Theonomy?

There are all kinds of theologically rich language that has been lost in the church. Somehow we thought it would be best if we watered down or dumbed down our rich Bible heritage. A word that is probably foreign to many believers is the word "theonomy."

According to John Frame a "Theonomy can be defined simply as adherence to God's law, which would make all Christians, especially Reformed Christians, into theonomists. Here I define the term more narrowly as a school of thought within Reformed theology which prefers literal, specific, and detailed applications of Mosaic civil laws to modern civil government. The word "prefers" gives us some leeway. At points, the theonomists, like the rest of us, apply the law only in general and non-literal ways. But they tend more than the rest of us to prefer the specific and the literal. - John Frame from Penulitimate Thoughts on Theonomy

"Reform is no answer for a culture like ours. Redemption is what is needed, and that occurs at the individual, not societal level. The church needs to get back to the real task to which we are called: evangelizing the lost. Only when multitudes of individuals in our society turn to Christ will society itself experience any significant transformation." - John MacArthur

Dr. Van Till taught that "There is no alternative but that of theonomy and autonomy" (Christian Theistic Ethics, p. 134). Every ethical decision assumes some final authority or standard, and that will either be self-law (autonomy) or God's law (theonomy). While unbelievers consider themselves the ultimate authority in determining moral right or wrong, believers acknowledge that God alone has that position and prerogative. The position which has come to be labeled "theonomy" today so this holds that the word of The Lord is sole, supreme, and unchallengeable standard for the actions and attitudes of all men in all areas of life. Our obligation to keep God's commands cannot be judged by any extrascriptural standard, such as whether its specific requirement (when properly interpreted) are congenial to past traditions or modern feelings and practices." - Greg Bahnsen from "What is Theonomy?"

There is Much in a Name

Concerning the use of the name “Trinity” and other technical terms we often employ such as essence, ontos, ousia, substantia, persona, hypostasis and the like, the great theologian of the sixteenth century John Calvin writes:

“Where names have not been invented rashly, we must beware lest we become chargeable with arrogance and rashness in rejecting them. I wish, indeed, that such names were buried, provided all would concur in the belief that the Father, Son, and Spirit, are one God, and yet that the Son is not the Father, nor the Spirit the Son, but that each has his particular subsistence. I am not so minutely precise as to fight furiously for mere words. For I observe, that the writers of the ancient Church, while they uniformly spoke with great reverence on these matters, neither agreed with each other, nor were always consistent with themselves” (Institutes, 1.13.5).

No Christian understands the doctrine of the Trinity fully. In fact, if people are not confused to some degree by this doctrine, it probably means that they have slipped into heresy in their thinking. If we think about it too long, try to solve it, or nuance it according to our desire to comprehend things, we will find ourselves refusing the hand of God who has given the mysterious Trinity to us a description of Himself. While it is impossible that finite beings can fully comprehend an infinite God, we can understand him truly. The doctrine of the Trinity does not give us the full understanding of God, but it does give us a true understanding of God.

 

As Evangelicals we Confess the Trinity

We believe in one God (monotheism vs. polytheism) who is one in essence, yet three in person. All three members of the Trinity are eternally God, all of whom are equal.  

Wow! What's that all about? Stay tuned as we continue to look at God as Trinity.

Where's the Help?

Trusting God to help us is stated often in church but what does that really mean? Much of the NT deals with all kinds of crises. Several of these NT letters were written specifically to deal with all sorts of issues from sickness, divisions, relations, to death itself. There is scarcely an issue today that Christians will deal with that is not referenced in the Word of God. If you and I really want to know God’s will for our lives in dealing with particular problems we may be facing, the Scriptures will direct and help us to the right answer or course to follow.

The key to dealing with our plethora of problems is to lean to lean on and trust what God says for us to do about it. Too many of us want to make our own decisions and then ask God to “bless” what they have already decided to do or not do. The alternative, we need to figure out what God would have us to do and do it with the confidence that He will bless it. Our obedience to His commands places us in a position to receive His blessings in our lives.

Our willingness to trust God in every circumstance of life depends on our confidence in his love. All indecision on our part is an expression of distrust in his love. It is a basic rejection of God’s character and nature. When we fail to trust him with our problems we are really distrusting his sincerity and integrity. Since God truly is all-loving with our best interests in mind, we must learn to trust His love for us in spite of our circumstances.

Whether we fully understand it or not, God is sovereign over the events in our lives. Jay Adams says, “No matter how bad the crisis may appear to be, it is never beyond His ability to resolve it.”  Every crisis in our lives is part of God’s sovereign purpose for us. We may not understand that purpose while we are going through the struggle, but we will eventually see how the circumstance was for our benefit.

In the above four paragraphs, is what you would find in any number of Christian counseling books or hear from your pastor. In those paragraphs, I have stated a whole lot about God and who he has revealed himself to be: His love, sovereignty, character, will, and nature and even our trusting in him. I stated that when we fail to trust God with our problems we are distrusting his character and nature. But here is the problem that I see in the landscape of Christianity…we don’t know or at the most know very little of God’s character, nature, sincerity and integrity. How are we to trust that which we don’t know?

Think about the last time you had a physical, emotional, or some other type of problem. In confronting the situation, you say, perhaps under your breath “Where’s the help?” You then think about all the possibilities of getting some kind of assistance. Yet how many go to God? How many of us think about his sovereignty in the situation? For that matter, what is his sovereignty? The reason we don’t go to God is because we don’t know God nor have we had much history in trusting him for anything. Why? We don’t know him.

When we go to church what do you hear mostly preached? How God can help ______. You know the answer that goes in the blank – “me.” How can God help me with my emotional, physical, financial, or relational problem? And so we have one series after series on our felt needs and how to get the most out of God.

When was the last time you had a series on who God is? Can you imagine a two month series on Sunday morning on the sovereignty of God? But pastor, how is that going to help me in my finances or marriage? Where would be the application on a message on the transcendence of God?

On the first page of his Institutes, Calvin observes that the knowledge of God and the knowledge of self are interrelated. We might expect Calvin (as a good Calvinist!) to add that of the two, the knowledge of God “comes first.” Extraordinarily, however, Calvin says instead that he doesn’t know which comes first. This comment I take to be enormously perceptive. The best way to look at the matter is that neither knowledge of God nor knowledge of self is possible without knowledge of the other, and growth in one area is always accompanied by growth in the other. My perception is that we have focused entirely too much on self. My prayer is that we would regain the balance.

The question I asked myself is how? To be honest, I don’t think a two month series on the sovereignty of God or any number of series on his nature and being will work. I also don’t believe there is only one methodology that will work. So how do we bring the pendulum back on balance? Actually, the answer is not that profound. It’s through exegesis of the Scriptures. If we are faithful to preaching and teaching the whole counsel of God’s word, it will be in each and every one of our messages. Jesus came to make the Father known. The Holy Spirit was given to make the Son known. The apostles and disciples of Christ have the indwelling Spirit to continue to make the Son known.

The simple solution is to preach Christ and him crucified, buried, risen, and coming again. It’s the gospel that will change hearts and minds and by faithfully preaching and teaching God’s word, we will cry out as Paul did, “that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,” (Philippians 3:10). And so will you join me on the journey to know him? I believe the more we see him clearly as revealed in Scripture, we will have a greater hunger and desire for more of him versus this world. It truly will become strangely dim. He (God) has that effect on you. You can’t get close to him without his glory spilling out. Just ask Moses.

God as Trinity

To study the person and nature of God is a humbling, daunting and yet necessary journey we must take throughout our Christian walk. In doing so it's important that we don't try and put God in a box or to pull him down to a place where we can define and understand him. We can't as he is inexhaustible in all that he is and revealed himself to be. Tozer said it best... 

“Left to ourselves we tend immediately to reduce God to manageable terms. We want to get Him where we can use Him, or at least know where He is when we need Him. We want a God we can in some measure control. We need the feeling of security that comes from knowing what God is like, and what He is like is of course a compose of all the religious pictures we have seen, all the best people we have known or heard about, and all the sublime ideas we have entertained. If all this sounds strange to modern ears, it is only because we have for a full half century taken God for granted. The glory of God has not been revealed to this generation of men.”

—A.W. Tozer

Why does our view of God matter? Our primary duty and principle reason we were created was to worship God. So, who are you worshiping?  In other words, are you worshiping the God you created in your mind to be or are you worshiping the God he has revealed himself to be? Think with me for a moment. If we have even a small initial wrong belief just imagine where that road will take you? From what I have experienced personally it will take you far away from a right view of God. Thus the view that we have now will matter greatly later on in whether or not you have a biblical view of God as revealed in Scripture or some other view. That's why I would implore you to study theology proper (study of God). We need to be constantly correcting our beliefs and ensuring that we keep ourselves in line with what the Bible says.  

                         

Can we have a perfect view of God? The quick answer is no. There isn’t anybody that has a perfect view of God. But what we must do is look at the Bible and our rich Christian heritage and history for that last 2000 plus years and look at how and what God has revealed about Himself. I believe that what you will find is that you have moved away, in many instances, to what is a right belief of who God is.

Has God revealed himself in such a way that he wants us to know Him accurately?Again, the short answer is yes. The doctrine of Trinity is a foundational cardinal truth in Christianity. All three major Christian traditions - Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox, throughout the history of the Church have been united on this doctrine. A denial of it constitutes a serious departure from the Christian faith and a rejection of the clear biblical witness to God as he has introduced himself to us. Sadly, many have gone astray from the faith because of their refusal to accept these truths. 

Stay tuned and we will continue to post more on this subject. May we, like the apostle Paul cry out, "Oh that I might know him" (Phil 3:10)!