Reading Rushdoony

I've been in the Reformed Church all my life and didn't hear about Rousas Rushdoony until about 7 years ago.

After reading his introduction to The Institutes of Biblical Law, I can already see what makes him influential and controversial. Here are some of the comments I made in the margin, following words I underlined of his.

"One and the same covenant, under differing administrations, still prevails" (pg 4).

This is labelled monocovenantalism and many say it denies the basic Westminsterian view of two covenants, one of life or works before the fall, and a second of grace.

"The purpose of grace is not to set aside the law but to fulfil the law and to enable man to keep the law" (4).

Yes, and I preached that exact thing Sunday. But don't forget we can't keep the law without continued grace. It's not like grace is an unfortunate necessity for us to do the REAL work of keeping the law. Grace is as foundational to the relationship as law is.

"Civil law cannot be separated from Biblical law" (4).

But was the civil law of Ex 21-23 just for Israel? Were all nations around Israel required by God to adopt Ex 21-23? Are we today? I tend to think not.

"Law is in every culture religious in origin.... the source of law is the god of that society.... humanism... locates law in the state.... no disestablishment of religion as such is possible in any society... the change is simply to another religion" (4-5).

All very true.

"Every law system must maintain its existence by hostility to every other law-system and to alien religious foundation or else it commits suicide" (5-6).

Whoa. Disagree. This is a denial of common grace: that there are principles written on the human heart and in the law that all nations can agree to and legislate, even if they do not adopt the Mosaic law en toto.

"There is no contradiction between law and grace.... Judaism had made law the mediator between God and man.... It was this view of law, not the law itself, which Jesus attacked.... Jesus fully recognized the law, and obeyed the law. It was only the absurd interpretations of the law He rejected" (6-7).

Yes, all very good.

"The sacrament of the Lord's Supper is the renewal of the covenant..." (7).

You betcha.

"... so that the sacrament itself re-establishes the law" (7).

Whoa, again. That's just a strange way to put things. Love and covenant relationship is the point, more than the law. The sacraments re-affirm the ongoing relationship IN SPITE of our law breaking. They are sacraments of the covenant of grace. This phrase gives me a queer feeling that for Rushdoony the law is the end all and be all of religion.

He quotes Calvin: "some deny that a state is well constituted, which neglects the polity of Moses.... The dangerous and seditious nature of this opinion... false and foolish." Rushdoony calls this "heretical nonsense," as Calvin was too much of a humanist.

"Calvin wanted the establishment of the Christian religion; he could not have it, nor could it last long in Geneva, without Biblical law" (9-10).

See, here again, this kind of statement assumes that law is what really changes things, it is the truly efficacious agent of change. NO. It is a means of obedience and sanctification, but can go nowhere without grace and faith and love. Rushdoony over-reacts against anti-nomians and winds up putting too much weight on the law.

"If the state must exercise justice, how is justice defined, by the antions, or by God? There are as many ideas of justice as there are religions" (10).

Here again is a denial of common grace to reveal to all men in their hearts basic ideas of justice by which states can govern. Romans 2:14-15: "for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them)."

"Without case law, God's law would soon be reduced to an extremely limited area of meaning. This, of course, is precisely what has happened" (12).

This looks to be the most promising contribution of Rushdoony's to the law, as much as his view of the law with regard to the state may be the most damaging.

Stay tuned for more!

Abide and Cling

John 15:1-5

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing."

When we celebrate Communion we act out these words. This is our reality. We are united to Christ like a tree trunk keeps a branch alive. Our calling, by grace, is to maintain the connection, feed off the sap from the trunk, sprout leaves and bear fruit. Communion is a way we do this. We delight in God’s words and ways. We cling to Christ. In communion we eat and drink from the source of life, and the only place salvation can be found, the body and blood and life of Jesus Christ. As we do this we taste of the blessing and joy that comes from union with Christ. Treasure time with Him now.

5/8/11

The Long War

A war rages in each one of us. As a nation we have steeled ourselves for a long war on terrorism. But we are far less resolute to be secure and unstained from sin and temptations that war against our souls. The war is not just out there. It is a battle inside us, of who to trust, what to want, whose agenda to follow. We do not win every skirmish, nor should we pretend to each other that we do. The apostle Paul himself cries out, “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death!” Well, we know who. Let us go to Jesus in prayer, confessing our sins.

5/8/11

Taking or Casting?

"Why are Christians so disquieted in their minds? They are taking care when they should be casting care." (pg 21)

1 Peter 5:7 - "casting all your care upon Him..."

Read the Bible

It's that time again, Bible reading plan selection for the new year! (Here's mine)

Why a Bible reading schedule, you ask?

Christians are people of the Book, God's Word. We are what we eat, in nutrition and in our intake of words or pictures. Maybe you like Youtube, Facebook, blogs, or Netflix. Okay, that isn't evil. But does your soul long for the Word of God above all these? Honestly, we can say that our sinful nature does not, and this is a daily battle. So let's prepare.

If you don't have a plan for reading a book as big as the Bible, it probably won't happen. You need preparation and long term resolve to go the distance. You are deciding to invest 15-20 minutes a day this year in this enterprise. Do you really think it's worth it? (Hint: it is.) Count the cost. Usually Bible plans try to sell you on how little you actually have to read. "Only 15 minutes a day!" Actually, it's more, if you read slowly and savor the text. And that's over 90 hours of time this year. I'm not saying don't do it. I'm saying it's a big commitment you have to re-make every day. Having a plan makes that easier. You know what you have to do. Daily Bible reading is a big life change that brings immense rewards.

A plan keeps you from going to your favorite verses and never getting around to other things. I'm amazed at how many people I meet who have been Christians for decades, who "never knew that was in the Bible." Don't let that happen to you. Read all of it.

A plan helps you gauge if you are giving priority to the Word and to the Lord in your daily schedule. Say what you want about "getting behind" and not wanting that unnecessary guilt. How can you say your relationship with the Lord is stellar, if you aren't motivated enough to take in a reasonable amount of His Word regularly? It's true that a reading schedule or daily reading is not required by the Lord in His Word. But I'm talking about a good barometer of your relationship, not a black-and-white sin issue. Don't condemn yourself if you get behind. Just start again today and keep going. The righteous man falls seven times and gets up again, as the Proverb says. He doesn't lay down and say, "Well, you won't fool me into trying to walk again now that I see what it can lead to." So it is with not finishing a plan in past years: doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try again this year, changing what tripped you up before.

So let's set this plan up.

1. Most plans try to get you through the whole Bible in a year. This is a reasonable quantity for SOME people, but not for everyone. I've done this for the last several years, but it IS formidable. Set achievable goals. Don't aim so high in your new-year zeal that you are bound to fail. GO SLOWER. I'm opting for a two year plan. One benefit of this is that you can merge your family devotions with your personal devotions. This puts things back in the formidable camp, reading more than a chapter a day out loud to your family. But I'm really looking forward to it.

2. Chronological is the best way to read through the whole Bible. Reading straight through in book order is good, too. It's good to read the New Testament and Old Testament at the same time, so you don't wait until you're 3/4 done before you hit Matthew. So start with Matthew 1 and go chronologically.

3. I find Proverbs 10-29 very hard to digest in chapter chunks. Far better to take 1-3 verses per day on those. The Psalms are best read in one of two ways: 1. Chronologically next to the events in David's (mostly) life; 2. One per day, through them twice in a year. I opted for chronological this year.

I could not find a bible plan that puts all this together for me, so I took time I didn't have and put together my own plan. You can find it at the bottom of this page.



Implement! Pick a time of day when this is going to happen. I will be reading to my family after lunch and/or dinner most days, occasionally just before bed. Some families find morning devotions easy. A daily routine is your friend. It makes getting it done much easier. But routine alone is not your motivation. Pray for God's Spirit to draw you to the Word He inspired, in anticipation of finding Jesus there, day by day. Happy new year, and may God bless and transform your heart and life by His Word.

Not quite Ron Paul's Foreign Policy

Hillsdale College President, Larry Arnn, is asked, in the Dec 2011 Imprimis:

You also write: “Promotion of democracy and defense of innocents abroad should be undertaken only in keeping with the national interest.” Where do you place your views on the spectrum between Ron Paul and George W. Bush?

Arnn: I side with Thomas Jefferson when he said, “We are the friends of liberty everywhere, custodians only of our own.” Foreign affairs are prudential matters, and prudential matters are not subject to narrow rules laid out in advance. But that practical statement by Jefferson is a brilliant guide.

"Also, we have to remember that it is a very dangerous world. Churchill believed that one of the effects of technology is to make us both wealthier and more powerful. And both wealth and power can turn to destruction. The great wars of modernity have been much larger in scale than ancient wars, and equal in intensity. Churchill believed that liberal society contains in this respect and others seeds of its own destruction. It is the work of statesmen to find the cheapest possible way to defend their countries without consuming all the resources of those countries.

"I pray that Iraq is going to be a free country, and I think there is a chance of it, and I give George W. Bush credit for that. But I have been skeptical, and it is a more complicated question than many seem to understand. A senior person in the White House said to me one time, “Don’t you think the Iraqis want to be free?” And I said: “Sure they do. But have you read The Federalist Papers? Do you divine from its arguments that wanting to be free is sufficient?” As it turns out, it is hard to obtain civil and religious liberty, and it is hard to maintain it.

"But do I think we did a good thing imposing a new constitution on Japan after World War II? Sure I do. Japan did a terrible thing to us, we conquered it, and there was an opportunity in that. It would have been a false economy not to seize that opportunity. Does that mean that in every country where there is a threat to us, we won’t be perfectly safe until they are democratic? Maybe. But even so, is trying to make them democratic practicable and the most practical way to serve our security? Probably not. Again, these are matters of prudence."

Shameless repost, since it sums up my views well.

Free book!

Here's a great deal. Free audio book, "When I don't desire God," by John Piper. Great for dealing honestly with the spiritual doldrums.

Best Books Ever

I’m seeing a friend tomorrow who always asks what I’ve been reading lately. He has put a top 10 best books list, so I thought I’d try it. I looked through the list of what I’ve read in the last 7 years, and picked out the best, and what else came to mind. I got down to 16. These are not in any order, and some dates are approximate…


Holiness, by JC Ryle (1880)
On pursuing godliness and piety, by one of the “last puritans.”

Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen (1813)
Great literature exploring various social and personal virtues and vices through a compelling story.
Right Ho, Jeeves, by PG Wodehouse (1934)
Rip-roaring hilarity. Read for writing style, or just for fun.

Christ and the Caesars, by Ethelbert Stauffer (1958)
An historian looks at the political context into which the Gospel came in the first-century Roman Empire.

Desiring God, by John Piper (2003)
A modern classic on loving and pursuing a relationship with God.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien (1940)
Yes, I’m cheating counting this as one. See Pride and Prejudice explanation, above.

The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis (1950)
Yes, I’m cheating counting this as one. See Pride and Prejudice explanation, above.

The Lord’s Service, by Jeff Meyers (2003)
Theological and Biblical examination of what corporate worship should be.

Christianity and Liberalism, by J. Gresham Machen (1923)
A modern defender of orthodoxy shows how religious liberalism is a separate religion from Christianity, invading and corrupting the Christian church.

The Reformed Pastor, by Richard Baxter (1670)
What a Christian Pastor should be and do in his ministry.

Institutes of the Christian Religion – John Calvin (1563)
A masterpiece of systematic theology.

Idols for Destruction, by Herbert Schlossberg (1993)
Modern social critique of how our culture is leaving God. Examines the roots, not just the symptoms of the culture wars.

Odyssey, by Homer (700BC)
Great story of justice, patience and endurance

Valley of Vision
Collected prayers of Puritans. Beautiful, intimate and theologically rich.

Through New Eyes – James Jordan (2000)
A refreshing look at Scripture that looks at God’s world and word through new eyes.

Pilgrim’s Progress – Bunyan (1678)
Classic, saturated with Scripture.

The Weight of Glory

The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

CS Lewis was a master essayist, who offered some bracing defenses of orthodox Christian thought and practice at a time when liberalism was already at high tide in his academic circles. Cogent and colorful, this book is a collection of essays:

1. The Weight of glory, in which he ties God's glory to the joy we desire but never fully achieve.

2. Learning in War time, a lecture to students during the war, making the case for continuing the pursuit of culture and vocation during wartime.

3. Why I am not a pacifist, in which he explains... why he is not a pacifist.

4. Transposition, a glorious take the relation between physical and spiritual, sensations and emotions, our resurrected body compared with our present one.

5. Is Theology Poetry? in which he rejects believing the theology because it is beautiful.

6. The Inner Ring, probably the most insightful essay on the temptation of all people no matter how old, to work for acceptance by the "in crowd," however you define that. He dissects the lure of the world, and the pride of life.

7. Membership, on how the Church as participating in the body of Christ keeps us from individualism and collectivism. Right up the political wonk's alley. If you wonder how to handle Acts 2:42-44 as a political conservative, read this.

8. On forgiveness, a short sermon on forgiving real faults, not rationalizing away people's offenses so there is really nothing to forgive.

9. A Slip of the Tongue, another sermon, facing honestly our desire to not commit too much to God before it hurts us in the "real" world.


View all my reviews

Resurrection Communion

Hebrews 5:5, 7-9

So also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest, but it was He who said to Him: 

          “You are My Son, 

          Today I have begotten You.” 

7 who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, 8 though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. 9 And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him."

The bread and wine Jesus has commanded us to use to memorialize His death also points to His resurrection. Grain and grapes have to be worked over by people. The process involves yeast, fermentation, contact with corruption. But out of that comes life-giving bread, joy-giving wine. This is what happened to Jesus. He learned obedience in His suffering and tasted death for you and me. He rises like bread. His divine life mysteriously mixed with death, contended with death and conquered it. The result is life-giving joy for us in Christ’s life.


Easter - 4/24/11

Resurrection Day Confession

Ephesians 2:1-3 - "And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others."

Even on Easter morning we do not neglect to confess our sins. Without confession and death, fasting and repenting, we cannot see the Gospel of reconciled enemies. We were dead in our sin. We were at war with God, but He made peace by the blood of His cross. And it isn’t the kind of peace you find on a battlefield strewn with bodies. He gives life. So come and drop your dead body of sin at the cross. Then walk over to the empty tomb, look up at the clouds, and find your life hidden in heaven with God.

This reminds us to confess our sins

Easter - 4/24/11

Gluttony and Lust

It is often jarring to go from joyous singing to a call to confession. Worship imitates life. It is never a smooth flow in normal life to be called on the carpet to confess, either. But we must confess our sins regularly, and so here we are, looking today on the last Sunday during Lent, looking at the last 2 of the 7 deadly sins, gluttony and lust.

Jesus was accused of gluttony and drunkenness for feasting with sinners. Enjoying the abundance God gives us, as Jesus clearly did, is not gluttony. Gluttony is stuffing ourselves beyond our need and beyond what we can use, to the detriment of our body, soul, family or friends. This could be with food or with anything else. I confess to you that I am often a glutton, not for food, but for words, for information. I read and read and read, and let it get out of proportion and it hinders my ministry to my family.

God has also given us other physical desires to enjoy within marriage. But again we have a hard time keeping our minds, our eyes, our emotions, our bodies directed where God wants them. Men want the physical pleasure of women, but not the responsibility of loving his wife. Women want to be wanted, by some other guy. A young man wants a girl and must redirect that want into work to provide for her in the future. Married men must redirect wandering passions back to Christ, to their wives, their work and family.

Where we indulge the flesh, Christ denied His, fasting and suffering beatings and crucifixion. 

This reminds us to confess our sins

4/17/11

The journey is too great

1 Kings 19:1-8

Elijah served the Lord and it got him in big trouble. He ran from Jezebel, and was so hard pressed he asked God to take his life. His suffering was intense, and God provided relief from it on the way. He gave Elijah bread for the journey. The journey was too great for him. This all applies to us. God has given you various ways of relief from suffering. This table is meant to be one of those. On the other hand, God has given you only one way of remission for your sins: the blood of Jesus. So take up His cup now, the seal of the new covenant, the sign of His blood shed for the remission of your sins.


4/10/11

Sloth and greed

We are to work heartily in whatever we do, as for the Lord. This rules out sloth.  God has called us to work and avoiding it is sin. Children should do their schoolwork and household chores without complaining. Adults should not waste time on the job doing personal things. Sloth doesn’t just avoid work. It avoids the most important things in life. Be diligent in prayer, the Bible says, but we are slothful in our busy-ness. So being busy doesn’t make you avoid sloth.

And lacking things doesn’t make you greedy. The hand of the diligent becomes rich, the Proverb says. But when your stuff gets between you and God, when you need it and you ignore God or hurt others to get it, you are greedy. Greed is akin to drunkenness and homosexuality in 1 Cor 6, which should bring you up short. Pursuing worldly things will choke out the Word of God. Don’t let it. Jesus took the disciples to the garden; Don’t be sleeping when Jesus says to watch. Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 silver pieces. Don’t let desire for money let you pursue other gods before Jesus.

4/10/11

The grace of baptism

I just came across an amazing quote by John Calvin, responding to the Roman Catholic Council of Trent (which responded to and rejected the Reformation). Trent asserts that in baptism original sin is removed, but we still need penance to deal with actual sins. Calvin responds:

“We assert that the whole guilt of sin is taken away in baptism, so that the remains of sin still existing are not imputed. That this may be more clear, let my readers call to mind that there is a twofold grace in baptism, for therein both remission of sins and regeneration are offered to us. We teach that full remission is made, but that regeneration is only begun and goes on making progress during the whole of life. Accordingly, sin truly remains in us, and is not instantly in one day extinguished by baptism, but as the guilt is effaced it is null in regard to imputation. Nothing is plainer than this doctrine.”
Now, in context, Calvin is rejecting how another sacrament is needed after baptism to deal with sin. But note what he assumes: remission and regeneration are conveyed in baptism. The Protestant protest against Rome does not reject that baptism conveys the grace of remission of sins, but insists it only comes to those with true faith. It is not an automatic, dispensed by the "vending machine" church.

For more proof of that, consider what Westminster says on baptism: "The efficacy of Baptism is not tied to that moment of time wherein it is administered; yet, notwithstanding, by the right use of this ordinance, the grace promised is not only offered, but really exhibited, and conferred, by the Holy Ghost, to such (whether of age or infants) as that grace belongs unto, according to the counsel of God's own will, in His appointed time." (John 3:5-8; Gal 3:27; Titus 3:5; Eph 5:25; Acts 2:38)

Here is the link to Calvin's whole response. It is very long! The quote above is in the fifth statement.