abstract: Granting that the Bible is the revelation of the will of the Moral Governor of this world, we are constrained to accept its laws as authoritative in every department of human life. It would not be the perfect and adequate revelation of the will of God to our race if it did not give us all the principles of conduct in so important a department of human life as that of the state.

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by David McAllister

Editor's Note: This article, is an edited version of chapter 5, "The Scriptural Basis of the Movement," from David McAllister's book, Christian Civil Government in America: The National Reform Movement, Its History and Principles (Pittsburgh: The National Reform Association, 1927; sixth edition, revised by T. H. Acheson and Wm. Parsons). The principles of Christian civil government that are set forth here by McAllister have been adopted by the National Reform Association's Board of Directors as the biblical basis for the mission of the NRA.

Granting that the Bible is the revelation of the will of the Moral Governor of this world, we are constrained to accept its laws as authoritative in every department of human life. It would not be the perfect and adequate revelation of the will of God to our race if it did not give us all the principles of conduct in so important a department of human life as that of the state. And, as a matter of fact, a large part of the Bible, especially the historical books of the Old Testament and the prophets, including the Apocalypse of the New Testament [the book of Revelation], together with important passages from the Psalms, Proverbs, the gospels and epistles, deals with the principles of political science. It has been estimated that two-fifths of the Bible is devoted to the matter of civil government. This biblical revelation was given to teach men how to erect states and to carry on governments.

The political philosophy of the Bible is a subject never yet adequately treated. Nothing more than a general survey of this important field is presented here. The teachings of Scripture are formulated in systematic order, and the passages from which these formulated truths are deduced are quoted in full, both for the confirmation of the deductions, and for the convenience of Christians who may desire to use this formulation in defense of national Christianity.

The Christianization of politics is a vital task of the church in this age. It is only by making the application of the following truths of Christian politics commonplace that further progress can be made in establishing the Kingdom of Christ on the earth.

I. Scriptural Teaching as to the Origin and Nature of the Nation.

1. God is the Author of all national life.

   And to make thee high above all nations which he hath made (Deut. 26:19a).

   All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name (Ps. 86:9).

   God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth ... hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth (Acts 17:24, 26).

2. God brings each particular nation into existence in its own time in the progress of the world's history.

   And hath determined the times before appointed (Acts 17:26a).

3. God gives each nation its own rightful territory.

   And the bounds of their habitation (Acts 17:26b).

4. It is, therefore, God's prerogative, as the Just Ruler of nations, to take away national life, as well as to bestow and maintain it.

   At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it; If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them (Jer. 18:7-10).

5. The nation, a being which God creates, and which He rewards for righteousness, or destroys for its sins, is a moral being to which God has given supreme moral law.

   Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it: That thou mightest fear the Lord thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged. Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey (Deut. 6:1-3).

   All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers (Deut. 8:1).

6. Civil government, the institution for the regulation and control of national life, is in its principle the ordinance of God, and is to be obeyed as such a divine ordinance.

   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 (Rom. 13:1-2).

7. Civil government, in its framework or constitution, the distribution and arrangement of its powers, is the ordinance of man.

   Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well (1 Pet. 2:13-14).

Gathering up the above teachings of the Old and New Testaments, applying alike to the nation of the Jews and to the Gentile nations, we have what Christian political science teaches in reference to the origin and nature of the nation. It is a moral being, born into the family of nations, in the providence of God, with a vital unwritten constitution, its territorial possessions, and its place in history determined by the Supreme Governor of nations. It is capable of obeying or disobeying the divine law of its being, both in reference to the written constitution, which it lays down for the direction of the government, its agent, and in reference to its entire conduct in its organic and collective character, and sure to be punished or rewarded accordingly.

The above passages of Scripture show conclusively that civil government is a divine ordinance, and that the state as an institution is founded in the nature of man. When God made man He made him a social being, with the principles of the family and the state of his nature. This is the foundation of the teaching of political science which distinguishes between commercial and other companies, or the artificial persons which are created by human law, and natural persons, the nations and states of international law, which are the creations of divine power.

Hence, just as the legal person deriving its corporate existence from the state is bound to acknowledge in its charter the political power which gives it existence, so the nation, which derives its being from God, and its authority from that ultimate and divine Source, is bound to acknowledge in its charter or fundamental law the Author of its being and Source of its authority.

II. The Scriptures Require Moral and Religious, Not Ecclesiastical, Qualifications and Duties of Civil Officers.

1. Civil rulers are ministers of God, deriving all just authority ultimately from Him.

   By me kings reign, and princes decree justice. By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth (Prov. 8:15-16).

   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 (Rom. 13:4-6).

2. Civil officers hold their trust from God through the people, to protect and enforce right, and restrain and punish evil-doers.

   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 (Rom. 13:3).

   Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well (1 Pet. 2:13-14).

3. Hence, none but able, just, and God-fearing men should be exalted to the office of civil ruler.

   Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens (Ex. 18:21).

   The spirit of the Lord spake by me, and his word was in my tongue. The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God (2 Sam. 23:2-3).

4. When immoral men are elevated to the civil magistracy, wickedness and wicked men are encouraged.

   The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted (Ps. 12:8).

5. Civil rulers are enjoined to learn Christ's law, and acknowledge and obey Him as King.

   Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him (Ps. 2:10-12).

6. They are required to consult God's revealed law as the great law-book of the nation.

   And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites: And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them: That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel (Deut. 17:18-20).

7. Just and God-fearing rulers bring the clear sunshine of peace and prosperity to a nation.

   The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God. And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain (2 Sam. 23:3-4).

III. The Scriptures Teach that Christ is the Ruler of Nations.

1. Jesus Christ, as Mediator, has all power and universal dominion committed unto Him, which must include authority over nations.

   And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth (Matt. 28:18).

   For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him (John 5:22-23).

   ...Jesus Christ: he is Lord of all (Acts 10:36b).

   For he [the Father] hath put all things under his [the Son's] feet... (1 Cor. 15:27a).

   Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phil. 2:9-11).

2. Various titles are given to Christ as Ruler of nations.

   For the kingdom is the Lord's : and he is the governor among the nations (Ps. 22:28).

   For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; he will save us (Isa. 33:22).

   Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O Lord ; thou art great, and thy name is great in might. Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee (Jer. 10:6-7).

   ...our Lord Jesus Christ... who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords (1 Tim. 6:14-15).

   And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth... (Rev. 1:5).

   These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings... (Rev. 17:14).

   And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS (Rev. 19:16).

3. Christ actually rules as King of nations by punishing them for their violations of His law.

   Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.... Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel (Ps. 2:1-5, 9).

   The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God (Ps. 9:17).

   The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.... The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath.

   He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over many countries (Ps. 110:1-2, 5-6).

   For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted (Isa. 60:12).

   And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they [rebellious nations] be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father (Rev. 2:27).

   And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God....

   And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God (Rev. 19:11-13, 15).

   Compare also Leviticus 26:14-39; Deuteronomy 28:15-68; Judges 2:12-23; Isaiah 63:1-4; Revelation 6:15-16. This truth stands out on every page of Bible history and prophecy.

4. Christ rewards nations that obey Him as their Ruler.

   And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God. Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out. The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways. The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. The Lord shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways. And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord ; and they shall be afraid of thee. And the Lord shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers to give thee. The Lord shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them: And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them (Deut. 28:1-14).

   Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him (Ps. 2:12).

   Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord ; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance (Ps. 33:12).

   Rid me, and deliver me from the hand of strange children, whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood: That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace: That our garners may be full, affording all manner of store: that our sheep may bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our streets: That our oxen may be strong to labour; that there be no breaking in, nor going out; that there be no complaining in our streets. Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yea, happy is that people, whose God is the Lord (Ps. 144:11-15).

   Compare also Leviticus 26:3-13; Deuteronomy 6:13-15; Proverbs 14:34. This truth, the counterpart of the preceding, is also illustrated by the whole history of the Bible.

5. Christ provides for the pardon of nations that confess and forsake their sins.

   If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me; And that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity: Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land (Lev. 26:40-42).

   When thy people Israel be smitten down before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee, and shall turn again to thee, and confess thy name, and pray, and make supplication unto thee in this house: Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest unto their fathers (1 Kings 8:33-34; see also 2 Chron. 6:24-25).

   At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it; If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them (Jer. 18:7-8).

   So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water: But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not? And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not (Jonah 3:5-10).

6. The Scriptures foretell the day when all nations shall acknowledge and obey Christ as their Ruler, and shall be blessed under His glorious reign.

   All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee (Ps. 22:27).

   He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.... Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him.... His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed (Ps. 72:8, 11, 17).

   All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name (Ps. 86:9).

   And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord , to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more (Isa. 2:2-4).

   I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.... And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him (Dan. 7:13-14, 27).

   And the seventh angel sounded: and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever (Rev. 11:15).

The substance of the above teaching as to the relation of the nation to Christ is comprised in the actions of our national government, both during the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. The resolution of the United States Senate, in 1863, either directly acknowledged or clearly implied the following points: 1. Christ's rulership over nations; 2. The punishments that justly come by violation of His law; 3. The reward of national obedience to His authority; 4. The way of pardon through Him, by confession and reformation. Mere Deism was not sufficient for us in our national straits. That could not save us. We then felt our need of the Savior, and were not ashamed to call upon Him. And infidelity, atheism, and every other opponent of Christianity, were awed into silence, while a smitten people looked to the one and only Mediator between God and man. The national homage that was due to Christ in that day of calamity, and that was so willingly rendered then, is due now and always, and should be rendered with equal alacrity in our days of peace and prosperity.

The National Reform Association will be satisfied with no aim short of the honor due to the royal person of Jesus Christ. We had our origin in loyalty and devotion to the Name which is above every name. We have gone forward steadfastly contending for His crown rights.

Our prayer to Him who is acknowledged King of the Church has ever been: "Come, then, and added to thy many crowns, receive yet one, the crown of all the earth, Thou who alone art worthy." Our purpose is breathed in the hymn which is fittingly sung to the triumphant strains of "Coronation":

All hail the power of Jesus' name,
 Let angels prostrate fall,
Bring forth the royal diadem,
 And crown Him Lord of all.

Our motto, engraved on the hearts of our members as well as on our official seal, is, "Pro Christo et Patria," "For Christ and Fatherland."

David McAllister (1835-1907) was one of the founding editors of The Christian Statesman in 1867 and was the editor of this journal for many years. He also served at one time as general secretary of the National Reform Association. He was vice president of Geneva College and held there the Chair of Political Science. He was also the pastor of Pittsburgh Reformed Presbyterian Church from 1887 until his death in 1907.

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