The Five Points of

Christian Reconstruction
. Fro111 the Lips of our Lord
by T. Mark Duncan
liltroduction
There is a battle raging today be-
tween hiStoric reformed Christianity,
which emphasizes the importance of a
world . and life view based upon the
Bible, and dispensational pietism,
which rejects a vast portion of God's
Word. The influence of dispensational-
is.m has led. to a truncated view of Chris-
tianity. This rejection of the whole law
of God, the adoption of a pe8siniisti.c
eschatology, and a lack of understanding
of God's. covenant purposes in history
has led to a withdrawal of Christianity
from the marketplace of ideas that gov-
ent society. This vacuum created in our
society by the withdrawal of Christian
principles of goveminent has given us
widespread abortion, pornography, drug
abuse, divorce, oppressive taxation, and
other social ills that continue to plague
our land.
Even though "Christian Reconstruc-
tionism" is growing in popularity, it is
being attacked from many angles.
Several recent dispensational writers
have associated "Dominion Theology"
and "Christian Reconstruction" with
New Age humanism.! Such irrational
attacks might be expected from the dis-
pensational camp. Sadly, however,
some of the most vehement opponents
of Reconstructionist thought come
from within ostensibly Reformed de-
nominations. This opposition is unfor-
tunate in that it unwittingly contradicts
the confessional standards these oppo-
nents have taken solenm vows before
God to uphold.2 It is apparent that the
ubiquity of dispensational thought in
this century has affected the thinking of
men who in. many respects are good
scholars and sound in their theology.
Incredibly, one of the objections to
Christian Reconstructionism from both
the dispensational and the semi-re-
formed camps is the charge that recon-
structionism is a "hew" theology .3
Christian Reconstruction is not new, it
' . is simply a return to classic reformed
theology that characterized the writings
of Calvin, the Puritans, and Presby-
terian theologians of the nineteenth cen-
tury. The consistent application of this
theology transformed Calvin's Geneva
and .Puritan New England into truly
Christian cultures. Christian Recon-
struction is nothing more than the ap-
plication of the whole of the Bible to
the whole of life. Rather than being a
new theology, it is actually an attempt
to go back to the "old" theology be-
lieved, taught, and practiced in the
Sou them Presbyterian Church as recent-
ly as the late 1800's by men such as
Major Robert L. Dabney .4 Reconstruc-
tionism only seems new because of the
theological shift caused by the rise of
dispensational ideas that has taken.place
this century.5
As in any theological dispute, it ulti-
mately does not matter who does. hold
(or has held) to a position, what matters
is the teaching of Holy Scripture. Even
this question is more complex than it
seems because of the dispensational pre-
SUpPOSition that cenain parts of the
Bible are not applicable to the Church. .
tlowever one does not need the whole
Bible to prove that God's W otd teaches
the doctrines that have come to be
known as "Christian Reconstruction-
ism." Two books, Matthew and John,
will be more than sufficient to prove
the point. In fact, the words of our Lord
Jesus Christ Himself prove that He
taught the principles now known as the
"five points of reconstructionism." (If
there be any dispensationalists reading
Ws who believe that the words of Jesus
are not applicable to believers today,
you have my sympathy, for Jesus
Christ is truth personified.) (John 14:6)
The five points of Christian Recon-
structionism are generally considered to
be:
1. Calvinistic soteriology (i.e., the
five points of Calvinism)
2. Covenant Theology
3, Presuppositional Apologetics
4. Postmillennialism
5. Theonomic Ethics
The Lord Jesus Christ, the infinite
God/Man, the Word of God incarnate,
who is truth personified and the ulti-
mate source of ail Scripture, taught the
doctrines that make up the five points
of Christian Reconstruction. This brief
article does not pretend to be exhaustive
or technical. An exhaustive and techni-
cal treatment of all the pertinent pas-
sages in Matthew. and John would re-
quire a lengthy volume. However, it is
thorough enough to make the point. I
plead with critics of Christian Recon-
struction to carefully consider the teach-
ings of our Lord. I humbly plead with
my Reformed brothers who oppose
Christian Reconstruction to carefully
study their heritage as well as the argu-
ments presented herein. I submit, even
if I cannot convince you of the recon-
structionist position, that vitriolic
tacks against reconstructionists (who
are your brothers in the faith) are much
misguided. Why is it that so many who
claim the Refonnedfaith tolerate
ian, dispensational, and charismatic
theology, yet viciously attack recon-
structionists and will have nothing to
:' "
Page 8 ....----------------------------The Counsel of Cbalcedon, July, 1988
do with them?
Are you skeptical about whether Je-
sus taught these five points? Well then,
get out your red-letter editions and Jet's
see what we fmd out!
I. Calvinistic Soteriology
Calvinistic soteriology is commonly
defined in tenns of the acronym TULIP:
Total Depravity (Inability)
Unconditional Election
Limited (Definite) Atonement
Irresistible (Efficacious ) Grace
Perseverance of the Saints
A. TOTAL DEPRAVITY
Total depravity is the scriptural
teaching that man is so affected by the
Fall that he is totally unable to do any
spiritual good and it is therefore im-
possible for him to do anything on his
own to contribute to his salvation. Un-
regenerate man is spiritually and cove-
nantally dead and therefore cannot under-
stand spiritual truth and has no capacity
to choose God.
Just a few of the teachings of Jesus
show that He taught total inability. In
Matt. 13:11-17, Jesus explains to His
disciples why He teaches in parables.
He tells them that they have been grant-
ed the ability to know the mysteries of
the kingdom, but to others it has not
been granted. Jesus is teaching that fal-
len man does not naturally have the
ability to understand His truth and that
ability to do so is a gift from God. Je-
sus expands upon the depraved and de-
ceitful heart of man in Matt 15:19:
"For out of the heart come evil
thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornica-
tions, thefts, false witness, slanders."
While explaining the nature of the
new birth to Nicodemus in John 3, Je-
sus tells the learned Jewish teacher that
one cannot enter the kingdom of God
unless born from above. In the same
passage, the analogy of salvation as a
birth is significant. No one of us had
the ability to choose the time and place
of our birth, or our race or other charac-
teristics. A baby does not choose to be
born by the act of his will. The baby is
not able to do so. So it is with the new
birth. Jesus speaks of the total inability
to come to Him outside of the Father's
drawing grace in John 6:44: "No one
can come to me unless the Father who
sent me draws him and I will raise him
up on the last day." Jesus believed and
taught the doctrine of total inability.
B. UNCONDffiONAL ElECTION
Our Lord Jesus made reference to the
doctrine of election as a presupposition
as well as teaching it as a doctrine. In
Matthew 24, where Jesus describes the
Great Tribulation - which in context
clearly is a reference to an event in the
frrst century - we are taught in verse 22
that for the sake of the elect, those days
will be cut short. By defmition, "elect"
refers to someone who is chosen by an-
other, not someone who chooses him-
self.
Jesus also taught election as a speci-
fic doctrine. He says in John 5:21 that
He gives life to whom He wishes. In
John 6:37, our Lord tells the multitudes
that those who come to Him are given
by the Father. Election is illustrated in
the choosing of the twelve. In John
15:16, Jesus tells them that they did
not choose Him but that they were
chosen by Him. See also Matt. 11:27;
John 3:8; and John 6:37-66.
Jesus taught and believed the doctrine
of election and does not even suggest
that election is somehow conditioned
on the free actions of men. The John 6
passage is especially refreshing in a day
when there is so much pressure to tick-
le itching ears. Jesus was not afraid to
boldly proclaim the doctrine of election,
even if it meant losing followers. (John
6:66)
C. DEFINITE ATONEMENT
Perhaps the most emotional disagree-
ment between Calvinists and Arrninians
is over the extent of the atonement The
question before us is simply this: For
whom did Christ die? The vast majority
of evangelical Christians might respond
like this: "The answer is easy: Christ
died for everybody." This answer most
likely would be accompanied with the
obligatory John 3:16 proof text
I agree that the answer is easy, but
the common evangelical respon.se is
wrong. It is wrong according to none
other than our Lord Jesus Christ Him-
self.
The Arrninian view of universal
atonement implies that it is somehow
unfair if Christ did not die for every-
body. However, if Christ did shed His
precious blood for everyone, then why
is everyone not saved? The common
answer to this objection is that not all
are saved because of their unbelief. I
must ask the Arminian: Is not unbelief
a sin? If Christ died for all the sins of
all men then everyone will be in heav-
en. If He died for some of the sins of all
men, then no one will be in heaven.
Those are the twin horns of the Ar-
rninian dilemma. Besides, if Jesus died
a death that made redemption a hypo-
thetical possibility for everyone then it
actually secured salvation for no one.
There is no comfort in a propitiation
that does not propitiate or in a redemp-
tion that does not redeem. Calvinists
limit the extent of Christ's atonement
but Arrninians limit the power of it.
Logical arguments aside, what does
Jesus teach about the extent of His
atonement? Our Lord clearly limits His
atonement in His statement in Matt
20:28 when He describes the purpose of
His coming: to give His life as a ran-
som for many. The great passage in
John 10 is perhaps the clearest on this
question. In vv. 11 and 15, Jesus says
that He lays down His life for the
sheep. Verses 26 and 27 defme sheep as
those who believe and follow Christ
Therefore, Jesus is teaching that He died
only for those who believe in Him. In
other words, Jesus died for the elect
only.
Christ's high priestly prayer in John
17 is also instructive. Jesus did not
pray for the world (vs. 9). In vs. 20,
Jesus says that he is praying for "those
who believe in Me." Jesus was praying
on behalf of God's elect as their High
Priest. However, Jesus was not only
High Priest, He was also the sacrifice.
As High Priest, Jesus is not going to
pray only for the elect but offer Himself
as sacrifice for every individual that ever
lived. That is like saying Israel's High
Priests offered sacrifice for Egypt and
Assyria on the Day of Atonement. No,
they offered God a sacrifice for the sins
of Israel.
The Counsel of Chalcedon, July, 1988 ----------------------------Page 9
Christ's life, work, and teaching clear,.
ly that He died for His
Israel) and them alone.
D. IRRESISTIBLE GRACE
taught that God's electing grate
ultimately cannot be.refused by a stub-
bam sinner. Man dead ip his trespasses
and sin$ cannot choose God; converse-
ly, man given redemptive grace cannqt
refuse that grace. In John . 6:44, Jesus
says that no one can come to Him un-
less the :Father draws him. The Greek
can be literally translated "drag." God's
electing grace , is irresistible. If God
loved an individual the founda-.
tion of the world, He will not allow
that person to perish .. He will "drag"
that sinner to salvation. .
The familiar John 3 passage is also
illustrative of irresistible grace. In His
conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus
compares salvation to being born again.
It is obvious that a human child, when
the fullness of time comes, cannot re-
fuse to be born! The mother's body rath-
er forcefully expels the child when the
time comes. The child is not consulted.
Should we expect spiritual birth to be
different? if we examine our conversion,
did God beg us to come out of the
womb of sin or did the power of . the
gospel expel us into the kingdom of
God via the new birth? Jesus has give:n
us the answer.
E. PERSEVERANCE
The five points of Calvinism are in-
separably linked. If God loved us from
eternity past and Christ shed His pre-
cious blood for us, it stands to reason
that we are eternally secure. However,
did Jesus .teach eternal security? In fact,
Jesus did teach it. .
What kind of life does Jesus grant be-
lievers? Jesus repeatedly says that He
grants believers etenuzl life. (John
3:16; 3:36; 6:47) Though so incredibly
simple, many Christians miss the &igni-
ficance. Why would Jesus call it "eter-
nal" life if there was a possibility oflos-
ing it?
. If the reader is still . not convinced,
consider again John 10. Jesus says that
those (the sheep) for whom He died,
sqall never petish and no one can snatch
them out ofHis.hand. (vs. 28) . _
, There is no more se<;ure place than
being in the hand, of Christ. If you
lieve in Christ, you are Oi:ie of His
sheep. If you are one of His sheep, you
will never perish because the Good
Shepherd has given you eternal life;
n. Theology. , . .
A distinctive of diSpensational-
that distinguishes it from covenant
theoiogy is its disjointed view of Scrip-
ture. Since each dispensation represents
different ways that GOd deals with:man,.
logically there can be little. applicl;lbility
of the Scriptw;e from
tiqns to New Covenant believers. .
While this may be the view of Sco-
field and Chafer, this is not the view of
Jesus .christ. Jesus believed in the uni-
ty of Scripture and He applied all o_f
God's words in His teachings. Jesus
said that the Scriptures cannot be bro-
ken. (John In a nutshell, this is
thefundamentaldifference between cove-
nant theology and dispensationalism.
Dispensationalists break Scripture into
discreet units; consistent covenant theo-
logians do not... . .
To in detail the fact that Je-
sus taught from all portions of the Old
Telitament, establishing their continued
applicability, would exceed the bounds
of this essay. (The reader is encouraged
to note the extent to which our Lord
used the Old TestatQent.) Not only did
Jesus. teach from all portion& of the Old
Testament, His. whole life and work
was captive to Scripture. Matthew con-
tinually notes that the life and teaching
of Jesus is in fulfillment of prophecy.
Jesus taught that His life and work
was the fulfillment and the substance of
all the Old Covenant shadows. For
ample, irt that ,great passage in 16
following Peter's confession of Jesus ilS
the Christ of God, Jesus responds in
terms of the provisions of the .f\bra-
hamic covenant. Jesus says that . the
gates of Hell cannot prevail His
church as she stands upon the rock of
Messial} (vs. 18). The perceptive Bible
student is irnnied;i.ately cognizant of the
fact that Jesus' w9rds are very close to
the words of God's promis.e to Abraham
in Gen. 22:17. God's promise to Abrar
was that his seed shall possess the
gates of his enemies. In stark contrast
to the pietistic retreat from. society. by
many (but not all) dispensationalists,
Christ conunands His servants to stonn
the gates of Hell. Jesus His
Church success if she stands on the
Rock.
A thorough discussion of how the
Church of the 20th century lost her
world and life view is another subject
entirely.5 it to, say that because
of the loss of a correct understanding of
optimistic Covenant Theology, the
Church of the 20th century has worked
hard for defeat and she has received
what she worked for.
Christ's well known (but little
stood) Great Commission is given i11
terms of the Abraharnic Covenant. The
fundamental provision of the Abra-
hamic covenant ,given in Genesis 12 is
that it is through Abraham's seed that
a1l 'the nations of the world are to. be
blessed. In the Great Commission of
Matt. 28, tells His disciples that
because all power has been given to
Him, His is to go out in all the
world and bring ttte nations under the
discipline of God's law. As the Church
is faithful in preaching the gospel in all
the world, we expect that whole nations
will be blessed; as they are brought un-
der the w.hole counsel of God.6
Jesus also set the stage. for another
distinctive of Covenant Theology:
fant baptism. Although Jesus never
didactically taught infant baptism as a
polemic, He did tell His disciples in
Matt. 19:14 not toprevent the children
from coming to Him beqluse. "the king-
dpm of heaven belongs to such as
these." Since the Church makes up the
citizenship of Kingdom established
by Christ and since children received the,
sign of circumcision as sign qf entry
into the commonwealth of Israel, it is
highly illogical believe that Jel;us'
work established a new order in which
covenant children were excluded from
the visible church structure. ln addition
to thjs, Jesus' audience had the
ground of centuries of Jewish history .
They would baye been homfie4 at the;
(Continued on pageJO}
Page Coqnsel of Chalcedon, July; 1988 .
Five Points .
(Continued from page 10)
thought of their children being left out
of God's covenant and not given it's
sign. I have deep respect for many of
my Baptist brethren, (I was one my-
self), but the fact remains that in the
Baptist view, children of believers are
trapped in some kind of limbo between
the Church and the world until they.
make a verbal profession of faith in
Christ. They are not members of the
Church and yet not pagans either.
. Finally; Jesus' establishment of the
New Covenant showed that our Lord
knew nothing .of a dispensational view
of the covenant. In Matt. 26:26-28 as
Jesus ate the Passover mear with His
disciples, He stated that His blood and
body .constituted the true passover. Je-
sus was not establishing something radi-
cally new, He was establishing Himself
as the fulfillment of all the Old Cove-
nant shadows. Jesus did not abrogate
the Old Testament passover but rather
fulfilled. it. Old Testament Saints cele-
brated passover once a year through the
bloody sacrifice of a lamb. New Cove-
nant believers are to celebrate passover
often through the bloodless elements of
wine and bread. Jesus' whole life, wot:k
and ministry was very much captive to
God's covenant.
. m. Presuppositional
Apologetics
Jesus assumed the existence of God
and the veracity of the Scriptures. He
never sparred with the Romans by set-
ting up an elaborate system of theistic
proofs. Nor did He attempt to over-
whelm the Sadducees with empirical evi-
dence of the supernatural aspects of
Scripture. Jesus presupposed the exis-
tence of the God of the universe re-
vealed in Scripture.
In the forty days of being tempted by
Satan, Jesus knew that His weapon
against the . Evil One was . the self-
authenticating Word of God. Three
times Jesus countered the tenlp-'
ting with "It is written .... "
Not only did. Jesus presuppose the :
truth of God's Word, He took it atface
value. Jesus accepted as historical fact
the events that modern rationalistic
theologians relegate to the categories of
"myth" or "saga." For example, Jesus
believed and taught the Genesis account
of creation (Matt. 19:4). He believed
the story of Jonah to be historical
(Matt. 12:38-41). Our Lord affmiled the
historicity of Noah and the flood (Matt.
24:37-39). Jesus assumed the truth of
Scripture, using even details of
"difficult'' passages to illustrate aspects
of His work. For example', Jesus. used:
the historicity of the story of Jonah to
illustrate that He would remain under
the darkness of death for a time ...
IV. Postmillennialism
There are few things more clearly
taught from the lips of our Lord Jesus
Christ than the fact that Jesus estab-
lished the Kingdom of God at HiS first
advent. I am continually. amazed at the
popularity of pre-millennialism in the
face of the repeated declarations of out
Lord that He came to establish His
Kingdom. (See Matt. 4:17; 5:10; 6:10; .
6:37; 7:11; 10:7; 11:11; 11:12; 12:25-
29; 13:11ff; 13:19; 16:28; 19:14;
21:43; Jn. 3:3-5) Some churches have
the audacity to make pre-millennialism
a test of orthodoxy.7
The serious Bible student nuist study
these passages and conscientio\lSly com-
pare them to the hapax legomenon of
Revelation 20. Besides, Jesus Himself
gives us an infallible interpretation of
Rev. 20:2 in Matt. 12:28,29 when He
says: "But if I cast out demons by the
Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of
God has come upon you. Or how can
anyone enter the strong man's house
and carry off his property, unless he
first binds the strong man? And then he
will plunder his house."
In the context of this statement, the
Pharisees were accusing Jesus of cast-
ing out demons by the power of Satan.
Jesus pointed out the reductio ad
dwn of their accusation by pointing out
that Satan's kingdom cannot . statld if
Satan is divided against himself. Jesus ,
points out that Satan's kingdom is
crumbling, hot because Satan is divided
but because the Son of Man has come
and bound the strong man and is carry-
ing off the strong man's possessions.
As Jesus Cll$t out demons, He was free-
ing nien from Satan's bon<lage. When
Jesus brings a sinner to Himself, .He is
carrying off a possession that once be-
longed to the strong man (the devil) by
transforming him from Satan's king
dom into the kingdom of our Lord
Jesus Christ (Col. 1:13)
It is interesting to note that exorcism
is the only miracle that Jesus performed
in f!is earthly ministry that Iio Old
Testament saint could perform. Old
Testament saints raised the dead and fed
$e hungry but could not cast out
demons. The reason for this is because
before the advent of Jesus, this world
was very much Satan's kingdom. In His
earthly ministry, Jesus began to root
out Satan's kingdom as He established
the Kingdom of God.
.. Satan is still powerful and believers
must. watch for him but he has been
bound by the power of Christ and has
no more ability to deceive the nations.
Because of Cluist's work of binding.
Satan, tbe power of the gospel is free to
bring the nations to Christ. Christ's .
work of exorcism was proof of the in-
auguration of His kingdom. His bind-
ing of Satan is the theological founda-
tion of the Great -Commission. Citizens
. of Christ's Kingdom caq have Sl).ccess.
in bringing the nations under the dis-
cipline of God's law because
Satan, whQ once deceived the nations,
can no longer do so.
It is clear from Matt. 12 an , the
other passages cited above that Jesus
established His kingdom at His frrst
advent. The next pertains to
the earthly success of that kingdom.
wm . the kingdom that Christ estab-
lished be spccessful in history? Will the
promised Seed of Abraham really be a
blessing to the nations? Can Christians
experielice success in carrying . out
Christ's commission. to bring die na-
tions under. the discipline of God's law?
. The answers to these questions con-
stitute the only significant difference be-
tween the a-millennial and the post-
millennia! positions. In reality, amillen-
nialism is only a type of pessimistic
The
does not believe that the nations as a
whole be They beliJve a
few from every tribe and be
.
Page 30 of Chalcedon, July,
saved, but do not believe that the power
of the gospel will result in a "golden
age" in history.
I believe that Jesus had a very opti-
_mistic view of the success of the King-
dom He established. He bound Satan.
The Evil One can no longer deceive the
nations. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a
powerful double-edged sword. As He
gave the Great Commission, Jesus pro-
mised to be with His people always
(Mt 28:20). The victory of Christ's
kingdom can be clearly seen in His
three parables of the kingdom found in
Matt. 13. The parable of the wheat and
the tares is instructive: "The kingdom
of heaven may be compared to a man
who sowed good seed in his field."
Jesus said that the kingdom of God is
like a wheat field. Even though there
are also tares in the field at harvest
time, it must be remembered that it is a
wheat field, not a tare field. Those who
hold to various brands of "pessimillen-
nialism" seem to teach that the King-
dom is a tare field with a few wheat
stalks scattered here and there.
Matthew 13:30-31 records for us the
parable of the mustard seed: "The king-
dom of heaven is like a mustard seed ..
.. " Jesus goes on to make His point
that although the mustard seed is tiny,
it grows into a very large bush. The
Church of J ~ u s Christ started out
small - 11 frightened men. Now there
are millions of Christians all over the
world. The Kingdom will grow still
larger as God's people are faithful to
water and fertilize it
Finally, in verse 33, Jesus said that
the kingdom is like leaven. The king-
dom is not like dough adulterated by
evil leaven, it is like leaven. Leaven
gradually permeates the whole lump of
dough. What could Jesus be teaching
except that the Kingdom will gradually
penetrate the whole world?
Still not convinced? My favorite
proof text for an optimistic view of his-
tory is a well known scripture verse. Al-
though well known, few seem to under-
stand its significance. This verse is Mat-
thew 16:18. The context is Peter's con-
fession of Jesus as Messiah. Jesus says
that He will build His church on that
truth. Jesus also says that the gates of
Hell will not prevail against that
Church as it stands upon that founda-
tion.
Many Christians are so conditioned
to a pessimistic view of history that
they automatically reverse that passage
to read "Hell will not prevail against
the gates of the Church." That's not
what it says, folks! The Church is not
to withdraw withih its walls and take
pride in the fact that she can withstand
the continuing seige of the forces of
darkness until Jesus comes back and
raptures her out of her predicament. No!
Christ is commanding His church to
get out and take the offensive and storm
the gates of Hell and knock over the
devil's strongholds. Christians should
be taking their principles to the market-
place and making inroads for the king-
dom of Jesus Christ. He has promised
that the gates of Hell are no match for
His loyal troops.
I leave you with one more teaching
from the lips of our Lord to prove that
Jesus believed in the success of His
gospel. In Matt. 22:44 Jesus quotes Ps.
110:1, "The Lord said to my Lord, 'Sit
at my right hand until I put thine
enemies beneath thy feet."' One clear
fact of the New Testament is that Jesus
went to the right hand of the Father at
His ascension. (Heb. 1:3) Jesus will
stay there until all His enemies are
under His feet. There will be no rapture
of a defeated Church. Jesus will come
for His bride after He has destroyed the
enemies of God through His bride, the
Church.
Sorry, Hal, Satan may be alive for
now but he is not well on planet earth.
He is being crushed by the power of
God under the feet of the Church.
(Rom. 16:20)
V. Theonomic Ethic
The fifth point of theology that
characterizes the movement known as
Christian Reconstruction is theonomy.
In our day, theonomy is ridiculed,
characatured, and despised. Incredibly,
some of the most vicious attacks of
theonomy come from what is broadly
known as the Reformed camp.
"Theonomy" simply means God's
law. Logically the only alternative to
God's law is humanism. One will either
follow the law of God as a blueprint for
the three main human institutions,
(Church, family, and state), or man will
follow a humanistic set of values. It is
no coincidence that the 20th century has
witnessed the breakdown of these three
institutions as dispensational ideas have
driven the Church (and therefore civiliza-
tion) further and further away from Bib-
lical law.
The question before us is this: Did
Jesus in His establishment of the New
Covenant abrogate the Old Covenant
law? Did He dispense with God's law in
favor of some sort of natural law as
espoused by modem dispensationalist
theologian Norman Geisler?&
In the Lord's prayer, Jesus Christ
taught His disciples principles of pray-
er. Most every Christian knows and
prays the Lord's prayer. I often wonder
how many really pay attention to what
they are praying. One of the petitions
that Christians bring to God's throne of
grace is that God's will be done on earth
as it is in heaven (Matt. 6:10). What is
God's will? God's will is not some
mystical natural law revealed in crea-
tion. It is His law revealed in Scripture!
Check this out by studying the 119th
Psalm. God wants His people to work
for His perfect will to be done on earth.
This will benefit everyone since God is
perfect grace, love, and justice.
It astounds me that some professing
Christians would rather be under the
bloody, oppressive hand of man rather
than under the hand of our God whose
mercy is great. Norman Geisler has
actually stated something to the effect
that, God forbid that our nation go back
to her Christian heritage!&
Another interesting aspect about this
debate is the observation that very few
Christians (excluding radical dispensa-
tionalists) deny the validity of the Ten
Commandments. Yet the Ten Com-
mandments comprise the summary of
God's law. The case laws of the Penta-
teuch are simply the practical applica-
tions of the summary. Logically, if the
Ten Commandments are still binding
then the explanatory case laws of the
Ten Commandments must still be bind-
ing. An examination of the gospels of
The Counsel of Chalcedon, July, 1988 ----------------------------Page 31
Matthew and John show that our Lord
Jesus Christ taught of the continued
plication of the Old Testament law.
God loves His people too much to force
them to wander in darkness. He has
given His children the light of His law
by which to walk.
When tempted by the devil during his
40 days of fasting in the wildemess,
Matthew records that Jesus quoted Deut.
8:3 to rebuke Satan. Jesus said: "Man
shall not live by bread alo:qe but by
every word that proceeds from the
mouth of God." If Jesus was about to
institute a dispensational change from
God's law to some sort of natural law,
these ate very peculiar words for Him to
speak.
In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus
left no doubt about the be-
tWeen His ministry and the law of God.
He tells His people not to even .think
that He came to do away with the law
(vs. 17). In verse 18, our Lord teaches
that the smallest detail of the law will
remain in effect until beaven and earth
pass away. Jesus warns in vs. 19 that
anyone who annuls the least of the com-
mandments and teaches others to do like-
wise will be least in the Kingdom.9
In John 14:15,21,23 Jesus defmes
iove in terms of obedience to God's
law. According to our Lord, the mark of
a true disciple is obedience to His law.
There is absolutely no evidence that Je-
sus is referring . to anything but the
Mosaic law. There is nothing to sug-
gest that Jesus measures man's love. for
Him according to some natlu-al law or
revelation.
Jesus believed and taught the con-
tinuing validity of. not only the Ten
Commandments in general, but our
Lord also taught that the penal sanc-
tions of the case laws to be valid as
well. Antinomians pretend to be horri-
fied at the theonomic position which
calls for the death penalty for incorri-
gible delinquents. Yet Jesus upholds
this iaw in Matthew 15:4. In context,
Jesus is condemning the Pharisees for
transgressing God's law for the sake of
their traditions. Jesus Christ, by His
own words, upholds the very point oil
which many criticize the theonomic
ethic! This is the same Jesus who
taught that His yoke is easy and His
burden light. God's law is meant to be a
blessing, not a burden.
As the .three major human
tions continue to decay under the oppres-
sion of natural law, the wisdom ofrein-
stituting Biblical law in every area of
life becotrles more and more apparent
(and necessary). God is completely just
attd holy. Therefore His law is just. To
believe that God's law is somehow too
harsh for our "enlightened" age is to
deny the teachings of Christ as well . as
to question the justice of an AlmightY
and inunutabl God!
Conclusion
Christian Reconstruction is neither
new nor dangerous. It is simply consis-
tent Reformed theology handed down to
us by John Calvin and the Puritans. It
is the theology that made our nation the
most prosperous in the world. It is no
coincidence that America's wealth and
power have diminished as. the Church
has .clrifted away from these five points.
This should be no swprise to .Chris-
tians since God promises prosperitY for
a nation who obeys and curses for a
nation who disobeys (Deut 28).
It is my hope and prayer that I have
demonstrated that our Lord Jesus Christ
Himself taught the very same principles
that have come to be known
tian Reconstructionism.". If the testi
many of Moses, the ProphetS, ahd the
Apostolic epistles are added to the
words of Jesus, one finds. these priil-
ciples taught in Scripture ftorn Genesis
to Revelation. This should not be si.lr-
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prising since Jesus is the eternal Word
of God and that He is truth. May His
bride, the Church, be faithful to believe
and obey the words from the lips ofher
Lord.
Page 32 Counsel ot Chalcedon, July, 1988