***This article is a follow up to one previously posted entitled Law and Gospel? and assumes much of what was already discussed in that piece.***
In modern conversations concerning the relationship between the Law and the Gospel, one of the most polarizing debates in the past 50 or so years has been the issue of Theonomy. Now, etymologically theonomy simply means “God’s Law”, but the term has a particular meaning. First published in 1977, Dr. Greg L Bahnsen’s seminal work Theonomy in Christian Ethics has served as a cornerstone for the “Christian Reconstruction” movement, and others who believe that the Word of God applies to areas outside of the church and private life. In this treatise, Dr. Bahnsen sets out to demonstrate:
“That the Christian is obligated to keep the whole law of God as a pattern of sanctification and that this law is been forced by the civil magistrate where and how the stipulations of God so designate… The Older Testament commandments are not mere artifacts in a religious museum, nor are they ideals suspended over an age of parenthesis and appropriate only for the coming day of consummation. They are the living and powerful word of God, directing our lives here and now. The moral behavior and ethical relations within society desired by God are discernable in the full law of God as revealed in the scriptures of the Older and New Testaments… when we learn to think God's thoughts after Him (loving His law, obeying His voice), then our lives and our nation will be well pleasing in the Lord's sight and benefited with His blessing.” - Dr. Greg L Bahnsen, Theonomy in Christian Ethics, pg. 36.
What we will see in our present study, is that as an application of the continuing validity of the Law of God in the New Covenant, theonomy serves as the foundation for a Christian political ethic.
The Role of the Civil Magistrate
The key Biblical text on the role of the civil magistrate is found in Romans 13.
“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.” - Romans 13:1–4 (ESV)
The chapter says that governing authorities are “instituted by God”. The immediate application Paul wants to make for Christians is “Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed”, but while Paul is giving instruction to Christians living under the authority of civil government, as he does so he tells us some important details about the nature of civil government. As mentioned, the civil government is instituted by God, but for what purpose? God does nothing arbitrarily, and every one of His actions is meaningful, well the purpose for which God has instituted governing authorities is promoting good and punishing evil. “He is God’s servant for your good… he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out wrath on the wrongdoer”.
Despite all of the debates and different interpretations of how this chapter is to be applied, most Christians would agree with my very simple and brief explanation above. But does anyone ever stop and ask, “who decides what is good or bad?” In the realm of apologetics, Christians are used to demanding nonbelievers provide a transcendent basis upon which to justify universal morality, but this same line of thinking must be applied in the realm of civics as well. The Triune God of Scripture provides an unchanging foundation for ethics, He defines what is good or evil. And so, when He says that the state is to approve good and punish evil, it is to do so on the basis of His moral law. And since Christ did not abolish the Law (Matt. 5:17) the onus to demonstrate whether the civil magistrate is to obey the Law of Moses falls upon the one who would say otherwise.
In Romans 13 the civil government is called God’s “servant” (διάκονός diakonos- literally “deacon”) and it is a clear implication of this that the government is to obey God and His Law. Other titles of the magistrate found in Scripture indicate his responsibility to be a minister on behalf of Divine authority, as human judges are sometimes called “gods” (Psalm 82:1, 6-7).
The First Use of the Law
As was discussed in the previous article, Reformed theologians have typically divided up three uses of the Law, the first of which being the political/civil use as a restraint of unregenerate man’s sin.
“The second office1 of the Law is, by means of its fearful denunciations and the consequent dread of punishment, to curb those who, unless forced, have no regard for rectitude and justice. Such persons are curbed not because their mind is inwardly moved and affected but because, as if a bridle were laid upon them, they refrain their hands from external acts and internally check the depravity which would otherwise petulantly burst forth” - John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion 2:7:10
Calvin, and those who followed him, affirmed that it was right and necessary to use the Law of God in public society to curb man’s evil. This is in perfect accord with what Paul says is the is the role of the civil magistrate.
Believe it or not, the Christian religion is not merely concerned with believers. You already believe this, because you believe you have a responsibility to evangelize the nonbeliever in obedience to your Christian faith. But the claims of Christ encompass all of life, and there is not a square inch of reality that does not belong to Him. And so, as an extension of God’s common grace to all people (believer or not), civil governments are to enforce the Law of God for “His own glory and the public good” (2LBCF1689 24:1).
The Law of Moses Applied to Gentile Nations
A Further illustration as to why the Law of Moses ought to remain our political ethic even today, is that it was the ethical standard even for Gentile nations during the time of the Old Covenant.
Leviticus chapter 18 is familiar to many Christians today due to its relevancy in speaking to the issue of homosexuality, but towards the end of this chapter (only two verses after the mention of homosexuality) we meet with a bone-chilling warning from God should His people disobey His Law.
“Do not make yourselves unclean by any of these things, for by all these the nations I am driving out before you have become unclean, and the land became unclean, so that I punished its iniquity, and the land vomited out its inhabitants. But you shall keep my statutes and my rules and do none of these abominations, either the native or the stranger who sojourns among you (for the people of the land, who were before you, did all of these abominations, so that the land became unclean), lest the land vomit you out when you make it unclean, as it vomited out the nation that was before you.” - Leviticus 18:24–28 (ESV)
God shows no partiality (Rom. 2:11) and thus He did not have one moral standard for the Israelites and another for pagans, He does not have one moral standard for Christians and another for secularists. If God’s standards of ethics were partial, then they would be arbitrary- but this is not the case. All people, and all nations are held accountable to His universally binding Law and should be warned that He will judge them according to this standard.
A closer look at this passage in Leviticus reveals to us the striking detail that “the land” itself “became unclean” (Lev. 18:25) in addition to its inhabitants. So basic to the character of God is His Law, that the disobedience of it has a detrimental effect upon creation itself. The land “vomited out its inhabitants”. Dr. James White has given the illustration of putting sour food in your mouth- how you immediately react to spew it out of your mouth, well, that is what the land itself does when God’s Law is not obeyed.
Given that this is so, how could anyone make the argument that nations other than Israel are not to govern themselves according to the Law of God?
What was the standard by which God rained judgement down upon Sodom and Gomorrah? It is one of the first, and most memorable, stories we encounter when we open up our Bibles and it is a historical account of God judging pagan cities due to their sin. Peter describes their deeds as “lawless” (2 Pet. 2:8), well whose law were they breaking? Those cities were full of unrighteous and wicked men, they themselves approved of their actions, so whose Law were they breaking? Obviously, it was the Law of God that was in violation.
But this same point can be made from the other direction, for we see that not only does God judge Gentile nations for breaking His Law, He also on the positive side blesses obedience.
A powerful illustration of this is seen in the seventh chapter of Ezra. By the grace of God, Ezra (a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses) was in a unique position of favor with King Artaxerxes, of Persia (Ezra 7:6). Ezra comes to the king with the mission to reestablish the rule of the Law of the Lord in Israel (Ezra 7:10) and Artaxerxes is supportive.
“This is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, a man learned in matters of the commandments of the Lord and his statutes for Israel: “Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven. Peace. And now I make a decree that anyone of the people of Israel or their priests or Levites in my kingdom, who freely offers to go to Jerusalem, may go with you... Whatever is decreed by the God of heaven, let it be done in full for the house of the God of heaven, lest his wrath be against the realm of the king and his sons. We also notify you that it shall not be lawful to impose tribute, custom, or toll on anyone of the priests, the Levites, the singers, the doorkeepers, the temple servants, or other servants of this house of God. And you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God that is in your hand, appoint magistrates and judges who may judge all the people in the province Beyond the River, all such as know the laws of your God. And those who do not know them, you shall teach. Whoever will not obey the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be strictly executed on him, whether for death or for banishment or for confiscation of his goods or for imprisonment.” - Ezra 7:11–26 (ESV)
King Artaxerxes, though himself a pagan, is acting in perfect accord with his responsibility as a civil ruler to be a servant of God (Rom. 13:4, 7), promoting what is good and enforcing God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. Of course, all is done according to the Law Moses, which Ezra was an expert in. Someone may object to the application of this text and say that Artaxerxes was merely giving the Israelites permission to observe their religious practices, but this is not the case. Verse 25 shows Artaxerxes telling Ezra to appoint magistrates and judges “Beyond the River”2, that is not just within the borders of Israel. Some commentators have tried to argue that this was only for Jews living in these borders, but this is an insertion into the text and not an exegetical conclusion drawn from the text. Verse 25 even says, “those who do not know [the Law] you shall teach”.
Lest anyone should think it is inappropriate for a Gentile king to speak so clearly to the necessity of obeying “the God of heaven” we should note Ezra’s response to this in verses 27, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of our fathers, who put such a thing as this into the heart of the king, to beautify the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem”. Artaxerxes’ decree to obey the Law of the Lord of Israel was not just some fluke, or irrational arbitrary decision, God Himself put this into his heart.
The Christian’s Responsibility Towards His Society
The section right before Matthew 5:17-19 (where Jesus clearly teaches the abiding validity of the Law of Moses) our Lord tells us the Church’s responsibility towards society and culture3.
“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” - Matthew 5:13–16 (ESV)
Christians are enabled by the Holy Spirit to obey the third, or proper use of the Law as God continually sanctifies our hearts. As we seek to be faithful to Christ in the realm of culture and politics, we see that our Lord demands we influence society to shine His light that others would give glory to our Father in heaven. Understanding what God says is the role of the civil magistrate, that God holds nations accountable to His Law, and that He will judge them on this basis necessitates that Christians who possess God’s revealed Law in their Bibles seek to direct their governments, and their communities towards obedience to this same Law. How do we do that? Well, for starters, Christians should strive to behave as Christians wherever they are called. Our Christian faith is not something that we hang up in the closet on Sunday afternoon when we return from church, but the Law of God is to govern our behavior in our families, in our workplaces and even in our government. This will mean street-preaching, evangelism, activism and other such activities that confront people with what God’s Law says concerning the important ethical issues of our day. It will mean demanding that politicians and civil authorities pay due honor to the One who appointed them and promote His Law in their governing and legislation. It will mean Christians themselves seeking political power, not for personal or shameful gain, but for the glory of the King!
Christians, pray and work for the day when Christ establishes justice in all the earth, and the coastlands wait for His Law (Isaiah 42:4).
Although Calvin has the same basic structure concerning the three uses of the Law, he does not put them in the same order as we normally do, and so what we call the “first use” he calls the second.
The Euphrates River. Obviously in this particular instance, Artaxerxes is referring specifically to the domain over which he actually rules, but it is worth noting that this phrase is used throughout the Older Testament to refer to gentile nations.
Listen to Positive Reconstruction in Society for more on this topic.