The Uniformity of God's Moral Standard

Chapter 5 of "By This Standard: The Authority of God's Law Today" argues about the uniformity of God's moral standard in both Testaments. This speaks a lot about the dependability of God's character and His word. Dr. Greg Bahnsen elaborated this subject by explaining that the New Testament did not abolish God's moral standard, that there are manifold administrations of God's covenant of grace, and that the Mosaic covenant itself is gracious. He then explained what's new in the New Covenant, and concluded with God's prohibition about the use of double-standard. 

God's Unchanging Moral Standard 

Read Psalm 89:34; 111:7-8; Matthew 5:19; Luke 16:17; 

If something was sinful in the Old Testament, it is likewise sinful in the age of the New Testament. Moral standards, unlike the price of gasoline or the changing artistic tastes of a culture, do not fluctuate.

Unlike human lawmakers, God does not change His mind or alter His standards of righteousness. When the Lord speaks, His word stands firm forever. His standards of right and wrong do not change from age to age.

Even the coming of God's righteous Son did nothing to change the righteous character of God's laws, even the least of them, for then they would be exposed as unjust and less than eternal in their uprightness. The advent of the Savior and the inauguration of the New Age do not have the effect of abrogating the slightest detail of God's righteous commandments. God has not changed His mind about good and evil or what constitutes them.

God Sticks by His Word

Read Psalm 19:1-14; 33:4-11; Isaiah 51:4-8; John 10: 35

The authority of His word for human life is as permanent as that word by which He created and governs the world. If God's word to us were not as stable as this, if He were subject to moods and changed His mind from time to time, then we could not rely on anything He told us. If God's law has a fluctuating validity, then so might His promises! If we say that a commandment given by God in the Old Testament is no longer a standard of righteousness and justice for today, then we can equally anticipate that a promise of salvation given by God in the New Testament will in some future day no longer be a permanent guarantee of His favor toward us. But praise the Lord that His word is stable! He never lets us down as did our human parents and human rulers with commands that are unfair and promises that are not kept.

The New Testament Did Not Abolish God's Moral Standard

Read Luke 22:20; 1 Corinthians 11:25; 

The division of the Bible into two "Testaments" is better understood in the biblical sense as two "Covenants." Prior to the coming of Christ men lived under the Old Covenant which anticipated the Messiah and His work of salvation; after the coming of Christ and His saving work we live under the New Covenant.

Within the "Old Covenant" scriptures we find a few particular covenants, such as those made with Abraham and with Moses. The Abrahamic covenant is often characterized in terms of promise, and the Mosaic covenant is remembered for its strong element of law. Now some people would say that New Covenant believers are under the Abrahamic covenant of promise today, but not the Mosaic covenant with its laws. However, that is far from the outlook of the scriptural writers. In Galatians 3:21 Paul addresses this question to those who speak of being under one or the other covenant: "Is the law contrary to the promises of God?' And his inspired answer is "May it never be!" The fact is that all of the covenants of the Old Covenant (that is, all of the Old Testament covenants) are unified as parts of the one overall covenant of grace established by God. Paul spoke of Gentiles who were not part of the Old Covenant economy which included the Abrahamic, Mosaic, and Davidic covenants as "strangers to the covenants of the promise" (Eph. 2:12).

Manifold Administrations of a Single Covenant 

Read Hebrews 8:6-13; John 1:17

The various covenants of the Old Covenant were all part of one program and plan. Not only were they harmonious with one another, but they are unified with the New Covenant which was promised in Jeremiah 31 and is enjoyed by Christians today. There is one basic covenant of grace, characterized by anticipation in the Old Covenant and by realization in the New Covenant. Given the unity of God's covenant throughout history and the Bible, then, is it true that Christians living under the New Covenant are not obliged to keep the Old Covenant law (the commandments of the Old Testament, especially those given by Moses)? Every covenant established by God-even the Abrahamic (Gen. 17:1)-not only declares His gracious work on behalf of His people, but lays down stipulations which they are to observe as a sign of fidelity and love to Him. For instance, the giving of the law at Sinai (Ex. 20-23) was preceded by God's gracious deliverance of Israel from bondage (cf. Ex. 19:4; 20:2). God identified Himself as Lord of the covenant and rehearsed his gracious dealings with His people (Deut. 1-4), and then with that foundation and background He delivered His law (Deut. 5ff.). The failure of the Mosaic generation can be called a failure in obedience (Heb. 6:4), but this was identical with a failure of faith (Heb. 3:9). The righteousness of the Mosaic law was always to be sought byfaith, not works (Rom. 9:31-32).

The Mosaic Covenant, a Gracious Covenant

Read Psalm 19

The law which we read in the Old Testament is a provision of God's grace to us. Every covenant carries stipulations which are to be kept, as we have seen. But prior to that we saw that all of the covenants of God are unified into one overall Covenant of Grace, fully realized with the coming of Christ in the New Covenant. So if there is one covenant enjoyed by the people of God throughout the ages, then there is one moral code or set of stipulations which govern those who would be covenant-keepers. Therefore, New Testament believers are bound to the Old Testament law of God. His standards, just like His covenant, are unchanging.

The Newness of God's Covenant

Read Psalm 89:34; Jeremiah 31:33-34; Hebrews 8:8-12

When we inquire as to what is new about the New Covenant under which Christians now live, we must allow the Lord to define the proper answer. We cannot read into the idea of a "new Covenant" just anything we wish or can imagine. The revealed terms of the New Covenant are given to us in both Jeremiah 31:33-34 and Hebrews 8:8-12, and when we look at them we find that the New Covenant is far from suppressing or changing the law or moral standard by which God's people are to live! Just the opposite is true. Contrary to those who think that the Mosaic law is not applicable to the New Testament believer, Scripture teaches us: "This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds and I will write them upon their hearts" (Heb. 8:10).

The establishment of the New Covenant does not imply the abrogation of the Mosaic law or its depreciation in any sense! The idea of a new law is ruled out altogether, for it is the well known law of God which He says He will write upon the hearts of New Covenant believers. Unlike the Old Covenant where God found fault with the people for breaking His commandments (Heb. 8:8-9), the New Covenant will give internal strength for keeping those very commandments. It will write the law on believers' hearts, for out of the heart are the issues of life (Prov. 4:23). The Holy Spirit of God will indwell the heart of believers, writing God's law therein, with the result that they will live according to the commandments. "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances" (Ezk. 36:27). As Paul writes in Romans 8:4, those who now walk according to the Spirit have the requirement of the law fulfilled within them. America's twentieth-century orthodox Protestant leader J. Gresham Machen said, "The gospel does not abrogate God's law, but it makes men love it with all their hearts."!

God's covenant law is one unchanging moral code through Old and New Testaments. Once God has spoken His law and expressed His righteous standards He does not alter it. Indeed He pronounces a warning and curse upon anyone who would dare tamper with his stipulations in the slightest. Times may change, human laws may be altered, but God's law is an eternally just and valid standard of right and wrong.

Conclusion: God Hates Double-Standard.

Read Deut. 25:13-16; Lev. 19:35-37

One of the requirements of his law, which reflects His holy character, is the prohibition of using a double-standard. It is ungodly to use one measure or yardstick with some people, and then use an altered measure with others. "Divers weights and divers measures, both of them are alike abomination to the Lord" (Prov. 20:10). Accordingly God requires that we have but one standard or moral judgment, whether it be for the stranger or the native (Lev. 24:22; Deut. 1:16-17; cf. Num. 15:16). He abhors a double-standard of right and wrong, and we can be sure that He does not judge in such a fashion. Something that was sinful in the Old Testament is likewise sinful for us in the New Testament, for God's standards are not subject to fluctuation from age to age. He has one uniform standard of right and wrong.

Source: Bahnsen, G. L. (1985). By This Standard: The Authority of God's Law Today. Tyler, Texas: Institute for Christian Economics. 

The Scope of True Obedience

"Obedience is from the heart, but not restricted to the heart, and it even goes beyond personal conduct." 

Chapter 4 of "By This Standard: The Authority of God's Law Today" is all about the scope of true obedience. In it, Dr. Greg Bahnsen identified the two common ethical mistakes, explained the meaning of "obedience from the heart" and "obedience not restricted to the heart," and elevated the understanding of obedience beyond personal conduct.

Two Common Ethical Mistakes

A number of common moral mistakes are made by believers, even after they come to the realization that God holds them accountable to His revealed commandments. Among those mistakes two can be focused upon here as the root of many other misconceptions. On the one hand, people often fail to see that God's law requires obedience from the heart. On the other hand, people make the mistake of thinking that it is sufficient if their obedience is restricted to matters of the heart. Both of these errors - opposite in character but equal in destructive force - are addressed by God's word, showing us the full dimensions of true obedience to the Lord.

Meaning of Obedience from the Heart

Read Matthew 5:20; 15:7-9; 23:23-24; Galatians 5:22-23; Proverbs 6:16-18,25; Matthew 5: 21-30

In Matthew 5:20 Jesus taught something which must have been shocking to His hearers. He said, "Except your righteousness shall exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall by no means enter into the kingdom of heaven." The shocking thing about this was that the scribes and Pharisees had a reputation, one which they themselves were anxious to promote, for a deep commitment to obeying even the minor details of the law. But the fact of the matter was that the Pharisees were far from living up to the true demands of God's commandments. They had distorted the law's requirements, reading them in a perverse, self-justifying, and externalistic fashion.

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus exposed the shallow obedience of the Pharisees for what it was, pointing out that God is not satisfied with anything short of full, heart-felt obedience to His law as comprehensively interpreted. By contrast, the Pharisees had appealed to the law in a way calculated to escape God's true and original demands, placing a hypocritical veneer of "piety" upon all of their actions.

The Pharisees made a religious show of adhering to the law, but Christ saw that it was a mere facade. He said to them, "You hypocrites, Isaiah was right when he prophesied of you, saying 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. In vain do they worship me, teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men' "(Matt. 15:7-9). The Pharisees actually overlooked the weightier matters of the law, such as justice, mercy, and faith (Matt. 23:23-24). They were blind guides who trimmed down the requirements of God's law so that it could be made to appear conformable to their cultural traditions. "And He answered and said unto them, 'Why do you also transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said.... But you say.... So you have made void the word of God for the sake of your tradition'" (Matt. 15:3-6, 14).

So it is quite possible to take an avid interest in the commandments of God and still have a heart that is far from the Lord - still have a lifestyle which is anything but pleasing to God since our attitudes and motives are out of line with the moral guidance of Scripture. We can take a concern for the fine details of the law, and we should, but not in such a way that we miss the main point in it all: namely, the display of such godly attitudes as are mentioned listed in "the fruit of the Spirit" -love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, and self-control, against which there is no law (Galatians 5:22-23).

Back in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:20ff.), after Christ declared that only a righteousness exceeding that of the scribes and Pharisees would gain entrance into the kingdom of heaven, He went on to deliver a series of illustrations of how the scribes and Pharisees held to a diminished understanding of God's requirements. He set their approach to various commandments over against His own interpretation of God's demands, thereby restoring the full measure of God's purpose and requirements to the Old Testament law. His illustrations began with words like these: "You have heard it said by those of old ... , but I say unto you." In such sayings Jesus was not personally dissenting from the law of God but from the Pharisaical understanding and undervaluating of the law of God.

After all, if the Pharisees really were living up to the law, and Jesus added to the law's demand, then His ex post facto condemnation of the Pharisees for not living up to His additions would be quite unfair! Rather, Jesus indicted the Pharisees for not living up to what God originally required. "You have heard it said by those of old" refers to the rabbinic interpretations of the law passed down from one generation to another; the scribes commonly appealed to the traditional interpretations of the ancient rabbis as a way of teaching the law. The amazing thing to the crowds who heard Jesus, though, was that he taught as one having authority in Himself, and not as one of the scribes, always appealing to others (Matt. 7:28-29).

The problem with the scribal or Pharisaical understanding of the Old Testament law was that it was trite and externalistic. Jesus had to point out, in accord with Old Testament teaching (for example, Prov. 6:16-18, 25), that hatred and lust were the root sins of murder and adultery (Matt. 5:21-30). When God commanded that His people not kill and not commit adultery, He did not merely require abstaining from the outward acts of assault and fornication; His requirement went to the heart, requiring that our thoughts, plans, and attitudes be free from violence and unchastity as well.

True obedience to the law, then, stems from a heart that is right with God, a heart that seeks to please the Lord - not simply by outward conformity but by pure attitudes as well. We see, then, why the "obedience" of the Pharisees was not acceptable in God's eyes. They were not truly obeying the law in its comprehensive demand, inward as well as outward. Any obedience which we are to render to God's law today which is going to be pleasing to God, therefore, must be better than externalistic, hypocritical, self-righteous Pharisaism. It must be obedience from the heart.

Meaning of Obedience not Restricted to the Heart

Read Romans 8:5-10; Jeremiah 31:33; Ezekiel 11:19-20; 36:26-27; Matthew 23:23

A man who refrains from physical adultery while cherishing lustful thoughts is self-deceived if he thinks that he has obeyed the Lord's commandment. On the other hand, a man who thinks that he has a pure attitude and motive, even though he engages outwardly in an act which transgresses God's law, is just as self-deceived. God's law does not place a premium upon inwardness and attitudes of the heart at the expense of overt obedience to His requirements! When it comes to obeying the Lord, it is not simply "the thought that counts."

Situational ethicists, who say a man can act out of love to God and love to his neighbor when he commits adultery with his neighbor's wife, still stand condemned by God and His word on the final day. This should be obvious to most born-again Christians. They know that "walking by the Spirit" means that, unlike those in "the flesh" (in the sinful nature), they can keep the law ofGod (Rom. 8:5-10); it is "the ordinance of the law" which is "fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit" (v. 4).

Those who have hearts made right with God, those who have been given a new heart by God, those who wish from the heart to please God, will seek to walk according to God's commandments (Jer. 31:33; Ezek. 11:19-20; 36:26-27). A proper heart attitude should lead to proper outward conduct as well. Obedience cannot be restricted to the heart. Jesus not only wanted the Pharisees to realize the inward values of mercy and faith; He did not want them to leave undone the minor outward matters of tithing garden vegetables (Matt. 23:23).

Obedience Beyond Personal Conduct 

Obedience goes beyond personal conduct to personal responsibility to exhort, to teach, and to promote obedience to the law of God on the part of others. 

Read Psalm 51:13; 119:53; Matthew 5:14-15; 28:18-20; Romans 15:14; Ephesians 5:11

Just as obedience cannot be restricted to the heart in the sense of forgetting the need for outward conformity to God's stipulations, it can likewise be said that obedience - if it is genuine Biblical obedience - cannot be restricted to a concern for our own personal conduct. Full obedience embraces an interest in the obedience of those around me to the laws of God. The Christian must assume the responsibility to exhort those in his home, church, society, etc. to keep the commandments of the Lord. David wrote, "restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and uphold me with thy free Spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways, and sinners will be converted unto thee" (Ps. 51:13). The Great Commission laid upon the church by Christ calls for us to teach the nations whatsoever Christ has commanded (Matt. 28:18-20). Anything less than this concern for the obedience of those around us is disloyalty to the Lord and fails to qualify as true obedience to his law. John Murray wrote:

"The least of God's commandments, if they bind us, bind others. We must resist the virulent poison of individualism which tolerates in others the indifference and disobedience which we cannot justify in ourselves. . . . The moment we become complacent to the sins of others then we have begun to relax our own grip on the sanctity of the commandments of God, and we are on the way to condoning the same sin in ourselves."

Heart-felt obedience to God's law will lead us to promote obedience to that same law on the part of others.

True saints have indignation for those who break God's law (Ps. 119:53), and they are not ashamed to promote that law publicly (v. 13). If they would keep silent in the face of disobedience, then they would become culpable for the sins they witness. As Psalm 50:18 says, "When you saw a thief, then you consented with him" by keeping your peace. Ephesians 5:11 exhorts the believer to reprove the unfruitful works of darkness. Scripture, then, is quite clear in teaching that the requirement of full obedience to God's commands extends to the active promoting of obedience to those commands in others.

The Scripture-guided believer is in a position to offer genuine counsel and help to others and to his society; he knows the purity of God's law. He is "able to admonish" (Rom. 15:14), and so to be quiet in the face of transgressions would be a guilty silence. Christ directed His followers that they were to be "the light of the world" -which is impossible if our light is placed under a basket (Matt. 5:14-15). Consequently, true Christian obedience to the law of God will take us beyond a concern for ourselves to a concern for the obedience of those around us. Churches which preach (either intentionally or by default) "moral individualism" are failing to proclaim the whole counsel of God. The sins of our society cannot be ignored or swept under the church carpet.

Conclusion

This article does not by any means touch upon every facet of obedience to God's commandments, but it does point out two very important aspects of genuine obedience. We see how far-reaching God's demands are when we keep in mind that obedience must be from the heart, and yet that obedience must not be restricted to the heart.

Source: Bahnsen, G. L. (1985). By This Standard: The Authority of God's Law Today. Tyler, Texas: Institute for Christian Economics. 

The Entire Bible - Our Ethical Standard

The 3rd chapter of Dr. Greg Bahnsen's book, By This Standard: The Authority of God's Law Today is about the entire Bible as the ethical standard for today. In this chapter, Dr. Bahnsen explains the meaning of "all of life is ethical, and all of the Bible is permeated with a concern for ethics;" (p. 21) proves "the very narrative and theological plot of the Bible is governed by ethical concerns;" (p. 22) argues that "there is no word from God which fails to tell us in some way what we are to believe about Him and what duty He requires of us;" (p. 24) claims that "God expects us to submit to His every word, and not pick and choose the ones which are agreeable to our preconceived opinions," (p. 25) and; answers the question related to the idea that the coming of Christ has already "either cancelled or at least reduced" (p. 26) the requirements of Old Testament law.

All of Life is Ethical and All of the Bible is Permeated with Ethical Concern

Unlike the organization of an encyclopedia, our Bible was not written in such a way that it devotes separate sections exclusively to various topics of interest. Hence the Bible does not contain one separate, self-contained book or chapter that completely treats the subject of ethics or moral conduct. To be sure, many chapters of the Bible (like Exodus 20 or Romans 13) and even some books of the Bible (like Proverbs or James) have a great deal to say about ethical matters and contain very specific guidance for the believer's life. Nevertheless, there will not be found a division of the Bible entitled something like "The Complete List of Duties and Obligations in the Christian Life." Instead, we find a concern for ethics carrying through the whole word of God, from cover to cover - from creation to consummation.

The entire Bible speaks of God, and we read that the living and true God is holy, just, good, and perfect. These are attributes of an ethical character and have moral implications for us. The entire Bible speaks of the works of God, and we read that all of His works are performed in wisdom and righteousness-again, ethical qualities. The world which God has created, we read, reveals God's moral requirements clearly and continuously. History, which God governs by His sovereign decree, will manifest His glory, wisdom and justice. The apex of creation and the key figure in earthly history, man, has been made the image of this holy God and has God's law imbedded in his heart. Man's life and purpose take their direction from God. Everyone of man's actions and attitudes is called into the service of the Creator- motivated by love and faith, aimed at advancing God's glory and kingdom. Accordingly the entire Bible has a kind of ethical focus.

The Narrative and Theological Plot of the Bible

The very narrative and theological plot of the Bible is governed by ethical concerns. From the outset we read that man has fallen into sin - by disobeying the moral standard of God; as a consequence man has come under the wrath and curse of God His just response to rebellion against His commands. Sin and curse are prevailing characteristics, then, of fallen man's environment, history, and relationships.

To redeem man, restore him to favor, and rectify his wayward life in all areas, God promised and provided His own Son as a Messiah or Savior. Christ lived a life of perfect obedience to qualify as our substitute, and then He died on the cross to satisfy the justice of God regarding our sin. As resurrected and ascended on high, Christ rules as Lord over all, bringing all opposition into submission to His kingly reign. He has sent the Spirit characterized by holiness into His followers, and among other things the Holy Spirit brings about the practice of righteousness in their lives. The church of Christ has been mandated to proclaim God's good news, to advance His kingdom throughout the world, to teach Christ's disciples to observe everything He has commanded, and to worship the Triune God in spirit and in truth. When Christ returns at the consummation of human history He will come as universal judge, dispensing punishment and reward according to the revealed standard of God's word. On that day all men will be divided into the basic categories of covenant-keepers and covenant-breakers; then it will be clear that all of one's life in every realm and relationship has reflected his response to God's revealed standards. Those who have lived in alienation from God, not recognizing their disobedience and need of the Savior, will be eternally separated from His presence and blessing; those who have embraced the Savior in faith and submitted to Him as Lord will eternally enjoy His presence in the new heavens and earth wherein righteousness dwells.

Faith in God and Our Duty

There is no word from God which fails to tell us in some way what we are to believe about Him and what duty He requires of us.

Read 2 Timothy 3:16-17

If we disregard any portion of the Bible we will - to that extent - fail to be thoroughly furnished for every good work. If we ignore certain requirements laid down by the Lord in the Bible our instruction in righteousness will be incomplete. Paul says that every single scripture is profitable for ethical living; every verse gives us direction for how we should live.

The entire Bible is our ethical yardstick for every part of it is the word of the eternal, unchanging God; none of the Bible offers fallible or mistaken direction to us today. Not one of God's stipulations is unjust, being too lenient or too harsh. And God does not unjustly have a double-standard of morality, one standard of justice for some and another standard of justice for others. Every single dictate of God's word, then, is intended to provide moral instruction for us today, so that we can demonstrate justice, holiness, and truth in our lives.

It is important to note here that when Paul said that "every scripture is inspired by God and profitable" for holy living, the New Testament was not as yet completed, gathered together, and existing as a published collection of books. Paul's direct reference was to the well known Old Testament scriptures, and indirectly to the soon-to-be-completed New Testament. By inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul taught New Testament believers that every single Old Testament writing was profitable for their present instruction in righteousness, if they were to be completely furnished for every good work required of them by God.

Not one bit of the Old Testament has become ethically irrelevant, according to Paul. That is why we, as Christians, should speak of our moral viewpoint, not merely as "New Testament Ethics," but as "Biblical Ethics." The New Testament (2 Tim. 3:16-17) requires that we take the Old Testament as ethically normative for us today. Not just selected portions of the Old Testament, mind you, but "every scripture." Failure to honor the whole duty of man as revealed in the Old Testament is nothing short of a failure to be completely equipped for righteous living. It is to measure one's ethical duty by a broken and incomplete yardstick.

Total Submission to His Word

God expects us to submit to His every word, and not pick and choose the ones which are agreeable to our preconceived opinions. 

Read Matthew 4:4; Deuteronomy 8:1, 3; 12:32; James 2:10

The Lord requires that we obey everything He has stipulated in the Old and New Testaments - that we "live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" (Matt. 4:4). Our Lord responded to the temptation of Satan with those words, .quoting the Old Testament passage in Deuteronomy 8:3 which began "All the commandments that I am commanding you today you shall be careful to do" (8:1).

Many believers in Christ fail to imitate His attitude here, and they are quite careless about observing every word of God's command in the Bible. James tells us that if a person lives by and keeps every precept or teaching of God's law, and yet he or she disregards or violates it in one single point, that person is actually guilty of disobeying the whole (James 2:10). Therefore, we must take the whole Bible as our standard of ethics, including every point of God's Old Testament law. Not one word which proceeds from God's mouth can be invalidated and made inoperative, even as the Lord declared with the giving of His law: "Whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to nor take away from it" (Deut. 12:32). The entire Bible is our ethical standard today, from cover to cover.

The Supposed Cancellation of Old Testament Law

Doesn't the coming of Jesus Christ change our ethical standard? Hasn't the Old Testament law been either cancelled or at least reduced in its requirements? 

Read Matthew 5:17-19; Psalm 119:160

Many professing believers are misled in the direction of these questions, despite God's clear requirement that nothing be subtracted from His law, despite the straightforward teaching of Paul and James that every Old Testament scripture - even every point of the law - has a binding ethical authority in the life of the New Testament Christian.

Perhaps the best place to go in Scripture to be rid of the theological inconsistency underlying a negative attitude toward the Old Testament law is to the very words of Jesus himself on this subject, Matthew 5:17-19. Nothing could be clearer than that Christ here denies twice (for the sake of emphasis) that His coming has abrogated the Old Testament law: "Do not think that I came to abolish the law or the prophets; I did not come to abolish." Again, nothing could be clearer than this: not even the least significant aspect of the Old Testament law will lose its validity until the end of the world: "For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the slightest letter or stroke shall pass away from the law." And if there could remain any doubt in our minds as to the meaning of the Lord's teaching here, He immediately removes it by applying His attitude toward the law to our behavior: "Therefore whoever annuls one of the least of these commandments and teaches others so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven." Christ's coming did not abrogate anything in the Old Testament law, for every single stroke of the law will abide until the passing away of this world; consequently, the follower of Christ is not to teach that even the least Old Testament requirement has been invalidated by Christ and His work. As the Psalmist declared, "Every one of Thy righteous ordinances is everlasting" (Ps. 119:160).

Conclusion

Read Isaiah 40:8; Matthew 4:4

"The word of our God shall stand forever" (Isa. 40:8), and the Old Testament law is part of every word from God's mouth by which we must live (Matt. 4:4).

All of life is ethical, and ethics requires a standard of right and wrong. For the Christian that yardstick is found in the Bible - the entire Bible, from beginning to end. The New Testament believer repudiates the teaching of the law itself, of the Psalms, of James, of Paul and of Jesus Himself when the Old Testament commandments of God are ignored or treated as a mere antiquated standard of justice and righteousness. 



Source: Bahnsen, G. L. (1985). By This Standard: The Authority of God's Law Today. Tyler, Texas: Institute for Christian Economics. 

Confusing Voices

Confusing voices. That's how I summarized the 2nd chapter in Dr. Greg Bahnsen's book, By This Standard: The Authority of God's Law Today. 

Photo Credit:
http://www.layevangelism.com/qreference/united%20states%20of%20america/justiceliftsthenations.htm

After proving that all of life is ethical that calls for a moral standard, Dr. Bahnsen shared the various moral standards humanity has been using since the ancient Greco-Roman era up to the present time. The State under Caesar was considered supreme over ethical matters during the rule of the Roman Empire. During the Medieval period, two moral standards were recognized: the Bible and human reason. The Bible was used for religious ethics, and reason based on natural law for natural ethics. However, during this period, the Bible's authority was actually superseded by the Church under the leadership of the Pope. In the time of Reformation, the Bible was acknowledged as the final court of appeal in matters of faith and practice. The Puritans followed this standard in all spheres of human life. They even took biblical law as their norm for civil laws. "The attitude of the Reformers and Puritans is nicely summarized in Robert Paul's painting which hangs in the Supreme Court Building, Lausanne, Switzerland; it is entitled 'Justice Instructing the Judges' and portrays Justice pointing her sword to a book labeled 'The Law of God' " (p. 16). Unfortunately, with the advent of the Enlightenment, the standard of morality shifted to "human laws fostered by independent reason and experience" (p.17). The new standard is now "found within man or his community. Bishop Butler located it in man's conscience, Kant in man's reason, and Hegel in the Absolute state" (ibid.).

Contemporary moralities no longer acknowledge the Bible as the norm. It is dismissed as "outdated, ignorant, unreasonable, prejudicial, undemocratic, and impractical" (ibid.). The outcome of this rejection "in Western culture is the tension between an unrestrained, tyrannical state on the one hand and the liberated, unrestrained individual on the other. Statism and anarchy pull against each other. The immoral policies of the state are matched by the immoral lives of its citizens" (ibid.).

Theologians no longer believe in " 'Thus saith the Lord' " (p.18). The favorite phrase these days is " 'it seems to me (or us)' " (ibid.). See the following statements that illustrate the contemporary moralities:

• "God is teaching us that we must live as men who can get along very well without Him." - Bonhoeffer

• "The proclamation of imperatives backed by divine authority is not very persuasive today." - Wolfhart Pannenberg 

• "There is no room in morality for commands, whether they are the father's, the schoolmaster's or the priest's. There is still not room for them when they are God's commands." - Graeme de Graaff 

• "Law ethics is still the enemy." - Joseph Fletcher 

• "I thank God that as a reformed Christian I worship a God of grace and not a God of rules." - Anonymous

Source: Bahnsen, G. L. (1985). By This Standard: The Authority of God's Law Today. Tyler, Texas: Institute for Christian Economics. 

The Continuing Validity of Biblical Law

Chapter 1 of Dr. Greg Bahnsen's book, "By This Standard: The Authority of God's Law Today," focuses on "Specification of Purpose and Position." To me, it's all about clarifications of his stance in the book regarding the validity of Old Testament law for our time. In explaining his position, I see ten misconceptions, which could be actual or potential that readers should avoid to associate with Dr. Bahnsen's thesis. The first two extreme reactions are not included in these misconceptions such as the attitudes that no change has taken place "in how the law should be observed" and "everything has been changed" that makes Christian ethics completely confined to the New Testament (p. 1). 

The basic thesis taken in the book is that the written revelation of God "is necessary as the objective standard of morality for God's people" (p. 2). This revelation is in harmony "with the general revelation made of God's standards through the created order and man's conscience" (ibid.). Throughout this chapter, Dr. Bahnsen repeated several times what he describes as "methodological point," (p. 3) to prove his thesis (I prefer calling it hermeneutical approach). On page 2, he states: ". . . the Bible teaches that we should presume continuity between the ethical standards of the New Testament and those of the Old . . ." Matthew 5: 17-19 is a vital basis for this approach. Again, on page 3, Dr. Bahnsen mentions: "The methodological point, then, is that we presume our obligation to obey any Old Testament commandment unless the New Testament indicates otherwise." And still on the same page, he adds: ". . . the New Testament does not teach any radical change in God's law regarding the standards of socio-political morality." And finally on page 7: "It is advocated that we should presume the abiding authority of any Old Testament commandment until and unless the New Testament reveals otherwise." Refusing this thesis, the remaining option is to follow autonomous speculation. 

In proceeding to the ten misconceptions, I generalize my statement describing all advocates of biblical law though I am aware that there are discrepancies of interpretation among them. To be safe, you can interpret these general statements referring only to the study of Dr. Bahnsen. 

The ten misconceptions are as follows: 

Misconception # 1 - That those who advocate biblical law deny discontinuity. Dr. Bahnsen's thesis for the validity of biblical law does not deny the existence of discontinuity in applying it to modern situation. He identifies them at least under four categories:

• "Certain localized imperatives or specific commands used in concrete situation." Example: "the command to go to war and gain the land of Palestine by the sword" (p. 5)

• "Cultural details." Example: "flying axhead" (ibid.)

• "Administrative details." Example: "the type or form of government, the method of tax collecting, the location of the capitol" (p. 6)

• "Typological foreshadows in the Old Testament." Examples: "...ceremonial laws of sacrifice, provisions regarding the land of Palestine, the laws regulating aspects of the land of Canaan (family plots, location of cities of refuge, the levirate institution)." (ibid.)

These are just four examples. Other discontinuity can be identified.

Misconception # 2 - That those who advocate biblical law have adopted superficial exegesis. In fact, to advocate the use of biblical law does not exempt, but provides a strong motivation towards exegetical responsibility. In the language of Dr. Bahnsen, this requires "hard thinking." Notice how he explains this commitment:

"We need to be sensitive to the fact that interpreting the Old Testament law, properly categorizing its details (for example, ceremonial, standing, cultural), and making modern day applications of the authoritative standards of the Old Testament is not an easy or simple task. It is not always readily apparent to us how to understand an Old Testament commandment or use it properly today. So the position taken here does not make everything in Christian ethics a simple matter of looking up obvious answers in a code-book. Much hard thinking - exegetical and theological homework - is entailed by a commitment to the position advocated in these studies" (p. 7).

Misconception # 3 - Potential misconception related to the study of Christian ethics. The primary focus of Dr. Bahnsen is limited to the normative perspective of Christian ethics that deals "with the question of standards for conduct" (p. 8). The "motivational and the consequential perspectives (touching on inner character and goal in ethics) are not equally treated, nor is the vital area of producing and maintaining moral behavior" (ibid.).

Misconception # 4 - Misconception related to three major errors such as making obedience to God's law as the way to salvation, treating the law as the dynamic power in Christian life, and confining the influence of the law on external observance. Instead, Dr. Bahnsen affirms salvation by grace through faith, the need for the Holy Spirit in sanctification, and that observance of the law includes our hearts and attitudes. 

Misconception # 5 - Potential misconception that advocates of biblical law ignore the complexity of the "detailed application of God's law to our modern world" (p. 9). Dr. Bahnsen carefully maintains that the scope of his study is foundational in nature and therefore does not deal with the specifics. 

Misconception # 6 - That those who advocate biblical law believes in "the imposition of God's law by force upon a society" (ibid.). Dr. Bahnsen upholds that the way to advance the kingdom of God here on earth is not through forceful imposition of biblical law upon society, but through "the Great Commission - evangelism, preaching, and nurture in the word of God - and in the power of God's regenerating and sanctifying Spirit" (ibid.).

Misconception # 7 - That the logical conclusion of the advocacy of biblical law will either lead to rebellion against or passive submission to government authorities. Dr. Bahnsen reiterates his commitment "to the transforming power of God's word which reforms all areas of life. . ." (p.10).

Misconception # 8 - That those who advocate biblical law consider all sins as crimes and matters of private conscience as subject for social sanctions. This is the socio-political misconception in the use of God's law. Dr. Bahnsen emphatically delineates, "Not all sins are crimes, . . . Rulers should enforce only those laws for which God revealed social sanctions to be imposed (not matters of private conscience or personal piety)" (ibid.).

Misconception # 9 - That those who advocate biblical law ignore "the full provisions of due process in a court of law" (ibid.). Dr. Bahnsen elaborates:

"Of course, when magistrates do come to the decision to enforce the commandment(s) of God in a particular area - whether because they have personally been converted or whether they simply see the wisdom and justice of those laws as unbelievers - they are obliged to do so in a proper and fair manner. The Christian does not advocate ex post facto justice whereby offenders are punished for offenses committed prior to the civil enactment of a law prohibiting their actions. Nor does the Christian advocate the punishment of criminals who have not been convicted under the full provisions of due process in a court of law" (pp. 10-11).

Misconception # 10 - That those who advocate biblical law make the law of God as the most important subject at the expense of other biblical subjects. Again, Dr. Bahnsen is cautious here to indicate that he is just focusing on "one aspect of the total picture of Christian theology and ethics" (p.11). He adds: 

"It is not to say that political ethics is more vital than personal ethics or that the cultural mandate is more crucial than the evangelistic mandate of the church" (ibid.). 

Through this study, Dr. Greg Bahnsen simply followed "the Reformed conviction that our Christian beliefs should be guided by sola Scriptura and tota Scriptura-only by Scripture and by all of Scripture" (p. 12). 

Source: Bahnsen, G. L. (1985). By This Standard: The Authority of God's Law Today. Tyler, Texas: Institute for Christian Economics. 

By This Standard - Dr. Greg Bahnsen's Foreword

Several chapters in Dr. Greg Bahnsen's book, By This Standard: The Authority of God's Law Today first appeared as short articles in his newsletter, Biblical Ethics written from 1978 to 1982. The book is not an in-depth treatment of arguments, but a summary of biblical law. Dr. Bahnsen has other books for that purpose.

The question that Dr. Bahnsen wants to stimulate in writing the book is "whether the Old Testament law is still binding as a moral standard today" or not (p. xxvii). Most Christians assume that their ethical behavior is only limited to the teachings of the New Testament. This is a mistake on the basis of Reformed principle of Tota Scriptura, Sola Scriptura. Dr. Bahnsen challenges his readers to verify the answers given in the book on the bar of the written word. His prayer is that after reading the book Christians will be convinced about the wisdom and authority of biblical law, and learn to love it. Dr. Bahnsen thanked critics for they helped him see the common misconceptions about biblical law. 

Source: Bahnsen, G. L. (1985). By This Standard: The Authority of God's Law Today. Tyler, Texas: Institute for Christian Economics. 

The Triumph of God's Law

Militant, triumphant. These are the two words that come to my mind in describing Gary North's "Prologue" in Dr. Greg Bahnsen's book, "By This Standard: The Authority of God's Law Today." The Prologue is long, but interesting, informative, and very encouraging. After reading it, I spend some time contemplating for a suitable title. "The Triumph of God's Law" captures the ideas shared in those 16 pages. 

Gary North unfolds his theme by mentioning the timely appearance of the book, a unique idea of international evangelism, information about Dr. Greg Bahnsen, other books on biblical law, critics, humanism, and the future of biblical law. 

The Timely Appearance of the Book

Photo Credit: http://rebuildbiblicalworldview.wordpress.com/2012/10/12/the-myth-of-neutrality/

Before elaborating about the timely appearance of the book, North describes Dr. Bahnsen's piece as " a kind lawyer's brief," "tightly reasoned, yet clear." In the book you can find "the basic outline of the New Testament's case for the continuing validity of Old Testament law" (p. xi). And "Argument by argument, Dr. Bahnsen refutes the supposed biblical arguments against the continuing validity of the law of God" (ibid.). And then he pointed out the timely appearance of the book due to an intellectual shift that was happening among "a minority of American church leaders" (ibid.). And among many reasons for this mental shift, North singled out the 1973 decision of the US Supreme Court regarding the removal of the state laws against abortion. This decision exposed the real color of the myth of neutrality; it doesn't exist. North gave casuistry as a concrete example of this and was happy to announce that such exposure was spreading to other fields that include critical issues like "pornography, inflation, officially neutral tax-supported education ('values clarification'), homosexuality, globalism, the New World Order, New Age humanism, and contemporary Western theories of national defense (mutually assured destruction, or MAD)" (p. xiii). 

And then before proceeding to introduce Dr. Greg Bahnsen, Dr. North identified a unique idea about international evangelism through biblical law. He based this assertion from Deuteronomy 4:5-8, and then closed this section by asking the question, "By what standard?", which answer is the very reason for the existence of the book. 

Introducing Dr. Greg Bahnsen

Gary North has a high regard for Dr. Bahnsen. They both shared similar intellectual background through the influence of Dr. Cornelius Van Til. And then he describes Bahnsen's writing style and shared a couple of sarcastic stories. As logically rigid and precise writer, Bahnsen's style requires focused attention from his readers for them to understand what he's saying. With a mixture of appreciation for Dr. Bahnsen and sarcasm for his critics, Dr. North characterizes the strategy of the former as follows: 

"He considers the standard arguments that have been used against the idea of the continuing validity of biblical law, and he exposes them, one by one, as illogical, anti-biblical, and productive of great harm. He shows not only that these arguments are wrong logically but also that they are wrong morally. He wraps his opponents in an exegetical net. The more they struggle, the more ensnared they become. He never names them, but you can hear them screaming anyway" (pp. xvi-xvii).

Photo Credit: http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2009/02/11/new-web-series-bahnsen-intro

North is an interesting storyteller. I like the way he compared Dr. Bahnsen's performance in the book to "milking" a poisonous snake:

"His performance could also be compared to a man who 'milks' a poisonous snake: he operates methodically, without visible emotion, and precisely. Eventually, the snake is rendered harmless. Temporarily. Until the poison is again manufactured by its system. Then it's another round of 'milking,' with yet another argument being squeezed dry of logical and biblical content, until the snake is exhausted. On and on it goes, until the snake finally dies or has its fangs extracted. To appreciate the technician's efforts, however, the observer must recognize the danger of the poison and the, seriousness of the operation. The observer also should not be surprised that from start to finish, there is a lot of outraged hissing going on" (p. xvii). 

Again, pertaining to Dr. Bahnsen's critics, North reserved another "interesting" story. This time, its about the debate with Dr. Meredith Kline. After indicating that published criticism of Dr. Bahnsen's ideas on biblical law is almost non-existent, Dr. North narrates the outcome of intellectual exchanges between Dr. Kline and Dr. Bahnsen: 

"A few critical essays appeared, but only one was of any academic significance, Dr. Meredith Kline's, and Dr. Bahnsen's subsequent response ended the debate. Whenever I reread the two essays, I am reminded of that 5-second 'underground' cartoon, 'Bambi Meets Godzilla.' Bambi is skipping through the forest, when a giant reptilian foot squashes him. End of cartoon. In the case of Dr. Kline, end of debate. There was no rematch. (The most amusing aspect of this historic confrontation is that 'Bambi' initiated it.)" (p. xvii-xviii).

The Heart of the Prologue

At this point, Dr. North touches the heart of his Prologue: the conflict between biblical law and humanism. Other books on biblical law are acknowledged: Bahnsen's "Theonomy in Christian Ethics," Rushdoony's "Institutes of Biblical Law," Jordan's "Law of the Covenant," and North's economic commentaries. One must consider that Dr. Bahnsen's present book is simply an introduction to biblical law. 

Photo Credit: http://www.conservapedia.com/Humanism

Dr. Bahnsen's critics are losing the intellectual battle not only against the advocates of biblical law, but also against the humanists. Dr. North, through another humorous-sarcastic biblical analogy, rebuked and challenged Christians to recover biblical law in confronting humanism:

"Unlike the comic book advertisement for Charles Atlas's 'dynamic tension' program, where the 200-pound bully kicks sand in the face of the 98-pound weakling, Christians in the twentieth century have been the 200-pound weaklings who have been pushed around by 98-pound bullies. Like Samson without his hair, Christians without God's law are impotent, and have been regarded by Philistines throughout the ages as drudges to be misused and humiliated publicly, if the opportunity presents itself. What Dr. Bahnsen is proposing is that we flex our muscles and knock the pillars out from under humanism's temple. But this time, we should push from the outside of the arena, not pull from the inside. When it comes to social collapse, let the Philistines of our day be inside. Let us pick up the pieces" (p. xix).

North then turns to humanism. He accurately diagnosed it as hiding behind a popular slogan, collapsing, and accusing Christianity of tyranny. The slogan "we're under grace not law" obscures the real situation that in fact the threat to society today is not the law of God, but the rule of humanistic laws. Our proper response therefore is to "start studying, preaching, and rallying behind biblical law" (p. xix). By doing this, Christians can "come up with valid social alternatives to a collapsing humanist civilization" (p. xx). 

However, humanists will not easily give up. Their accusation of tyranny due to the idea of applying Christianity to politics is successful. Christians feel guilty and suffer inferiority. For North, this accusation has no credibility for the accusers are guilty of far more and bigger crimes. How can the humanists say that the crimes committed by Christians such as the medieval crusades prove the unworkability of Christianity in politics whereas they themselves have launched wars and revolutions killing as many as 150 million in the first 70 years of 20th century alone? North wrote two more paragraphs to prove that humanists have no right to accuse Christians of crimes. 

"These same critics have complained repeatedly about the Roman Catholic Church's burning of the occult magician Bruno or Calvin's approval of the burning of unitarian Servetus (with the enthusiastic approval of the Catholics, who were also after him, and who tipped Calvin off when Servetus came into Geneva), four centuries ago. Compare these two events with the atrocities of Stalin, who killed 20 to 30 million Russians in his purges in the 1930's, including a million Communist Party members, plus an additional ten million who died unnatural deaths during the famines produced by his forced collectivization of agriculture. Then there is the continuing atrocity of the Soviet Union's concentration camp population, which has probably included about one third of the Soviet population over the years, with at least one percent of the entire population in the camps at any given time" (pp. xxii-xxiii).

"This slaughter took place in the 1930's without any significant criticism in the prestigious liberal humanist press for the next twenty years. Malcolm Muggeridge, a reporter for the Manchester Guardian in this era, says in the first volume of his autobiography that Western reporters and liberals knew what Stalin was doing; they approved of his ruthlessness. Even in our day, some apologists still exist. ("Stalin, despite certain excesses, was a progressive force in his day, and we must understand that it is not easy to bring a backward society into technological maturity, blah, blah, blah.") Yet these same ideologues taunt Christians about the Salem witch trials in the 1690's, in which all of 20 people were executed, and which never happened again. In one year, Mao's policies killed 30 million Chinese. Spare Christians the guilt trips, please." (p. xxiii).

The accusation therefore of humanists lack credibility. Accusing Christianity of tyranny is hypocritical for this is the very crime that our humanistic generation is most guilty of. The fear of many who believe humanism that biblical law leads to tyranny is baseless. Tyranny actually happens when people refuse the law of God. North explains:

". . . Wouldn't biblical law lead to tyranny? I answer: Why should it? God designed it. God mandated it. Was Israel a tyranny? Or was Egypt the real tyranny, and Babylon? Tyranny was what God visited upon His people when they turned their backs on biblical law" (p.xxiv).

So Christians should better prepare with biblical alternatives upon the collapse of humanistic society. North describes such preparation:

"When that day comes, Christians had better be ready with the biblical answer: voluntary charity, the tithe to finance the church, and all levels of civil government combined limited by Constitutional law to under ten percent of the people's income. The state is not God, and is therefore not entitled to a tithe. . . Humanists can only cough up enough money to pay pipers when they have stolen the money with the ballot box, by means of the politics of guilt and pity, and the politics of envy. The gospel of Christ, when accompanied by faith in biblical law, destroys the psychological foundations of political guilt, pity, and envy. The humanists' political end is in sight, and they are outraged. Psalm 2 tells us what God thinks of their outrage, and how much good it does them." (p. xxv). 

Challenge and Declaration of Confidence

North ends his Prologue with a challenge to critics and a declaration of confidence about the future of biblical law: 

Photo Credit: http://www.pxleyes.com/photoshop-picture/513d41023504a/Bambi-meets-Godzilla.html

"I will put it bluntly: no theologian of repute (or even disrepute) has successfully challenged Dr. Bahnsen's defense of biblical law during the last eight years. I will go farther: no theologian or Christian social thinker in our generation is capable of successfully challenging Dr. Bahnsen's general thesis, because it is correct. I will take it one step farther: we will not see any prominent Christian philosopher even attempt it, because enough of them know what happened to Meredith Kline: he was cut off at the knees in full view of anyone who bothered to read Dr. Bahnsen's response. Nobody is excited about the prospects of going up against Dr. Bahnsen in print. It leads to excessive humiliation" (p. xxv).

"Yet if someone from at least one modern theological camp does not respond, and respond soon - dispensationalist, neo-evangelical, Reformed, Roman Catholic, or Eastern Orthodox - then the intellectual battle is very nearly won by the theonomists. It does no good for defenders of an older world-and-life view to pretend that they can safely ignore a brilliant case presented for any new position, let alone the biblical position. If the establishment theologians remain silent for another eight years, the theonomists will have captured the minds of the next generation of Christian activists and social thinkers. Once the younger activists and intellectuals are won over, the fight is in principle over. To the victors will go the spoils: the teaching positions, the satellite T. V. networks, and shelf space in the Christian bookstores and maybe even secular bookstores, until they finally go bankrupt or go Christian." (p. xxvi).

"Now who will be the sacrificial lamb? Who wants to attempt to prove in print that this little book is the work of a heretic, or an incompetent? Who will be the person to try to prove that this book's thesis cannot be sustained by an appeal to the New Testament? Who will then go on to refute Theonomy in Christian Ethics? A lot of very bright young men are waiting to hear from you, and then to hear from Dr. Bahnsen. Stay tuned for "Bambi Meets Godzilla, Part II" (p. xxvi).

Source: Bahnsen, G. L. (1985). By This Standard: The Authority of God's Law Today. Tyler, Texas: Institute for Christian Economics.