Civil Government: Its Origin, Mission, and Destiny, and the Christian's Relation to It

by David Lipscomb

David Lipscomb (1831-1917) was one of the most influential gospel preachers in the South during his lifetime – mostly through his work as the editor of the Gospel Advocate, a work he did for over fifty years. In addition to his editorial writings and gospel preaching, he taught daily Bible classes at the Nashville Bible School which he founded in 1891. He also served as the President of the Board of Trustees of the Fanning Orphan School from its establishment in 1884 until his death. In Civil Government, Lipscomb challenged the views of many brethren in his day regarding human government and the Christian’s relationship to it. He saw brethren dividing over various issues – including the American Civil War – and appealed for unity among brethren in the kingdom of God. This material was originally published in the Gospel Advocate in 1866-1867. As it did then, Lipscomb’s teaching on this topic will challenge the popularly held views of brethren today and is worthy of careful consideration.

204 pages, Paperback

Published October 11, 2016

About the author

David Lipscomb was a minister, editor and leader in the American Restoration Movement.

Reviews

[Aaron Battey]

Lipscomb's main argument throughout the whole book is that civil government originated from the evils of men in the rebellion against God: see Nimrod. To be consistent with that premise, he interprets Paul's words about the civil authorities being appointed by God in Romans 13 to be speaking, not of their origin, but of their carrying out God's judgment on wickedness. I have never been satisfied with the argument that human government originated from evil because it doesn't seem to capture and coincide with the nature of Paul's statement in Romans 13. Neither does it take into account God's orders to Noah in Genesis 9:5-6 before Nimrod and Babel. There God orders corporeal punishment to be carried out by Noah on evildoers, which implies judiciary process. This would seem to leave the impression that civil government was the result of sin entering the world, but it was not sinful in it's very origin. In fact, by reading Gen. 9:5-6 in conjunction with Romans 13, it seems to give a better view of how it was ordained of God. However. That is not to say that the Christian's involvement in civil government today is good and right. Lipscomb shows from the New Testament very well that there cannot be any such union, and I believe this is the strong point of his book. His argument that God used evil rulers like Nebuchadnezzar, Pharaoh, and Cyrus to execute His divine wrath are good and true points, but going back to the Genesis discussion, I dont believe the truth of that point has any bearing on explaining how human government was good or evil from its inception. It was a good book for reading, but I wouldn't say it was as great as it had been hyped up to me before reading.