4/7/78; 4/28/80; Rev 313 1/2/83
A. Definition and Description.
1. God has ordained certain laws for the survival and freedom of the human race during the course of human history. Anarchy exists when segments of nations ignore these laws. The laws of divine establishment provide the freedom to fulfill the divine plan as ordained in the divine decrees under many types of government.
2. The laws of divine establishment are designed and directed toward both believer and unbeliever.
3. They operate from the fall of man to the Second Advent, as well as in the Millennium with some modifications in compatibility with perfect environment.
4. These laws directly affect freedom, civilization, authority, evangelism, spiritual growth, and perpetuation of the human race. They are as important to us as is the law of gravity.
5. The laws of divine establishment define freedom in terms of privacy, property and authority. There is no such thing as the enjoyment of life or freedom without authority. All systems of freedom function under authority.
6. Both the privacy of the individual and the function of legitimate authority are necessary for the function of human freedom.
7. Therefore, the four divine institutions, volition, marriage, family, and nationalism are the basis for the laws of divine establishment.
8. God also has divine laws for angels and nature. All these laws are designed to resolve the angelic conflict using an inferior creature, man.
B. Establishment and the Divine Institutions.
1. Volition.
a. The soul is prepared for us by God. It is the house for human life. The body is the house for the soul. The justice of God imputes human life to the soul; human life resides in the soul forever. No one can remove human life from the soul. This is the doctrine of human security.
b. We have two sets of laws, establishment and the royal family honor code under which we are required to function. With both functioning in the believer’s life, he has great capacity for life, integrity, and enough doctrine to reach maturity.
c. The soul is made up of self-consciousness, mentality, emotion, and volition as the authority of the soul.
d. Human volition must have freedom and privacy for proper function. Your soul has privacy since it is hidden in the skull. We must have privacy if we are to exercise our volition. We must have privacy for freedom.
e. Divine establishment provides freedom and privacy for those who do not violate criminal law. Criminals should have no freedom or privacy. They have forfeited their right of privacy.
f. While people are not born equal or live in equality, they must have freedom of choice and the right to live in a free society pursuing a course of action compatible with their own aspirations or lack of the same. You have a right to go as far as your abilities and motivations will take you. No government has a right to destroy your motivation by saying you are greater than you are, or by providing everything for you.
g. Variation in human ability, both inherent and acquired, does not preclude freedom and freedom of decision in adult persons.
h. All normal persons have the option of positive or negative volition at God-consciousness, plus the freedom to accept or reject Jesus Christ at Gospel hearing.
i. Freedom is the basis for true evangelism.
j. Freedom of speech and worship are necessary for advance to maturity.
k. Freedom is the normal sphere of function for the volition of the soul.
l. Freedom cannot exist without privacy and authority. Therefore, the importance of establishment in human history is emphasized. Exceptions exist, such as slavery in the Roman Empire, where a slave was free to come and go. It is possible to live under slavery, be evangelized, and advance to maturity.
2. Marriage.
a. Monogamy, a permanent relationship between one man and one woman, is ordained of God to remind mankind that He has from the beginning a design called right man - right woman, Gen 1:26:27, 5:1-2, 2:18-25; 1 Cor 7:2-4.
b. When Jesus Christ created Adam He said, “not good that man should be alone.” Therefore God provided the female. Jesus Christ constructed Adam’s right woman. Their relationship, established in the garden, was continued after the fall. It has never been cancelled in any generation.
c. Marriage is the most basic and fundamental organization in the human race. Even the unbeliever, whose life is a total failure, can have great temporary happiness by marrying the right woman, Eccl 9:9.
d. The analogy to the monogamous relationship and our relationship to Christ is found in Eph 5:26-33.
e. Under the authority of the laws of divine establishment, the right man - right woman relationship becomes the normal, legitimate expression of category two love, 1 Cor 7:9; 1 Tim 5:14; Eph 5:22, 23, 28, 33; Heb 13:4.
f. Marriage is the beginning of authority in life for adults. The husband has all the authority; there are no exceptions or rationalizations. Violations of a principle do not change the principle. For example, God continues to use the local church no matter how badly it fails. We cannot deny the principle of marriage just because we’ve made a bad marriage.
g. Marriage is one of the greatest areas of mistakes in life because of emotion. You have to be rational in both response and function.
h Marriage is the basis for stability in society and for the formation of civilization.
i. Marriage rejects the theory of revolution, anarchy, promiscuousness, or communal living. It is the protection for the home where the parents exercise authority over the children.
3. Family.
a. Physical birth and the imputation of human life, plus the imputation of Adam’s original sin, finds the human baby both helpless and hopeless. Condemnation from God occurs immediately. Therefore, our personal sins do not condemn us and are free to be imputed to our Lord on the cross.
b. When we believe in Christ, God’s perfect righteousness is imputed to us and we now have a purpose in life: the imputation of blessing to that perfect righteousness, which glorifies God. The laws of divine establishment give freedom to exercise our positive volition toward doctrine so that we can develop the capacity for these blessings.
c. God has provided certain divine laws, such as the authority of parents, to protect, care, nourish, provide, train, and discipline children to prepare them for life.
d. Parental authority is the way of preparing children for a normal life. Permissiveness destroys this. There must be recognition of authority and orientation to certain principles in life.
e. The highest expression of parental love is to inculcate through the forms of discipline. Children must be trained to respect the privacy, property, and rights of others, not to abuse freedom, and to have respect for authority.
f. Adjustment to life and orientation to circumstances demand authority training. Parents must teach poise, objectivity, respect for police, patriotism, and willingness to serve to protect freedom.
g. Christian parents must also evangelize and provide predoctrinal training for their children, Deut 6:6-9, 7:9.
h. It is the responsibility of parents to instill respect for the Word of God, the teaching of Bible doctrine, plus recognition of authority of the pastor-teacher. This is a spiritual responsibility over and above their establishment responsibility.
4. Nationalism.
a. If the entire human race were under one rule prior to the Millennium, it would self-destruct. Internationalism is outlawed as being evil by the Word of God.
b. To perpetuate the human race and bring history to its logical conclusion, God has designed the nation to protect the freedom and rights of X-number of people on this planet. We call this nationalism. Only one language should be recognized in a nation.
c. With the divine judgment of the original united nations at the tower of Babel, the human race was then divided into nations. This division was originally based on racial, geographical and linguistic norms.
d. As the human race continued in history, true racial distinctions were obliterated in the rise of civilization. Thus, racial purity is a myth except in pristine areas. Race is used by politicians to create false issues.
e. The formation of the Jewish nation set up the perfect standard of what a national entity should be.
f. The Biblical proof that nationalism is authorized by God is found in Gen 10:5; Deut 32:8; Acts 17:26-28.
g. All nations who follow the norms and standards of divine establishment possess the following characteristics.
(1) Interior protection of freedom is provided through a proper system of law enforcement, jurisprudence, and a system of law whereby a person is innocent until proved guilty, where only proper testimony is allowed and no hearsay is permitted, and where double jeopardy does not exist.
(2) The exterior protection of freedom comes through a strong, well-prepared military.
(3) A government of whatever category must protect the freedoms and rights of its citizens without interfering with those rights by the illegal use of power.
(4) An economy must be based on free enterprize and capitalism. Labor has no right to dictate the policy of management. Smart management always takes good care of its workers. Government, labor, or criminals do not have the right to superimpose their policy on management. The separation of business and state is an important distinction.
(5) There must be a system of common law which prohibits crime and thereby protects the freedom, rights, life, and property of individuals. It must be a system of law which does not overstep the law by using the law to try to solve social problems. Law, therefore, must always be objective. Subjective distortion of the law uses legislation to invade individual rights, to steal personal property, and to erode human freedom; all in the name of the common good.
(6) There must be a common culture which reflects the spiritual life, morality, esprit de corp, nobility, patriotism, and integrity of a nation through its literature, art, music, and drama.
(7) There should be a system of government which functions under its power without abusing its power to destroy freedom and establishment. There should be an administrative body to represent the functions of taxation, law enforcement, honorable jurisprudence, maintenance of the military, and enforcement of law and order without the destruction of human freedom.
(8) All of this is designed by God so He can always have a client nation.
C. Establishment and Evangelism.
1. None of these things would be meaningful without the principle that establishment is designed to evangelize where positive volition exists, and to protect where negative volition exists.
2. A system of mutual authority which protects individual self- determination must have separation of church and state.
3. As long as a government allows religious freedom and self- determination, such a government fulfills its establishment norms. Therefore, the separation of church and state becomes a basic standard for human freedom.
4. Divine institutions and the laws of divine establishment are designed to protect human freedoms for the purpose of true evangelism.
5. Freedom to accept or reject Jesus Christ without pressure put on by anyone should exist. Unbelievers must be free to accept or reject the Gospel without coercion or punishment. 6. The state must never adopt an official religion supported by taxpayer’s money. All religion should be free from taxation and never be supported by taxes.
7. A person’s relationship with God or lack of it should be a matter of privacy and personal choice.
D. Establishment and Christianity. This relationship is found in Rom 13:1-7. By fulfilling your function as a believer, you do more for your country than anyone else.
1. Matt 21:22, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s [laws of divine establishment], and to God, the things that are God’s [royal family honor code].” 2. 1 Pet 2:13-14, “Subordinate yourselves.… to every human institution.” You became an establishment person the day you believed in Christ. You should be a true conservative.
E. Establishment and National Discipline.
1. This includes the concept of the pivot, which when large enough, means that mature believers having maximum influence on their nation under historical impact and blessing by association. It also includes the concept of the five cycles of discipline, which occur when the pivot shrinks and becomes too small.
2. When divine judgment falls, it always comes in the form of historical disaster. Idiotic government policy tells you the end is near.
3. If the pivot is large enough, the nation will be delivered. If it is too small, the nation is destroyed. Every nation has its relationship with the justice of God through the laws of divine establishment.
4. Religion is the greatest enemy of a nation, because in the name of good, it produces more evil than sins ever could.
5. Historical disaster separates the pivot from the spin-off (those in apostasy and reversionism), but the pivot is preserved, Isa 28:5-6; Jer. A nation which has gone mad is destroyed so that history and the human race can be perpetuated.
6. If the nation is preserved, there always follows a great period of prosperity. An example is Judah in B.C. 701. When the spin-off is reduced, this is the basis for that prosperity. The spin-off is destroyed during the crisis so the nation can have prosperity. If a nation doesn’t cleanse itself under the laws of divine establishment, then the justice of God cleanses that nation.
7. Historical catastrophe is designed to destroy the infection of apostasy and degeneracy so that a nation can be preserved.
8. Historical disaster as the cleansing of a nation is taught under the concept of the five cycles of discipline in Lev 26:14-38.
9. The postulates of integrity in history.
a. Personal.
(1) There are no advantages to the advantages (blessings) without the Advantage (relationship with the integrity of God).
(2) If you have the Advantage, you have the advantages.
(3) Without the Advantage, there are no advantages.
b. National.
(1) No nation can have the advantages without the Advantage.
(2) A nation without the Advantage loses the advantages.
(3) No nation can recover its advantages without the Advantage.
(4) Loss of both the Advantage and the advantages removes a nation from history.
F. Establishment and Authority.
1. People can’t survive until they understand authority. Authority is the legal power delegated by God under the laws of divine establishment whereby a certain number of the human race have jurisdiction and responsibility for other members of the human race.
2. While authority exists in both spiritual and temporal realms, only temporal authority is related to the laws of divine establishment. Spiritual authority is related to the royal family honor code.
3. Authority is necessary for the function of the laws of divine establishment. We must differentiate between the person and the delegated authority.
4. Establishment authority is for both the believer and unbeliever. It includes the authority of husband over wife, parents over children, teachers over students, coaches over athletes, management over labor, senior rank over junior rank, and police officers over public.
5. In addition, there are divine laws of establishment over nature, so that nature also obeys the authority of God, Mt 8:27; Mk 4:41; Lk 8:25.
6. In the spiritual realm, the pastor-teacher is the authority over the congregation, 1 Cor 16:15-16; 2 Cor 10:8; 1 Thes 5:12; Heb 13:7,17.
7. In the realm of establishment, the husband has the authority over the wife. The wife consents to the marriage, and therefore is under his authority until death, Eph 5:22; Col 3:18. Complaining, whining women have no excuse. All males are unreasonable.
8. Authority in the business world stabilizes the economy. Management and investment has all the authority, never labor, Eph 6:5; Col 3:22.
9. Freedom through military victory is based on authority in military establishment, Neh 4:13-15.
G. Establishment and the Military.
1. Failure of the military on the battlefield indicates lack of training, lack of self-discipline, poor equipment, but mostly lack of respect for authority and no spiritual motivation or incentive to fight.
2. Failure of the military means loss of freedom.
3. Therefore, freedom is always related to authority. Freedom without authority is anarchy; authority without freedom is tyranny.
4. The military establishment is an index to national character. Successful armies maintain freedom. This is why universal military training is an axiom in the laws of divine establishment, Num 1:2-3, 31:3-5; Deut 24:5; Judges 3:1-2; 2 Sam 22:35; Ps 18:34, 144:1.
5. Military training is useless when the men of a nation are reversionistic, apostate, and degenerate. Draft dodgers, slackers, and deserters are sinful in the eyes of God, Num 32:6,7,14,20-23.
6. Antagonism toward authority destroys the function of the military as the instrument of freedom. 7. Military victory is the means of maintaining peace, not the modus operandi of politicians, Josh 11:23; Ps 46:7-9. Politicians generally are divorced from reality, saying “`Peace, Peace,’ when there is no peace,” Jer 6:13-14, 8:11.
H. Establishment and Human Freedom.
1. Freedom is the heritage of birth with the imputation of human life to the soul. Because God imputed human life to the soul, that is the basis for freedom.
2. Freedom therefore is an extension of the various functions of the soul, i.e., our volition, mentality, emotion, conscience, and self- consciousness.
3. Freedom exists in two areas of life, both as an extension of the imputation of human life at birth, and as an extension of regeneration, the imputation of eternal life to the human spirit.
4. The laws of divine establishment deal with the first area of human freedom, while the principles of Bible doctrine in the royal family honor code deal with the second area of human freedom.
5. Since man was created to resolve the angelic conflict, freedom is an extension of that conflict into human history.
6. The laws of divine establishment are designed to protect human freedom so that evangelism and spiritual advance can occur in every generation of history.
7. The laws of divine establishment protect the privacy, property, freedom, and volition of mankind. The decalogue (ten commandments) is part of the laws of divine establishment designed to protect human freedom and human rights.
8. There are Biblical statements to the believer about freedom.
a. Gal 5:1, “In the sphere of freedom, Christ has freed us; stand firm, therefore, and stop being enmeshed by the yoke of slavery [to good and evil].”
b. John 8:32, “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” God’s truth gives you spiritual freedom regardless of your human circumstances.
c. Rom 8:21, “...into the freedom of glory with reference to the children of God.” This refers to our future freedom.
d. 2 Cor 3:17, “And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”
e. Ps 119:45, “And I will walk in freedom for I seek your doctrines.”
9. But the freedom in the spiritual realm, which belongs only to the believer, must be distinguished from establishment freedom, which is the heritage of all people in a national entity.
10. The existence and perpetuation of freedom demands respect for establishment authority. Military victory is the means of maintaining national freedom and the laws of divine establishment.
11. Under the laws of divine establishment, freedom places demands upon both the believer and unbeliever. However, in Rom 13:1-7, the responsibility for freedom under establishment principles of authority is limited to the believer only.
12. Part of the royal family honor code is to render to Caesar (human government) the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s .Therefore, no Christian can ignore military service, obeying the law, or paying taxes.
I. Establishment and the Ten Commandments.
1. The decalogue is found in Ex 20:1-17. As these commandments are written in Old English they are prefaced by the phrase, “Thou shalt not,” which is the imperfect tense in Hebrew used as the imperative. The phrase indicates the believer’s responsibility in protecting human freedom through compliance with the laws of divine establishment. The decalogue doesn’t deal with the subject of sin but with the subject of human freedom. It just so happens that certain sins are an attack on human freedom. Therefore, the two subjects come together in the decalogue.
2. The ten commandments define human freedom in terms of attitude toward God, people, and property.
a. Peoples’ property is sacred. It belongs to them. There is nothing wrong with being wealthy, or successful. It is not anti-Christian. People should be wealthy under free enterprise.
b. You must have respect for people by giving them their privacy.
3. The first commandment is not only a prohibition of idolatry, but national recognition that Jesus Christ controls history.
4. While the first commandment prohibits mental or soul idolatry, the second prohibits overt idolatry, which is said to be contact with demons, Zech 10:2; 1 Cor 10:19-21.
5. Demonism destroys human freedom, while overt idolatry destroys a nation, Isa 2:8, 18-20, 21:9, 36:18-20, 37:12-19; Jer 3:6-11; Ezek 6:4-6.
6. The third commandment prohibits the use of the name of the Lord God for vain and unworthy objects, including gossip, false testimony, and covering a lie.
a. Using God’s name as an expletive is taking the Lord’s name in vain, but is not what this passage deals with. This passage means to use God as a front for your lying, cheating, stealing, or perjury.
b. God’s name is used properly in worship, prayer, praise, thanksgiving, the expression of personal love for God, and doctrinal communication.
c. God’s name should not be used to persuade people into a false position. “You shall not use the name of the Lord your God for evil.” God’s name is not to be used for human projects which allege the will of God.
7. The fourth commandment relates the volition of man to time. The importance of the Sabbath is in the fact that it is a memorial to the grace of God. It is a reminder that God rested on the seventh day from all He had provided, Isa 58:11-14.
a. The Sabbath also recognizes an establishment principle in the function of the economy, i.e., that people who work for a living have to have time to rest. People need to rest to get ready for the next week.
b. Doing nothing is a reminder of grace. Just as the body needs rest for function, so man needs rest for freedom. Man with no rest becomes a slave. He has no opportunity to exercise his freedom and personal volition in relationship to time.
8. The fifth commandment establishes the principle of authority under the laws of divine establishment. The first authority in life is that of parents. “Respect your father and mother that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives to you.” Recognition of authority is the basic principle of orientation to life. Recognition of authority is the secret to a long healthy life.
9. The sixth commandment emphasizes the establishment principle of live and let live. “You shall not murder.”
a. Killing is authorized for capital punishment and for those in the military fighting for freedom.
b. Murder is the basic violation of human freedom. It is also a sin. The right to live under God is removed when a person is murdered. If you intrude on God’s right to take life in His timing, you violate the laws of divine establishment and commit the worst overt sin.
10. The seventh commandment protects the freedom of right man - right woman. “You shall not commit adultery.” Adultery is both a sin and an attack on human freedom. Capacity for love and life is distorted and ruined, so that adultery not only abuses freedom, but destroys the possibility for happiness in life. A woman should be one man’s property. The command is directed to men; it assumes the woman is not smart enough to tell a man from a boy.
11. The eighth commandment emphasizes the right of private property under the laws of divine establishment. “You shall not steal.”
a. Stealing is a sin, a crime, and a violation of the laws of divine establishment. The command demands the government protect both the lives and property of those in the nation.
b. Stealing is a basic disorientation to life. People who have accumulated things in life have a right to those things. You shouldn’t even steal to stay alive. Stealing is complete disorientation to life. It is as low a thing as could occur. Stealing is short-cutting the function of advancing under authority.
c. When oriented to life, you never have to steal. You must recognize people have the right to their property. When you are tempted to steal, that is a warning you are not oriented to life and to the laws of divine establishment.
d. Governments steal through high taxes. Governments make criminals out of law-abiding citizens.
12. The ninth commandment emphasizes the protection of human freedom through objectivity in the function of the law. Laws of evidence demand truth in courtroom testimony. This verbal sin is sinful and anti- establishment. Hearsay is not admissable as testimony. You can’t live and let live and gossip at the same time. Law cannot function objectively with perjury; society cannot live objectively where gossip and maligning goes unchecked.
13. The tenth commandment demands restraint on the lust pattern of the old sin nature. This command was the basis for Paul’s discovery of the old sin nature, Rom 7:7.
J. Establishment and Morality.
1. The ten commandments define morality in terms of establishment. Morality is the observation of the laws of divine establishment. Therefore, it is for both the believer and unbeliever.
2. Since sin is an attack on establishment, morality is the antidote and is commanded for both believer and unbeliever.
3. Therefore, morality is not Christianity, but is the human race functioning under the laws of divine establishment.
4. Morality is not the monopoly of Christianity. Christians in civil responsibility have moral responsibility. Anything an unbeliever can do is not the Christian way of life. Believers have great responsibility to their nation to obey the laws of divine establishment.
5. Morality is defined as right conduct and excellence in the function of the laws of divine establishment.
6. Morality is conformity to the laws of divine establishment, which has as its basic tenet: live and let live. This overlaps with the royal family honor code.
7. While Christianity is not morality but a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, Christianity demands morality from the royal family of God. We are not exempt from certain civil responsibilities.
8. Therefore, the advancing believer is never anti-establishment or immoral. No mature believer is a socialist.
9. The laws of divine establishment demand morality from both believer and unbeliever alike.
10. Morality is the result of spiritual growth, but it is not living the Christian life. Living the Christian life is compliance with the royal family honor code.
11. Living the Christian life is the filling of the Holy Spirit, maximum doctrine in the soul, positive volition to doctrine, maturity adjustment to the justice of God. None of these can be accomplished by the unbeliever. Christianity is not morality, but this doesn’t mean you can be immoral.
12. Morality as an establishment factor protects human freedom, but it does not provide eternal salvation, Gal 2:16; Tit 3:5; Rom 3:20.
13. Morality can and does protect human freedom. Immorality leads to anarchy, i.e., no recognition of authority. Christian dynamics includes morality but at the same time exceeds morality. Morality is the environment in which Christianity functions.
K. Christian Responsibility to Establishment.
1. Matt 21:22, “Render unto Caesar...” The Lord delineates the Christian responsibility in the civil area and in the spiritual area.
2. Christianity functions under two standards: the laws of divine establishment which is our civil responsibility,and the royal family honor code which is our spiritual responsibility.
a. When you fulfill your responsibility to God through advancement to spiritual maturity, you demonstrate the true solution to problems in the nation.
b. Violence does not solve problems, it only intensifies problems. Violence destroys the impetus of the laws of divine establishment, which is civilization.
2. 1 Tim 2:13, “Pray on behalf of kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead undisturbed and tranquil lives in all godliness and integrity.” Compare 1 Pet 2:13-14.
_______
5139 West Alabama, Houston, Texas 77056 (713) 621-3740
© 1997, by R. B. Thieme, Jr. All rights reserved.
----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------