Natural Law-Lysander Spooner

Treatise on Government, Joel Tiffany, 1867 (34 Mbytes)-documents natural law concepts upon which the American jurisprudence are built

The Law Of Nations: Principles of the law of Nature Applied to the Conduct and Affairs of Nations and sovereigns-Monseir Vatel

Principles of Natural and Politic Law-J.J. Burlamaqui

Calder v. Bull, 3 U.S. 386 (1798)

If, then, a government, composed of Legislative, Executive and Judicial departments, were established, by a Constitution, which imposed no limits on the legislative power, the consequence would inevitably be, that whatever the legislative power chose to enact, would be lawfully enacted, and the judicial power could never interpose to pronounce it void. It is true, that some speculative jurists have held, that a legislative act against natural justice must, in itself, be void; but I cannot think that, under such a government, any Court of Justice would possess a power to declare it so. Sir William Blackstone, having put the strong case of an act of Parliament, which should *399 authorise a man to try his own cause, explicitly adds, that even in that case, ‘there is no court that has power to defeat the intent of the Legislature, when couched in such evident and express words, as leave no doubt whether it was the intent of the Legislature, or no.‘ 1 Bl. Com. 91.

In order, therefore, to guard against so great an evil, it has been the policy of all the American states, which have, individually, framed their state constitutions since the revolution, and of the people of the United States, when they framed the Federal Constitution, to define with precision the objects of the legislative power, and to restrain its exercise within marked and settled boundaries. If any act of Congress, or of the Legislature of a state, violates those constitutional provisions, it is unquestionably void; though, I admit, that as the authority to declare it void is of a delicate and awful nature, the Court will never resort to that authority, but in a clear and urgent case. If, on the other hand, the Legislature of the Union, or the Legislature of any member of the Union, shall pass a law, within the general scope of their constitutional power, the Court cannot pronounce it to be void, merely because it is, in their judgment, contrary to the principles of natural justice. The ideas of natural justice are regulated by no fixed standard: the ablest and the purest men have differed upon the subject; and all that the Court could properly say, in such an event, would be, that the Legislature (possessed of an equal right of opinion) had passed an act which, in the opinion of the judges, was inconsistent with the abstract principles of natural justice. There are then but two lights, in which the subject can be viewed: 1st. If the Legislature pursue the authority delegated to them, their acts are valid. 2nd. If they transgress the boundaries of that authority, their acts are invalid. In the former case, they exercise the discretion vested in them by the people, to whom alone they are responsible for the faithful discharge of their trust: but in the latter case, they violate a fundamental law, which must be our guide, whenever we are called upon as judges to determine the validity of a legislative act.
[Calder v. Bull, 3 U.S. 386 (1798)]

Stanley v. Colt, 72 U.S. 119, 133, (1866 )

”In Hooker v. Canal Co.,^FN34 a Connecticut case, the court say: ‘The fundamental maxims of a free government require that the right of personal liberty and **private property should be held sacred.**’

“They cite and approve the expressions of Marshall, C. J., in Fletcher v. Peck: ^FN35  ‘And it may well be doubted whether the nature of society and of government does not prescribe some limits to the legislative power,’ &c.

”This whole subject is fully treated in the late decision of Booth v. Woodbury, ^FN36 where it is expressly held that the **legislature can pass no laws contrary to the ‘principles of natural justice.’**

“All these cases, and the jurisprudence of Connecticut on this subject, are in harmony with and in fact founded upon the case of *Calder v. Bull*, ^FN37 a case which went from Connecticut to this court; and the expressions in Goshen v. Stonington are almost identical with those of Mr. Justice Chase, where he says: ‘I cannot subscribe to the omnipotence of a State legislature, or that it is absolute and without control, **although its authority should not be expressly restrained by the constitution or fundamental law of the State.**’”

FN34 14 Connecticut, 152; and see Gas Co. v. Gas Co., 25 Id. 38, and Hotchkiss v. Porter, 30 Id. 418. FN35 5 Cranch, 185. FN36 32 Connecticut, 118. FN37 3 Dallas, 386.

[Stanley v. Colt, 72 U.S. 119, 133, (1866 )]

“Men do not make laws. They do but discover them. Laws must be justified by something more than the will of the majority. They must rest on the eternal foundation of righteousness. That state is most fortunate in its form of government which has the aptest instruments for the discovery of law.”

Calvin Coolidge, to the Massachusetts State Senate, January 7, 1914.

Natural law is the origin of the concept and science of justice.  It is the source of moral authority from which the government derives its ability to legislate.  Bouvier’s Law Dictionary (1856) defines Natural Law as follows:

NATURAL LAW: A rule of conduct arising out of natural relations of human beings, established by the Creator, and existing prior to any positive precept.  Webster.  The foundation of this law is placed by the best writers in the will of God, discovered by reason, and aided by divine revelation:  and its principles, when applicable, apply with equal obligation to individuals and to nations.  1 Kent. Comm. 2, note: Id. 4, note.  See Jus Naturale.

The rule and dictate of right reason showing the moral deformity of moral necessity there is in any act, according to its suitableness or unsuitableness to a reasonable nature.  Tayl. Civil Law, 99.

This expression, “natural law,” or jus naturale, was largely used in the philosophical speculations of the Roman jurists of the Attonine age, and was intended to denote a system of rules and principles for the guidance of human conduct which, independently of enacted law or of the systems peculiar to any one people, might be discovered by the rational intelligence of man, and would be found to grow out of and conform to his nature, meaning by that word his whole mental, moral, and physical constitution.  The point of departure for this conception was the Stoic doctrine of a life ordered “according to nature,” which in its turn rested upon the purely suppositious existence, in primitive times, of a “state of nature;” that is, a condition of society in which men universally were governed solely by a rational and consistent obedience to the needs, impulses, and promptings of their true nature, such nature being as yet undefaced by dishonesty, falsehood, or indulgence of the baser passions.  See Maine, Anc. Law, 50 et seq.

We understand all laws to be either human or divine, according as they have man or God for their author; and divine laws are of two kinds, that is to say: (1) Natural laws; (2) positive or revealed laws.  A natural law is deemed to Burlamaqui to be “a rule which so necessarily agrees with the nature and state of man that, without observing its maxims, the peace and happiness of society can never be preserved.”  And he says that these are called “natural laws” because a knowledge of them may be attained merely by the light of reason, from the fact of their essential agreeableness with the constitution of human nature; while, on the contrary, positive or revealed laws are not founded upon the general constitution of human nature, but only upon the will of God; though in other respects such law is established upon very good reason, and procures the advantage of those to whom it is sent.  The ceremonial or political laws of the Jews are of this latter class.  Borden v. State, 11 Ark. 527, 44 Am. Dec. 217.

Natural law is necessarily immutable and unchangeable, because it is based on our nature as human beings the way God created us, which doesn’t change.  A legislature can no more pass a law changing natural law than man can renounce or violate the law of gravity.  Here is the way Lysander Spooner very lucidly explains the concept of natural law:

“If there be any such principle as justice, it is, of necessity, a natural principle; and, as such, it is a matter of science, to be learned and applied like any other science.  And to talk of either adding to, or taking from, it, by legislation, is just as false, absurd, and ridiculous as it would be to talk of adding to, or taking away from, mathematics, chemistry, or any other science, by legislation.

If there be in nature such a principle as justice, nothing can be added to, or taken from, its supreme authority by all the legislation of which the entire human race united are capable.  And all the attempts of the human race, or of any portion of it, to add to, or take from, the supreme authority of justice, in any case whatever, is of no more obligation upon any single human being than is the idle wind.

If there be such a principle as justice, or natural law, it is the principle, or law, that tells us what rights were given to every human being at his birth; what rights are, therefore, inherent in him as a human being, necessarily remain with him during life; and, however capable of being trampled upon, are incapable of being blotted out, extinguished, annihilated, or separated or eliminated from his nature as a human being, or deprived of their inherent authority or obligation.

On the other hand, if there be no such principle as justice, or natural law, then every human being came into the world utterly destitute of rights; and coming into the world destitute of rights, he must necessarily forever remain so.  For if no one brings any rights with him into the world, clearly no one can ever have any rights of his own, or give any to another.  And the consequence would be that mankind could never have any rights; and for them to talk of any such things as their rights, would be to talk of things that never had, never will, and never can have any existence.

If there be such a natural principle as justice, it is necessarily the highest, and consequently the only and universal, law for all those to which it is naturally applicable.  And, consequently, all human legislation is simply and always an assumption of authority and dominion, where no right of authority or dominion exists.  It is, therefore, simply and always an intrusion, an absurdity, an usurpation and a crime.

On the other hand, if there be no such natural principle as justice, there can be no such thing as injustice.  If there be no such natural principle as honesty, there can be no such thing as dishonesty; and no possible act of either force or fraud, committed by one man against the person or property of another, can be said to be unjust or dishonest; or be complained of, or prohibited, or punished as such.  In short, if there be no such principle as justice, there can be no such acts as crimes; and all the professions of governments, so called, that they exist, either in whole or in part, for the punishment or prevention of crimes, are professions that they exist for the punishment or prevention of what never existed, nor ever can exist.  Such professions are therefore confessions that, so far as crimes are concerned, governments have no occasion to exist; that there is nothing for them to do, and that there is nothing that they can do.  They are confessions that the governments exist for the punishment and prevention of acts that are, in their nature, simple impossibilities.”[1]

Natural law is based on three main elements, according to Spooner.  Underneath these three main elements, we have assigned the Ten Commandments and other moral laws found in the Bible (in Exodus 20) to show you how they relate:

1.        Live honestly.

1.1.               Tell the truth and do not lie (Exodus 20:16; Exodus 34:6-7; Prov. 19:9).

1.2.               Make your actions consistent with your words. Make no promises you can’t keep. (integrity, Prov. 28:6).

1.3.               Be a good example to others (Matt. 5:16).

2.       Hurt no one.

2.1.               Do not violate the equal rights of others to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (love your neighbor as yourself, Matt. 22:39; don’t plot evil Zech. 8:17).

2.2.               Don’t kill (Exodus 20:13).

2.3.               Don’t steal (Exodus 20:15).

2.4.               Take full and complete responsibility for yourself at all times.  Don’t expect or require your neighbor to take care of yourself, because this will lead you to steal from your neighbor (1 Tim. 5:8).

2.5.               Don’t commit adultery (Exodus 20:17).

2.6.               Don’t lust after property or sex or money (Exodus 20:17; Prov. 15:27).

3.        Give everyone his due.

3.1.               Put God FIRST on your priority list (Exodus 20:3-11)

3.2.               Respect authority when it agrees with natural law (1 Peter 2:13-17).

3.3.               Honor all your agreements (Num. 30:2).

3.4.               Promote justice by rebuking/punishing people who hurt others (Prov. 24:25;Romans 13:4;Psalms 5:5-6).

3.5.               Show mercy and help the less-fortunate when they are down (Psalms 89:14-15).

Natural law derives from our conscience, which Christians call the “Holy Spirit”.  The author who most eloquently described and explained natural law was Lysander Spooner.  A favorite book which contains most of his better writings is The Lysander Spooner Reader, ISBN 0-930073-06-1, Fox & Wilkes, 938 Howard Street, Ste. 202; San Francisco, CA  94103.  The section in that book entitled “Natural Law” beginning on page 11 is most enlightening on the subject of natural law.

"Good and wise men, in all ages...have supposed, that the deity, from the relations, we stand in, to himself and to each other, has constituted an eternal and immutable law, which is, indispensibly, obligatory upon all mankind, prior to any human institution whatever.

This is what is called the law of nature, 'which, being coeval with mankind, and dictated by God himself, is, of course superior in obligation to any other. It is binding over all the globe, in all countries at all times. No human laws are of any validity, if contrary to this; and such of them as are valid, derive all their authority, mediately or immediately, from this original.' - BLACKSTONE.

Upon this law, depend the natural rights of mankind, the supreme being gave existence to man, together with the means of preserving and beautifying that existence. He endowed him with rational faculties, by the help of which, to discern and pursue such things, as were consistent with his duty and interest, and invested him with an inviolable right to personal liberty and personal safety.

Hence, in a state of nature, no man has any moral power to deprive another of his life, limbs, property, or liberty; nor the least authority to command, or exact obedience from him; except that which arose from the ties of consanguinity.

Hence also, the origin of all civil government, justly established, must be a voluntary compact, between the rulers and the ruled; and must be liable to such limitations, as are necessary for the security of the absolute rights of the latter; for what original title can any man or set of men have, to govern others, except their own consent? To usurp dominion over a people, in their own despite, or o grasp at more extensive power than they are willing to entrust, is to violate that law of nature, which gives every man the right to his personal liberty; and can, therefore, confer no obligation to obedience."

[Alexander Hamilton, 23 Feb. 1775]

"When human laws contradict or discountenance the means, which are necessary to preserve the essential rights of any society, they defeat the proper end of all laws, and so become null and void." - Ibid.

NATURAL ORDER DIAGRAM

Great IRS Hoax, section 4.1, version 2.97 entitled "NATURAL ORDER":

“Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.” -Mark Twain

“Men do not make laws. They do but discover them. Laws must be justified by something more than the will of the majority. They must rest on the eternal foundation of righteousness. That state is most fortunate in its form of government which has the aptest instruments for the discovery of law.”

Calvin Coolidge, to the Massachusetts State Senate, January 7, 1914.

"If the jury feels the law is unjust [violates God’s law], we recognize the undisputed power of the jury to acquit, even if its verdict is contrary to the law as given by a judge, and contrary to the evidence ... and the courts must abide by that decision." 
[U.S. v. Moylan, 417 F.2d at 1006 (1969)]

"The sole end for which mankind are warranted, individually or collectively, in interfering with the liberty of any of their number is self-protection."  John Stuart Mill

“I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth - that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid.”
[Benjamin Franklin]

We explained Natural Law earlier in section 3.4, and Natural Order is an extension of Natural Law.  The foundation of Natural Order is the notion that all creations are subject to and subservient to their Creator, who is always the sovereign relative to the creation.  God created man so He is the Sovereign relative to man.  Man created the states of the Union, so the people of the state are sovereign relative to their state government.  The states of the Union then created the federal government, so the states are the sovereigns relative to the federal government and the federal government is subservient to and subordinate to them.  The authority delegated by the states to the federal government is a definition and limitation of the power of the federal (not national) government and under the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people”. Here is an example of this concept right from no less than the U.S. Supreme Court:

“A State does not owe its origin to the Government of the United States, in the highest or in any of its branches.  It was in existence before it.  It derives its authority from the same pure and sacred source as itself: The voluntary and deliberate choice of the people…A State is altogether exempt from the jurisdiction of the Courts of the United States, or from any other exterior authority, unless in the special instances when the general Government has power derived from the Constitution itself.” 
[Chisholm v. Georgia, 2 Dall. (U.S.) 419 (Dall.) (1794)]

Natural Order therefore defines the natural hierarchy of sovereignty in all of creation based on the order that all things were created.  In the words of former President Calvin Coolidge, Natural Law cannot be created by man: it can only be discovered, and the same is true of Natural Order.  Natural law is therefore a product of the following Natural Order and hierarchy of sovereignty.  This hierarchy of sovereignty is unchangeable and immutable and cannot be denied, denounced, or legislated away by any court or government because it is a product of who and what we are as human beings.  All human beings instinctively understand its meaning and application.  Below is a diagram of Natural Order:

• Figure 4-1:  Natural Order Diagram

In the above diagram everyone at a particular level is a “fiduciary” of the parties above and they are bound to this position by contract.

fiduciary duty: A duty to act for someone else’s benefit, while subordinating one’s personal interests to that of the other person.  It is the highest standard of duty implied by law (e.g. trustee, guardian). 
[Black’s Law Dictionary, Sixth Edition, page 625]

A fiduciary relationship is a “master” and “servant” relationship.  The fiduciary is the servant and the person receiving the benefit is the master by contract.  For instance, we are bound to act as fiduciaries and bondservants who serve the best interests of the sovereign God who created us by the contract or the covenant that God has with us which is documented in the Bible.[1]  Public servants in government, in turn, are contractually bound to us as the sovereigns they serve by written contracts called the U.S. Constitution and our state Constitution.  The founding fathers also agreed that the Constitution was a fiduciary contract between the people and their government during the development of that instrument as documented in the Federalist Paper #78:

“No legislative act contrary to the Constitution can be valid. To deny this would be to affirm that the deputy (agent) is greater than his principal; that the servant is above the master; that the representatives of the people are superior to the people; that men, acting by virtue of powers may do not only what their powers do not authorize, but what they forbid…[text omitted]  It is not otherwise  to be supposed that the Constitution could intend to enable the representatives of the people to substitute their will to that of their constituents. It is far more rational to suppose, that the courts were designed to be an intermediate body between the people and the legislature, in order, among other things, to keep the latter within the limits assigned to their authority. The interpretation of the laws is the proper and peculiar province of the courts.  A Constitution is, in fact, and must be regarded by judges, as fundamental law. If there should happen to be an irreconcilable variance between the two, the Constitution is to be preferred to the statute.”
[Alexander Hamilton (Federalist Paper # 78]

We talked earlier about the terms of the fiduciary duty that exists between the people and their government when we talked about the Code of Ethics for Government service earlier in section 2.1.  This Code of Ethics embodies and implements the terms of that fiduciary contract between the sovereign people and their servant government.  Incidentally, Alexander Hamilton’s very words from the Federalist Paper #78 echo those of God Himself, who through His son Jesus said the following:

“Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’” 
[John15:20, Bible, NKJV]

Below is what the Bible says about the duties of “servants”, which describe our duties toward God and government’s duties towards us:

“Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God.  And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.  But he who does wrong will be repaid for the wrong which he has done, and there is no partiality.” 
[Col. 3:22-25, Bible, NKJV]

The Bible covenant between us and our sovereign God also has all the attributes of a valid legal contract:

1.        An offer: God’s Love and forgiveness

2.        Acceptance:  Our acceptance of God’s love and forgiveness and sovereignty over our spiritual lives.

3.        Consideration:  We commit our time, our life, our families, and our affections to serving and loving and thanking God for his grace and mercy toward us, who are sinners.

4.        Mutual assent:  God understands us better than we understand ourselves, and we must understand the commitment and the covenant He makes to us by reading the Bible daily.

In many cases, you can confirm the existence of this contract with God by looking in the Bible for the word “yoke”.  Here is the definition of “yoke” out of Easton’s Bible Dictionary:

Yoke — (1.) Fitted on the neck of oxen for the purpose of binding to them the traces by which they might draw the plough, etc. (Num. 19:2; Deut. 21:3). It was a curved piece of wood called ‘ol. 

(2.) In Jer. 27:2; 28:10, 12 the word in the Authorized Version rendered “yoke” is motah, which properly means a “staff,” or as in the Revised Version, “bar.”

These words in the Hebrew are both used figuratively of severe bondage, or affliction, or subjection (Lev. 26:13; 1 Kings 12:4; Isa. 47:6; Lam. 1:14; 3:27). In the New Testament the word “yoke” is also used to denote servitude (Matt. 11:29, 30; Acts 15:10; Gal. 5:1).

(3.) In 1 Sam. 11:7, 1 Kings 19:21, Job 1:3 the word thus translated is tzemed, which signifies a pair, two oxen yoked or coupled together, and hence in 1 Sam. 14:14 it represents as much land as a yoke of oxen could plough in a day, like the Latin jugum. In Isa. 5:10 this word in the plural is translated “acres.”

To be “yoked” means to be contractually or spiritually bound to God:  to be figuratively married to Him as His bride.  Here is an example from Jesus’ mouth:

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” 
[Matt. 11:28-30, Bible, NKJV]

This contract or covenant we have with God makes us superior to any government or ruler and makes us the sovereign over everyone in government:

“You have delivered me from the strivings of the people [democratic mob rule];
You have made me the head of the nations [and the government of the nations];
A people I have not known [in Washington, D.C., the Distict of Criminals] shall serve me;
The foreigners [Washington, D.C. is foreign to states of the Union] submit to me;
The foreigners fade away,
And come frightened from their hideouts [on every election day].”
[Psalms 18:43-45, Bible, NKJV]

“The wicked shall be turned into hell,
And all the nations that forget God.” 
[Psalms 9:17, Bible, NKJV]

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

“Behold, to obey [God and His Law] is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams.  For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is an iniquity and idolatry.  Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from being king [or sovereign over government].”

Then Saul [the king] said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people [wanted to be politically correct instead of right with God] and obeyed their voice [instead of God’s voice].  Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me, that I may worship the Lord.”  But Samuel said to Saul [the king], “I will not return with you, for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel”

And as Samuel turned around to go away, Saul seized the edge of his robe, and it tore.  So Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you.”

[1 Sam. 15:22-28, Bible, NKJV]

The diagram at the beginning of this section reflects the above reality with an arrow showing our fall from grace and sovereignty as a “man” to become “U.S. citizens/idolators”, which is the price for disobedience to God’s commandments and laws.  When that happens, we become “subjects” of the federal government and our own ignorance and sin has voluntarily transformed a constitutional republic into a totalitarian “monarchy” or “oligarchy”:

“citizen.  1:  an inhabitant of a city or town; esp: one  entitled to the rights and privileges of a freeman.  2 a: a member of a state b: a native or naturalized person who owes allegiance to a government and is entitled to protection from it 3: a civilian as distinguished from a specialized servant of the state—citizenly

syn CITIZEN, SUBJECT, NATIONAL mean a person owing allegiance to and entitled to the protection of a sovereign state.  CITIZEN is preferred for one owing allegiance to a state in which sovereign power is retained by the people and sharing in the political rights of those people; SUBJECT implies allegiance to a personal sovereign such as a monarch; NATIONAL designates one who may claim the protection of a state and applies esp. to one living or traveling outside that state.”

[Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, ISBN 0-87779-510-X, p. 243; Emphasis added]

Another important thing to learn from the above scripture is that Saul fell because he was a man-pleaser.  He “feared the people” more than he feared God (see Eccl. 12:13-14).  This is a polite way to say that he was more concerned with being “politically correct” than in obeying God and His Laws.  The Lord was essentially second on Saul’s priority list and so Saul fell from grace and was dethroned as the king and sovereign over his people.  The same fate awaits all who do the same, including us as Americans.  God made us the kings and the sovereigns over our servant government, and this sovereignty is a privilege that results from our faith and obedience to God’s Laws and our worship of Him through our righteous actions.  That privilege may be revoked at any time if we cease to trust in the Lord and put Him first, no matter the consequence.  The following scripture makes this point abundantly clear:

^“Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up [above your government].”  [James 4:10, Bible, NKJV]

Since the Bible is a valid legal contract between us and God just as much as the federal constitution is a contract between the people and their government, then one interesting outcome is that the Constitution forbids states from interfering with such contracts:

United States Constitution, Article 1, Section 10

No State shall…pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility.

So not even the government can remove God from His sovereign role over both us and the government, and the Bible confirms that we cannot be separated from the love of God, which is the essence of our faith[2]:

“For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers [governments or rulers], nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” 
[Romans 8:38-39, Bible, NKJV, emphasis added]

The Ten commandments say that our top priority is to love God, and by implication, obeying His commandments, His statutes, His Law, and His Word.

“He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me.  And he who loves Me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” 
[John 14:21, Bible, NKJV]

We have taken the time to actually catalog on our website many but not all of God’s laws at the web address below for your reference:

The implications of these revelations are that since God says He and His Law/Word in the Bible are to be first on our priority list, then when or if the vain government of man or its laws attempt to conflict with or supercede the authority of God, we must remind the state that it cannot lawfully interfere with our First Amendment religious views by putting itself above God and in charge of our life or making human laws that conflict with God’s laws which are in the Bible.  That very calling and moral obligation of reconciling God’s laws with man’s laws, in fact, is the sole duty of the Trial Jury in the diagram.  We even took this argument so far as to PROVE earlier in section 4.3.2 from a legal perspective using evidence exactly how our government has made itself into a religion and a false god to show just how bad this conflict between God and man has become.

God’s laws, however, must always supercede man’s laws because He is the Creator of Heaven and Earth, which makes Him Sovereign over all existence, and we are His sovereign delegates and ambassadors on the earth from whom the government derives ALL of its sovereignty over the finite stewardship which we have entrusted to it through our Constitution.  Our obedience to God’s laws, which sometimes puts us in conflict with man’s laws, is what sanctifies us and sets us apart. 

"Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world [and the corrupted governments and laws of the world]."
[James 1:27, Bible, NKJV]

"Come out from among them [the unbelievers]
And be separate, says the Lord.
Do not touch what is unclean,
And I will receive you.
I will be a Father to you,
And you shall be my sons and daughters,
Says the Lord Almighty."  
[2 Corinthians 6:17-18, Bible, NKJV]

This faith and sanctification and obedience and joyful service to God makes us into “ministers of a foreign state” while we are here on earth from a legal perspective, and the “foreign state” in this case is “heaven” and “God’s kingdom”.  Our ministry is for the glory of God and the love of our fellow man, in satisfaction of the two great commandments of Jesus found in Matt. 22:36-40.  No less than the Supreme Court in U.S. v. Wong Kim Ark, 169 U.S. 649 (1898)  said that the phrase “and subject to the jurisdiction of the United States” found in Section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment excludes “ministers of foreign states” from being “U.S. citizens”.  That’s right:  we can’t be “U.S. citizens” and thereby make government into our false god because we are only “pilgrims and strangers”[3] on a foreign mission while we are temporarily here.  The only place that Christians can really intend or realistically expect to return permanently to is heaven because nothing here on earth is permanent for us anyway, and life would be miserable indeed if it were!  I’d like to see someone litigate that in a state court.  Wouldn’t it be fun to watch?

Here, in fact, is what God thinks about human governments and the nations created by man:

“Behold, the nations are as a drop in the bucket, and are counted as the small dust on the scales.” 
[Isaiah 40:15, Bible, NKJV]

 “All nations before Him are as nothing, and they are counted by Him less than nothing and worthless.” 
[Isaiah 40:17, Bible, NKJV]

“He brings the princes to nothing; He makes the judges of the earth useless.”
[Isaiah 40:23, Bible, NKJV]

“Indeed they are all worthless; their works are nothing; their molded images are wind and confusion.” 
[Isaiah 42:29, Bible, NKJV]

Worthless!  Now do you understand why the Jews were hated, why Christians are persecuted to this day, and why Jesus was crucified and Paul was executed by the Roman government?  The same thing happened to the early Jews, who refused to bow to man’s law and held steadfastly to God’s law:

Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of your kingdom; their laws are different from all other people’s, and they do not keep the king’s laws.  Therefore it is not fitting for the king to let them remain.  If it pleases the king, let a decree be written that they be destroyed, and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver into the hands of those who do the work, to bring it into the king’s treasuries.”
[Esther 3:8-9 , Bible, NKJV]

Christians who are doing what God commands are basically ungovernable unless you put them in charge as the sovereigns and give them a servant government.  Remember, ours is a government “of the people, by the people, and for the people”, as Abraham Lincoln said in his famous Gettysburg Address.  That means that we have a moral duty to God to govern ourselves and not have a king or any government above us.  Government can only serve us and we are to lead and control it through frequent elections that keep our servants in government accountable.  This is confirmed in Prov. 6:6-11:

Go to the ant, you sluggard!
Consider her ways and be wise,
Which, having no captain,
Overseer or ruler,
Provides her supplies in the summer,
And gathers her food in the harvest.
How long will you slumber, O sluggard?
When will you rise from your sleep?
A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to sleep--
So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler,
And your need like an armed man.
[Prov. 6:6-11, Bible, NKJV]

Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed; neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame; for you will forget the shame of your youth, and will not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore.  For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is His name; and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; he is called the God of the whole earth, for the Lord has called you like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, like a youthful wife when you were refused,” says your God.  “For a mere moment I have forsaken you, but with great mercies I will gather you.  With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; but with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,” says the Lord, your Redeemer. 
[Isaiah 54:4-8, Bible, NKJV]

When we do God’s will and obey His commandments and His laws, we become His bride and an important part of His family!:

“For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother.” 
[Jesus, in Mark 3:35, NKJV]

When we as God’s bride (yes, we’re already married, you fornicators and idolaters in government looking for an easy lay!) and body of His believers and His children and family commit idolatry by selling ourselves into slavery and subjection to the government in exchange for their protection and privileges and a sense of false security, we are physically and spiritually united with and become “Babylon the Great Harlot” described in Revelations 17:5 of the Bible.  The Bible reminds us, as a matter of fact, that it is a SIN to demand an earthly king or ruler and that we instead should by implication be self-governing men and women who are guided by the Holy Spirit to do God’s will and who are servants to His personal and spiritual leadership in our daily lives.  He communicates His sovereign will to us daily through our prayers and His word, the Bible.  Below is one example where seeking an earthly king instead of God’s leadership is described as a sin:

“Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, and said to him, ‘Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways.  Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations [and be OVER them]’.

“But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, ‘Give us a king to judge us.’ So Samuel prayed to the Lord.  And the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.  According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day—with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also [government becoming idolatry].”
[1 Sam. 8:4-8, Bible, NKJV]

___________________________________________________________________

“And when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites came against you, you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ when the Lord your God was your king.

…..

And all the people said to Samuel, “Pray for your servants to the Lord your God, that we may not die; for we have added to all our sins the evil of asking a king for ourselves.”
[1 Sam. 12:12, 19, Bible, NKJV]

The king referred to above was Saul and that king was described in 1 Sam. chapters 12 through 15 as selfish and vain, and who did not serve God or follow His commandments, but instead served himself, like most of our current politicians as a matter of fact.  The consequence of Saul the king’s selfishness and disobedient and sinful leadership was harm to his people and a violation of his oath and commission of office direct from God at the time he was appointed by Samuel:

“Now therefore, here is the king whom you have chosen and whom you have desired.  And take note, the Lord has set a king over you.  If you fear the Lord and serve Him and obey His voice, and do not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then both you and the king who reigns over you will continue following the Lord your God.  However, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you, as it was against your fathers.” 
[1 Sam. 12:13-15, Bible, NKJV]

We must therefore conclude that the vain promise of earthly security that comes from giving a government or a king authority over us is a downright fraud and a farce as we clearly explain in our coverage of the Social Security program earlier in section 2.9.  Our one and only source of security is God, the creator of all things, and substituting anything else in His place is idolatry.  The book of Isaiah chapter 46 and 47 describe what happens to those who elevate government above God and it’s not pretty, folks.  For a Satanic lie and a false promise of man-made security by an idolatrous government, we have in effect sold or exchanged our precious birthright from God, our sovereignty, and our greatest gift, to Satan and a covetous government for 20 pieces of silver, like Judas did to Jesus and like Esau did to Jacob in the Bible. 

“As it is written, ‘Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated’.” 
[Romans 9:13, Bible, NKJV]

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” 
[Matt. 13:44, Bible, NKJV]

Our government has conspired with Satan to hide the treasure spoken of above from our view by taking over our education in the public schools and removing all mentions of God from the classroom, from the textbooks, and the pledge of allegiance, and thereby making us ignorant of the value of our birthright and ripe for selling it for pennies on the dollar. 

“Shake yourself from the dust, arise; sit down, O Jerusalem!  Loose yourself from the bonds of your neck [government slavery!], O captive [slave to your sin] daughter of Zion!  For thus says the Lord:  ‘You have sold yourselves for nothing and you shall be redeemed without money.’” 
[Isaiah 52:2-3, Bible, NKJV]

The Apostle Paul warned us of such abuses when he said:

“But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying the power [sovereignty of God].  And from such people turn away!” 
[2 Tim. 3:1-5, Bible, NKJV]

The kinds of people described above worship the creation but deny the Sovereignty and existence and the power of the Creator, who is God.

“Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever.  Amen” 
[Rom. 1:24-25, Bible, NKJV]

By allowing these kinds of idolatrous, godless, and arrogant people to be stewards and leaders over our children in the public schools, we have then become friends of the world and enemies of God. 

THE NEW SCHOOL PRAYER

Your laws ignore our deepest needs
Your words are empty air
You've stripped away our heritage
You've outlawed simple prayer
Now gunshots fill our classrooms
And precious children die
You seek for answers everywhere
And ask the question "Why"
You regulate restrictive laws
Through legislative creed
And yet you fail to understand
That God is what we need!

Our ignorance and disobedience to God then causes us to commit fornication with Satan by joining ourselves to and becoming unequally yoked with an atheistic and in many cases downright evil government.

"Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?  Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. "
[James 4:4, Bible, NKJV]

No doubt, people working in government don’t like being called worthless as the scriptures above indicate nor do they enjoy being reminded that they are recruiting prostitutes (harlots) and fornicators from the flock of sheep that are God’s, even though it’s true, and those Christians who reveal this profound truth are likely to be persecuted by their government like Jesus was:

“And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake.” 
[Luke 21:17, Bible, NKJV]

Once again to our government servants [of which I am one, by the way]:  God Himself says YOUR power and the organization YOU serve is WORTHLESS, with a capital “W”!  Did you get that Mr. President and Mr. Congressman and Mr. Supreme Court Justice and Mr. Secretary of the Treasury and Mr. IRS Commissioner, and other arrogant tyrant dictators?  God says your job and your authority is “worthless” and “less than nothing”.  Put your tail between your legs, take a big gulp and swallow that pride of yours, grovel in the sand, get on your knees and bow, and lick the very Hand, the ONLY Hand that feeds your pitiful mouth because:

“’As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God.’  So then, each of us shall give account of himself to God.” 
[Romans 14:11, Bible, NKJV]

“For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.” 
[Luke 16:15, Bible, NKJV]

“Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” 
[James 4:10, Bible, NKJV]

The only reason anyone therefore has to call your profession or your life’s work as a politician or public servant “honorable” is because you are servants of the sovereign people and because you are doing the will of God as their agent and fiduciary in protecting innocent people from harm and exploitation and crime.  This very calling, as a matter of fact, is the only authority justifying the existence of civil government because it is a fulfillment of the second greatest command to love our neighbor found in Matt. 22:39.  Can a “worthless” organization, as God calls a nation or political party, or the people working in that “worthless” organization write laws that are any more valuable or important than “worthless”?  NOT!  Here is what God says He will do when we elect or allow corrupt politicians governing a “worthless” organization called a “nation” to write vain laws that supercede His law and His Bible:

But to the wicked, God says:

“What right have you to declare My statutes [write man’s vain law], or take My covenant [the Bible] in your mouth, seeing you hate instruction and cast My words behind you?  When you saw a thief, you consented with him, and have been a partaker with adulterers.  You give your mouth to evil, and your tongue frames deceit.  You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your own mother’s son.  These things you have done, and I kept silent; you thought that I was altogether like you; but I will reprove you, and set them in order before your eyes.  Now consider this, you who forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver: Whoever offers praise glorifies Me; and to him who orders his conduct aright I will show the salvation of God.”
[Psalms 50:16-23, Bible, NKJV]

___________________________________________________________________

“Shall the throne of iniquity, which devises evil by law, have fellowship with You?  They gather together against the life of the righteous, and condemn innocent blood.  But the Lord has been my defense, and my God the rock of my refuge.  He has brought on them their own iniquity, and shall cut them off in their own wickedness; the Lord our God shall cut them off.” 
[Psalms 94:20-23, Bible, NKJV]

It is precisely the above words by God Himself that explain why we have a duty to elect Godly and moral people to public office: so that we don’t have corrupt people in there writing our laws as unjust substitutes for God’s laws and suffer God’s wrath for their misdeeds as our agents and fiduciaries. 

“The people of this State do not yield their sovereignty to the agencies which serve them.  The people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know.  The people insist on remaining informed so that they may retain control over the instruments they have created.” 
[California Government Code, §54950]

Now do you fully understand why the founding fathers gave us the kind of government that they did?  It was the ONLY thing that was compatible with their Christian beliefs!  If you belong to God and He is your King (Isaiah 33:22), then man and man’s vain laws have no dominion over you, according to the Apostle Paul:

“Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to [government] regulations…” 
[Colossians 2:20, Bible, NKJV]

Likewise, the Apostle Paul removed all doubt that we shouldn’t serve anyone but God and His law, when he said:

“But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law [man’s law].” 
[Gal. 5:18, Bible, NKJV]

“…the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which has committed to my trust.” 
[1 Tim. 1:9-11, Bible, NKJV]

“You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men [and remember that government is made up of men].” 
[1 Cor. 7:23, Bible, NKJV]

And when Christ’s Apostles were told by the government not to preach His word in conflict with what God told them, look what one the Apostles said:

"We ought to obey God rather than men." 
[Acts 5:27-29, Bible, NKJV]

Interestingly, even our pledge of allegiance validates the Natural Order diagram:

“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic, for which is stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

If our whole nation is under God, then so are its rulers!  In this case the rulers are under the people and the people are under God just as the diagram shows.  The above diagram is also based on the following four U.S. Supreme Court rulings:

·         Julliard v. Greenman, 110 U.S. 421 (1884):  “There is no such thing as a power of inherent sovereignty in the government of the United States…In this country sovereignty resides in the people, and Congress can exercise no power which they have not, by their Constitution entrusted to it.  All else is withheld.”

·         Hale v. Henkel,  240 U.S. 43 (1906):  “His [the individual’s] rights are such as existed by the law of the land long antecedent to the organization of the State, and can only be taken from him by due process of law, and in accordance with the Constitution.  Among his rights are a refusal to incriminate himself, and the immunity of himself and his property from arrest or seizure except under a warrant of the law.  He owes nothing to the public so long as he does not trespass upon their rights.”

·         Perry v. U.S., 294 U.S. 330 (1935):  “In the United States, sovereignty resides in the people…the Congress cannot invoke sovereign power of the People to override their will as thus declared.”

·         Yick Wo v. Hopkins, 118 U.S. 356 (1886):  “Sovereignty itself is, of course, not subject to law, for it is the author and source of law…While sovereign powers are delegated to…the government, sovereignty itself remains with the people.”

Our founding fathers had equally enlightening things to say that also validated the above diagram:

"The ultimate authority...resides in the people alone..."
[James Madison, Federalist Paper No. 46]

"It is when a people forget God that tyrants forge their chains ..."
[Patrick Henry]

“Those people who are not governed by GOD will be ruled by tyrants.”
[William Penn (after which Pennsylvania was named]

"A free people [claim] their rights as derived from the laws of nature, and not as the gift of their chief magistrate."
[Thomas Jefferson: Rights of British America, 1774. ME 1:209, Papers 1:134]

"Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath?"
[Thomas Jefferson: Notes on Virginia Q.XVIII, 1782. ME 2:227]

“Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God.”
[Benjamin Franklin]

"Propitious smiles of heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which heaven itself has ordained."
[George Washington (1732-1799)]

God’s law and His word must therefore always supercede government laws or we will suffer God’s wrath.  Jesus made this very clear when he said:

“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” 
[Matt. 6:24, Bible, NKJV]

In the above scripture, we believe “mammon” refers to wealth or government or commerce.  Section 4.3.2 entitled “Government as Idolatry/Religion” extensively reveals based on the Bible why it must be that God has to be first, because if He isn’t then we violate the First Commandment in Exodus 20:1-11 and Matt. 22:36-38 to love our God with all our heart, mind, and soul.  Failing to observe this maxim is like declaring the law of gravity null and void, which is an insane proposition indeed!  The bible in Jeremiah chapters 16 and 17 describes what happens when a nation and a people deny this fundamental principle and make government or any other idol into a counterfeit god.  Here is an excerpt from that part of the Bible:

“Cursed is the one who trusts in man [or governments made up of men], who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord.  He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes.  He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.  But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him.  He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.  It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.  It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” 
[Jeremiah 17:5-8, Bible, NIV]

The Apostle Paul in the Bible also confirmed that God and His laws always supercede man and their vain laws when he said:

“…there is no authority except from God.” 
[Romans 13:1, Bible, NKJV]

“…you are complete in Him [Christ], who is the head of all principality and power.” 
[Colossians 2:10, Bible, NKJV]

Why is God the only authority and the source of all authority?  The root of the word “authority” is “author”.  Because God created us, he is the “author” of our existence, and therefore the only entity in authority over us.  He is our only “Lawgiver” and anything else is a cheap, man-made substitute:

“For the Lord is our Judge, the Lord is our Lawgiver, the Lord is our King; He will save us.” 
[Isaiah 33:22, Bible, NKJV]

This is similar to how the government handles patents and copyrights.  The creator or author of the writing or invention is the person who has “rights” over the thing he or she created.

“The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours; the world and all its fullness, You have founded them;…” 
[Psalms 89:11-12, Bible, NKJV]

“And having been perfected, He [Jesus] became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.”
[Hebrews 5:9, Bible, NKJV]

Likewise, the creator of legal fictions called “corporations” is the government, which is why they can tax and regulate them.  Because God is the author of our existence, He endowed us with a natural, instinctive understanding of His law and His sovereignty through the Holy Spirit.  Even those who don’t believe in God are endowed with this awareness and sense of morality, in which case it is called “conscience” instead of “Holy Spirit”.  This notion of the Holy Spirit is the origin of the whole concept of Natural Law, Natural Order, morality, and Justice.  The Bible again confirms this natural gift of the Holy Spirit and the faith that results from it:

“…let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the same, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” 
[Hebrews 12:2, Bible, NKJV]

Some people point to Romans 13:1 cited above and say that we should be subject to or subservient to our government, even if that government is corrupt.  Here is the scripture they will cite again:

“Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities.  For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities are appointed by God.” 
[Romans 13:1, Bible, NKJV]

What we believe the “governing authorities” as used above by Apostle Paul means is “sovereigns”.  Paul was saying that we should be subject to the sovereigns within whatever system of government we are a part.  As you will learn later in section 4.5, our system of government is unique in all the world because it is a Republic founded on individual rather than collective rights and all individuals are sovereigns who are individually in charge of the government as a “king” or “governing authority” as the Apostle Paul says here.  The people created the government and they existed before the government so they are the sovereigns.  Government and public servants within government are there to serve you and me as the individual sovereigns and they must be subject to us and subservient to us, according to Paul’s words above.  As we say later in section 4.3.6, the people are the sovereigns rather than the government or anyone working in the government, and the U.S. supreme Court and various state courts agree with this concept as shown below:

“Sovereignty itself is, of course, not subject to law, for it is the author and source of law; but in our system, while sovereign powers are delegated to the agencies of government, sovereignty itself remains with the people, by whom and for whom all government exists and acts.” 
[Yick Wo v. Hopkins, 118 U.S. 356; 6 S.Ct. 1064 (1886)]

"The people of this State, as the successors of its former sovereign, are entitled to all the rights which formerly belonged to the King by his prerogative. Through the medium of their Legislature they may exercise all the powers which previous to the Revolution could have been exercised either by the King alone, or by him in conjunction with his Parliament; subject only to those restrictions which have been imposed by the Constitution of this State or of the U.S." 
[Lansing v. Smith, 21 D. 89., 4 Wendel 9 (1829) (New York)]

The real “king” in our society is not the government or anyone serving the sovereign people as government employees, but the PEOPLE!  That’s you!  So even if you misinterpret Jesus’ words to mean that we should render to a corrupt government that which it illegally asks for and demands, since your own government calls you the king, then your public servants are the ones who should be “rendering” to you, who your own government calls the sovereign.  Render to the king (Caesar, that’s you) his due, which is everything that is his property and his right, including 100% of his earned wage.  What our dishonorable “servant” politicians and lawyers in government have been doing to destroy this natural order is to dumb you down using the public education system and steal your sovereign birthright by legal treachery and trickery hidden in the laws they write, but we as the sovereigns shouldn’t allow them to get away with this fraud and extortion.

The implications of the Natural Order diagram are profound.  First of all, the diagram can be very useful as documentation of our religious belief about the authority of government.  We can use our First Amendment Right of freedom of religion to put government inside the box where they belong and keep them there.  The biggest implication is that we are not to work for or be slaves of our government.  Our government is our slave, we are the masters and it has no business dictating anything to us, stealing our money through direct taxes, forcing us to work for them (slavery), or using government licenses, such as marriage licenses,  to impinge on our rights.  We are sovereigns relative to it.  In the words of Jesus Himself:

“Away with you , Satan!  For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him ONLY [NOT the government!] you shall serve.’”
[Matt. 4:10, Bible, NKJV]

However, if you want to have rights, then you have to act like you have them and know what they are.  If you don’t know what they are and don’t insist on them in all your interactions with government disservants, then we can guarantee that the government will pretend like you don’t have any because they want to be in charge.

“Ask not and ye shall definitely receive not!” 
[Family Guardian Fellowship]

One of our readers (Clyde Hyde, mailto:candz@mail.ru) has extended this concept of sovereignty and natural order so far as to litigate in a federal court to request the court to make a declaratory judgment either pronouncing him a slave, or a sovereign, and the courts and the government hate him for it, because he backs them into a corner where they have no choice but to declare the truth about his sovereignty.  His efforts were the inspiration behind making the above diagram, and he provided to us a similar but less complete version of the above diagram that inspired this section.  Way to go, Clyde!  See section 15.14.13, which contains a “Declaratory Judgment to Become a Sovereign” for an example of how he traps the court with this argument into admitting the truth about his sovereignty.  It’s fascinating and funny!

The above system of government based on Natural Law and Natural Order is self-regulating and self-balancing.  Each entity has a proper role as follows:

Table 4‑1: Entities within Natural Order and Their Proper Roles