The Constitution of these United States

The following documents are the spring of our understanding regarding what constitutes the source of law as well as the functions of lawful human civil government. Understanding these documents is the basis upon which all decisions and actions are determined to be made by the ACLS.

1. The Bible first and foremost. We believe the Scriptures, the 66 books comprising the Old and New Testaments, to be the inspired Word of God, without error in the original writings, the complete revelation of His will for the salvation of men and the Divine and final authority for Christian faith and life. Isaiah 40:8; Matthew 5:18; Acts 1:16; Acts 28:25; I Thessalonians 2:13; II Timothy 3:16,17; II Peter 1:20,21. Therefore all the documents listed below are to be evaluated according to the Biblical standard. They may contain errors but the Word of God does not. God’s Word clearly reveals that God Himself is the source of law. He created the universe and all the laws which govern that universe, both the physical laws as well as all the moral laws. Righteous human civil government seeks to abide by and enforce only those Laws of the Creator (what our Founders called the Laws of Nature and Nature’s God) over which He has given civil government the power of punishment. So all crimes are sins, but not all sins are crimes. A crime is a sin over which God has given civil government enforcement powers. For example, gossip is clearly a sin; yet it is not a crime because God gave civil government no powers of punishment regarding gossip. With this sin God did give disciplinary powers to the other two governments which He ordained; family government and church government.

2. Declaration of Independence - This document explains the why of civil government. The purpose of civil government is clearly established as the duty to protect the God given rights of the people within the jurisdictional boundaries of their country. Those rights are given by God and are not mere privileges handed down by the civil government. The civil government comes into existence by a compact in which the people empowered by God to defend their own God given rights, may join together in a society to further and more effectively defend those same God given rights. That civil government which they create is accountable to them and should it fail in its established purpose so instead of defending God given rights, attack those rights, it is the right and duty of the people to throw off such a tyrannical combination and restore liberty by establishing a human civil government which will protect and defend their God given Rights.

3. The United States Constitution - This document is the how of government. It is based upon and derived from the principles stated in the Declaration of Independence. It must in every word and phrase be interpreted in light of the philosophy of government expressed in the Declaration of Independence. It is helpful to note that Thomas Jefferson gave us great advice on how to interpret the Constitution: "On every question of construction, let us carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or invented against it, conform to the probable one in which it was passed.” Original intent is the rule, and the original intent of the Constitution was to restrain civil government in order that it fulfill its purposes to protect and defend God given rights.

4. The Bill of Rights are the first Ten Amendments to the Constitution. Recognizing the grave danger of entrusting power into the hands of any man, even if he be a good man, the Bill of Rights was demanded by the States as they ratified the Constitution. While the Constitution for the most part established what the Federal government can do, the Bill of Rights further restricts those powers. We can be assured that the Constitution would never have been ratified had not this deal been brokered. The States agreed that if they ratified the Constitution, the first job of the new government would be to produce a Bill of Rights and send it to the States for ratification. And this is precisely what was done. Thus properly understood, the Bill of Rights is part of the original agreement, the covenant between the States to form a Federal government. Therefore not one of these Ten can be amended or abridged without the entire covenant being broken. Courts cannot alter the covenant, neither can Executive Orders or even Legislation in Congress. Without the Bill of Rights followed and enforced as designed in the Founding Covenant we have no lawful government at the Federal level.

5. Each State Constitution is also a vital part of the Covenant We the People made in forming our civil government. It is far too often overlooked and ignored even by people who swear an oath before Almighty God to defend and uphold it. In many cases our State Constitutions give us far greater and more extensive protections than does the Federal document. Thus it is incumbent on us to study, understand and teach others our State Constitutions for they are also part of the liberty tools necessary to the restoration of a civil government that is put back to its original God ordained purpose - to protect and defend God given rights.