Dr. Gary North discusses R.J. Rushdoony and Cornelius Van Til and what a comprehensive worldview looks like.
Every king requires obedience. Every kingdom has laws. Men are always under the law of some kingdom. The standard phrase, “We’re under grace, not law,” is utter nonsense. We are always under law. The question is: Whose law? God’s law or Satan’s? To be under Satan’s law is to be a citizen of his kingdom. Then his law will condemn you, for the work of the law is written on every human heart (Romans 2:15). Everything valuable that Satan holds, he holds because he stole it. All good gifts come from God (James 1:17). Satan is a thief. There- fore, to command his kingdom, he needs law, and he relies on the twisted remnants of the law of God—the work of the law—to whip his troops into submission.
Anyone who relies on his own moral strength as an obeyer of God’s law is under the curse of God’s law. Anyone who looks into his conscience and says that this will be his guide is under the curse of God’s law. Even the work of the law in his heart is close enough to God’s law to condemn him. We are always under law. The law of God always condemns sinners. The question is: Will we live by the law or die by the law? Will we escape the curse of the law by God’s grace through our faith in Christ’s atoning sacrifice, or will we present ourselves as a spotted sacrifice, to be salted and burned forever? Will we use the law to conform ourselves to the image of God, or will we use the law to elevate ourselves above the grace of God, in a desperate attempt to become holier than God?
The political question facing the citizens of any nation is this: Is it better to be under the rule of biblical law or some satanic imitation of that law? Is it better to be under God’s law or Satan’s crude, twisted imitations? You would think that the answer is obvious. Why, then, have Christian leaders and theologians in this era answered the question incorrectly? Why have they proclaimed that we are no longer bound by God’s law? If we are not bound by God’s law on earth, then we are bound by that law in eternity, in the lake of fire. The law is binding on every creature: in heaven, on earth, in hell, and (finally) in the lake of fire. The question is: Will it bind a man to life or to death? Will Jesus Christ wrap you in His arms, as the confirmer of the law, or will Satan wrap you in his arms, as the rebel against the law, so that both you and Satan will be bound by the curse of the law for eternity? Without Christ, you are already in Satan’s arms.
Unconditional Surrender
Everyone knows Christianity is a religion, but what difference does it make in a society? Is Christianity just a religion for private time, or is it a way of life that shapes one's understanding of the world—even able to transform a nation? Does the Bible teach anything specific about how to raise a family, run a country, or manage an economy? Moreover, if the Bible does have something to say, do we have to observe those commands, or are they mere suggestions or general principles?
Buy NowDr. Gary North discusses R.J. Rushdoony and Cornelius Van Til and what a comprehensive worldview looks like. Christianity must begin responding with a clear biblical witness that is informed by a clear biblical understanding. The research and academic work has been done, now it must be implemented and lived out.