America’s founders were imbued with a biblical concept of government because the great teachings of the Word of God about government thundered forth from the pulpits of New England and across the colonies. Unfortunately, most of today’s pulpits have become silent about these things. Consequently, whole generations of Americans have grown up without the foggiest idea of what God has to say about government. In fact, they may even arrogantly affirm that God has no business saying anything about government.

That was not the understanding of those who founded this country, however. They believed that God has a lot to say about government. They knew that mankind is evil and needs certain restraints because of the evil propensities of the human heart. They knew that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Based on the biblical concept of the fall of man and the depravity of the human soul they crafted our form of government.

Based on that biblical belief, the powers of the federal government were divided from the powers of the state; and the powers of the federal government were strictly limited and were specifically enumerated. Also, the powers of the federal government were divided into the executive, legislative, and judicial branches so that no collection of power would fall into the hands of any one man or of a few. The presidential veto was established to override the powers of Congress, and Congress was given the power to challenge and remove any Supreme Court decision.

Our founding fathers knew the incredible danger of an unlimited government, but we have been moving toward exactly that. And we, as the people of God, have forgotten that the primary antagonist to the Church of the living God has been the state.

The tyrannical state of Egypt brought the ancient people of God into hopeless bondage and sorrow. Pharaoh’s agents brought the scourge upon their backs and committed them to the slime pits. The state of Assyria led the people of Israel into captivity, staked them out on the ground and flayed them alive, or impaled them on sharp-pointed sticks. The state of Babylonia destroyed the southern kingdom of Judah, demolished the Temple of God, and led the people away into seventy years of captivity.

The state of Rome crucified our Savior and decimated the early Christian Church, drenching the earth with the blood of martyrs. China, under Mao Tse-tung, killed between fifty to sixty million Chinese and made Mao the greatest mass murderer in the history of this planet. The state is still the great persecutor of mankind.

We have forgotten the words of George Washington: “Government is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.” According to the Scriptures, government is a necessary evil. It would not exist were it not for the fall of man.