The Constitution Only Works If the Bible Is Right About People (And It Is)

THE REAL AMERICA MINUTE: Month Five

The Constitution Only Works If the Bible Is Right About People (And It Is): by Rick Porterfield

You've probably quoted the Constitution. Maybe appealed to it. Many of us have sworn an oath to defend it.

But here's a question we seldom think to ask: Why is it designed the way it is?

Why three branches? Why divide power? Why limit government to specific enumerated tasks?

The answer isn't political. It's biblical.

Two Truths the Founders Never Forgot

The Constitution's entire design reflects a biblical understanding of human nature. It's built to enable human freedom and restrain human sin at the same time.

That’s not accidental. It's the whole point.

The Bible teaches two things about humanity that the Founders understood as non-negotiable:

First: Humans are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27)

Every person has inherent dignity and worth. No one is born superior. No one has the right to rule over others simply because they want to.

Second: Humans are subject to Temptation.

Jeremiah 17:9 — "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." Temptation to sin affects every person. Including leaders with good intentions who believe they're doing God's work.

Both truths are essential. And both are baked into the Constitution.

The image of God means humans deserve freedom. The fallen nature of man means humans need structure.

The Constitution holds both truths at the same time. Remove either one and the whole thing collapses.

Three Branches: A Pattern From Isaiah

Here's something many Americans haven’t been taught. Why does the Constitution divide government into three branches — Legislative, Executive, and Judicial?

Isaiah 33:22 — "For the LORD is our Judge, the LORD is our Lawgiver, the LORD is our King; He will save us."

Judge. Lawgiver. King. Three distinct roles.

The Founders knew this verse. They understood that God Himself operates through these three functions — and they built that pattern directly into the Constitution.

The Legislative branch makes the laws (Lawgiver). The Executive enforces them (King). The Judicial interprets and applies them (Judge).

Why separate them? Because concentrating all three in one person creates tyranny.

When one man is lawgiver, king, and judge — that's absolute power. And absolute power in fallen human hands ultimately leads to corruption.

As George Washington put it: "Government is not reason, it is not eloquence — it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master."

Image of God: Why No One Is Superior

The Preamble of The Constitution doesn't begin "We the King." It doesn't begin "We the Elites."

It begins: "We the People of the United States."

That phrase is a biblical supported statement.

Because all people are made in God's image, no class of people is inherently superior. Government exists to acknowledge and protect the rights God already gave — not to grant those rights, and certainly not to remove them.

Thomas Jefferson understood this perfectly: "The God who gave us life gave us liberty at the same time."

Not government. God.

Fallen Nature: Why Ambition Must Check Ambition

Because humans are subject to temptation, you cannot put absolute trust in leaders — even elected ones — to always do what's right.

James Madison, in Federalist 51, said, "If men were angels, no government would be necessary... Ambition must be made to counteract ambition."

What does that mean? You assume leaders will want more power. So you design a system where their ambition runs into someone else's ambition — and they check each other.

The President can veto Congress. Congress can override the veto. The Supreme Court can strike down laws. Congress can impeach judges.

Power exists — but it is always restrained by competing power.

Alexander Hamilton put it bluntly: "A fondness for power is implanted in most men, and it is natural to abuse it when acquired."

Notice he didn’t say “some men.” He said “most men.”

That's a biblical truth — and these men built their entire system around it.

Biblical Liberty: Why Government Power Is Limited

Because God designed humans for freedom, the Constitution does not give government unlimited power. It gives government enumerated powers that are specific, limited, and defined.

Article I, Section 8 lists exactly what Congress can do. The 10th Amendment makes the rest clear: everything else belongs to the States and to the people.

And here's a reframe worth considering: The Bill of Rights isn’t really abill of rights. It's a bill barring infringement.

"Congress shall make no law..."

"The right of the people shall not be infringed..."

It's not granting rights. It's restraining government from taking the rights that God gave you.

A Forgotten Warning from President Washington

George Washington understood what was at stake. In his Farewell Address he wrote: "Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these."

Let me translate that into plain language: Among the things that make a nation prosper, religion (Christianity) and morality are indispensable foundations. No one can call themselves a patriot while working to destroy these pillars of freedom.

Why?

Because when people govern themselves morally — which is only truly possible through a born-again spirit and the Word of God — civil government doesn't need to expand.

When self-government collapses, civil government fills the void, and liberty disappears with it.

The Constitution Only Works If the Bible Is Right

The Constitution works because the biblical view of humanity is correct. Remove that foundation and the whole structure begins to collapse.

Reject the image of God — you lose the foundation for equality and rights.

Reject the notion that humans are subject to temptation — you'll trust unchecked power.

Reject God's design for freedom — you'll accept unlimited government as normal.

No other nation has sustained liberty at the scale of the USA, for this long.

That didn't happen by accident. It happened because the Constitution is built on biblical truth.

The Constitution works because the Bible is right about people.

And when we forget that truth... we lose what it protects.

Five More Biblical Principles You Never Noticed

People say the Constitution is secular. You have to be willfully blind to say that.

Here are five more biblical principles written directly into the Constitution:

1. Two witnesses required for treason conviction Biblical principle from Deuteronomy 17:6 and 19:15

2. Presumption of innocence and right to confront your accuser Biblical principle from Acts 25:16 — "It is not the Roman custom to hand over anyone before they have faced their accusers and have had an opportunity to defend themselves"

3. Children cannot be punished for parents' crimes Biblical principle from Ezekiel 18:20 — "The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father"

4. Equal justice under law — no partiality Biblical principle from Leviticus 19:15 — "Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great"

5. Private property protected from government seizure without just compensation Biblical principles from Exodus 20:15 ("Thou shalt not steal") and 1 Kings 21 (Ahab could not simply seize Naboth's vineyard)

The Constitution isn't just influenced by biblical principles. They are it’s foundation.

The American experiment only works if God is real.

Because the Constitution assumes biblical truth about humanity, if you remove God from the equation, the whole thing stops making sense.

And that's exactly what we see happening today. 

“Awake oh sleeper…” (Ephesians 5:14)

— Pastor Rick

© 2026 Rick Porterfield