We as human beings have been given the dominion mandate, which requires us to “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it . . . .” One way that we can effectively carry out this mandate is by entering agreements with others. Agreements with others enhance our ability to fulfill the dominion mandate by allowing us to trade goods and services we are proficient in providing for other goods and services we require. Allowing each individual to focus on the good or service he or she excels at producing greatly multiplies the combined impact of all to implement the dominion mandate.
While efficiency and wealth maximization are not necessarily bad or sinful things, the …show more content…
This principle is a necessary corollary of the dominion mandate because they assist us in successfully fulfilling the dominion mandate. Without the right to enter contracts no contracts would exist for the government to enforce.
Voluntariness of humans being to choose with who, when, and how they enter a contract or covenant is a biblical principle that is foundational to allowing enforcement of contracts. This idea of voluntariness is the only thing that separates agreements from slavery. Without a contract being voluntarily entered, there is no argument that it is sinful for someone to not fulfill the obligation or for the government to have the jurisdiction to enforce that agreement. God does not require us to enter contracts but he does expect us to fulfill those that we …show more content…
While it may be clear from the scriptures that a breach of contract is sinful, this breach does not automatically place the conduct in the category of wrongdoing that allows for government action. A civil government only has jurisdiction to act when it seeks to punish the conduct of evildoers. A breach of contract for mutual consideration is evildoing because it interferes with an individual’s efforts and duty to carry out the dominion mandate. It does this by requiring the other party to lose both the transaction cost they have invested in creating the contract and the additional cost needed to enter an alternative contract with another. The key question that must be asked to determine whether the biblical jurisdiction of the government is triggered is “Does the breach hurt the other party’s resources in a manner that keeps him or her from glorifying God through the dominion mandate?” Under the biblical model of analysis, it also appears that the breach of a unilateral promise where there was been detrimental reliance by the other party may also be classified as evildoing and trigger the jurisdiction of the government to enforce the