The Constitution vs. The Gospel

The founding fathers of our country seemed to have a biblical understanding of human nature, law, and governance. I was reminded of this when I once again read a letter written by John Adams in 1798. Here is an excerpt:

"But should the People of America, once become capable of that deep simulation towards one another and towards foreign nations, which assumes the Language of Justice and moderation while it is practicing Iniquity and Extravagance; and displays in the most captivating manner the charming Pictures of Candour frankness & sincerity while it is rioting in rapine and Insolence: this Country will be the most miserable Habitation in the World. Because We have no Government armed with Power capable of contending with human Passions unbridled by morality and Religion. Avarice, Ambition Revenge or Galantry, would break the strongest Cords of our Constitution as a Whale goes through a Net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

What stands out to me is, "We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion." In other words, the constitution, no matter how well written, cannot make people better. If good laws were all that are needed for a people to be better, then there would never be a need for law enforcement officers. But they are needed. Without them, there would be lawlessness, violence, and chaos. Adams affirmed the absolute necessity of religion in order for the new America to survive. He concludes that "Our Constitution was made for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." In other words, government by the "consent of the governed" can only work for a moral and religious people.

Romans 3:10 declares that "None is righteous, no, not one." Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?" Our founding fathers understood the corruption in the human heart. This is part of the reason they established a federal form of government that included co-equal branches of government as checks and balances.

But Adams declared that without morality and religion, the constitution is as powerless as a net is to a whale. Laws cannot make people better. Changing the system cannot transform individuals. Laws and its systems are powerless to do so. At best, it leads to what Jesus called "whitewashed tombs" in Matthew 23:27. The change is superficial and outward, but it is not real change. Only our Lord can transform people. This is why God promised in Ezekiel 16:26-27, "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances." This is what Romans 8:29 means when it says that he predestined us to be "conformed to the image of his Son…"

This should be a reminder for Christians not to forget our calling. Social justice causes, politics, activism, and other such things are not our primary calling. Participation in such things should never take the place of our primary purpose. The danger is that these could become a trojan horse that causes us to leave our first love. These could lead to becoming so unequally yoked that the unique voice of the church with its Gospel becomes muted. Jesus did not come to change the system, but to redeem and reform individual hearts for God. The system is not the power of salvation. The Gospel is the power of salvation, and nothing else.