The Covenantal Nature of Our U.S. Constitution
By Dan Wrigley

    By act of Congress dated January 19, 2004, the President of the United Sates is requested to proclaim September 17th thru September 23rd of each year to be “Constitution Week.”  By that proclamation, citizens are encouraged “to observe Constitution Week, in schools, churches, and other suitable places, with appropriate ceremonies and activities.”
    Built upon a foundation of biblical ideals, our Constitution implemented the concept of self-government under God. As opposed to monarchies, mob rule, and other forms of government where a self-seated or arbitrary power declares the rules by which their subjects shall live, the citizens of colonial America consented to a covenant with God, establishing a form of governance under His authority.
    Implementing self-government under a covenant with God, the United States Constitution would yield one of the greatest nations ever to exist.  Since its adoption, and America’s subsequent rise to greatness, many nations throughout the earth have sought to replicate the liberty and prosperity we have attained under that Constitution.  Yet, none have succeeded in those aspirations.
    In considering why other countries may have failed in their aspirations, one must understand that it isn’t the document that has fostered our liberty and prosperity, but rather it is the character of the people that has led to those ends.  For it would be beyond naive to think that merely changing the name of the country in the Preamble to our Constitution could yield the same results in a land where people do not hold the same beliefs about who they are, as the citizens of our fledgling Country did when they ratified the Constitution.
    In the likeness of ancient Israel who confirmed covenant with God at Mount Sinai after He had delivered them from oppression in Egypt, so did the American people confirm covenant with God in 1776 when they declared their independence from the British Crown “with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence.”
    This covenantal nature, which is common to the deliverance of both ancient Israel and the colonial citizens of 1776, was an essential characteristic of their ability to succeed at self-government.  It would be a faulty presumption indeed to think that any self-governing body politic could attain true liberty and prosperity apart from Him who created the world in which they lived, and then provided the rules of engagement.  Given that, it would behoove us to have a good understanding of what a covenant is and how it has fostered the success of this self- governing nation.

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How Will God Vote?
By Elizabeth Farah

    There is a teaching within the Christian community that God ordains all leaders who take political or religious office. The teaching goes like this: God is sovereign, which is to say, God has power to and does exercise His will and decree over all events in history. All societies need governance. Governments require leaders – these leaders are chosen by God and therefore, Christians (as well as all mankind) must respect and obey all leaders. The virtues espoused here are those of respect for authority and obedience to the law.
    If you are not a Christian, you may never have heard this idea expressed just this way. Your first question might relate to why God chooses so many despots and murderers to be our leaders. Nonetheless, all Christians have at the least been exposed to this teaching.
    There are several areas of Scripture that seem to support this teaching in its entirety. But, sincere Christians desiring to please God and maintain order may be applying this teaching too broadly and absolutely. If so, what are the consequences?
    I believe that this kind of thinking leads to passivity, indifference, determinism (as in Islam) and a loss of the power that God gives all who believe and obey Him, as well as a rejection of personal responsibility to, as some call it, “influence and occupy” the culture.
    If God picked Bill Clinton to be president, why should we fight his policies? If God put Woodrow Wilson, FDR, LBJ and Nixon in office, why should we fight socialism and social re-engineering? For that matter, if the men and women who have made up the majority of our Supreme Court for decades – most of whom I would be ashamed to have in my home – are really God’s choices (through the presidents He chose), then why should we object to abortion on demand and the myriad heinous decisions that have eviscerated our form of government and our freedoms?
    Very obviously, if God chose King George to rule over the colonies, then our Founding Fathers were ALL wrong, and we should resubmit to the UK with our apologies. As startling as this might be, many, many Christians believe our founders were wrong. Baloney!
    While most parts of this teaching are correct, the conclusion is wrong. Yes, God is sovereign. But He chooses when we will exercise His decrees. Sometimes – often – God allows men to make wrong decisions and then live with the consequences.

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