by Steve C. Halbrook
(This series is based on Appendix A of God is Just: A Defense of the Old Testament Civil Laws)
The sovereign rule of King Jesus extends throughout all of
heaven and earth (Matt. 28:18b). He is
“the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords” (1 Tim.
6:15b; cf. Eph. 1:20 -22), and so all earthly rulers are to submit to His rule (Rom. 2:10 -12 gives a stern warning: “Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with
trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his
wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.” Herod refused to do this, and God struck him
down (Ac. 12:22 , 23).
Submitting to God’s rule entails obedience to God’s
law—otherwise, the idea of submission would be a mere abstraction. King Jesus says, “Why do you
call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” (Lk. 6:46). Notice that the aforementioned Psalm commands
rulers to “Serve the LORD,” and one
does not serve without obedience. Thus,
“Kingship and law are inseparable. A
king rules by his law. Law is the expression
of the will of the king.”[1] And so rulers demonstrate they serve God by
obedience to God’s law, which entails enforcing God’s civil law.
So from here it is settled that rulers must enforce God’s
law. However, many hold to a revealed
law/natural law dichotomy, which says that some (Jews) are accountable to one
civil law, while others (Gentiles) are accountable to another. For the former, it’s special revelation (the
Bible’s civil code); for the latter, it’s natural law.
However, not only is natural law by itself insufficient for civil government, but Christ fulfilled the law, not laws, i.e., one law each for Jews and Gentiles (see
Matt. 5:17.). He fulfilled every iota,
every dot (v. 18, cf. v. 19)—and He did so to save His elect, which includes
Jews and Gentiles alike (Rom.
As such, God does not have different standards of civil
justice for different nations. Israel Israel 12:48 ; Ezek. 44:9). But whatever the case, in Israel
Nations require God’s special revelation to avoid casting
off restraint (Prov. 29:18), and God demands nations to be exalted by
righteousness (Prov. 14:34a). God’s
moral laws given to Israel Israel
See, I have taught you statutes and
rules, as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land
that you are entering to take possession of it. Keep them and do them, for that
will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who,
when they hear all these statutes, will say, “Surely this great nation is a
wise and understanding people.” For what great nation is there that has a god
so near to it as the LORD our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? And what
great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law
that I set before you today?
Indeed, as Daniel F.N. Ritchie observes, Paul described “the
Jews as instructors of the foolish (Rom. 2:20),” and “the reason why he said
this was because they were entrusted with the law that was also meant to be a
guide for the Gentiles as to righteous conduct (Rom. 3:1-2, 31).”[5] Moreover, as Isaiah 24:5 reads, “The earth
lies defiled under its inhabitants; for they have transgressed the laws,
violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant” (Is. 24:5). On this E. J. Young observes:
Just as Palestine Holy Land , had become profane through the sin
of its inhabitants (Num. 35:33; Deut. 21:19 [should say Deut. 21:1-9]; Jer.
3:9; and Ps. 106:38), so also the entire earth became profane when the
ordinances given to it were violated. … Transgression is against the law of
God, and this is expressed by the terms law, statute, everlasting
covenant. The laws which God has revealed to His people bind all mankind;
and hence, the work of the Law of God written on the human heart, for example,
may be described under such terms.[6]
Perhaps David had in mind to proclaim even Israel 3:29 )—a sanction harmonious with the law
of Moses (albeit with a different execution method, and with the added penalty
of destroying the offender’s house).
And had the Canaanites kept the statutes and rules of the
Israelites (which included civil laws), then they would not have been vomited
out of the land (Lev. 18:24 -30, 20:22 -23). God commanded the Israelites to “not walk in
the customs of the nation that I am driving out before you …” (Lev. 20:23 )—which caused God to detest the
Canaanites—but to instead keep God’s statutes and rules (Lev. 20:22 ).
Within this context, specific civil laws are mentioned as examples of
laws the Israelites were to keep. Listed
is the requirement for the man who lies sexually with a slave woman assigned to
another man to make compensation (Lev. 19:20, 21), and the requirement of the
state to execute those guilty of child sacrifice (Lev. 20:2); cursing one’s
father or mother (v. 9); adultery (v. 10); incest (vv. 11, 12, 14); sodomy (v.
13); bestiality (vv. 15, 16); and sorcery (v. 27).
The O.T. civil code remains the specially revealed standard
of righteousness for the nations: in Matthew
5:17-20, Christ upholds the entirety of the law, which remains in effect “until
heaven and earth pass away.” He also warns “whoever relaxes one of the least of
these commandments and teaches others to do the same,”[7]
and says of the scribes and Pharisees—those who had an extremely low view of
God’s law—“For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that
of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Only God has the right to add or take away from His
commands, not man; hence, Christ’s warning against “whoever [referring to man]
relaxes”; man is not authorized to make void a single jot or tittle of the
law. Unless there are Scriptures
abrogating the O.T. civil code, we must assume that it remains in effect. As
Deuteronomy 4:2a teaches, “You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take
from it” (emphasis mine) (cf. Deut. 12:32 ).
We by no means argue every
single detail of the O.T. civil code applies today. For instance, because the sacrificial system
with its priests is abolished, perhaps the capital sanction against a priest’s daughter for prostituting herself (Lev. 21:9) is abolished (unless the underlying moral
principle applies to daughters of church leaders in general, in which case the
law may apply today to daughters of church elders).[8] We simply argue that, in light of such
passages as Matt. 5:17-20 and Deut. 4:2 (cf. 2 Tim. 3:16, 17), every civil law that cannot be shown to be abolished must be assumed to be in effect
today, and cannot be nullified by man.
As George Gillespie notes: “Though
we have clear and full scriptures in the New Testament for abolishing the
ceremonial law, yet we no where read in all the New Testament of the abolishing
of the judicial law, so far as it did concern the punishing of sins against the
moral law …”[9]
We see an example of Jesus indicting the scribes and
Pharisees for nullifying God’s command to honor father and mother, as well as
the command “Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die” (Matt.
15:1-9). (Notice that this command
entails a civil penal sanction.) Jesus elsewhere indicts the scribes and
Pharisees for neglecting the weightier matters of the law—justice, mercy, and faithfulness (Matt. 23:23 ).
Since justice is a weightier matter, the O.T. civil code is a weightier
matter, since this code is just. Hebrews
2:2 reads: “For since the
message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or
disobedience received a just
retribution …”
When the tax collector Zacchaeus repented of his sins, he
acknowledged the requirement of restitution according to the O.T. civil
code. He told Jesus, “Behold, Lord, the
half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of
anything, I restore it fourfold” (Luke 19:8b; cf. Ex. 22:1). Jesus didn’t reply by telling Zacchias,
“Don’t worry about restitution, since the O.T. civil laws are done away with.”
Rather, Jesus said, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a
son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke
19:9b-10).
Also in His earthly ministry, Christ said, “It is written,
‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth
of God” (Matt. 4:4b). Here Jesus quotes
from Deuteronomy, one of the very books of the Bible that details the O.T.
civil code. In using the generic word
“man”—which includes Jew and Gentile alike— the truth that man shall live by
every word of God applies to all mankind (past, present, and future). Hence, all civil governments are bound by the
Bible’s civil laws, since these laws are part of every word that comes from the
mouth of the LORD.
The Lord’s Prayer reminds us to pray that God’s will (i.e.,
His law) be done “on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10b). Earth encompasses all civil governments. This affirms the requirement of civil
governments to uphold biblical law as it does in Deuteronomy 4:5-8, where the
law given to the Israelites was a model for other nations to follow—i.e., the
law was a light to the nations.
Indeed, the Lord’s Prayer is from the Sermon on the Mount,
the same sermon where Christ’s disciples are commanded to be a “light of the
world” (Matt. 5:14b) by doing “good works” (5:16b), defined as obedience to
God’s law (including its civil laws) (5:17-20), which is required “until heaven
and earth pass away”—that is, until God’s will is done “on earth as it is in
heaven.” And we can expect God’s will to
be done on earth, for Isaiah 51:4 reads: “Give attention to me, my people, and
give ear to me, my nation; for a law will go out from me, and I will set my
justice for a light to the peoples.”
Indeed, Christ “will not grow faint or be discouraged till
he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law”
(Is. 42:4b; cf. Is. 9:6-7).
And then there is the Great Commission, given by Christ prior to His ascension:
And Jesus came and said to them,
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go
therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to
observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the
end of the age” (Matt. 28:18-20).
As we pointed out earlier, the fact that Christ has all
authority in heaven and on earth means that His sovereignty extends to every
area of creation—civil government included.
This fact alone logically implies rulers must obey God’s civil
laws.
Not only this, but Christ commands all nations to observe
all that Christ has commanded the apostles.
These commands are not only those that Christ gave on His earthly
ministry. Being a person of the Trinity,
Christ is God, and therefore the laws God gave to Moses—including its civil
code—are also Christ’s commands (as well as God the Father’s and God the
Spirit’s). “Jesus Christ is
the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb. 13:8); He did not change His
moral standards during His earthly ministry.
Quite the opposite: during His earthly ministry, Christ upheld the moral
standards—including the moral civil standards—that were given to Moses (Matt. 5:17 -20; 15:1-9).
[2] George
Gillespie discusses the theologian Piscator’s view on how Christ fulfilled the
judicial law:
“(2.) Christ’s words
(Matt. 5:17 ), Think not that
I am come to destroy the Law or the Prophets, I am not come to destroy, but to
fulfill, are comprehensive of the judicial law, it being a part of
the law of Moses. Now he could not fulfill the judicial law, except either by
his practice, or by teaching others still to observe it; not by his own
practice, for he would not condemn the adulteress (Jn. 8:11 ), nor divide the inheritance (Luke 12:13 -14). Therefore it must be by his doctrine for our
observing it.” November 13, 2009 , from http://www.naphtali.com/articles/george-gillespie/wholesome-severity/
[3] Joseph A. Pipa, The Lord’s Day (Great Britain: Christian Focus Publications, 1997), 51.
[3] Joseph A. Pipa, The Lord’s Day (Great Britain: Christian Focus Publications, 1997), 51.
[4] Some
argue that the O.T. civil laws were given just to the Jews because God
covenanted with them specifically. But
as we have pointed out, in Israel Israel Israel N.T. Church Israel Israel
[7] Some
argue that the O.T. civil laws were culturally unique to Israel
Moreover, if a nation’s justice system
should conform to culture, then a pro-statist culture would justify the state
having totalitarian powers, and a brutal culture would justify the state
engaging in torture and genocide.
Conforming justice to culture amounts to moral relativism. But Christ is not to conform to culture, but
culture to Christ. As such, His law is
not to conform to culture, but culture to His law.
Similar to the cultural argument against
the O.T. civil laws is the argument that nations are free to uphold these
laws, but they are also free to reject
them as well. In short, God’s law is optional. This argument has the same problems as the
cultural objection, and also misses the fact that law (particularly God’s) by
its very nature is not optional, but obligatory.
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