1996 issue 10 - the godly theonomist's picture - counsel of chalcedon

8/12/2019 1996 Issue 10 - The Godly Theonomist's Picture - Counsel of Chalcedon

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Silencing Personal Attacks

"Theonomy' is a four-letter

word to many

Reformed

.

ChristianS. Ask them why, and

you

will

get

a variety

of

answers.

Often, theology and exegesis are

not the

cause

of

the

disdain.

Personalities are. Somewhere

along the line, a

p r o f e s ~ i n g

theonomist has wrinkled their

feathers

. f\nimosity

has

developed.

It becomes usagainsl thel11. The

non-theonomist isnow in a

position to avoid all future

argumentation

a,bout

the biblical

texts. He .

can

·fall

back

on those

convenient ad hominem arguments

which, al hough they provide nO

biblical

or logical

refutation

of

the

position, are certainly effective

for

those who'

Know

IittJe

if

anything

about theonomy and its advocates .

Theonomists have assuredly

added

fuel

to the fires of personal

attack

. Our lack

of love,

grace, and

Wisdom give credence to the ad

h.ominem

attacks

of

our Reformed

brothers; Two summers ago, the

late Dr. Bahnsen told us that

personal

attacks

will

be

rendered

innocuous only as we dem9nstrate

the humility and

love

which the

law demands.

To

that

end,

I

would like

to

paint a biblical

character sketch of the

theonomic.

man.

The impetus

for this

artide

Came

from a very good friend (as did

some of itstontents). As we were

sitting on my deck

discussing some

practical

implications

of

theonomic

ethics

for

the Christian life, it srruck

me that the biblical theonomist

is

not (or

shoi.Jld

not be) the

sharp-tongued,

church

splitting,

conspiracy

minded bigot

so

often

caricatured by his critics. He is a

humble, loving Christian who

zealously seeks to' see men

converted to Jesus Christ and

obedient to

his

commands.

The Theonomist's Daily Life

First and foremost, a theonomist

is

a student

of Scripture. As one

who

believes

in the authority and

abiding validity of all (jod's law

contained in the 66

books

of the

.Old and New Testaments, the

Bible is his constant companion,

He meditates upon it day and night

(Psalm 1 2). The truths which

confront him become part of his

thinking and living. He does not

hold a given position

because

Rushdoony, Bahnsen, or North

~ n o r s e it, but

because

itis .

f

h

tITiF<1f nMy

~ s t 5

Jidun

y

hris StreveI

contained

in

or

may be dearly

deduced

from

(jod's inspired and

infallible Word

(Acts 17:11

, 1

Corinthians 3:4). For this reason,

the theonomist should

be

an

individual who is both

.

approachable

and teachable.

The

person who comes io him with the

Word of (jod

is

both

respected

and

heard (Proverbs 1 5).

the

theonomist

is

·Christ-centered. He understands

that Christ

is

theend 'or

goal

of

the

law

(Romans

10:4 ).

Everything

written in the law and prophets has

its

fulfillment in his

person and

work

(Luke

24:27.44). Apart from

Christ, he

recognizes

that the law

demands his death and eternal

punishment. He has fled to Jesus

·for refuge and

covering

from · he

2 H COUNSEL of .Chalcedon ecember, 996

wrath

of

(jod (Hebrews 6:18). For

the theonomic man, therefore, to

live is Christ (Philippians 1 21); he

knows he owes his

life

to Christ

and yields it

to him

in

willing

service. Moreover, the theonomic

man loves to hear the old, old

gospeI'story of

Jesus

and his love .

His

pastors sermons

are not one

prolonged

exposition

of

the law.

Because he appreciates our

deliverance from the indictment of

the

law through Christ's

sacrifice,

he

rejOiCes

in

sermons that focus

upon

the

wonders

of divine gTace

and love displayed in the

life

;

death, resurrection, and

ascension

of Jesus ChriSt. It is not uncommon

to see a

tear run down his

cheek, as

he

is reminded of the wonders of

divine

mercy

shown

to

him

through Jesus.

Yet,

he

is al.o

appreciative

when his pastor opens

up

to him

the righteous requirements of the

law. For he remembers that

Christ's friends

are

those who ol;>ey

his commands Uohn 14:15). for

whom (jod's

commandments are

not a burden, but a source of light

and joy 1

John

5:3;

Romans.

7:22) . .

t is

his love

for

Christ and

accomplished

redemption that

constrains

him

to follow the law as

his only

standard

for thankful,

obedient Christian living

(Deuteronomy

6:20-2 i) . It

is

that

perfect law of liberty into ,which

he

continually gazes that

he

might be

conformed

to (jod's

righteous

character revealed therein

Uames

1

25). For this reason

, the

theonomist is a balanced man

or

woman. He

does

not

go

to

the

extremes

of

legalism Or pietism.

Binding the wnsciente of another

Christian with rules and

regulations not contained in

Scripture

is

horrific to him, Christ

alone

is

Lord of the conscience, and

his law is its all-sufficient guide

(Romans 14). Nor does

he

seek



mystical channels of piety for his

life or worship .

He

knows that he

will lead a

blessed,

quiet, and

fulfilled life

before

Ciod and man

as

he does what Christ commands

Uohn 13:17).

Love

for

Ciod's

law

makes the

theonomic man devoted to

discipleship

(Matthew

.28

:18-

.20)

.

He

obediently

seeks

the salvation

of his

lost

friends and

neighbors.

For

unless they

repent

of their

sins

and surrender to Christ's Lordship,

the law will demand a

just

recompense for their wickedness .

He

desires

for

all

men and nations

to learn

Ciod's

law and

submit

compels him

to pray for

the

revival

of the Church and restoration of the

Christian

Republic.

Only the

Spirit

of Ciod, he fully recognizes,

can

bring men to

faith in

Christ and

empower

them

to

keep

Ciod's

commands (Ezekiel

36:25-27).

Love

for Ciod and his law

makes

the theonomisl a lover

of

men. With Calvin,

he

wants

to

embrace

the whole human

race

without exception

in

a single

feeling of love (Institutes

2:8:55).

When he

sees

his society tom apart

by

rape,

murder, and perversion of

all sorts

,

he

mourns that

those

who

unmerited grace

(Romans. 5:1,2;

Cial. 2:21).

It

is

not superior

intellect or a large libra ), that

has

made

him who

he is

. Rather, a

sovereign

Ciod

entered his life and

delivered him from the slave ), of

unbelief and lawlessness (Romans.

5:8-11,9:18).

Ciod's grace has

made him compassionate toward

others, winsome in

his

personality.

and patient in his exhortation. He

knows

that the way to influence

others with the wisdom and beauty

of Ciod's law is not through harsh

invective and name calling, but

through calm, loving explanation of

to it

(Deuteronomy.

4:5-8,

Isaiah.

2:

.2,3). This will only

...•. ..

. .. ..

• ..

.. . ::

~ l J ' b e

theonomist shoUld

.

e ~ J .

intlivi. nalw ...

i ] oth

ap . o ~ l u l l e

B J l d

.

,

;1/ .

. .,

te .ehithle ··

· ., :·i

,:

his views and listening to the

comments and criticisms of

others.

come about

,

he

fully

realizes,

when

men

are

brought

into

a

saving relationship with the

living Ciod, when his law is

written

upon

their hearts, and

when Ciod's Spirit empowers them

to

keep it

(Ezekiel.

36:25;

Hebrews.

8:10).

Hence,

he does

not

work for

societal revolution, and he

resists

any

impulse to

take the law

into

his own hands. This

he knows,

will

only produce

the nightmares

and tyranny

of Robespierre.

Rather,

he

is

committed

to

sharing

the g

ospel

with lost

men

and

calling

upon

them to surrender to

Christ's

Lordship in eve ), area of

life.

The theonomist

is

a man of

prayer. As he surveys Ciod's law,

he is

awed by

its

perfe

ction

and

breadth

(Ps.

119:96).

He senses

his need of wisdom and grace if

he

is

to understand and

apply

it

faithfully

to

his

life.

Hence,

you

will

frequently find

him

before

the

throne of

grace,

asking

for

the

wisdom

he

requires and which

Ciod

has promised (Hebrews.

4:16,

James

1:

5). His

desire

to

see his

family, church, and nation

blessed

through

faith

in Christ and

obedience to

his

commands

with him have been made in Ciod's

image, and

created

to enjoy

fellowship

with

Ciod, are

now

alienated from him

through

wicked

deeds (Ps,

119:136;

Col.

1 :21),

When they could

be experiencing

the

blessings of

submission to

. Messiah the Prince, they are living

in

the

ve )'

practical

hell

of

autonomy and unbelief (Isaiah.

42:4; Proverbs. 8:36). So

in

love

,

he seeks to make

other men

disciples of Ciod 's law

so

that they

might

be

preserved

from

the

tyranny and

butche ), of

a lawless

culture Ps.

119:.27), It is

not his

legalism or

intolerance that

motivates him to advocate Ciod's

law

for

all

levels

of society, but his

desire that all men might enjoy

redeemed

life

and

experience

Ciod's

blessings for

obedience

.

The fruit

of

the theonomic ethic

is

kindness

and

gentleness.

The

rigor

of

Ciod's law

has

taught the

theonomist that whatever good

he

has received

from Ciod

's hand is

solely

the result

of

Christ's

Contra ), to popular opinion,

the

theonomist

is

a churchman.

He recognizes the Church

of

Christ

as

the divinely ordained

institution into which Christ

draws his elect (Acts

2:47).

He

prays

for

her reformation and longs

to see

her

established as the pure

City of Ciod ps.

48:1,

.2)

.

For he

knows that

as

the Church

fulfills

Christ's great commission, the

earth will

be

filled with men who

. love Jesus and obey his commands

(Matthew.

28:18-20). He

certainly

takes

no delight in flight

from ecclesiastical unity.

However, he does not value unity

above

truth, tolerance above

righteousness . His commitment to

the objective standards of Ood's

law n Scripture shows him that aU

such peace is a vain delusion

·Ueremiah.

6:14,15, 8:11,1.2).

Men

who teach and live contra )'

to

Ciod's

law cannot know peace

(Isaiah

.

48:.22).

Hence, he

is

a

Puritan within the Church. He

does not allow falsehood to go

unchallenged.

He

works diligently

to

see Ciod's

Word honored and

obeyed

by his congregation. And

he

does

so

wisely. He

does

not

withdraw from the communion of

December, 1996 t THE COUNSEL of Cbalcedon 13



a particular congregation

or

.

encourage others to do

so

over

theolbgicalmintltiae. His heart

echoes Calvin's:' "In this matter I

quite agree with Capito. This, in

brief, was. he

sum

of our

discussion: that among Christians

there

ought to

be so great a

dislike

of schism,

as

that they may always

avoid itso far as lies in their power.

That there

ought to

prevail

among

them such a reverence for the

minisby of· he word and of the

sacraments, that wherever they

perceive these things

to

be, there

they may

consider

the

church

to

exist. Whenever, therefore,

it

happens, by the Lord's

permission, that the church is

administered by pastors,

whatever kind of persons they

be, if we

see

there the marks of

the

church,

it will be better not

relativistic and

positivistic,

'and

women and children ,are not safe: n

their homes

from

the

predqtory

,

practices of perverse ·men. In

response to injusiice and'societal

collapse, the theonomic mandges

call his

fellowmen

and government

officials

back to

QO<j's just

civil

laws. He

does in

hopes,that

C;:hris:l

will ,bring them

to

himself and so

reform their lives tha. they will .

yield themselves to him in willing

obedience.to his commands.

I Finally, the theonomist is a "

realist. · A frequent

caricature

of the

theQnomist

is

that he is a

day be discipled and will gladly

yield themselves

,

to

,Christ's

law.

He also understands that

ChriSt's

kingdom

extends

progressively,

over

many generations,

as

,Qod's

.

people faithfully disciple

men

by

the

gospel

and

instruct them

in

Christ's law.

So

you

see

;·a ,

theonomist

is

,not impatient,

frantic

,

or radical. Rather, his ethic has'

taught him

to l a b o r t h r ~ u g h o u t

his '

life for the adyal'1ce of Christ's

kingdom

, be billanced

in

his '

expectations, ~ d Scriptural in his

methods. ' .

•

A Blessed' Future for the

GodlY Theonomist

to breakthe unity:

As far as his attitude toward

the state,

the

theonomist is no

revolutionist. He acknowledges

that .thecivil magistrate is Qod's

agent to preserve the order ,of

society i\nd punish lawbreakers

(Romans

13:1-7).

Therefore, he

honors

thosewho rule

oye

r him

and prays. hat they might honor

Qad and

enforce

his,laws

(Matthew 2.2.:2.1; 1 Timothy 2.:1 ,4,

1 Peter 2.:17).

When he sees his

counby turning awayJr Jmqod's

law, he is grieved . Not only

because sin

is

a

reproach

to any

people

(Proverbs 14:34),

b\lt he

knows that when Qod's just laws

are ignored, the wicked willbe .

exalted and justice will

fall

to the

ground.

For

the

theQnomic

man,

commitment

to

the Mosaic

judicials as the f \ l n d ~ t i o n oLa ,

well-ordered society is not simply a

theory. For

he

sees the praCtical

result.when nations tum away

from It: murders, rapists, and·

thieves

are

allowed

to

live at

taxpayer exp.ense, j,ustice b e c o ~ e s

It is difficult

for

theonoinists ,

to live with the

Stereotypical

misrepresentations

whi-ch

perSist

among their Reformed

brothers, Most want these

misunderstandings

to

purged

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ from the Reformed chun:hes·

once

and for all

so that the

wild-eyed,

gun-toting,

repellion-fomenting individual who

seeks to impose qod s law

immediately upon our

society

in

Islamic style,

he" "I gun

(sword)

point. Nothing timid be farjher ;

from

the truth. He understands the

times in which

he

lives, The

several

states

of. this nation no

longer recognizeqod's law "s

the

.'

foundation of order and j\lstice.

This rebellion did not occur in one ·

generation and probably will not be

corrected

in

olle. 0 the theonomist

is

in the ba,ttle . or the long haul. ,

He is confident in the

outcome

,

..

,

The

kingdom of

the Messiah will

be

progressively

established

throughout the remainder

of

human

history (Isaiah . 9:6,7; Zechilriah .

14:2.0-2.1).

Christ will notleave

his mediatorial throne at qod s

right hand until all his enemies

have ;leen subdued (1 Corinthians•

15

:

25

,

Hebrews.

10:13).

He

•• J

knows that nations will.Qne

4 THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon 'I D e c ~ b e r 996 :

important theological and exegeticai

discussions respecting i s s u ~ s

like

theonomy

can

coinmence

with the '

good faith

a r i d

p r ~ c i s e scholarship

.

which

they require

. IbeHeve

th

'

is

change will only be

accomplished

by a new generation

of

.

theonomiSts,who put old prejudices

behin,d them, who do not separate

themselves into camps, and

who

enter gladly

l lio

the

faith

and

life of

the Reformed Church. In short, it ·

can

only he

achieved

as OW

own

personal lives

are characterized

by

meekness, kindness, and iove.

May the Holy Spirit so reform bUr

p e r s o n ~ l l i v e s by

his

inspired

Word,

that

far

froin

being t h ~

cause

of thecahminilis

leVeled

a g a l n ~ t theonomicethics, we

may

demonstrate that the tree of '

t h e o ~ o m y

yields a

r l ~ h

and

peaceable harvest of spiritual

fruit

in the l i f ~ of <;hrist's beloved '

Chufch . q

"

1996 issue 10 - the godly theonomist's picture - counsel of chalcedon

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