II. DERIVED PRINCIPLES (Governmental)
Our Philosophy of Government

God has ordained the institutions of government. Man must be controlled either by a power within him (self-government), or a power without him (external force). The source of good civil government lies ultimately in the hearts of men where the teachings of Christ may take root and bear fruit (Christian Self-government) by the power of the Holy Spirit. Man must ultimately choose between the light yoke of Christ or the iron yoke of the state.

God designed human governments to operate in three separate and distinctive jurisdictions and charged each with a special mission and purpose. A free and well-ordered society results when each jurisdiction functions according to its Biblical authority and sphere of competence. Tyranny and anarchy are the result when any sphere transgresses the jurisdiction of any other.

• The Family is the fundamental governing unit of society and is responsible for the character of society and for the education and upbringing of children, free enterprise and economic production. The family is the first resort in case of need.
• The Church, which is the house of the living God, is the pillar and foundation of the truth and is responsible for preaching the whole counsel of God and the discipling of the nations. It speaks to the conscience of society and is the second resort in case of need.
• Civil government has been ordained of God and its highest duty is that of justice. It is a sword of justice to restrain sin, to punish evildoers, to preserve godly order and tranquility in society, and to provide for the national defense. The civil government of our nation must conform its laws, institutions and practices to the principles of Biblical law as revealed in the Old and New Testaments:⁵ to base its actions upon these or invite God’s judgment.⁶

The divine law of justice and love renders basic rights and liberties inviolable. Unalienable, God-given, individual rights are distinguished from amendable special privileges granted by civil government, and the protection of their free exercise is a primary responsibility of civil government. The Bill of Rights did not create nor grant rights. Neither civil nor martial government can lawfully take away what it has no authority to give. These rights include Life, God’s most basic gift to man; Liberty, which includes the freedom of religion, freedom of association, and child rearing; and Property, which includes freedom of individual enterprise, the ability to contract freely and the stewardship of property.

4. Representative Government

Representative government is based upon the Biblical precedent found in Exodus 18 and Deuteronomy 1. Knowledgeable and qualified representatives balance the interest of their constituents with the well being of the entire people and their constitutional duties of office according to God’s law. Those who represent Christ are servants of God to man and hence are qualified to represent men. They derive their authority from God, and are duty-bound to govern according to the expressed will of God.⁷ Representative government is distinguished from a direct democracy and protects society from the excesses and evils of mob rule.

• The Rule of Law begins with God’s Law and is distinguished from the arbitrary and unlawful rule of men (for example, administrative law, executive order, or judicial decree). The Common law is rooted in God’s Law and in longstanding customs that are in agreement with God’s Law. The principles and precepts of the Scriptures must be the foundation of all law.
• Constitutional Government: Just as the divine law of justice and love has required the imposition of civil law to restrain the sinful nature of men in society, so it has also required the imposition of constitutional laws to restrain the sinful nature of men in power. Constitutional government establishes the duties of government and separates its powers horizontally (executive, legislative, judicial) as identified in Isaiah 33:22 (the Lord is our judge, lawgiver and King); and vertically into local, county, state and federal jurisdictions. Jesus Christ as the Ruler of Nations should be explicitly confessed in any constitutional documents.⁸
• The power of the jury to judge both the law and the facts by God’s standards, with the judge as the referee of courtroom procedure, precludes the rule of man through raw judicial power.

America’s heritage of local jurisdiction was founded on the principles of stewardship and individual self-government in that local citizens are the best informed of local circumstances and therefore the most qualified to govern local affairs. Local jurisdiction is over local affairs, the county’s jurisdiction is over the county’s affairs, and the state’s jurisdiction is over the state’s affairs – as distinguished from unconstitutional federal jurisdiction over local and state affairs.

The oath of office and all testimony in our courts of justice, when given in the fear of God, demonstrate a sense of religious obligation worthy of the public trust. This acknowledgement of God’s judgment undergirds the very foundation of the American legal system. There is no protection for life, liberty and property without a fear of future judgment. No person who denies the existence of God or a future state of rewards and punishments is therefore qualified for public office and the public trust.

III. APPLIED PRINCIPLES (Political)
Our Political Foundation

God, the author and proprietor of all human life, created man in His image. The first duty of civil government is the protection of that innocent human life from conception until natural death, with no exceptions. When government sanctions abortion or euthanasia, it rejects God as Creator, puts all lives at risk, and invites His judgment on the land.

In order to be free outwardly, men must first be willing to govern themselves inwardly. The whole of American civilization rests, not on the external power of civil government, but on the internal capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves according to the Laws of God. While humanism looks to the power of civil government to solve society’s problems, a Christian society looks to the power of Christian self-government. True liberty is the fruit of Christian self-government – the result of God’s governing man internally.

The fruit of man's labor – his land, merchandise or money – is called his external property; but man also has an internal property in his opinions and in the free exercise of his conscience. When external property is threatened through undue taxation, regulation or condemnation, the loss of internal property ultimately follows. Civil government is instituted to protect the unalienable rights of property of every sort.⁹ The neglect of this duty leads to anarchy and tyranny and the loss of all property rights.

Our Creator ordained the family as the first institution of government. It is the cornerstone of every other societal institution. Civil government functions in its proper capacity when its statutes and policies recognize and reinforce the God-given role and authority of the family unit. When the state usurps the family’s role as educator, provider and caregiver, or when it attempts to redefine the family unit, God’s order is overturned and all of society suffers the consequences.

Our Constitution is the supreme law of the land. It is the law for civil government, authorizing its existence, defining and limiting its authority, and restraining the conduct of men in power. The spirit and original intent of the U.S. Constitution upholds the unalienable rights and ideals expressed in our Declaration of Independence.

The centralization of government is incompatible with the principles of self-government and local jurisdiction. Therefore the Tenth Amendment reserves "to the states…or to the people" all powers not expressly delegated to the federal government. The powers reserved to state and local governments comprise the vast majority of governmental functions.

Nationhood is an integral part of God’s plan for mankind and national sovereignty is a national blessing. When man attempts to erect a "New World Order" of globalized systems of trade, banking, and political government, he overturns God’s order and paves the way for oppressive one world government. Nationhood under God offers men freedom; world government under man reduces men and nations to slavery. Ultimately, Christ alone is fit to rule the world; and America is accountable to God alone for the leadership and example it offers the world.

All platforms and resolutions shall be consistent with this Digest of Principles.

¹ Stephen C. Perks, The Fundamental Principles of the Christian Heritage Party of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Taunton, Somerset: The Institute of Christian Political Thought, 1997), 2.2.
² Ibid., 2.4.
³ Benjamin Franklin, September 1776, in Charles Warren, "A Frequent Recurrence to Fundamental Principles," The Journal of the Foundation for American Christian Education 2 (1990): 101.
⁴ Perks, 2.2.
⁵ "National Reform Association Mission Statement Number 1," in William O. Einwechter, ed. Explicitly Christian Politics (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The Christian Statesman Press, 1997), 254.
⁶ Ibid., 255.
⁷ Ibid., "National Reform Association Mission Statement Number 2," 254.
⁸ Ibid., "National Reform Association Mission Statement Number 3."
⁹ James Madison, "Property," (1792), in Hall, Verna M. The Christian History of the Constitution of the United States of America. (San Francisco: Foundation for American Christian Education, 1966), 248a.