Israel was not like every other nation – not then, not now. Israel was a type of the church. It’s land was a type of the new earth. Israel was a holy nation, unique from all others. They were not a model for other nations to follow. They were a shadow of the eschatological Kingdom of Christ (they were not themselves the Kingdom of Christ). Their nation represented an “intrusion ethic” from the eschaton. Sin was not allowed in this holy land because God’s presence dwelt there externally.Read the full analysis here.
They were to “purge the evil from their midst” because the land itself was holy, set apart by God. No land today is holy land. The new earth will be holy, and as such, no sin can remain. Thus all sin will receive its just wages. Israel’s civil laws were a foretaste, a shadow of this final judgment. The most extreme outward sins were punished with death. The purpose of this was not to set a standard for all nations to follow. The purpose, just as Israel’s purpose as a whole, was a ministry of condemnation. It was to teach us how much God hates sin.
Thursday, March 05, 2015
A Reformed Libertarian perspective on the theonomy debate
C. Jay Engel and Brandon Adams of Reformed Libertarian provides an in-depth analysis of the recent theonomy debate between J. D. Hall and Joel McDurmon. One highlight:
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I’m glad to see a potential third option. Both the current ones are terribly unsatisfying. The point appears correct that theonomy misses the mark. Yet, I think it survives because it fills the vacuousness of the alternative. What does a “Christian with a biblical worldview” really mean? It sounds pious, but in practice, it means nothing. What is the biblical worldview of the Social Security Ponzi Scheme that steals from our children and grandchildren to fill consumption today? They don’t say. What is the biblical worldview of a government that funds its fiscal prolificacy and larceny by printing money out of thin air, thereby robbing our most vulnerable of the purchasing power of their dollar? More silence. Is God truly indifferent to a government that desecrates the Sabbath, promotes and finances moral perversion, and openly mocks Him in its political party conventions? Maybe they can be roused to offer a half-hearted admonition of that.
Somehow, Scripture is our “sole ethical standard,” but really it is ignored unless it is called into service for special needs like same-sex marriage or tithing. It’s on the lips but far from the heart.
Until Hall and others start to take a Christian worldview seriously in all areas of life, faith, and practice, including the civil realm, theonomy will continue to fill the gap. I welcome a third option.
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