Yesterday Everyone, but Almighty God, Got What They Wanted!
This is our national press release going out tomorrow. It is based upon our observations at what took place at the Rowan County clerk’s office here in Kentucky.
The Lord opened the door to privately meet with our Sister, Kim Davis. We encouraged her, prayed for her, and challenged her to principal stand upon God’s Word and the rule of law. God does not just want her protected from participating in this evil, he desires all citizens in America to be protected from this evil. We called her to the place of interposition.
We will see how things continue to unfold in Kentucky. OSA is released from here and on to our next battlefront in St. Louis, MO. We covet your prayers. If this press release has merit, please pass it on in your sphere of influence.
Yesterday Everyone, but Almighty God, Got What They Wanted!
Yesterday, at the Rowan County Clerk’s office:
Kim Davis got what she wanted (no marriage licenses issued in her name)
Homosexuals got what they wanted (marriage licenses)
Lawyers got what they wanted (accommodations for Kim Davis)
Judge Bunning got what he wanted (compliance of the county clerks)
The Supreme Court got what it wanted (lawlessness enforced as a Constitutional right).
But did God get what He wanted? The answer is a resounding NO! Once again, America failed to give God what He demands– righteousness and the upholding of His law in the public square of our nation. He has given us clear direction from His Word on what He expects from us as a country, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34).
He has also sent many warnings about the unavoidable consequences for ignoring and violating His holy laws. Our nation has become increasingly defiant, even in the face of current natural disasters, terroristic threats, failing economy, increased violence, rioting, federal tyranny, lawlessness, corruption in the highest offices of our land, and the parading of sin like Sodom. Tragically, the Lord’s longsuffering and patience with our idolatrous nation will not last forever.
A day of reckoning is swiftly approaching. America has sown to the wind and we are reaping the whirlwind. If America does not repent of her abominations (abortion, homosexuality), God has more disaster planned than our federal government has relief.
Jeremiah 18:7-10 warns:
The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it. And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it, if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it.
St. Louis, Missouri; Morehead, Kentucky; and Texas
“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God” (Romans 8:14).
As some of you may know, Operation Save America is strategizing three battlefronts at the same time. Thankfully, we have great leaders who, like the men of Issachar, understand the times and know what OSA should do.
In light of all that is happening, our current plan is to minister locally in Waco on Saturday, September 12, at the National Memorial for the Preborn. From there, our family will head to Morehead, Kentucky. The goal is to be with our OSA boots on the ground. These bold, courageous OSA leaders have shored up Kim Davis and provided her with immeasurable support, godly counsel, and encouragement. In other words, they are doing much more than political grandstanding and photo ops.
Last night, some of our folks went to the church that Davis attends. They were able to converse with Davis, her husband, and pastor. In spite of the court’s order for Davis not to interfere with her deputies issuance of marriage licenses, Davis’ position has not changed. She will not allow her name or authority to be used to authorize same-sex marriage licenses. This means Davis risks going back to jail when she again defies the lawless ruling of the Supreme Court and the lackey judge, David Bunning.
Our folks do not think Bunning will immediately throw Davis back in jail, but may order her back to court. As a result, Morehead, Kentucky may become the new ground zero. We are asking OSA saints who can to meet us there on Monday, September 14, at 8 am in Morehead, KY to support Davis, as she stands for the Lord and the rule of law in America. We invite all those who came previously to return and be there for “such a time as this.”
On Tuesday, our family plans on heading to St. Louis for our States of Refuge campaign. Wednesday, September 16th, our OSA’s States of Refuge Campaign commences that evening with our opening rally. If you have committed to SOR, please do all you can to keep this commitment. Regardless of what happens in Kentucky, OSA will fulfill its vision and mission in St. Louis. Keep in mind, however, if the situation warrants it, we may have to send some of our leaders and saints back to Kentucky if another escalation takes place.
God is at work in Texas. I have much I want to share, but I am not at liberty to do so YET. Just know, plans are in work that will prayerfully prepare Texas to act differently than Kentucky when it comes God’s Word, righteousness, the U.S. Constitution, our state Constitution, and the rule of law.
Obviously, negotiating through these three battlefronts at the same time has been challenging. You prayers, love, and support are needed now more than ever. Our nation needs gatekeepers, watchmen upon the wall, and good soldiers of Jesus Christ. Will you be one? Keep pressing on saints to the high call and prize. Hope to see you soon at one these battlefronts.
Some Sober and Needful Thoughts on the Defiance of Clerks in Kentucky
Kim Davis and the other clerks in Kentucky who are defying an immoral and unconstitutional Supreme Court ruling are to be commended. Precious few magistrates in our nation have decided not to pay homage to the Supreme Court. The ruling is immoral because it impugns the created order and Word of God. It is unconstitutional because the federal government has no jurisdiction over marriage granted to it in the U. S. Constitution.
As James Madison, known as the Architect of the Constitution, said in Federalist No. 45, “The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite.” We have long left that standard. The States have long been reduced to mere provinces of the federal government. So these actions by these clerks are refreshing to see.
Troubling Matters
There are troubling matters in this so-called act of interposition by these clerks however – they seem to be taking some bad advice from politicians and lawyers.
Not only are they not issuing marriage licenses to homosexuals, but they are not issuing them to heterosexuals either. The reason is to assure the federal courts that their intent is not to discriminate against homosexuals.
Further troubling is that the stated goal of those in leadership there in Kentucky and of these clerks is to create a 121st county clerk (Kentucky has 120) who will issue the licenses from the capitol in Frankfort. This would be done so that the clerks would not have to put their hand to being a part of the process of which they have religious disagreement.
The clerks (and others) do not want to have to lay their hand to this great evil (by issuing marriage licenses), but then promote a change in state law so that people can still do the evil – just not through them. This is not true interposition.
True Interposition
When standing in interposition against wickedness, lesser magistrates – like county clerks, judges, or legislators – should understand that their primary duty is to protect those who reside in their jurisdiction against the aggression of the tyrant – not to protect themselves.
Not only does the interposition of the lesser magistrates protect the people in the jurisdiction of their office against evil – but it also abates the just judgment of God.
Notice what the Lord says in Ezekiel 22:27-30:
“Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, to shed blood, to destroy people, and to get dishonest gain. 29 The people of the land have used oppressions, committed robbery, and mistreated the poor and needy; and they wrongfully oppress the stranger. 30 So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.”
Kim Davis (and others) are attempting to stand in the gap. Their fealty to the Lord does not allow them to join the higher authorities in their rebellion against God. But, it is all an utter failure if they proffer actions to see the evil accomplished another way (via a website at the statehouse). It is not true interposition.
Notice what the very next verse says when the evil was allowed to continue – Ezekiel 22:31:
“Therefore I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; and I have recompensed their deeds on their own heads,” says the Lord GOD.”
Again, their interposition is intended to abate the just judgment of God. But they (and the other magistrates) are not doing that if they help the evil get accomplished some other way.
The Bogus ‘Religious Liberty’ Position
The position the clerks have decided to stand upon is ‘religious liberty.’ Such a position is fine for an individual. But Kim Davis and the other clerks are magistrates, and as such, they possess lawful authority. Their duty goes beyond mere refusal to participate.
The ‘religious liberty’ defense has already proven a loser in the lawless federal courts. How many bakers and photographers have already lost? The federal courts have made it clear that the only religious rights you have when it comes to the homosexual juggernaut is to remain in the four walls of your building and play church.
This is the latest retreat of the GOP and the conservatives – ‘religious liberty.’ First they stood against sodomy itself. Then they accommodated themselves to that and retreated to opposing homosexual marriage. Now they are accommodating themselves to that and have retreated to religious liberty. The GOP has no fealty to Christ. They only know political expediency – an expediency for their own political ends.
The GOP is planning to use Kim Davis as a pawn to further their latest position – ‘religious liberty.’ They hope to use her to unseat the Democrats from both the governorship and the attorney general.
Governor Steve Beshear and Attorney General Jack Conway are self-serving godless men beholden to the sexual outlaws. Therefore they have refused to implement the 121st county clerk idea to protect the clerks and allow the homosexuals to marry. The GOP will now make them the targets of their ‘religious liberty’ campaign to unseat them and Kim Davis will be their poster-girl.
In the end, however, when the GOP takes power in Kentucky, they will implement the 121st county clerk and make it law that homosexuals can marry. Both the Democrat and Republican positions are wrong. They both want to make law that legalizes homosexual marriage in Kentucky.
What is Needed and Necessary
As a magistrate, Kim Davis and the other clerks should interpose against a lawless Supreme Court by refusing to participate in homosexual marriage because it impugns the created order and Word of God and it is repugnant to the Constitution.
Other magistrates – sheriff’s, district attorneys, judges, and legislators from all spheres of government – should rally around these clerks and defend them against federal aggression.
True federalism understands that all magistrates – whatever their level or sphere of jurisdiction – possess lawful authority. And that whenever one branch of government begins to play the tyrant – all other branches (whether federal, state, county, or local) have the duty then more than ever to uphold the Constitution and oppose that branch – even if that branch is the Supreme Court.
Many point to the Supremacy Clause of the U. S. Constitution to justify their lack of interposition. But this is a fiction. When you read the Supremacy Clause – Article 6, paragraph 2 of the U.S. Constitution – you see that it nowhere declares that the U. S. Supreme Court, nor any federal court, has supremacy over the U. S. Constitution or the constitutions or laws of the states or the judges of states. Rather, it states that the U.S. Constitution has supremacy and laws or treaties made in accordance with the Constitution.
The Supreme Court cannot make law. That takes legislators. Their ruling is not the ‘law of the land.’ There is not one law in all of Kentucky, nor any federal law, that states homosexuals can marry.
The Supreme Court is the lawless anarchist in this situation. Those who refuse to comply with their immoral opinion are the ones trying to restore order.
Final Thoughts
If Kim Davis were to win her case – that might be a worse situation. For decades now, when certain laws are passed, there is a religious exemption added. These laws seem good to the average self-absorbed, Pietistic Christian, but in reality they serve to further marginalize Christianity and Christians within the culture.
If she loses – Christians may have to begin to pay a price for obedience to Christ. They will no longer have the convenience of keeping their faith a private matter.
The people (and particularly Christians) need to understand that they must demonstrate vigilance against tyranny. They must give up what most Americans pursue – wealth and ease. They must give some time and effort to good governance.
To understand the character of most men who fill America’s pulpits today, one need only look at America’s laws and policies. The pulpits are by and large filled with whores.
The people need to eschew the narcotic-effect of these pulpits. They need to prod their magistrates to do right, and rally around them when they do right – with our persons, with our finances, with our prayers.
The interposition of the lesser magistrates reminds the higher authority that their authority is delegated and has limits. No man who holds state office rules with autonomy. The authority he has is delegated to him by God. All those in positions of authority stand accountable to God – even the U. S. Federal Government.
Matthew Trewhella is the pastor of Mercy Seat Christian Church (MercySeat.net). He and his wife, Clara, have eleven children and reside in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area. You can obtain his book The Doctrine of the Lesser Magistrates: A Proper Response to Tyranny and A Repudiation of Unlimited Obedience to Civil Government at Amazon.com or by going to the websites http://DefyTyrants.com or http://LesserMagistrate.com.
Kim Davis is still a Prisoner:
Only the Location of the Prison has Changed
In a crafty political “football” maneuver, Judge David Bunning caved to the moral outrage springing up from Kentucky and across the land. He wisely released Kim Davis from jail. His unjust ruling and false imprisonment of Davis created a national controversy. Judge Bunning maliciously incarcerated Davis for remaining faithful to the US Constitution, the Kentucky State Constitution, her oath of office, and the rule of law.
The very day that Republican presidential candidates and nationally known public figures arrived in town to stand with Davis, tyrant Judge Bunning became a shrewd politician by releasing her.
Although Judge Bunning claims to have freed Mrs. Davis, she is still in prison– only the location has changed. She is still a prisoner of conscience. Her imprisonment merely shifted from the Carter County Detention Center to her own county clerk’s office. Judge Bunning has ordered Davis to follow the lawlessness of the Supreme Court and his court by forbidding her to interfere with the issuing of marriage licenses to same sex partners. Thus, she remains a political prisoner to these tyrannical decrees.
For Fifteen Hundred years of Western Jurisprudence this was the thinking of our for-bearers, “When humans laws do not comport with God’s laws, they are no laws at all.”
Same sex marriage is against the laws of Almighty God, Kentucky, and the United States of America!
“Those who forsake the law praise the wicked; those who keep the law contend with them.” Proverbs 28:4.
Contact: Rev. Rusty Thomas, National Director, Operation Save America
Judge Bunning in Contempt of Court
The saints showed up at Judge Bunning’s home and sent out this press release today. Things are getting interesting to say the least.
Federal Court Judge to be Held in Contempt September 7, 2015
ASHLAND, Ky., Sept. 7, 2015 /Christian Newswire/ — Christians from across the nation will converge on the neighborhood of Federal Court Judge David Bunning, today. Judge Bunning has illegally and with malice charged Mrs. Kim Davis, with contempt of his court order forcing her to legitimize illegal marriage certificates to individuals of the same sex in Rowan County.
We are calling for the sheriff of Rowan County to immediately arrest Judge David Bunning upon his entering the courthouse on Thursday, Sept. 10 for illegally incarcerating Davis and impeding her from performing her duties as county clerk. Judge Bunning is in contempt of the Court of Almighty God and the constitutions of both Kentucky and the United States.
Kim Davis has broken no law. There is no law passed by Congress and signed by the President of the United States that would force her to issue marriage licenses to individuals of the same sex.
She is not in violation of God’s Law: “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall become one flesh.” Genesis 2:24
She is not in violation of the United States Constitution: “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”
She is not in violation of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky section 233a: “Only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in Kentucky. A legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals shall not be valid or recognized.”
She has not violated any US or Kentucky law! There is no Kentucky or US law that makes same sex marriages legal or instructs clerks to issue licenses for them. The Supreme Court cannot make law – only the legislative branch of our government (Congress) can make law and Congress has made no such law!
Judge David Bunning is in contempt of God’s Law, and the laws contained in both constitutions of the US and the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
What: Declaration of Contempt of Court
Where: Carrington Pt, neighborhood, Fort Thomas KY
When: 2PM Monday 9/7/2015
Declaration of Obedience to Law and Defense of Natural Marriage
July 4, 2015
Declaration of Obedience to Law and Defense of Natural Marriage
Whereas, the County Clerks of Texas are tasked with upholding the Constitution and Laws of the State of Texas and the written United States Constitution; and
Whereas, on June 26, 2015, in Obergefell v. Hodges, five justices of the United States Supreme Court issued an opinion with no basis in the Constitution, the Fourteenth Amendment, American law, or Western history, purporting to overturn Natural Marriage and inventing a false “right” to same-sex “marriage;” and
Whereas, two justices essential to the majority, Elena Kagan and Ruth Bader-Ginsburg, failed to recuse themselves from Obergefell after publicly showing personal bias, in violation of federal law mandating that “Any justice…shall disqualify h[er]self….[where her] impartiality might reasonably be questioned.” (28 U.S.C.A. § 455); and
Whereas, in contrast, the Declaration of Independence explicitly recognizes that the Creator has endowed mankind with inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, under the Rule of Law, consistent with the created order; and
Whereas, Natural Marriage consistent with the created order, higher law, and the Law of Nature and Nature’s God has always consisted of one man and one woman; and
Whereas, Natural Marriage has been recognized in the Constitution and Laws of Texas, consistent with the written United States Constitution, and higher Natural Law; and
Whereas, the United States Constitution defines the powers of the federal government, and
no branch of the federal government has power to redefine marriage;and
Whereas, the Fourteenth Amendment never withdrew from the various states the authority to maintain Natural Marriage as an exclusively monogamous heterosexual institution; and
Whereas, the Obergefell opinion is “an opinion lacking even a thin veneer of law,” and “is a naked judicial claim” to…super-legislative power; “a claim fundamentally at odds with our system of government;” Id. at *43 (Scalia, J., dissenting); and
Whereas, the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions of 1798, authored by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, held that when the federal government “assumes undelegated powers, its acts are unauthoritative, void, and of no force; “and that the States” have the right, and are in duty bound, to interpose for arresting the progress of the evil;” and
Whereas, in the spirit of Jefferson and Madison, lawless decisions of the U.S. Supreme court have been successfully resisted by the States, in Dred Scott v. Sandford, and in the
series of cases In Re: Booth, 3 Wis. 1 (1854); and
Whereas, the Wisconsin Supreme Court rejected the U.S. Supreme Court opinion in Booth which claimed the federal Fugitive Slave Act was “constitutional;” as did the legislature of Wisconsin, which called the opinion “an arbitrary act of power … without authority, void and of no force,” and urged “positive defiance” by the states as the “rightful remedy,” and likewise, Wisconsin state officials refused to obey the U.S. Supreme Court; and
Whereas, after the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion, the Wisconsin Supreme Court refused to file the U.S. Supreme Court’s mandate upholding the fugitive slave law; and after more than 155 years, that mandate has never been filed, and no Wisconsin officials ever obeyed the mandate; and
Whereas, in addition to Wisconsin, the legislatures of Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Michigan actively nullified the Fugitive Slave Act and the repugnant Dred Scott decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, by passing “personal liberty” laws, making it nearly impossible to enforce the Fugitive Slave Act in those states; and
Whereas, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., stated that “a just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law;” and
Whereas, the Governor, Attorney General, Legislators and County Clerks of Texas have sworn an oath consistent with the moral Law of God (“So Help Me God”) to uphold the Constitution of Texas and the Constitution of the United States; and
Whereas, the fulfillment of this oath, in the American tradition, may not be read to contradict the written Constitution, Justice, Reason and higher Natural Law; and
Whereas, not all orders claiming authority under color of law are lawful; and
Whereas, unlawful orders, no matter their source, whether from a military commander, a federal judge, or the United States Supreme Court are and remain unlawful, and should be resisted; and
Whereas, the American system of federalism envisions a political stance of resistance by States and their office holders against lawless federal court orders; and
Whereas, modernly, federal judges have once again usurped powers undelegated to them, and have violated Reason, the Rule of Law and Natural Law by purporting to strike down State laws and acts of the People recognizing and protecting Natural Marriage; and
Whereas, the United States Supreme Court is not the sole and final arbiter of the powers of the States under the Ninth and Tenth Amendments, when it acts in an area outside of its jurisdiction; and
Whereas, the federal Judiciary was created by the Founders to have “neither Force nor Will, but merely judgment; and must ultimately depend upon the aid of the executive arm” and the States, for the carrying out of its judgments, and it is high time that the Court be so reminded; and
Whereas, the United States Supreme Court is certainly not infallible, and has issued lawless
decisions which are repulsive to the Constitution and Natural Law; including Scott v. Sandford; Buck v. Bell; Korematsu v. United States; Roe v. Wade; and most recently, Obergefell v. Hodges.
Therefore, as County Clerk, I declare as follows:
1. I will continue to defend Natural Marriage as recognized by the People of Texas, in the Constitution and Laws of the State of Texas, consistent with the Declaration of Independence; the written United States Constitution; the Ninth, Tenth, and Fourteenth Amendments; and higher Natural Law.
2. Natural Marriage between one man and one woman remains the law in Texas, regardless of any court decision to the contrary. Any court decision purporting to strike down Natural Marriage, including Obergefell v. Hodges, is “unauthoritative, void, and of no force.”
3. I, as County Clerk, in faithful execution of the laws of Texas, shall resist unlawful federal or state court encroachments upon the prerogative of the People of Texas to protect Natural Marriage, and shall only issue marriage licenses consistent with Texas law, so help me God.
4. With a firm reliance upon the providence of Almighty God and the support of my fellow citizens, I call upon all of the Officers of the State of Texas, the Governor, the Attorney General, and the members of the Texas Legislature, to join with me, and utilize all authority within their power to protect Natural Marriage from lawless court opinions, wherever the source.
God’s Law vs. Man’s Law
“These who have turned the world upside down have come here too. Jason has harbored them, and these are all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king—Jesus” (Acts 17:6, 7).
Most are aware that life is made up of a series of conflicts. The battle between good and evil rages within each human heart and it manifests without amongst men and nations. Since time memorial, war has been and continues to be a common experience that plagues our poor-fallen world. It is a constant reminder of the lust, greed, and avarice that arouse men and nations to cruelly conquer and dominate their weaker neighbors. The Apostle James reveals the source of war that plagues the sons of men:
Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. Adulterers an adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God (James 4:1-4).
R J Rushdoony helps to illuminate this battle. He wrote:
This peace, (God’s peace) however, is more than the absence of hostilities: it is peace with God. Peace with God means warfare with the enemies of God. Christ made it clear that allegiances to Him meant a sword of division (Matthew 10:34-36). In a sinful world, some warfare is inescapable. A man must therefore pick his enemies: God or sinful man? If a man is at peace with sinful men, he is at war with God. Peace in one sector means warfare in another. God alone, however, can give inner peace now, and, finally, world peace through his sovereign law (Micah 4:2).
According to our opening passage of Scripture, the battle comes down to two vital issues. Who is Lord and whose laws are to govern in the affairs of men? Who is the final authority? Is it Almighty God or Caesar? Whose laws reign? Is it the laws of flawed men, which in many cases codifies evil into law or the righteous laws of God that protects the liberty Christ died to secure for the sons of men?
Notice that the accusation against the early church that “turned the world upside down” was not “There is another Savior and He has a wonderful plan for your life.” No, the early Church suffered great persecution because the revelation of another King and the laws of His Kingdom that burned brightly through their lives. His decrees were contrary to Caesar. This was the clear and present danger to the political tyrants and religious oppressors of their day.
We must remember that Rome was not threatened religiously by the new sect called Christianity. They were threatened politically. There was religious freedom under Roman occupation. You could worship the god of your choice. Every land, nation, and tribe that Rome conquered, however, was required to pledge a civil and religious loyalty oath to Caesar.
Caesar demanded that every knee bow and every tongue confess that he was Lord. It was the full manifestation of emperor cult worship that flourished under pagan rule. Not only did Caesar demand lawful submission to civil authority, but a pinch of incense to honor his deity. Christians whose conscience was bound to the Lordship of Christ could not cross this idolatrous line. They courageously maintained their worshipful allegiance that belonged to God alone. Subsequently, many died because of their refusal to worship Caesar.
Tragically, the Jews of the day submitted to this idolatry. Though they were free to worship Jehovah in the temple, once they left the temple, however, they were forced to confess “Caesar is Lord!” Did they do so willingly? God’s Word testifies in the affirmative. When it came to the revelation of the Kingship of Jesus Christ John 19:15 states, “But they cried out, away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.”
Man is still faced with this choice today. If Jesus is not the rightful Sovereign King and His law not binding upon all men and nations at all times, then men are left with two failed options. The state is therefore king, which has led historically to unprecedented murderous regimes that crushed the people they claimed to serve, or the individual is sovereign which inevitably leads to chaos, confusion, and anarchy.
Only One Nation under God can secure the delicate tension between authority and liberty. Only One Nation under God can provide a proper social order on one hand with maximum individual freedom on the other hand. There is no other worldview or faith that can accomplish this upon earth.
Laws of a Nation Reveal the gods of a Nation
The laws that govern societies reveal the gods worshipped by nations. Any person, religion, philosophy, institution, court, or group who assumes final authority and arbitrator of good and evil, have taken unto themselves the status of godhood. In that sense, all men and nations adopt a theocratic position, which in most cases reinforces the Fall of man. They enable the lie Satan passed to our first parents. Genesis 3:1-5 reveals the masterful con job perpetrated by the Evil One:
“Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’” Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:1-5)
Notice the subtle attack of the enemy. He did not directly take on God nor even man for that matter. He went after the revealed Word, will, and way of the Lord. He called God’s commandment into question. Doubts arise, do they not? It certainly did in the case of Eve, whom the Bible states was deceived, Adam, however, sinned.
Eve’s response to Satan’s temptation is telling. It was the first recorded case of legalism. God said, “Do not eat, lest you die.” Eve added to God’s commandment, “nor shall you touch it.” On the spot, she manufactured her own man-made tradition. This produced the Forbidden Fruit syndrome that plagues mankind to this day. The more man tries to work holiness from the outside in, through religious rules, the more evil entices and enslaves men’s soul. It is this dilemma that Jesus addressed in His day. He stated:
Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: “These people draw near to Me with their mouth,
And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:6-9).
The next suggestion by Satan exposes the battle between God’s authority and law vs. man’s pursuit of autonomy. It is this deception that convinces unregenerate men to be a law and god unto themselves. Satan declared, “For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
He was not offering them the understanding of knowing the concepts of good and evil. His deceptive proposal was for them to reject the objective truth of God and His Law and to determine for themselves subjectively what was good and evil to them. No need to obey God when you can replace Him and become a law and god unto yourself. This reveals the source of conflict between God’s Law vs. man’s law that rages to this day.
God’s Negative Law vs. Man’s Positive Law
God’s laws are negative in nature. Most of God’s commands commence with “Thou Shalt Not!” Though negative in nature, they are the bulwark of liberty. They are the embankments that keep the river of freedom flowing properly. Remove the embankments and liberty becomes licentiousness, which invariably results in tyranny. Self-government, under God, remains the key to liberty.
Man’s attempts at law, however, are positive in nature. Government declares, “Thou shalt” with taxes, license fees, and regulatory fines attached to increase government’s scope of power. Positive laws subject citizens to the dictates of government, which typically curtails their freedom already granted to them by God.
The Declaration of Independence touched on this dilemma. Our Founding Fathers articulated that our liberties originated with God and government’s purpose was to protect our God-given rights. Statists use positive law to control its citizens. It is this fabricated law system that diminishes our liberty.
G K Chesterton stated, “If man will not subject himself to the Ten Commandments of God, he will be made subject to the ten thousand commandments of men.” Subsequently, the removal of the Ten Commandments from the public life of our nation does not serve to make America more free. It actually increased the size and scope of the Federal beast.
The historian from antiquity, Cornelius Tacitus, concurs, “The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws.” Review all the laws on the books that micro-manage American life today to affirm the veracity of these statements. If added up, all the regulations, licenses, and bureaucratic policies would tower over our heads. If they physically fell upon us, the mere weight would crush us to powder. The lesson is clear. Rebellion against God, the breaking of his bonds and the severing of his cords does not make us free (Psalm 2). It leads to increased bondage and civil despotism. In this, the historical admonishment rings true, “Those who will not be ruled by God, will be ruled by tyrants.”
Besides these realities, God did not give his laws to make men good. He established his laws to restrain evil and to protect the life, liberty, and property of His creatures. Spiritually, He established His law as a tutor to lead depraved men to his Son to partake of His great salvation (Galatians 3:24).
Man’s view of law seeks to force men to be “good,” by restricting their liberty. In other words, secularists do not reject the notion of salvation. They just reject God’s version of redemption. Man can still be “perfected” by keeping their laws and public policies. This is why leftists gravitate toward seats of power. They must capture the sword of civil government to implement their plan to “save” the world through their positive laws. Thus, citizens are reduced to mere guinea pigs in their grand social experiment to establish their secular version of Utopia.
Christians rightly reject these despotic notions. Man’s salvation only comes by grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8, 9). Acts 4:12 affirms this truth, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name (Jesus Christ) under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Is Law a Fixed Eternal Standard or Evolutionary in Nature?
Darwinism not only corrupted the study of biology and provided the intellectual justification for genocide, the theory spread to subvert the law itself. As a legal theorist and Supreme Court Justice, Oliver Wendell Holmes, became infatuated with Darwin and his evolutionary theory. He, along with a few like-minded jurists in the early twentieth century, expanded evolutionary “science” to influence the discipline of law.
Holmes was one of the first who sought to remove the transcendent understanding of law. Holmes emphasized man’s experience and circumstances, rather than a fixed standard, as the basis for law. To him, truth was relative, not absolute. Holmes did not want our system of law to derive its basis from divine law. That outdated social construct had run its course as far as Holmes was concerned. A new “enlightened” social construct was in order, one that was based on an evolving view of law.
Eventually, this novel judicial mind-set influenced other adjudicators in our nation to view our Constitution as a “living” document rather than a fixed standard for the rule of law. Holmes believed legal principles should develop and adapt to man’s progress. Though probably not intentional, he ended up fulfilling Thomas Jefferson’s worse fears when it came to the judiciary. Thomas Jefferson warned, “The constitution, on this hypothesis, is a mere thing of wax in the hands of the judiciary, which they may twist and shape into any form they please.”
The concept of law promoted by Holmes is known as legal positivism. Legal positivism implies the law does not need to have an ethical basis. In other words, it is not necessary for law to have a moral foundation. Holmes was a hardcore pragmatist. Absolute truth, righteousness, or morality was none of his concern. All that mattered was “what works” as men evolve.
It is this betrayal against God’s law as the foundation of man’s law that moved American jurisprudence to adopt legal positivism. It supplanted Blackstone’s “law of nature (eternal laws of good and evil) and the law of revelation, found only in the Scriptures” as the basis for human law. Interestingly enough, until the mid 1800s competent lawyers in the defense of American liberty thoroughly studied Sir William Blackstone’s, Commentaries on the Laws of England. In 1870, however, a major paradigm shift in the concept of law occurred.
Christopher Columbus Langdell, dean of the Harvard Law School, embarked on a campaign of judicial reform. The “reform” Langdell birthed made him the father of the current “case method” legal model. The case method uses the study of man’s experience, previous court cases, and prior judge’s rulings as the basis for “law.”
Starting with Langdell and proceeding to Holmes, American law was divorced from God and morality. Thus, Blackstone fell to the wayside. The law became the study of human court decisions and precedent based upon fallible men, instead of the infallible standard of God’s Law. It became an evolving concept rather than a fixed, transcendent, eternal standard based upon the moral commandments of Almighty God.
Conclusion of the Matter
“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, whether good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14).
Previously, Sir William Blackstone was mentioned. This is what he believed about the relationship between God’s Law and man’s law, “Upon these two foundations, the law of nature (the eternal laws of good and evil) and the law of revelation (found only in the scriptures), depend all human laws. That is to say, no human laws should be allowed to contradict these.”
In other words, any human law that is not rooted in these two underlying premises for law is no law at all. More recently, Martin Luther King Jr. affirmed this truth. He gave this apologetic on law:
There are two types of law: just and unjust. I would be the first advocate obeying just laws. One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that ‘an unjust law is no law at all.’ Now what is the difference between the two? How does one determine whether a law is just or unjust? A just law is a man made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law. To put it in the terms of St. Thomas Aquinas: An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law.
We have a national holiday and many streets named after this preacher who believed such things in his day. America has rejected this premise in our day and the fruit of our rebellion is ripe unto decay. Psalms 2 reminds us who the true Lawgiver is and He sends a warning to men and nations:
Now therefore, be wise, O kings; Be instructed, you judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.
