Here’s the 2nd flyer on theonomy I wrote to pass out at my church.

God’s Law on Taxation and the Implications

I said in my last handout that there were some astonishing implications to theonomy. While picking a topic for this handout I debated between something controversial, or talking about something most of us would agree on. I thought talking about how God’s law would drastically lower taxes and end socialism is something most of us would love to learn more about. It will give us more ammo to fire at Obama after all. But the more I’ve thought about it, the more I realized how pervasive socialism is in this country and how we’ve all received our government benefits and no one has room to point fingers. But I’ll start with the good news.

Good News

At one point, Israel rejected God as king and asked for a human king. The Lord painted a bleak picture of how their king would treat them.

1 Samuel 8:15 and 17, speaking of the new king says, “He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants…He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves.”

God said that the king is going to enslave the Israelites by, among other things, implementing a 10% income tax. The good news is that the Bible teaches that there ought to be no such thing as civil taxation, and if there are income taxes, they must be lower than 10%.

It is estimated that 50% of Americans’ income goes to the slew of taxes we pay. So, I guess there’s some bad news in the good news. We are all slaves to the US government, and all that “land of the free” talk is just talk by God’s standard. Living in a nation that has rejected His law means we aren’t really free. Neither are we free by the standard of the founding fathers, as this nation was much closer to a theonomic society in their time than today. They seceded for much less than we put up with.

What about property taxes? In Colorado, if you don’t pay your property taxes, after about four years, armed men will remove you from your property kicking and screaming. If that is the law, who really owns your home? In reality, there is no such thing as home ownership in America. We only rent government land.

The Bible has more good news on property taxes. Here’s what Joel McDurmon says about property tax in his book, Restoring American One County at a Time,

A property tax is not only problematic, but is not permitted in Scripture, and should in fact be considered unbiblical. Only God has absolute ownership of property; He delegated this to individuals, and gave us a commandment against property theft in all forms (Ex. 20:15; Lev. 19:11, 13; Deut. 19:14; 27:17). God did not give the civil State any claim of ownership in individuals’ land. It has none, and for it to claim such a right is to defy God. And what is a property tax except a claim of partial ownership in the land?

I won’t go into all the other taxes we pay, but rest assured by the standard of God’s law, they are all theft. But I am in no way advocating not paying these taxes. The slaves face very real consequences for not paying taxes. One of my main jobs in life is to take care of my family—not to take a principled stand from a jail cell.

Bad News

It’s easy to criticize new programs based on socialism, such as Obamacare. It’s not as easy to criticize old programs such as Social Security, Medicare or public school. If we aren’t personally benefitting from such programs, we know someone who is, and we don’t want to offend our friends and family.

Christians in the past didn’t take a bold stand against these programs when they were implemented. Social Security started in the Great Depression to help retirees. The first generation of recipients received government checks without having contributed a penny into the program. They accepted stolen money. The rest of us had money stolen from us and transferred to others under threat of incarceration.

Some argue that they’ve paid into it their whole life, and now they’re getting their money back. The truth is that we are forced to pay whether we like it or not. The money we pay in our working years is distributed to others. The money we will receive is not money we paid in, but is money that will be taken from our children and grandchildren. And it’s also a terrible return, unless you live to a very old age. This system is a Ponzi scheme and is illegal for us slaves (as it ought to be) but isn’t illegal for Uncle Sam.

Helping the poor and elderly is something we are commanded to do as Christians. But it is always voluntary, that is, not enforced by the state. Nowhere does Christ outline a system where the government taxes us and gives money to the poor. That is government usurping the role of the church. We would have more money and opportunities to help the needy if the government wasn’t taxing us to death.

Public school started in the 1800s, and it is blatantly socialist. It is mostly financed by property taxes, or by the feds sending money back to the school district (with strings attached). Under threat of having our property stolen, we all pay our taxes, whether we have kids in school or not, and it is given to others. But God also explains how we should educate our children, and it certainly doesn’t involve money taken by threat of force and redistribution.

Is It a Sin to Accept Government Benefits?

It is my conviction that it is wrong for me to receive funds that are taken by “legalized” government theft. (I.e. legal under man’s law, not God’s law.) That being said, I have no choice but to drive on roads built with stolen money and drink milk produced on farms that receive a government subsidies. I don’t see any way out of this for the time being. But where I have a choice, I can’t accept government money.

One of the reasons that 1 Samuel 8:15-17 teaches that a 10% income tax was slavery is because it was the king setting himself up as a rival to God. A tenth of their income was to go to the temple—not the state. If they followed God’s law, there were provisions to take care of people, and there was no need for civil taxation. All of the socialistic programs we have exist because we have rejected God’s law and His way of doing things.

More Bad News

What about the sweet little old ladies at the courthouse collecting taxes? What about the pencil-neck IRS agent? They’re working in an anti-Christ system. Are they sinning? If the taxes we must pay in this country are theft by God’s standard, then, they are sinning in working for these agencies. The receptionist at the Church of Satan isn’t going to stand before God and say, “I was just trying to earn a living.”

But, there are Christians who work in those places who haven’t thought about these things, and they are sinning out of ignorance. (We all sin out of ignorance, and I am the chief of sinners). But they work in a system that is built on a rejection of God’s law—a false religion serving a false god. What should we do about them? I think we have to start speaking up, resisting and calling people to quit their jobs in this false system.

What Should We Do Now?

If God’s law is the perfect law, then we need to start living by it. Here are a few things we can do:

1.  Spend less than you make, so that you can:
   A. Save money and retire without Social Security and Medicare.
   B. Have money to help your family and the needy.
2. Vote against tax increases, scrutinize local budgets and encourage officials to cut spending and taxes.
3. Stop accepting government funds and benefits such as public school.
4. If you work for a company or government agency that is inconsistent with God’s law, start devising an exit strategy.

I realize these aren’t easy things to do, and they involve sacrifice. But, how can we begrudge a fellow citizen an Obamacare health insurance plan purchased with government assistance if we’re receiving government money for something else? A lot of Christians are cool with theonomy in theory, but this is where the rubber meets the road, and may actually cost us money.

If American Christians keep doing what we’ve always done, we’ll only get more of what we’ve gotten—cultural defeat. This isn’t what God has meant for us. The gates of hell will not prevail against the church (Matt 16:18). Gates are a defensive position, and this means the church is supposed to be on offense—smashing the defenses of hell—saving souls and taking back our culture by the power of the Holy Spirit and the gospel.

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.

My favorite (paraphrased) line from this video: Some people say you ought not legislate morality. The truth is that you can only legislate morality.

In regards to this story about the Fair DUI flyer, so many of the people commenting were saying that we should just all cooperate with the cops.

Here’s what I said:

Anyone who thinks these checkpoints are a good idea is a terrible American. You are the reason this country is in the state it’s in. Ben Franklin said, “They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

Only a few seconds later some random guy said:

At the time people were not killing people at a rate of nearly 30 people a day due to driving under the influence.

I guess I’ve come to take the Ben Franklin quote to be a fundamental truth.  Here’s why: We will never eliminate bad things or death this side of eternity. Searching for the holy grail of just the right law, won’t eliminate bad things. Bad things are the result of sin–not incorrect laws.

Liberals who keep saying you can’t legislate morality are the ones who are all about the government controlling every aspect of life. In reality, all legislation is legislating someone’s morality. It’s only a question of whether the legislation is consistent with God’s law or is against God’s law.

We all have to choose whether our motto will be “Live free or die.” or “Slavery is OK with me, just give me a little government security blanket, please.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7w9UFbROFU

Moore is usually way off, and I think maybe he just got lucky on a couple things, and what he says is hypocritical to many of the other things he’s said. But he’s probably closer to truth here than most conservatives who decry big government yet worship cops (government agents with guns).

The Bible teaches that prison is wrong. The three possible punishments are fines, whipping and death, and there are no victim-less crimes (like drugs or speeding).

There ought to be no cops as we know them, so disarming them is a step in the right direction. People are responsible for their own protection, whether they do it themselves or hire private security.

The Bible is extremely capitalist and the notion of forcing people to pay for public school or police and the zillions of other things is atrocious.