Social institutions are part of God's ordained plan for man. Family, church, and government find their origins in God's mandates. It was not good that man was alone. The Biblical family is composed of a father, a mother and children. God considers any substitute for this order to be an "abomination". Homosexuality, trial marriages and manmade ways are viewed in the Bible as morally reprehensible and cause for judgment.

The place of humans in the natural world rests upon one's view of man himself. The Christian view is that God purposefully created man in His Image- that is, man bears the image of the invisible God, and therefore mankind is a brotherhood meant to function as a community of faith.

The Christian worldview posits that both the individual and the social order are both important to God, and that men are to be both responsible citizens and responsible individuals. Christ died for individuals, and God also ordained social institutions to teach and practice love, mercy, respect, community work and discipline.

Community itself is not the ultimate reality in the Christian worldview. This sets it apart from the humanistic views of sociology. Society does not determine man's desires and action. Neither is man genetically predetermined to act in a specific way. Human responsibility is at the heart of the Christian worldview. No utopian world social order can exist without God as its sovereign King, where every knee bows and every tongue confesses Christ as Lord. The world sees this as anathema to its ideals of autonomy and social predeterminism.

Social institutions then, are ordained by God. The three most important are family, church, and state. The family and Church were ordained by God to provide spiritual, moral and emotional nurture and as a means of transmission of God's values from generation to generation. The state was instituted by God to provide protection for the innocent and punish the guilty, as an instrument of God's Kingdom justice here on earth. These institutions must remain stable for society to exist. This is the source of understanding required by long term human relationships so vital to man's well-being. The church must provide believers with an opportunity to worship God corporately, be equipped, and enjoy fellowship with other believers. It is also responsible for the dissemination of the light it has been given to a dark world.

"When the righteous rule, the people rejoice.; when the wicked rule, the people mourn." Proverbs 29 :2 states. It must be said that it is God who raises up rulers and invests them with authority. We will look more closely at that notion in the Christian view of government.

Christians are to influence and impact their world with Christian principles, ideals and love. These institutions must embody these ideals. The Christian must understand that his environment, social setting or placement have no bearing on the mandate to obey Christ in a fallen world. The redemptive presence of salt and light preserve and change the society until ultimately when Christ returns, He will bring His Kingdom to its full expression.