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by W. Gary Crampton and Richard E. Bacon

In Proverbs 14:34 we read: "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people." What constitutes the righteousness that exalts a nation? How is righteousness defined? First, Scripture teaches us that the triune God of Christian theism is righteous: "Righteous and justice are the foundation of His [God's] throne" (Ps. 97:2). And, writes the Psalmist, so too is God's Word righteous: "The righteousness of Your testimonies is everlasting.... For all Your commandments are righteous" (Ps. 119:144, 172). The apostle Paul, in agreement with the Old Testament, likewise teaches that God's law is "holy and just and good" (Rom. 7:12).

It would seem, then, that a nation is considered righteous when it seeks to honor the God of Scripture by applying His righteous standard (i.e., His Word) to every facet of the nation's interests. This is the teaching of the Westminster Confession of Faith (19:2,5), which states that God's law is a "perfect rule of righteousness," which does "for ever bind all, as well justified persons as others [to include nations], to the obedience thereof."

Turning away from God's law as the infallible standard of the nation, on the other hand, constitutes the "sin [which] is a reproach to any people." This is confirmed in Proverbs 29:18, where we read: "Where there is no vision [biblical revelation], the people perish, but happy is he who keeps the law."

The present writers agree with John Robbins, that according to the Scriptures, there are at least seven basic values which are essential for a nation to be considered righteous.²

1. First: A Recognition of the Sovereignty of God. God's sovereignty is universal: "The Lord has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all" (Ps. 103:19); "Our God is in heaven, He does whatever He pleases" (Ps. 115:3). As stated in the Westminster Confession (5:1): "God, the great Creator of all things, does uphold, direct, dispose, and govern all creatures, actions, and things, from the greatest even to the least, by His most wise and holy providence, according to His infallible foreknowledge, and the free and immutable counsel of His will."

   Regarding national matters, writes Dr. Robbins, the recognition of the sovereignty of God "means that God, not the state, society, race, or church is the source of security." Says the Psalmist: "It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes [magistrates]" (118:8-9); "Vain is the help of man. Through God we will do valiantly, for it is He who will tread down our enemies" (60:11-12). When the people of a nation look to the civil magistrate, or to the church (as in Roman Catholicism), rather than to God, to meet their needs, they have denied the sovereignty of God.

2. Second: Limited Government. The fact that God is sovereign necessitates limiting the power and authority of all human institutions. In a biblical society, the civil government would not have the authority to regulate banking practices, to impose taxes over ten percent, to run the postal department, to redistribute property, to make zoning laws, to buy and sell real estate, to borrow money, and so forth. In Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2, we read that the authority of the magistrate is limited to that of defense and justice. In the words of the Westminster Confession (23:1): "God, the supreme Lord and King of all the world, has ordained civil magistrates to be under Him over the people, for His own glory, and the public good; and, to this end, has armed them with the power of the sword, for the defense and encouragement of them that are good, and for the punishment of evil doers."
3. Third: The Primacy of the Individual. The Reformation stressed this principle. It is likewise rooted in the teaching of the Westminster Confession's doctrine of individual election (chapter 3), individual calling or regeneration (chapter 10), individual justification (chapter 11), individual adoption (chapter 12), individual sanctification (chapter 13), and individual glorification (chapters 32-33).

   The primacy of the individual in no way denies that God has from all eternity entered into a covenant with His elect people (chapter 7), which is the church of Jesus Christ (chapter 25), and is a communion of saints (chapter 26). But God fulfills His covenant historically through the salvation of individual saints. Every man, woman, and child is individually responsible unto God. One's bloodline does not save him: "But as many as received Him [Christ], to them He gave the authority to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (Jn. 1:12-13).

   The numerous individual freedoms and protections that citizens of a nation should enjoy, are derived from this doctrine: freedom of religion, freedom of the press, freedom of speech, and so forth. Also derived from this doctrine is individual responsibility within society. No able-bodied person should be "on the government dole." The state should not be involved in welfare. In the words of Paul: "If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat" (2 Thess. 3:10). Further, God has revealed specific non-governmental approaches to poverty relief (i.e., the family, the church). Government opposes God when it opposes His revelation.

4. Fourth: The Right to Private Property. Two of the Ten Commandments, at least implicitly, teach the right to private property: "You shall not steal; [and] you shall not covet" (Ex. 20:15,17). If all property were held in common, stealing and coveting would not be possible. Too, in Matthew 20 Jesus teaches the parable of the workers in the vineyard, in which He concludes that it is lawful for a man to do what he wishes with his own possessions (verse 15). Then there is the biblical teaching on Naboth's vineyard in 1 Kings 21, where we are taught that the civil magistrate is forbidden to expropriate private property. This consideration makes "eminent domain" laws for "public projects" nothing other than ungodly intrusions.

   Included in the right to private property is the biblical right to bear arms. In Exodus 22:1-2 and 1 Samuel 13:19-22, for example, we read that individual citizens have the biblical right to defend themselves, implicitly teaching that they have a right "to keep and bear arms." And in Luke 22:36, Jesus explicitly tells His disciples to go out and "buy a sword." In fact, teaches Jesus, it is so important that a man be able to defend himself, that, if necessary, he should "sell his garment" to secure the weapon.

5. Fifth: The Protestant Work Ethic. This principle is rooted in the Fourth Commandment: "Six days you shall labor and do all your work" (Ex. 20:9). Hard work is not a curse of the Fall. Even prior to the Fall, Adam was commanded "to tend and keep" the Garden of Eden (Gen. 2:15). In Proverbs 14:23 we read that "in all labor there is profit." Man is to work for a living. As Dr. Robbins says: "What Max Weber called the Protestant work ethic is itself a bundle of economic virtues: honesty, punctuality, diligence, obedience to the Fourth Commandment–'six days you shall labor,' obedience to the Eighth Commandment–'you shall not steal,' and obedience to the Tenth Commandment–'you shall not covet.' A recognition of the significance of productive work grew out of the Bible and the Reformation."

   The Protestant work ethic also includes a proper understanding of the Sabbath principle. Man is to work six days a week, but he is to realize that "the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it" (Ex. 20:10-11).

6. Sixth: The Rule of Law. According to chapter 19 of the Westminster Confession of Faith, a righteous nation must establish legal principles which are founded upon the Ten Commandments and the "general equity" of the judicial laws which God gave to Israel. All substantive law is to be founded on the teaching of Scripture. It is also mandatory that the settled laws of the nation be applicable to all persons, including leaders. No one within the nation is above the law. This is the Puritan principle of lex rex ("the law is king"), rather than rex lex ("the king is law").
7. Seventh: Republicanism. Modeled on the Presbyterian form of church government, a biblical nation is to be a republic, not a monarchy or democracy. God warned Israel against a monarchy in 1 Samuel 8. Among other things, said the Lord, the monarch would use compulsory labor, establish bureaucracies, establish a standing army, impose excessive taxes, and nationalize the means of production. In a monarchy, the voice of the king is as the voice of God.

   A democratic society, on the other hand, is one based on majority rule. It is law by majority opinion, what Francis Schaeffer refers to as "the dictatorship of 51%, with no controls and nothing with which to challenge the majority."³ When a nation is governed by the majority, the voice of the people becomes as the voice of God.

   Neither a monarchy nor a democracy is biblical. The biblical form of government is a republic, wherein the nation is governed by established laws. A Christian republic is to be governed by constitutional and biblical law, and administered by representatives elected by the people. There is to be a division of powers and a separation of powers, so that no government or branch of government has a monopoly of jurisdiction. As Dr. Robbins writes, a republican form of government "is designed to fragment political power so that it cannot threaten the lives, liberties, and property" of the citizens.

   Interestingly, Isaiah 33:22 was an important verse in the founding of the United States of America. Outlined in this verse are the three branches of government: judicial, legislative, and executive: "For the Lord is our Judge [judicial], the Lord is our Lawgiver [legislative], the Lord is our King [executive]; He will save us."

Conclusion

These seven values are foundational to any society that would be righteous. They are foundational because they are based upon the infallible, inerrant Word of God. If these values are abandoned or subverted, the moral power and authority of a nation will be lost. "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people" (Prov. 14:34).

W. Gary Crampton is a graduate of Randolph-Macon College, holds an M.B.S. from Atlanta School of Biblical Studies, the Th.M. and Th.D. from Whitefield Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. from the Central School of Religion in Surrey, England. Dr. Crampton is a free-lance writer living in Montpelier, Virginia.

Richard Bacon is a graduate of Memphis State University (BA), now University of Memphis, Whitefield Seminary (M.A.R.; M.Div.), and Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary (Th.M.). He is pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Rowlett, Texas.

Endnotes

1. This article (with some minor changes) is taken from one of the chapters in Toward a Christian Worldview (Blue Banner Ministries, a ministry of First Presbyterian Church of Rowlett, Rowlett, Texas, 2000), written by Drs. Crampton and Bacon.

2. John W. Robbins, The Ethics and Economics of Health Care, Journal of Biblical Ethics in Medicine (Florence, SC: Biblical Medical Ethics, Inc.), edited by Hilton P. Terrell, Vol. 8, No. 2, 1994, 23-24. Dr. Robbins lists ten basic values in his article. The present writers have grouped some of them with others to come up with a total of seven. All of the quotes attributed to Dr. Robbins in this article come from the pages cited in this footnote.

3. Francis A Schaeffer, The Complete Works of Francis A. Schaeffer (Westchester, Illinois: Crossway Books, 1982), IV:27.