Legislate What Our Society Will Bear
All scriptural text is NIV, from biblegateway.com.

I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.
1 Timothy 2:1-2

Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience.
Romans 13:1-5

Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place."
John 18:36

Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right.
1 Peter 2:13-14

(The Pharisees ask,) "Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?" But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, "Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? Show Me the tax money." So they brought Him a denarius. And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?" They said to Him, "Caesar's." And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."
Matthew 22:17-21

Then one from the crowd said to Him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me." But He said to him, "Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?"
Luke 20:13-14

But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Romans 3:21-24

I lead off with these verses because they provide background for an important issue for Christians; the role of the civil State in the codification and enforcement of God's Law. I acknowledge that the bible verses used come from those that support Luther's "Two Kingdoms" theology, but I would like to apply the philosophy and these verses in a way I have yet to see elsewhere.

The application of God's Law to civil affairs has been argued rightly and wrongly by secular and religious advocates. Some argue that we can't "legislate morality", and others take the extreme opposite and wish to punish every evil that God specifies.

For the Christian, the first point is easily refuted biblically. Romans 13 tells us that God has established civic authority. God's wish with that authority is to punish those who do wrong and commend those who do right, according to 1 Peter 2. The use of "right" and "wrong" is an imposition of morality.

God lays out in no uncertain terms what is right and wrong, but those who take the second view ignore St. Paul in Romans 3, where all have sinned. Every one of us has done something wrong, in most cases repeatedly, to displease God. We can't legislate in our civil system everything God wishes, or we should all prepare to spend some time in prison.

When the Son was asked to settle legal disputes in Luke 20, He refused. When asked about whether taxes should be illegal, He told the Pharisees to give Caesar his due in Matthew 22. In John 18 he says His kingdom is not of this world. What then is God's will for his ordained civil government, especially a government where we have a say in what is legislated?

As much as St. Paul tells us to submit to authority in Romans, we get a directive for civil authority in his first letter to Timothy, the 2nd chapter, "that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness."

Punish evil and foster good, as in 1 Peter, but preserve order and keep the peace, so that we have the freedom to live godly lives thankful for his salvation.

If we pursue every sin, we lose order, and peace is lost. Punishing some sins, though, contributes to order and peace. When we punish theft, we preserve order by allowing people to keep what they have worked so hard to gain. When we punish murder, we allow people to spend time and money on other work besides security, as well as keep the peace. Some other sins, though, carry punishments that do not contribute to peace and order. Shall we punish people for not keeping the Sabbath day holy, or for having other gods before God?

When most of this country was Christian or at least Judeo-Christian or Deist, we could get away with using the State as an added check for godly behavior. Laws against adultery made sense because most people believed adultery was wrong. Enforcing laws against adultery and sodomy was possible.

It seems to me that because we had that check, we allowed ourselves to slow our teaching of Law and Gospel. The State could enforce God's Law for us. People were in jail because they sinned grossly, and pastors would go in to save their souls. It was convenient. We got accustomed to the State telling us the standards for desirable behavior.

As a result of our lax evangelism, something changed. We no longer have people in power who subscribe faithfully to the Law and Gospel. We no longer have a majority populace who subscribes faithfully to the Law and Gospel. Some of the rules we laid down are no longer enforceable and no longer contribute to peace and order, because not as many people think this behavior is wrong. Because they have become unenforceable and can no longer promote peace and order, adultery laws are almost completely off the books, and sodomy laws are following behind in some areas.

There are those who believe we can enforce these old laws to get people back to a more moral America. This now violates God's wish for peace and order. This is not the way back to a society that strives to please God. The laws we keep to preserve order and peace are symptomatic of the condition of our hearts. When our hearts are devoid of God, governance becomes force of will, and we get the nanny state, civil confiscation, court-ordered murder, and other gross injustices in the law.

Our governments—federal, state, and local—need to obey their directive from God to preserve peace and order. We have to legislate what our society will bear, and no more. If we want a society more concerned with pleasing God, we do it by winning the hearts and minds of our neighbors and by preaching God's Law and Gospel. We still have the First Amendment. Before the Court takes it away like they did the Fifth, we need to preach the Word everywhere it is needed: especially the voters!