Biblical Principles of American Government

Notes and Commentary on a Lecture by Reverend Harry L. Reeder III

On December 10, 2000, I took notes on a lecture on the Biblical Principles of American Government given by Rev. Dr. Harry L. Reeder at Briarwood Presbyterian Church (PCA) in suburban Birmingham, Alabama. On February 12, 2001, I decided to type them out and share them with class I was teaching at Oak Mountain Presbyterian Church (PCA), which was originally a branch (Briarwood South) of Briarwood Presbyterian. I believe the time is especially right to share these principles of American government in an article.

Harry Reeder (1948-2023) was a native of Charlotte, North Carolina, and had pastored the Christ Covenant Presbyterian Church in Matthews, North Carolina, near Charlotte, for 17 years until 1999. He had started Covenant Presbyterian with four prospects and built it into a thriving church of 3,000 members. He replaced retiring Rev. Frank Barker (1936-2022) a former Navy fighter-pilot, who had grown Briarwood from meeting in a vacant retail store in 1960 to over 4,000 members. Barker had also been a driving force in establishing the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) denomination in 1973, still one of the fastest growing conservative evangelical churches in America. Oak Mountain Presbyterian Church, by the way, had grown to over 2,000 members by 2024 under the leadership of Rev. Dr. Bob Flayhart. Both Briarwood and Oak Mountain also established thriving and demonstrably excellent Christian schools. Oak Mountain Classical Christian School  established in 1999, is now known as Westminster School (k-12) at Oak Mountain.

Reeder was a Biblical scholar who also loved American history and strongly believed in its Biblical heritage. He was also renowned as a Civil War scholar. I first met him at a Civil War Roundtable, where he gave a lecture on the Christian character of Confederate generals  Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson and Union General Joshua Lawrence Chaberlain, the hero of Little Roundtop at Gettysburg.

Reeder generally started his lectures on the Biblical Principles of American Government by quoting Romans 13: 1-7.

“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.  Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.  For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval,  for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer.  Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience.  For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.”

Reeder first started with a framework of eight Biblically derived principles: 1) Government is the servant of God. 2) Government is accountable to God. 3) Government is dependent on God. Prayer acknowledges this. 4) Government has the duty to restrain evil and to punish evil. 5) Government has the duty to affirm justice and reward those who do good. 6) Government is to serve the general welfare, not special interests. 7) Government has the responsibility to protect its citizens from evil and evil doers. 8) Government is given the authority to enforce its duties, including the power of life and death.

American government rules by the consent of the people given in the form of a Covenant, the Constitution. The Constitution is the Covenant of government with the people.

Two important Biblical truths inform Biblical principles of government: 1) The Sovereignty and Supremacy of God, which includes the supreme and authoritative Wisdom of God and 2) the innate depravity of mankind. Mankind’s thinking is contaminated by self-willed rebellion against God, which often blinds men to righteous truth.  

“In God We Trust” is our national motto. Biblical government places its trust in God and God’s wisdom.  Our trust must not be primarily in government, but in God. Our trust is not in people, or the people, but in God. The United States is NOT a democracy. It is a Constitutional Republic.

The principles of Limited Government are based on the Supremacy of God and the natural depravity of man. Limited Government is a safeguard against the depravity of man and his tendencies to sin and error that easily compound to corrupt government and tyranny.  

There are different Spheres of Interest in society that must be recognized and respected by Government and the people:  The Church, family, individual rights, private enterprise, communications, a free press, the media, many varieties of association such as trade, labor, social, and political organizations. Government should not be permitted to crush moral and realistic spheres of influence.

Private property is essential to all freedoms. Where there is no economic freedom, there is no freedom. There is no real religious or political freedom without economic freedom.

The government’s ability to tax must be limited. Taxation is a necessary evil which must be carefully and judiciously managed. Taxation has the potential to destroy or subordinate other spheres of interest in society.

The Constitution is a primary protection from tyranny or the abuse of government power. Properly administered, the Constitution protects the people, their persons, properties, and rights.

Strict Constructionism protects the people’s rights. Flexible or “Living” interpretation of the Constitution endangers the people’s rights, persons, and properties. Oaths of office should be to the Constitution.

The rule of law is the rule of Covenant Law, not arbitrary law.

Important features of a Constitutional Republic: 1) Separation of Powers—to avoid tyranny. These include executive, legislative, and Judicial separation of powers. This should probably also recognize the role of state and local governments. The principle of separation of power is based on the Supremacy of God versus the innate moral weakness of man in regard to concentrated power. Power can be a dangerous corrupter of men. Legislative bodies should make and pass laws in accordance with Constitutional limits. The Executive branch executes, administers, and enforces laws in accordance with Constitutional limits. The Judicial branch interprets laws in accordance with the Constitution. Courts should not be allowed to make law. They must be held in check by legislative bodies. The Legislative Branches (federal and state) are the authors of the Constitution, NOT the Courts or Executive Branch. The Constitution can only be changed by a two-thirds vote of the Senate and by majority approval of the Legislatures of three-quarters of the States.

The Bill of Rights are specific guarantees of our freedoms and is the bulwark against federal government tyranny over the people and the States. The States and the people thereof are the originators of the Constitution, NOT the Federal government in Judicial, Legislative, Executive or whatever form. The ultimate judge of Constitutional validity is three-quarters of the States.  

Elections at all levels must therefore be strictly guarded from any corruption of power, influence, or process. Constitutional qualifications for voting must be strictly enforced and not jeopardized by easily compromised process.  

Interposition and Separation of Powers.

The powers of the Federal Government are specified and limited by the Constitution. Other powers are reserved to the States and local governments. The Tenth Amendment is necessary to prevent dominance and exploitation of smaller states by larger states and to prevent exploitation and tyranny of majority factions over less powerful regional interests. Federal laws should be for the benefit of all the people and the States, not just the most powerful regional interests.

There are two federal legislative bodies with different terms of office. Originally, Senators were elected by the State Legislatures. This protected state interests from being overwhelmed by the financial, economic, and political influence of more powerful states or coalitions of states.

Note on the Electoral College. The framers of the Constitution did not want elections of the Chief Executive by popular vote. The principle of interposition was being applied to protect small states from dominance and exploitation by larger ones.

Commentary

All these principles recognize that Government was ordained by a righteous and all-wise God, and that all its institutions are accountable through the people to Him. It should be noted that the people are also accountable to God in their formulation and participation in the its processes. They have a duty of obedience to the laws so long as these laws do not cause them to violate the ethical principles laid down by God in the Holy Scriptures. They further recognize that because of the fallen and sinful nature of all men, the power of government must be limited. This is in order to avoid as far as possible the many attendant evils and selfish temptations of unchecked power. By their very nature, these principles of government require a constant appeal to Heaven

for the perfect wisdom and righteousness possessed by God alone.