Exodus 8:20 "And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh; lo, he cometh forth to the water; and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me."

Exodus 9:1 "Then the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, and tell him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me."

Exodus 9:13 "And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me."

Exodus 10:3 "And Moses and Aaron came in unto Pharaoh, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me? let my people go, that they may serve me."

The Bible approach to government shows that the purpose of government is so that God's people may serve Him! This is brought out in the New Testament in 1 Timothy 2:1 & 2

1 Timothy 2:1, 2 "I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;

For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty."

This prayer request to pray for government leaders is that they would leave Christians alone so that they can solve their own problems! I am convinced that if the government would "back off" and quit trying to solve our problems that we would be able to live our lives peacefully, quietly, godly, and honestly!

Romans 13 gives great insight into good government. Notice the words good and evil appear three times each.

Romans 13:1-6 "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.

Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.

For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:

For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.

Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.

For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing."

The purpose of a good government is to promote the good and stop the evil. Good government is based upon laws. The best laws to base a government on are laws that promote good and restrain evil. The purpose of good government is to allow good people the liberty to serve God according to the Bible.

            For government to be a Biblical, successful government, the idea of liberty must be maintained. One of the evils of all these authorities is the tendency for the authority to become tyrannical instead of just. Very few things stifle liberty than a tyrannical father, pastor, or governmental leader! Authorities grow more powerful as time goes on and "Power corrupts; Absolute power corrupts absolutely!"

The Biblical solution to these authorities becoming too powerful is the proclaiming of liberty!

The phrase "proclaim liberty" occurs 3 times in the Bible. The first time it appears, in fact, the first-time liberty appears is in Leviticus 25:10. Amazingly it is under the law! Liberty is also connected with the law in the following verses:

 

James 2:12 "So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty."

and

James 1:25 "But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed."

 

Leviticus 25:10 "And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family."

The Government proclaims liberty. Every man returns to his family (life) and possession (private property).

While having control of your possessions may bring happiness, happiness can be achieved without owning property. The idea behind individual liberty is the idea that you can do what you want with your own property. The purpose of government is to allow you to do that without damaging others liberty.

When Thomas Jefferson penned the Declaration of Independence, he quotes John Locke. However John Locke's version lists private property instead of the pursuit of happiness!

I think that God allowed Thomas Jefferson to change John Locke's phrase so that this phrase: "…life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." encompasses the role of these authorities in the life of the individual.

It is important to realize that this needs to happen to every generation (50^th year).

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same."

Ronald Reagan

 

The second time "proclaim liberty" occurs in the Bible is in Isaiah 61:1.

Isaiah 61:1 "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;"

This is a prophecy on Jesus' ministry! Notice that Jesus quotes it in Luke 4:18 and gives greater insight into the bruising nature of lack of liberty and Jesus' power to "set at liberty", not just "proclaim" it!

Luke 4:18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,"

The third time "proclaim liberty" appears in the Bible is in Jeremiah 34. It is an example of how the government should do it and how they didn't do it right! You will gain great insight into it if you read and meditate on the passage!

 

Jeremiah 34:8-10 "This is the word that came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, after that the king Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people which were at Jerusalem, to proclaim liberty unto them;

That every man should let his manservant, and every man his maidservant, being an Hebrew or an Hebrewess, go free; that none should serve himself of them, to wit, of a Jew his brother.

Now when all the princes, and all the people, which had entered into the covenant, heard that every one should let his manservant, and every one his maidservant, go free, that none should serve themselves of them any more, then they obeyed, and let them go."

See that? The proclamation of liberty was to allow the people to choose to be free to not serve their masters! Now look what happened:

 Jeremiah 34:11 "But afterward they turned, and caused the servants and the handmaids, whom they had let go free, to return, and brought them into subjection for servants and for handmaids."

So God sent the message:

Jeremiah 34:12-17 "Therefore the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; I made a covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondmen, saying,

At the end of seven years let ye go every man his brother an Hebrew, which hath been sold unto thee; and when he hath served thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee: but your fathers hearkened not unto me, neither inclined their ear.

And ye were now turned, and had done right in my sight, in proclaiming liberty every man to his neighbour; and ye had made a covenant before me in the house which is called by my name:

But ye turned and polluted my name, and caused every man his servant, and every man his handmaid, whom ye had set at liberty at their pleasure, to return, and brought them into subjection, to be unto you for servants and for handmaids.

Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ye have not hearkened unto me, in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother, and every man to his neighbour: behold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith the LORD, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth."

The rejection of liberty to all the land brought the judgement of God on the nation! For society to return from the judgement of God back to the blessing of God, God again needs to be active in each of these three authorities. This can only be done on an individual basis with governmental leaders, Fathers and Mothers of homes, and Pastors daily all seeking God and walking with Him!