Toward A Christian Worldview - Faith Presbyterian Church Reformed

Chapter 2: Christianity and the Basic Elements of Philosophy
The primacy of the individual in no way denies that God has from
all eternity entered into a covenant with His elect people (chapter 7),
which is the church of Jesus Christ (chapter 25), and is a communion
of saints (chapter 26). But God fulfills His covenant historically
through the salvation of individual saints. Every man, woman, and
child is individually responsible to God. Neither one’s bloodline nor
national citizenship saves him: “But as many as received Him
[Christ], to them He gave the authority to become children of God,
even to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood,
nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John
1:12-13).
The numerous individual freedoms and protections that citizens
of a nation should enjoy, are derived from this doctrine: freedom of
religion, freedom of the press, freedom of speech, and so forth. Also
derived from this doctrine is individual responsibility within society.
No able-bodied person should be “on the government dole.” The
Christian state should not be directly involved in welfare. In the
words of Paul: “If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat” (2 Thessalonians
3:10). Further, God has revealed specific non-governmental
approaches to poverty relief (i.e., the family, the church). Government
opposes God when it opposes His revelation.
Fourth: The Right to Private Property. Two of the Ten Commandments,
at least implicitly, teach the right to private property: “You
shall not steal; [and] you shall not covet” (Exodus 20:15,17). If all
property were held in common, stealing and coveting would not be
possible. Too, in Matthew 20 Jesus teaches the parable of the workers
in the vineyard, in which He concludes that it is lawful for a man to do
what he wishes with his own possessions (verse 15). Then there is the
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