Suppose you and I agree to build a house together. As we design and construct the building, you and I have to recognize and implement some standards so that our construction can proceed orderly and successfully.
I suggest that these standards fall into two categories: First, there are standards that exist in nature – like the concept of level. You and I can’t change what “level” is. Something is “level” if its points are in a plane that is parallel to the plane of the horizon.
We don’t get to choose this standard because it is part of the way the God made the world. If we disregard the concept of level, or you and I adopt evolving definitions of what “level” is, would you have much hope for the soundness of our structure?
The second category of standard is up to us to determine – like linear measurements. Suppose I decide, on my own, that 8 inches equals a foot. When you tell me you need me to cut some 6 foot boards, I hand you boards that are 48 inches long instead of the 72 inches you expected. This can only lead to chaos.
These same two categories of standards apply to law and government.
The first kind our founders called the “Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God”. This is the way God made the world. We can’t change this anymore than we can change the concept of “level”. You can’t break these rules – they will only break you.
The second standard is like our man-made constitution. The words in the document can’t be twisted or changed over time any more than 12 inches can become 8 inches. This also leads to chaos and tyranny.
There is law of the universe. God made this.
There is also the law of the land – the constitution.
Government must follow both or the whole house comes tumbling down.