Theonomy Prepares The Way For Theocracy
In Romans chapter one Paul speaks about having received grace and authority from God for a very specific purpose.
That purpose is to bring about the obedience of faith among nations.
That term, obedience of faith is very important to understand.
It does not refer to a confessional conviction, but rather obedience to the government of God which is only possible through faith.
Another way to express this is to say that Paul has received authority to bring about a theocracy, which is the rule of God.
When people hear the word theocracy, they often have an emotional response that is a product of presuppositions.
There are two basic misunderstandings which lead to such a response.
The first is that Christianity seeks to impose religious conformity upon the world.
Such a claim holds no validity because the type of theocratic expansion which Scripture refers to must be carried out according to God's prescribed methods.
God created man with freewill, and he never transgresses that.
The gospel must always be propagated through an invitation to life rather than at the end of a sword.
Since it is an invitation into God's kingdom which is governed by righteousness, justice and love, the entrance to such a kingdom must be in accordance with the character and nature of such a kingdom.
Because many people believe that Christianity seeks to dominate people's freedoms rather than protect them, many people are afraid of a term such as theocracy.
When properly understood, theocracy is the way of true liberty and freedom.
It establishes the government of righteousness, justice and love.
It is the very government of heaven itself.
As Christians, if we were to be asked whether we desire to see a theocracy upon the Earth our answer should be a resounding yes.
Who wouldn't want what is truly the best for people? Do I want to see people blessed, do I want to see people liberated, and do I want to see people have the dignity which is appropriate for those created in the image of God? If I do, then I want them to be governed by a theocracy.
The second misunderstanding is that Christians seek to establish a theocracy through civil government.
Biblically, this is out of bounds because scriptural theocracy is only possible through faith in Jesus.
Such faith must never be coerced.
It is impossible for human beings to be governed by righteousness, justice and love except through faith in Jesus.
Theocracy properly understood is the rule of love; specifically love for God and our neighbors.
By nature, love must be a freewill offering otherwise it will be contrary to the nature of biblical love.
The reason why having a clear understanding of theocracy is important is because many people today who are seeking to bring modern social architecture in line with biblical law are being accused of trying to establish a theocracy.
Often, when such an accusation is vocalized, people back down because they have been trained to believe that it is wrong to seek to establish a theocracy.
It is not wrong to seek to establish a theocracy as we have already mentioned, but neither is that what such people are seeking to do.
There is incredible awakening happening right now that seeks not to establish a theocracy politically, but rather a theonomy.
A theonomy is the rule of God's law.
It is important that we define the distinction between theocracy and theonomy so that we can make the vision which we are seeking to establish clear.
The vision of theonomy is to design all social architecture upon the wisdom of God revealed in biblical law.
This was the original vision of the American Republic.
God's law codifies divine wisdom regarding how to structure society to be the greatest possible blessing to all people of all time.
When society is built upon the foundation of a theonomy, there are two practical blessings which are the natural byproduct.
The first is that a Theonomy restrains wickedness, sin and injustice while promoting righteousness, justice and love.
While the law does not have the power to change men's hearts, for only the gospel has such power, nevertheless, it does have the power to change people's behavior in a positive way.
A theonomy fundamentally encourages good behavior and discourages bad behavior through appropriate rewards and punishments.
This causes society to prosper and flourish, and results in a civil order where people experience liberty, dignity and freedom.
From a religious perspective, it should be the goal of every believer to bring blessings to others, and promoting a theonomy is one of the most effective means to do so.
Jesus told us that God causes it to rain upon the righteous and unrighteous alike.
If we are to imitate God's character, then we also should seek to bring the blessing of liberty for all men.
It is a great blessing if we can create a society that naturally restrains bad behavior and promotes good behavior.
The second natural result of a theonomy is to prepare the way for theocracy.
It is only when men and women see the goodness and beauty of God's standards of good and evil, and desire to be conformed to that which is good, that a context is created for people to be brought into the obedience of faith.
In the book of Romans, Paul describes how this works.
He tells us that he was alive once, then the law came, sin revived, and he died.
That argument is very confusing in the English translations of the Greek Scriptures.
What it means is that before the law came, Paul thought that he was a good person.
Once he caught a vision of what it means to be truly good according to God's law he realized that he was dead in his sins.
Later he describes the experience of wanting to do what is good, but finding himself powerless to do so.
Although in his mind he agreed with what was good according to God's law, and longed to do what was good, he found himself constantly doing what was evil.
That is when he looked for a solution to this dilemma and found the answer in the obedience of faith.
Through faith in Jesus, Paul found the power to become obedient to the government of love.
Through this we see how theonomy prepares the way for theocracy.
It is only when people have a desire to do what is truly good, and yet find they are powerless to do so, that they seek a savior from being governed by the law of sin and death.
The law of sin and death in the Bible refers to being governed internally by a corrupt human nature.
The purpose of the gospel is to liberate people from the law of sin and death and bring them into the obedience which is made possible through faith in Jesus.
Theonomy prepares the way for people to accept Christ's invitation to life by giving them a vision of what such life is, and in the meantime restrains evil in the world.
It should be the goal of everyone who seeks to protect and liberate others from what is evil to seek to establish theonomic social structures.
That purpose is to bring about the obedience of faith among nations.
That term, obedience of faith is very important to understand.
It does not refer to a confessional conviction, but rather obedience to the government of God which is only possible through faith.
Another way to express this is to say that Paul has received authority to bring about a theocracy, which is the rule of God.
When people hear the word theocracy, they often have an emotional response that is a product of presuppositions.
There are two basic misunderstandings which lead to such a response.
The first is that Christianity seeks to impose religious conformity upon the world.
Such a claim holds no validity because the type of theocratic expansion which Scripture refers to must be carried out according to God's prescribed methods.
God created man with freewill, and he never transgresses that.
The gospel must always be propagated through an invitation to life rather than at the end of a sword.
Since it is an invitation into God's kingdom which is governed by righteousness, justice and love, the entrance to such a kingdom must be in accordance with the character and nature of such a kingdom.
Because many people believe that Christianity seeks to dominate people's freedoms rather than protect them, many people are afraid of a term such as theocracy.
When properly understood, theocracy is the way of true liberty and freedom.
It establishes the government of righteousness, justice and love.
It is the very government of heaven itself.
As Christians, if we were to be asked whether we desire to see a theocracy upon the Earth our answer should be a resounding yes.
Who wouldn't want what is truly the best for people? Do I want to see people blessed, do I want to see people liberated, and do I want to see people have the dignity which is appropriate for those created in the image of God? If I do, then I want them to be governed by a theocracy.
The second misunderstanding is that Christians seek to establish a theocracy through civil government.
Biblically, this is out of bounds because scriptural theocracy is only possible through faith in Jesus.
Such faith must never be coerced.
It is impossible for human beings to be governed by righteousness, justice and love except through faith in Jesus.
Theocracy properly understood is the rule of love; specifically love for God and our neighbors.
By nature, love must be a freewill offering otherwise it will be contrary to the nature of biblical love.
The reason why having a clear understanding of theocracy is important is because many people today who are seeking to bring modern social architecture in line with biblical law are being accused of trying to establish a theocracy.
Often, when such an accusation is vocalized, people back down because they have been trained to believe that it is wrong to seek to establish a theocracy.
It is not wrong to seek to establish a theocracy as we have already mentioned, but neither is that what such people are seeking to do.
There is incredible awakening happening right now that seeks not to establish a theocracy politically, but rather a theonomy.
A theonomy is the rule of God's law.
It is important that we define the distinction between theocracy and theonomy so that we can make the vision which we are seeking to establish clear.
The vision of theonomy is to design all social architecture upon the wisdom of God revealed in biblical law.
This was the original vision of the American Republic.
God's law codifies divine wisdom regarding how to structure society to be the greatest possible blessing to all people of all time.
When society is built upon the foundation of a theonomy, there are two practical blessings which are the natural byproduct.
The first is that a Theonomy restrains wickedness, sin and injustice while promoting righteousness, justice and love.
While the law does not have the power to change men's hearts, for only the gospel has such power, nevertheless, it does have the power to change people's behavior in a positive way.
A theonomy fundamentally encourages good behavior and discourages bad behavior through appropriate rewards and punishments.
This causes society to prosper and flourish, and results in a civil order where people experience liberty, dignity and freedom.
From a religious perspective, it should be the goal of every believer to bring blessings to others, and promoting a theonomy is one of the most effective means to do so.
Jesus told us that God causes it to rain upon the righteous and unrighteous alike.
If we are to imitate God's character, then we also should seek to bring the blessing of liberty for all men.
It is a great blessing if we can create a society that naturally restrains bad behavior and promotes good behavior.
The second natural result of a theonomy is to prepare the way for theocracy.
It is only when men and women see the goodness and beauty of God's standards of good and evil, and desire to be conformed to that which is good, that a context is created for people to be brought into the obedience of faith.
In the book of Romans, Paul describes how this works.
He tells us that he was alive once, then the law came, sin revived, and he died.
That argument is very confusing in the English translations of the Greek Scriptures.
What it means is that before the law came, Paul thought that he was a good person.
Once he caught a vision of what it means to be truly good according to God's law he realized that he was dead in his sins.
Later he describes the experience of wanting to do what is good, but finding himself powerless to do so.
Although in his mind he agreed with what was good according to God's law, and longed to do what was good, he found himself constantly doing what was evil.
That is when he looked for a solution to this dilemma and found the answer in the obedience of faith.
Through faith in Jesus, Paul found the power to become obedient to the government of love.
Through this we see how theonomy prepares the way for theocracy.
It is only when people have a desire to do what is truly good, and yet find they are powerless to do so, that they seek a savior from being governed by the law of sin and death.
The law of sin and death in the Bible refers to being governed internally by a corrupt human nature.
The purpose of the gospel is to liberate people from the law of sin and death and bring them into the obedience which is made possible through faith in Jesus.
Theonomy prepares the way for people to accept Christ's invitation to life by giving them a vision of what such life is, and in the meantime restrains evil in the world.
It should be the goal of everyone who seeks to protect and liberate others from what is evil to seek to establish theonomic social structures.
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