Lesson 18 Flashcards
- Describe popular, alternative approaches to the law
- Describe the major characteristics of the Christocentric approach to the law
- Discuss the use of God’s law in contemporary situations
- How do the Ten Commandments differ from the other laws in the Pentateuch?
b. The law before Moses is not always identical to the law in the Mosaic covenant
i. Ex: Can you marry your half-sister?
c. Priority is given to the moral law, as expressed in the Ten Commandments
i. Two kinds of law
Apodictic (or absolute)
Casuistic (or conditional, “if - then”)
ii. Name
iii. Social context
iv. Immediate vs. mediate
d. Law written on the heart in the new covenant (Jer 31:33)
i. Prioity of the Ten Commanments
ii. Mosaic covenant was meant to be a covenant of the heart (Deut 6:6)
e. The abiding place of the decalogue in the NT
i. Matt 19:18-19
ii. Rom 13:9
iii. I Tim 1:9-10
iv. James and Leviticus 19:12-18
f. The implication is that there is unity between the various covenants related to the law (WCF 7.6)
- How does Theonomy interpret Matthew 5:17-20? How do theonomists handle the judicial laws of the Old Testament?
1. Key text: Matt 5:17-19
a. “The Abiding Validity of the Law in Exhaustive Detail”
b. Jesus did not come to abrogate the law but to fulfill it (Matt 5:17): πληροω, “to fulfill, to confirm and restore in full measure.”
c. Jesus could not invalidate the law because the law remains binding until the end of the world (Matt 5:18)
d. A person’s relationship to the kingdom of God is determined by meticulous observance of the least details of the law (Matt 5:19)
2. Theonomy presumes that the law has an abiding validity unless the new covenant reveals otherwise
B. The judicial laws of the OT must be the basis of the civil laws today, including the penal sanctions of the Mosaic law
- What are the major components of a Christocentric view of the law, and how should we apply the law today? Provide a couple examples.
A. The law is directly related to the covenant concept
1. Covenant comes before law
a. The law is given to a redeemed people (The prologue, Exod 20:2)
b. The function of the law in a covenant
c. Implications
i. The law is not kept to establish the relationship with God
ii. The law is given to help God’s people live in liberty
2. The unity and diversity of the law in different covenantal contexts
a. The law came before Moses
i. “God gave to Adam a law, as a covenant of works” (WCF 19.1)
ii. God’s commandment concerning the tree (Gen 2:16-17)
iii. Murder is wrong (Gen 4:10)
iv. Genesis 26:5 vs. Deut 11:1
“I will make your descendants multiply. . . because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws” (Gen 26:4-5)
“Therefore you shall love the LORD your God, and keep his charge, his statutes, his judgments, and his commandments always” (Deut 11:1)
v. Abraham is an example of obedience in that he lived his whole life in accordance with God’s will
b. The law before Moses is not always identical to the law in the Mosaic covenant
i. Ex: Can you marry your half-sister?
c. Priority is given to the moral law, as expressed in the Ten Commandments
i. Two kinds of law
Apodictic (or absolute)
Casuistic (or conditional, “if - then”)
ii. Name
iii. Social context
iv. Immediate vs. mediate
d. Law written on the heart in the new covenant (Jer 31:33)
i. Prioity of the Ten Commanments
ii. Mosaic covenant was meant to be a covenant of the heart (Deut 6:6)
e. The abiding place of the decalogue in the NT
i. Matt 19:18-19
ii. Rom 13:9
iii. I Tim 1:9-10
iv. James and Leviticus 19:12-18
f. The implication is that there is unity between the various covenants related to the law (WCF 7.6)
B. Traditional names for the types of law: Moral, Civil, and Ceremonial
1. Moral law: Ten Commandments
2. Civil law: The covenant code or judgments related to the government of Israel, including the penalties attached to the law (WCF 19.4)
3. Ceremonial law: The laws that relate to the rituals and types of the OT
a. Sacrificial system (Lev 1-7)
b. Food laws (Lev 11)
c. Laws related to cleanness and uncleanness (Lev 11-15)
4. The relationship between the moral, ceremonial, and civil law
a. A useful distinction, but not always made by the OT itself
b. The Ten Commandments themselves have ceremonial elements (not only moral law)
c. It can take away from the richness of the OT law if it causes people to focus on the moral and neglect the ceremonial and civil parts of the law
C. The different functions of the law.
1. First use: Civil
a. The law functions as a safeguard to maintain outward discipline and public order by curbing the evil actions of people.
b. The lawless need a law (1 Tim 1:9-10)
2. Second use: A tutor to lead us to Christ
a. The law functions as a mirror to show us our real condition before a holy God
b. This function should guard God’s people from legalism and moralism because we recognize that we cannot keep the law perfectly in our own power
i. To stumble in one point is to be guilty of it all (Jas 2:10-11)
ii. Galatians 3:24
3. Third use: A guide for the believer
a. The law functions as a norm in which a person can give expression to his thankfulness to God by living a life pleasing to him
b. Romans 13:9
D. Christ is the hermeneutical key (Luke 24:44-47)
1. The whole OT is a pattern of Christ’s righteousness
a. The OT expresses universal norms or principles
b. The whole OT continues in relevance
2. The Law of Christ
a. Related to the Law of God (I Cor 9:21)
b. The Summary of the Law (Gal 6:2)
c. The law of Christ is understanding how all aspects of the OT law are in relationship and fulfilled in Christ.
3. Principles for applying the law properly
a. Understand the law in its original setting.
b. How does it reveal Christ’s righteousness?
c. What are the implications of Christ’s coming?
d. What is the application for the people of God today?
4. Similar Approaches to the law
a. A reformed approach that understands the law in the context of the covenants and the coming of Christ (Willem VanGemeren)
b. Principled Approach (Walter Kaiser, Joe Sprinkle)
c. Paradigmatic Principled Appraoch (Christopher Wright)
d. Progressive Moral Wisdom (Roy E. Gane)
- What are the differences between the Dispensational view of the law and the view of Theonomy?
I. The Dispensational / Lutheran Approach to the Law
A. Stresses the discontinuity between the Mosaic law and the NT believer
1. Dispensational: Christians are not under the law of Moses in any way but are under the law of Christ.
2. Lutheran: The Mosai law was given to Israel for a limited period of time and purpose and is no longer immediately authoritative for the Christian.
B. Assumes a law is not in force unless specifically mentioned in the NT
C. Stresses the function of the law as bringing conviction of sin
II. Theonomy’s Approach to the Law
A. Stress the continuity of the moral law of God and the NT believer—the OT law isa valid expression of God’s moral will for all societies
1. Key text: Matt 5:17-19
a. “The Abiding Validity of the Law in Exhaustive Detail”
b. Jesus did not come to abrogate the law but to fulfill it (Matt 5:17): πληροω, “to fulfill, to confirm and restore in full measure.”
c. Jesus could not invalidate the law because the law remains binding until the end of the world (Matt 5:18)
d. A person’s relationship to the kingdom of God is determined by meticulous observance of the least details of the law (Matt 5:19)
2. Theonomy presumes that the law has an abiding validity unless the new covenant reveals otherwise
B. The judicial laws of the OT must be the basis of the civil laws today, including the penal sanctions of the Mosaic law
C. There are discontinuities concerning the contemporary application of the law, with special reference to the redefinition of the “people of God.”
1. No defense of God’s kingdom by the sword
2. No longer politically loyal to Israel as a nation-state
3. Provisions which were tied to the physical land are no longer binding
4. Laws which symbolically taught Israel to be separate from the Gentile world are no longer binding
D. Problems with Theonomy
1. Exhaustive detail vs. qualifications
2. The meaning of “fulfill” (πληροω—plēroō)
3. The model of the modern state as equal to theocratic Israel
- What is the significance of the 3-fold division of the law (moral, civil, ceremonial)?
B. Traditional names for the types of law: Moral, Civil, and Ceremonial
1. Moral law: Ten Commandments
2. Civil law: The covenant code or judgments related to the government of Israel, including the penalties attached to the law (WCF 19.4)
3. Ceremonial law: The laws that relate to the rituals and types of the OT
a. Sacrificial system (Lev 1-7)
b. Food laws (Lev 11)
c. Laws related to cleanness and uncleanness (Lev 11-15)
4. The relationship between the moral, ceremonial, and civil law
a. A useful distinction, but not always made by the OT itself
b. The Ten Commandments themselves have ceremonial elements (not only moral law)
c. It can take away from the richness of the OT law if it causes people to focus on the moral and neglect the ceremonial and civil parts of the law
- What are the characteristics of the various uses of the law (1st, 2nd, 3rd use)?
1. First use: Civil
a. The law functions as a safeguard to maintain outward discipline and public order by curbing the evil actions of people.
b. The lawless need a law (1 Tim 1:9-10)
2. Second use: A tutor to lead us to Christ
a. The law functions as a mirror to show us our real condition before a holy God
b. This function should guard God’s people from legalism and moralism because we recognize that we cannot keep the law perfectly in our own power
i. To stumble in one point is to be guilty of it all (Jas 2:10-11)
ii. Galatians 3:24
3. Third use: A guide for the believer
a. The law functions as a norm in which a person can give expression to his thankfulness to God by living a life pleasing to him
b. Romans 13:9
What is Levirate marriage and what are some important issues that it addresses?
2. Levirate marriage (Deut 25:5-10)
a. The purpose in the original setting was to ensure that a man who died before he had produced a male heir might yet have an heir to carry on the name of the deceased
i. Son carrying on the family name
ii. Provides protection for the family and widow, as well as benefits and property rights
b. Due to Christ’s coming, a clearer picture of adoption and the church as the family of God is given
i. Our inheritance is not tied to geography
ii. Christ is the True Seed
iii. The church is given prioity even over physical relationships
c. Application? Levarite marriages should not be a practice of the church
i. The emphasis of care for widows and orphans (1 Tim 5:2-16)
ii. Respect for the dead (Rev 14:13)
What is the meaning of the term “sojourner”?
D. The Sojourner (gēr; rgE)
1. Orignal OT Contextual Definitions
a. The sojourner (gēr) is someone who has taken up permanent residence in a foreign land with th permission of their host (Gen 23:4)
b. The foreigner (nekar) or stranger (zār) is a traveler who has no intent of taking residence
c. There was a distinct economic, civil, and religious difference between the two thoughout the Pentateuch
2. Christ’s coming brings a certain tension
a. Civil authorities have the law of the land to uphold, and the church has the obligation to bring the gospel to all people
b. Christians are strangers and aliens in this world
Discuss slavery in the Bible by defining what it meant in the OT, how it differed from slavery in the USA, and what the NT says about it.
C. Slavery in the Bible
1. The context of OT Slavery is not the same as modern slavery
a. Modern slavery is based on coercion and kidnapping without any way of escape
i. Legal property
ii. Slave is without any rights
b. Hebrew: db,a, ((((ebed) “slave”
i. Can mean both illegitimate and legitimate forms of servitude
ii. Use of property language makes it appear that they were treated as less than human
2. Servitude in OT
a. Nothing in the creation account justifies slavery—it is not a natural practice
b. Some would become an indentured servant in order ro pay off debts
c. Permanent servitude (Lev 25:39-46)
i. An Israelite was not to be forced into servitude
ii. Permanent servants, both Israelite and non-Israelite, were to be treated as members of the household
d. The Israelite laws for slavery were much more humane than the surrounding ANE laws.
e. The purpose of these laws were to provide legal protection and ensure benefits to the servant
3. Christ’s coming offers freedom to all men
a. Our relationship with Christ changes all other relationships
b. Man is still sinful, so slavery still exists
4. OT slavery laws for today
