Principles
PREAMBLE
The Christian Liberty Party affirms its belief in the Triune God of the Holy Bible and acknowledges the Bible (God’s written Word) to be the highest and final authority to which all other authorities and ideas must ultimately yield. God’s Word is Truth1. Biblical principles are simply truths drawn from Scripture, which must be applied to all of life, and it is upon these principles that this party exists and acts.
Because Jesus was given absolute authority in heaven and on earth2, there can be no such thing as intellectual, religious or ethical neutrality. No civil government can be neutral toward the present dominion of the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus, we must look to the Bible (rather than humanistic political philosophy) to discover God’s revealed will for the state as well as for the family, and the Church.
Further, the Christian Liberty Party (CLP) affirms that the Bible expressly teaches that God operates covenantally with men and institutions and that Scripture reveals a covenantal model by which men, institutions and nations are historically and judicially bound. It is because of this that we seek to call our nation to obedience to God’s sovereignty and rule, so that in turn, our nation may enjoy the fruits of living according to God’s perfect law of liberty3.
Therefore, the Christian Liberty Party adopts and promotes the following principles (both First Principles and Governmental Principles), which form the foundation of the party platform and program.
First Principles
First Principles represent God’s revealed will (God’s Word, the Bible) by which all men, covenant institutions, and nations are held accountable. There is no area of life in which they do not govern.
1. Sovereignty of God. Scripture declares the Triune God to be sovereign over all of life4, and that all men, nations, and rulers must fear God5 and unreservedly submit to Him as their Sovereign and only Potentate6.
2. Human Authority. Since God’s authority alone is absolute7, all human authority must be delegated8, limited9, specified10, and accountable to God11.
3. Law and Ethics. God’s Lordship12 over politics and human affairs is expressed in His unchanging, holy, just, and perfect law13, which reveals and defines true justice14, continues to have abiding authority15, and is sufficient to equip men and rulers for every good work16.
4. Providence and Sanctions. God governs in the affairs of men and nations and very tangibly blesses and/or curses men and nations to the degree that they love, honor and obey His laws, or rebel against them17.
5. Progress and Inheritance. God guarantees that our labors in the Lord will never be in vain18, that Christ’s kingdom will keep advancing19, and that eventually the meek shall inherit the earth20 as a prelude and “hastening” of the final inheriting of a new heavens and a new earth21.
Governmental Principles
Governmental or Political Principles represent a Biblical philosophy of government, and reveal the fundamental pattern for the manner in which institutions and nations should be governed.
1. Self-Government under God. Whereas rebellion to God leads to slavery22, individual submission to God in thought, word, and deed23 leads to liberty24 and qualifies men to govern under the perfect law of liberty25 in a way that brings God’s blessing26.
2. Covenantal Institutions. God has ordained three separate, distinct covenantal institutions for the advancement of His kingdom: family27, church28, and civil government29, with each deriving its definition, legitimacy, authority, purpose and jurisdiction30 from the Word of God31, and each expressly commanded to not usurp the other’s responsibilities32.
3. Limited Government. The limitations in jurisdiction and authority placed upon governmental institutions by God’s Laws, and made necessary by depravity and human nature, are recognized in Biblically-grounded constitutional checks and balances such as separation of powers horizontally33, separation of powers vertically34 and checks to power by way of interposition35.
4. Oaths and Public Office. All public officers should affirm their covenantal responsibilities and their loyalty to Christ’s absolute Kingship36 by an oath of office, i.e. affirmation, pledging faithfulness to His infallible, revealed, covenantal Word.
5. Covenant Faithfulness and Continuity. Good government, whether family, church or state, is perpetuated from generation to generation only as the leaders of all forms of government cling to God’s grace, diligently study and obey His laws, depend upon His Spirit, and insist that rulers govern in the fear of God37.
[4] Psalm 2; 22:28; 59:13; Proverbs 21:1; Daniel 4:34-37; 5:21; Matthew 28:18; Acts 17:26; 1 Corinthians 15:27-28; Hebrews 2:8; Philippians 2:10
[5] Exodus 18:21; Leviticus 25:43; 2 Samuel 23:3; Nehemiah 5:15; Psalm 2:11
[6] Psalm 2:1-12; Psalm 110:1-2; 1 Timothy 6:15
[7] Psalm 22:28; Daniel 4:34-35; Matthew 28:18; 1 Corinthians 15:27-28; Hebrews 2:8
[8] 2 Chronicles 13:5; Daniel 2:37,38; 7:6,12; Romans 13:1; John 19:11
[9] John 19:11; 2 Corinthians 10:13; Romans 13:1 [lit. “there is no authority if not from God”]
[10] Deuteronomy 5:32; 17:20
[11] Romans 13:1-6
[12] Micah 4:1-2; Psalm 2
[13] Romans 7:12,16; Psalm 19:7-8; Deuteronomy 17:19; 28:58
[14] Nehemiah 9:13; Proverbs 31:5; Isaiah 51:4; Ezekiel 18:5,9; Romans 7:12
[15] Deuteronomy 11:20-32; Psalm 111:7,8; 119:89-92, 152, 160; Matthew 5:17-19
[16] 2 Timothy 3:16-17
[17] Deuteronomy 27:11-28:68; 1 Samuel 2:30; Proverbs 14:34; Jeremiah 18:7-10; Jonah 1:1-2; 3:5-9
[18] 1 Corinthians 15:58
[19] Psalm 72:11,17; 82:8; 86:9; Isaiah 9:7; 11:9; 42:4; Matthew 16:18
[20] Psalm 37:11,22; Isaiah 11:4; Matthew 5:5
[21] 2 Peter 3:11-13
[22] John 8:34
[23] 1 Corinthians 10:31; 2 Corinthians 10:5; James 1:26; 3:2; Philippians 3:15; Ephesians 4:17-32
[24] Psalm 119:45; James 1:25
[25] James 1:25; 2:12
[26] James 1:25
[27] Genesis 2:24; Acts 3:25
[28] Acts 14:23; Philippians 1:1
[29] Genesis 9:6; Romans 13:1-7
[30] E.g. 2 Chronicles 26:18-19; 2 Corinthians 10:13; 1 Corinthians 9:18; 1 Kings 21; Numbers 1; Matthew 8:9
[31] Family: Genesis 2:21-25; Church: Matthew 16:18; Civil Government: Romans 13:1-7
[32] 2 Chronicles 26:18-19
[33] Legislative, Executive, Judicial – Isaiah 33:22
[34] In America: Federal, State and Local; Exodus 18:21-26; Deuteronomy 1:15
[35] Joshua 2:1-16; 2 Samuel 24:3; 1 Kings 12:16-24; 18:3-4; 2 Chronicles 21:10; 26:20
[36] Deuteronomy 6:13; 10:20; 29:14 in context of chapters 29-31; 2 Kings 11:4; 2 Kings 25:24; Ecclesiastes 5:4-5: Jeremiah 12:16; Ezekiel 17:13,16-19
[37] 2 Samuel 23:3; Psalm 22:27-31; 72:1-20; 78:1-72; Isaiah 9:6-7; 1 Peter 2:14