Theonomy

Intro to Theonomy

I want to introduce my church to theonomy, so I wrote up a little article and passed out a few to several families. I haven’t got much feedback yet, but my pastor likes it. I printed it up as a little booklet on one page. Feel free to use this for your church. I love theonomy.

God’s Perfect Law

In our morally mixed up world, we need to know: What is right and wrong? What is truth and justice?

Ideas about truth abound. Many atheists—who of course adamantly reject God and His moral absolutes—love to speak of good and evil. They may offer a pragmatic definition of what is good, such as, “We ought to cause as little harm as possible.”

This statement reflects Jesus’ command to “love your neighbor as yourself.” But for an atheist, wanting to cause as little harm as possible is merely a personal opinion—a belief adopted in blind faith. It is likely an atheist won’t be able to explain why he or she believes that. And if he or she has no Creator or basis for that belief, it is just as valid for another person to describe goodness this way: “We ought to cause as much harm as possible.”

World religions have unique takes on morality and justice, too. For example, there are Muslim governments that believe that cutting off a thief’s hand is a just punishment for stealing.

Most of us would say that is too harsh. But do we as Christians have anything to offer on this question besides—like the atheist—our personal opinion?

An opinion cannot be the basis for truth and justice. I believe chocolate ice cream is the best flavor, but that can be overruled by anyone whose taste buds disagree.

How, then, should we approach this topic? How do we know, for example, that adultery is evil?

Some good reasons for rejecting adultery as acceptable—such as the fact that it breaks up marriages and hurts families—certainly exist. Ultimately, though, the only reason adultery is wrong is because the Bible commands, “You shall not commit adultery” (Ex. 20:14).

God alone determines right and wrong, good and evil. He is the only one who can establish moral absolutes. God, whose law reflects His character, loves fidelity in marriage; therefore, adultery is wrong. This is true for everyone, everywhere, past, present and future.

The law, which is detailed for us in God’s Word, provides the foundation for our individual morals—and for understanding how society should respond to good and evil.

There are some 613 laws in the Old Testament. Many of us think of the moral laws—such as but not limited to the Ten Commandments—which form the basis for biblical morality that we follow today. We think about the ceremonial laws, fulfilled by Christ’s work on the cross. (We obey the ceremonial laws by trusting Christ for our salvation.)

A final area of the law that often gets little consideration: civil law. Some Christians dismiss the civil law as irrelevant for today. But what if this portion of the law ought to be followed by all societies around the world? The implications of this notion are many—and they are perhaps shocking.

The belief that the biblical civil law is still valid today is called theonomy, which means, “God’s law.” The only alternative is autonomy (self law)—a rejection of God’s law. Theonomy is a new name for an old concept that most Christians have believed throughout history, but which has been slowly forgotten since the founding of the United States.

For example, the biblical penalty for stealing is that the thief pays restitution plus a penalty. In most cases, the thief should repay double the value of the item he stole (Exodus 22:3-4) to the victim—not the state. This punishment is God-instituted and just. Any other punishment for stealing is not just.

Theonomists can say that Muslims cutting off a thief’s hand is too harsh and unjust, and offer a valid, biblical reason—not just their opinion. They can explain to non-Christians that God has a standard for justice, good and evil, found in His Word.

Some Christians may argue that theonomy isn’t relevant because it is based only on the Old Testament. Does the New Testament have anything to say about whether the civil law is just? Hebrews 2:2 says the punishments are just. In 1 Timothy 1:8-11, Paul says the law is good if it is used lawfully. We must read the law to see how to use the law. He also says in that passage that the law conforms to the gospel.

Other believers brush theonomy aside because they believe today’s world governments are free to make up their own laws (at least as far as establishing punishments for crimes). Since the Bible teaches that the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23), they say, the penalty for a crime such as stealing can be anything, up to and including death. But that doesn’t work. One of the available punishments for crimes in Old-Testament law was flogging. Judges couldn’t order more than 40 lashes (Deut. 25:1-3). While committing some crimes did lead to the death penalty, God put an upper limit on the punishment for certain crimes. His justice isn’t anything up to and including the death penalty.

On the other hand, some believers concede that the Old Testament correctly advises us of the proper punishment for stealing, but additional portions of the civil law aren’t valid or just. Other than their opinions, these individuals seem to have little basis for accepting some parts and rejecting others. Whether they intend to or not, they are setting themselves up as judge and jury over God’s law—an unwise position.

In fact, these Christians start to sound eerily similar to atheists as they mock God’s law: “Are you telling me that we should stone disobedient children, homosexuals, and adulterers? That’s ridiculous!” They may even grossly misrepresent the content of God’s law (see http://tinyurl.com/p2latv8 and http://tinyurl.com/opo5wfy). What standard are they using to claim it to be ridiculous? It is a mere opinion.

The truth is in God’s Word: “The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul” (Ps. 19:7).

Christians ought to admit freely that God’s law is perfectly just. The only option is to use some arbitrary standard (again, a mere opinion) to judge and reject His law. You can’t use the only absolute standard (God’s law) of justice, good, and evil to reject God’s law.

Why does theonomy matter? Should it concern you? With the current state of our society—complete with varied religious beliefs and shifting moral values—could it ever even be implemented in our lifetime?

Theonomy is important today for several reasons:

• Christians must seek the truth; what we believe affects how we live. If we believe something that is true, it will improve our lives and the lives of those around us.
• The law we obey shows who our God is. If we strictly obey the law of Washington, D.C., we are effectively claiming the U.S. government to be our god. Christians must obey God’s law and resist unjust laws.
• Even if theonomy takes generations to come to fruition, it has to start somewhere. If we use the rapture as an excuse to not work to improve society through the power of the gospel, we are misapplying that doctrine.
• Change can happen. Implementing biblical law will most likely occur by persuading individuals and implementing changes on the local level. We don’t have to convince millions of people. We just have to convince a majority at the local level and we can better resist unjust laws. And, unlike Glenn Beck or Sean Hannity, we don’t have to use statistics and worldly wisdom to sway people. We will use God’s Word.

There are a lot of implications to theonomy. Some are exciting, and some are astonishing.

Many Christians consider themselves politically conservative. While biblical civil laws are largely in line with conservative beliefs, some things might surprise us. God’s law would make us so free that it would seem foreign. But if there is no biblical reason to reject a law, there is no valid reason. God’s way is best; anything else is idolatry.

Imagine a society with perfect laws. It would be free and prosperous. There would be no IRS. Property taxes and vehicle registration fees would be considered thievery. You could start and run a business without having to jump through a million ridiculous government hoops. The law would be written so that people could understand it and could carry it around in a single book. It would correspond to human nature, so that what is considered criminal would be agreed upon by society, as if it were written on our hearts. Other societies would envy the wisdom they see in our law, desire it for themselves, and praise God for what they see (Deut. 4:6-8).

If God’s law was just in Old Testament times, there is nothing that has changed that would make it unjust. If it is just, then it is obligatory to all world governments today.

“Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law” (Psalm 119:18).

Obviously this is only a bare introduction to the topic. I can recommend some books and websites:

• Restoring America One County at a Time by Joel McDurmon
• Theonomy in Christian Ethics by Greg Bahnsen
• AmericanVision.org
• BojidarMarinov.com

I look forward to discussing this and growing in knowledge of God’s Word and application of it.

Abolish The Police, Abortion

Abolish Abortion and the Police!

On my previous post, I quoted Bojidar saying that police always lie. Here’s a good example. Were they lying about the public property and trying to bully her or are they just incompetent? I truly don’t know, but the higher ranking guy clearly knew.

I’ve had debates about evangelism tactics with cops like this before, and what I was doing was much more tame. Why would they think the evangelist cares about what they think?

Abolish The Police, Great Quote, Resistance to Tyranny is Obedience to God, The Way Things Ought to Be

Encouragement for the Day

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Bojidar Marinov says, “Every single positive change in history starts with change in our hearts, and change in the pulpit. Which means, concerning the standing occupying army of police, we need to first change our hearts and trust God that maintaining a social order is not the same as having a standing army for terrorizing the population. Then we need to purge the pulpits of any preacher who supports the existence of police, or the existence of any other tyranny. At the very least, do not support with your money pulpits which support tyranny.

Once preaching is changed, the change in the culture will come very quickly.”

Abolish The Police, Police Abuse, Power Trip

Police ALWAYS Lie

In reference to an article that says it’s OK for police to lie, Bojidar Marinov says, “They are not only allowed, they ALWAYS lie. The very purpose of police is to use lies to create “criminals” out of law-abiding private individuals, with the purpose of extortion. Police are not created to protect us against crime but to institutionalize it. It is an immoral institution and should be abolished.”

I couldn’t agree more. Here’s an instance of a cop lying and threatening a 14 year old and getting a 3 day suspension. He should be fired, but if they fired people for that, they’d have to fire all the cops.

Resistance to Tyranny is Obedience to God, The Way Things Ought to Be

Radical Freedom of God’s Law

A society built on God’s law would be shockingly free. Conservatives  have been duped into advocating for border fences, when true conservatism ought to advocate the end of the border patrol and free immigration. Here’s some Milton Friedman advocating freedom and small government once again.

Our immigration laws are unjust and unbiblical and tyrannical. Normal people can help resist this tyranny by disobeying the law. Hire the best man at the best price for the job, even if you don’t know where he’s from.  At a border patrol checkpoint (if you are within 100 miles of the Mexican border), refuse to answer their questions. Don’t cooperate.

Abolish The Police

Wicked Cop Blindly Obeying a Wicked Judge

This wicked judge is trying to infringe people’s rights, and I’m sure he knows better.

The cop, (who should also know better, or should be fired for incompetence) blindly follows the orders of a wicked judge.

These people will stand before God and give an account. The cop won’t be able to point at the judge and say, “I was just following orders.” He will stand alone and answer for his actions.

Abolish The Police

DUI Checkpoint in a Church Parking Lot?

After watching this video, and seeing that a DUI checkpoint was held in a church parking lot, I decided I must contact the church. I included the email I sent them below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsiXDz6REMY

Hello,

I attend a Calvary Chapel. I became aware that in April 2014, you allowed police to conduct a DUI checkpoint in your parking lot.

I’m certain you had good intentions in allowing this checkpoint on your property. Minimizing drunk driving is a worthwhile goal. However, the ends do not justify the means.

This nation was founded on the Bible. The founders attempted to implement biblical law in our country. This country certainly was not perfect (slavery was an egregious exception), and no society of men ever will be perfect, even though we have access to God’s perfect law (Psalm 19:7).

However, we have descended from there at an ever-accelerating pace. My explanation for why this has happened is that Christians have abandoned our place as people who proclaim right and wrong to the government. We have the only source for absolute morality: God’s law. Only Christians can tell the government what is right and wrong, because no one else has God’s law.

There may be other contributing factors to America’s decline, but the blame for why government has become tyrannical must be laid at the feet of Christians. In the case of the DUI checkpoint, rather than proclaiming why checkpoints are evil, you offered your property to them. In that, you failed to be salt and light and contributed to the degradation of our freedom.

As with most other American institutions, police have become more and more unbiblical. I would like to make the case to you that the police as we know them are horribly unbiblical and Christians should not support them any longer.

1. Police are allowed to lie, and do so often.

2. Normally, police can’t pull drivers over unless they are suspected of a crime. That in itself is unbiblical. But at a checkpoint, they can pull everyone over. This is a heinous violation of the 4th amendment upheld only by lawless judges, of which we have an abundance.

3. Police are under a special set of laws. They aren’t held to the same standard of conduct as citizens. This is grossly unbiblical.

In ancient Israel, there were no government agents going around looking for trouble. It was the victims who pressed charges when they were harmed.

This is much like the system the founders gave us. In early America, victims would often act as the prosecuting attorney (or hire an attorney). Victims or private citizens would execute search and arrest warrants. There weren’t even police until the 1830s.

I’m not saying their system was perfect, but it was way closer to the biblical example than we have today. Check out http://www.constitution.org/lrev/roots/cops.htm for a free history lesson.

I have only learned these biblical principles within the last couple years, so if I say anything harsh, I say it humbly, knowing that I blindly supported the police not that long ago. I pray that you receive this as a Berean.

I can send you more information if you’re interested.

—————–UPDATE 7/4/15—————–

The email was not well-received by Dave Dodge, an assistant pastor. His email response today says,

“I don’t see anything humble or revelatory in your email. Be a a Berean yourself and read Rom 13, especially the first six verses. Please don’t send us anymore of your information. Renew your with real vision and under the on going revelation contain in the depth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. “

I’m glad there’s nothing revelatory in my email. Sometimes I worry that I’m the only one who hasn’t bought into peitism. Unfortunately he must have rejected previous revelations. And as far as my desire to be humble, to clarify, I don’t mean to be humble about declaring what the Bible teaches. I want to be as bold as a lion (Proverbs 28:1) in that regard, but humble in not looking down on others who haven’t yet learned what I have learned. What do I have that wasn’t given to me?

As far as Romans 13, if he believes that it teaches that he ought to rent his parking lot to the cops, that would be the most radical interpretation of that passage I’ve ever heard. That would mean that we must grant every request of government, even if it involves us sinning. I have to assume that isn’t what he meant, because that would mean they’re not even Christians.

Renting your parking lot to police is not required under Florida law, and it is sinful under God’s law. When confronted with their sin, they respond defensively and with a false interpretation of Scripture.

Here is the email I sent in response:

Your surface-level interpretation of Romans 13 contradicts the rest of Scripture. You’ll soon be marrying homosexuals under a judge’s order if you’re going to remain consistent with that, right?

Happy dependence day.

I certainly hope that he would say that he’ll never in a million years perform a same-sex marriage, no matter what a judge says, no matter what it might cost, even to the point of being thrown in jail.

So even he would say (I trust) that there are limits to Romans 13. What it really teaches is that the magistrates are God’s ministers for rewarding good behavior and punishing evil. What is good and evil apart from God’s standard? If the government defines good and evil, then you better get ready for the gay marriages at Calvary Chapel St Pete.

Here’s the pastor’s info where you can send an email.

End Public School, Fantasy Land

Religiously Neutral?

edThe US Department of Education uploaded this picture to their Facebook page after the supreme court forced homosexual marriage on all 50 states.

They are not neutral. They are pushing homosexuality. Christianity is banned. You have to ban Christianity so that you can say homosexuality is cool.

They used taxpayer money to upload this. They stole my money and used it for this.

Now, my conservative friends, it’s your move. Are you going to continue to take advantage of the socialistic government school system?

Here’s my advice. If you love your children,TAKE THEM OUT OF PUBLIC SCHOOL! Homeschooling has been a huge blessing for my wife and I. I’m not a homeschooling expert, but I love it. The government cannot have my kids.