| HisStory 101 |
READ IT. BELIEVE IT. LIVE IT: God’s textbook of liberty – The Bible |
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| The history of government begins with Adam in the Garden and a mandate from God to have dominion over every living thing (including himself). | Genesis 1:28 “God blessed them; and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’” |
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| History is shaped by the heart of man under the providence of God. The test of man’s self-government was his ability to resist eating of the forbidden tree. Success would come only through an internal government. | Genesis 2:16-17 “The LORD God commanded the man, saying, ‘From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.’” |
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| Man lost his ability to be self-governed when he disobeyed God. (This is when the blame game began as well.) | Genesis 3:6b-7, 12 “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. … The man said, ‘The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate.’” |
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| Without man’s ability to control himself, chaos reigned in the world. God saw the need for external control and instituted civil government. | Genesis 9:6 “Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed, For in the image of God He made man.” |
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| God’s plan of civil government was to protect life, liberty, and property of individuals by punishing evildoers and encouraging the righteous. | 1 Peter 2:13-14 “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right.” |
