Is there a Biblical form of government?

“No political system or government is ever really complete this side of eternity.” (Beckwith, pg. 34) Christians of various persuasions and cultural contexts read the Bible with their particular biases. Conservative Christians see “free market economics” in Scripture, while liberal Christians find the “welfare state” in their reading of the Bible. So, what should we conclude about a Biblical view of government and how strongly ought we to hold our particular position? I believe the Bible does give us principles for government that can, and should, be carefully thought through and applied. Undoubtedly, Christians have thrived throughout history both under evil regimes and benevolent systems. Therefore, we consider Biblical blueprints yet never tie the health of the Gospel to a particular form of government or the godliness of its governors.

 If all people have been created in the image if God, then a first point of application seems fairly obvious: All citizens should be treated fairly, justly, and have equal access to protection and participation under the law. “Government’s provision of order is so important that the Christian citizen should be eager to participate in it” (Political Thought: Hunter Baker, pg. 50). Yet it is not enough to merely have order in society. We must have peace. Order can be created in a home by an abusive man, but there is no peace. Likewise, order can be created in society by a ruthless dictator, but there is no peace, nor are citizens treated with equal fairness. Therefore, another political principle that we can derive from Scripture is that a government ought to take steps to establish a limit to power or a separation of powers. This is to ensure that the sinful human nature of one does not violate image-bearers in the name of control and order. The Bible is replete with sinful examples of abusive power in the hands of foreign kings and Israel’s kings. We can see then how a separation of powers and a representative form of government seeks to honor these Scriptural principles. A government that has neither unlimited power over its people, nor prevents the people from having a voice, both in choosing leaders and in holding them accountable, is a much better form of government. 

* Excerpts from a “Gospel & Culture: Politics” paper I wrote to help us better understand how to “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Mark 12:17).