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Aeneas, Anarchy, & America #2


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Introduction:
In a world gone mad, sanity is always thought to be some form of extremism. When people are wound tight in their scruples, the preaching of free grace is thought to be antinomian license (Rom. 6:1ff). When the early Christians refused to acknowledge the pantheon of gods, they were not accused of monotheism, but rather of atheism. In the same way, because we are living in the era dominated by the gargantuan state, any assertion that we must return to biblical norms will be thought to be anarchy. It is not anarchy, for reasons to be explained shortly, but for the modern statist, it might as well be. Try to think of it as theocratic libertarianism.

The Text:
“Honour thy father and thy mother, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee” (Deut. 5:16).

Summary of the Text:
When you honor your father and mother as you ought to do, you are honoring your immediate parents, those who establish what we call the nuclear family. But the honor due to our parents is not something that lasts for eighteen years and then poof, it is gone. Dependent children are told to render honor to their parents through obedience (Eph. 6:1-2). But when the children are grown up, and simple obedience is no longer required, the honor is still required, now in the form of financial support (Mark 7:10-13). And it does not stop there. The principle is that this particular kind of honor grows, develops, and changes. The duty to honor does not evaporate. The movement is from “my father,” to “our father,” to “our fathers.”

Politics Is Personal:
As we read Scripture carefully, we see how what we call political power grows up from the family. There is an organic connection between the nuclear family, the extended family, the clan, the tribe, the tribes, and the nation. When Saul is established as the king over Israel, an important institutional development has occurred, but it did not arrive de novo.

Atoms and Molecules:
The central difficulty with atheistic libertarianism and anarchism is that it challenges the right foe, the state, but is attacking an Abrams tank with a peashooter. The individual is an atomistic challenger to corporate man, and corporate man This is why pot-smoking libertarianism is such a joke. The lotus-eaters have never stormed any castle.

In order to resist the artificial swollenness of the modern state, the answer must be the true answer of molecular connectedness—the family and the church. But as soon as you have the family, and people worshiping together in the same language, you have the beginnings of nationhood. As long as Christians are honoring their fathers and mothers (Ex. 20: ), and honoring their leaders in the church (Heb. 13:7,17;

In the Meantime:
The Roman Empire was a hot mess. But even so, Christians were commanded—as far as conscience allowed—to render honor to the agents of it (Rom. 13:7). They absolutely refused to worship the emperor, but this refusal was all the more striking because they were commanded to honor the emperor (1 Pet. 2:17). This is the approach we must take when the state is a disordered one, needing to be raised from its mat, like Aeneas was. Honoring rulers in a diseased state is not compromise; it is obedience to God. “I think myself happy, king Agrippa . . .” (Acts 26:2). Paul walked back what he said about Ananias (Acts 23:5). And Jesus said to “render to Caesar” that which belongs to him (Mark 12:17), which means that something does.

But at different times, in different ways, the political order is not disordered.

“When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: But when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn” (Prov. 29:2).

“Now these be the last words of David. David the son of Jesse said, And the man who was raised up on high, The anointed of the God of Jacob, And the sweet psalmist of Israel, said, The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, And his word was in my tongue. The God of Israel said, The Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, Ruling in the fear of God. And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, Even a morning without clouds; As the tender grass springing out of the earth By clear shining after rain” (2 Samuel 23:1–4).

“It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness: For the throne is established by righteousness” (Prov. 16:12).

“Take away the wicked from before the king, And his throne shall be established in righteousness” (Prov. 25:5).

Whatever era you live in, whatever political economy has been established—a republic, or a monarchy, whatever—righteousness at the top matters.

Looking Forward:
Now remember that history begins as a garden and ends as a garden city. That city is, in effect, the Christian church, the New Jerusalem, the mother of us all. The kings of the earth do not lose their glory and honor, but rather their glory and honor are placed in true perspective.

“Kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you, and lick the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord; those who wait for me shall not be put to shame”” (Is. 49:23, ESV).

“And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it” (Rev. 21:24).

Church and Kingdom:
In a rightly ordered society, the church is the cathedral at the center of town. It is the Ministry of Word and Sacrament. All families come to worship the Lord there, but they do not live their lives there. In Christ, through Christ, all the families of the earth shall be blessed (Gen. 12:3), but they live their lives out in the parish, out in the kingdom. They are the Ministry of Health, Education, and Welfare. As they cluster in towns, they have to organize their practical affairs in some kind of order, and that would be the cause of the civil order—the mayor, the governor, the king, the president, the father. This is the Ministry of Justice.

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The Covenant Home #7: Sketch of Godly Parents


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Douglas Wilson on

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INTRODUCTION:

When we consider what parents should look like, what first comes to our mind’s eye? Our tendency is to rush to some sort of a “works orientation,” and not to rest in faith.

THE TEXTS:

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealedfrom faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith’” (Rom. 1:16-17 ).

“Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercyfor a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments” (Dt. 7:9).

“Then they said to Him, ‘What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?’ Jesus answered and said to them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent’” (John 6:28-29).

THE SKETCH:

Godly parents are characterized by their faith—which means they are confident, trusting, quiet, and serene. Of course godly parents exhibit good “work,” but it is the fruit of their faith. Their works exceed the righteousness of the Pharisees, but they would not dream of trusting in those works. Paul tells us in Philippians to work out our salvation, but God is at work in us both to will and to do for His good pleasure (Phil. 2:12). We are to work out what God works in. In the work of parenting, we are to work out what God works in. And nothing else.

The heart of godly parenting is therefore faith, and it is faith from beginning to end.

THE WAY IT WORKS:

The human race is divided in two categories—covenant keepers and covenant breakers. Now when we make this division, we immediately tend to assume that the covenant keepers do so on the basis of their works. But covenants with God are kept in only one way—by faith from first to last. Trusting in works is how we break the covenant.

Now in the covenant of salvation, God has been kind enough to promise you your children. You do not appropriate this promise through what you might do—although if you have appropriated it by faith, then that will affect what you do.

Consider the parallel challenge of promises for answered prayer: “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them” (Mark 11:24). These promises are not obtained from a vending machine, but the promises do mean something.

BASIC QUESTIONS:

First, covenant blessings are promised to whom?—God gives the promise to a thousand generations to those who keep his covenant. There are two aspects—those who are in covenant, and those who keep covenant.

Second, what do we do?—But what do we do to keep His covenant? What good things can we do? This brings us back to the words of Christ in John 6. This is the work of God . . . that you believe.

Third, real faith is the kind that gives way to constant believing—The trust and belief which we exhibit toward God is not a sporadic or momentary thing. This is what we see in the passage from Romans 1. The just shall live by faith.

Fourth, where does faith arise?—the Bible teaches that faith comes from hearing the Word of God. In the ministry of the Word, you hear God’s promises, and if the Holy Spirit gives you ears to hear that Word, then you will hear.

Fifth, what are we to believe?—we are to believe the Word of God, all of it, and with regard to this subject, you are to trust God at His word with regard to your children, and their children after them.

Sixth, when are we to believe?—as with other aspects of our lives, time and history matter. You cannot believe God’s promises for the salvation of a child if that child has already died in rebellion. This is another way of saying that there is a time of opportunity, and such a thing as too late. Now if a child is grown up and in rebellion as a direct result of how the child was brought up, God may still show grace and mercy. Pray that He does. But this grace would not be in ordinary fulfillment of covenant promises to covenant parents.

But the Question of Sovereignty Nags:

When parents panic, one of the questions they might ask is, “What if my children are not elect?” This question can be asked both by those who accept the doctrine of election, and those who do not, and who ask the question in order to illustrate a problem with it.
So remember the doctrine of means and ends—God does not ordain things willy-nilly. A good order and purpose attends all that He does.

Second, we all understand the principle elsewhere —if we consider the subject of evangelism, we understand that God is the final cause of everything, but that He ordains

the use of instrumental (secondary) causes to accomplish His purposes.

Third, we should simply apply this to our children—trusting God to keep His Word does not contradict His sovereignty. How could it? He made the promise as an expression of His sovereignty.

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Surveying the Text: Deuteronomy


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Douglas Wilson on

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Introduction

Remember that the Exodus happened around 1440 B.C., and the book of Deuteronomy was given at the tail end of the forty years in the wilderness, just a short time prior to the invasion of Canaan. This puts it right around 1400 B.C. The name Deuteronomy refers to a “second giving” of the law. In this book, the second bookend of the law is placed at the very end their wilderness experience. The first giving of the law was at Sinai, forty years before, and now they are reminded of the law again on the plains of Moab.

The Text

“For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it” (Dt. 30:11-14).

Summary of the Text

This book emphasizes the exclusive claims of YHWH, the covenant God of Israel. The book anticipates a central location for worship, once Israel takes the land. Speaking of “the land,” that is a word that is mentioned over a hundred times in this book. Their focus is forward-looking. The laws of this book are very much concerned for the poor. The Ten Commandments are repeated over again, in chapter 5. As we noted in our section on Genesis, this book is one of the most frequently quoted books of the Old Testament in the New. Jesus quotes it frequently—if Jesus had a favorite book, wouldn’t you want to read it? Wouldn’t you want to understand it, and love it?

Division

One of the ancient literary structuring devices is used here, and is called a chiasm. A chiasm is a device that folds a piece of writing in half, with the matching parts found either in contrast or in parallel. So then, if I were to mention apples, grapefruit, mangos, oranges, more mangos, larger grapefruit, and redder apples, I have given you a chiasm— with the hinge of the chiasm being the oranges. That center often represents the point of emphasis.

In skeletal structure, it looks like this:

A.
B.
C.
B’
A’

In the way this chiasm works, you could read A and A’ as one continuous thought, and do the same for B and B’.

A. retrospective look (1-3)
B. A strong exhortation (4-11)
C. The standards of the covenant (12-26)
B’ The covenant ceremonial (27-30)
A’ A prospective look (31-34)

Things to Note About Deuteronomy

We noted, back in Leviticus, that the second greatest commandment in Scripture, the requirement to love your neighbor as yourself, was found there (Lev. 19:18). The first and greatest commandment is found here in Deuteronomy (Dt. 6:45). The Jews called this section the Shema—“Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one . . .” The greatest commandment is to love God with everything available to you. That greatest commandment is found in a passage that is talking about covenant education. This being the case, the way many modern Christians take a lackadaisical approach to their children’s education is just chilling. We are called to love and teach our children, not experiment on them. They are given to you as a solemn charge and responsibility, not as a venue for personal laziness. Educating your children properly will be the hardest thing you ever do. It is also the most blessed, the most fruitful.

And all this relates to another feature of Deuteronomy. Of course, the entire Bible is monotheistic, but the book of Deuteronomy is fiercely so. Deuteronomy requires the Israelites to invade Canaan with a war of annihilation—there was to be absolutely no compromise with the gods of the land (2:34; 3:6; 7:1-6, 23-26; 12:1-3; 13:6-18; 16:21-17:7; 20:16-18).

This book did not prevent Israel from falling into various apostasies during her history, but this book did set the pitch for all the prophetic denunciations of those apostasies, and also set the stage for what has been called the Deuteronomic Histories (Joshua through Kings). The prophets and historians of Israel were shaped by this book, down to and including the apostle Paul and the Lord Jesus.

The ferocity of Deuteronomy against the false gods is interestingly matched by its tenderness to the vulnerable—the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow (15:11; 24:14). The Levites, who would not have an inheritance of land, are sometimes included in this (26:13). Some might see an inconsistency in this juxtaposition of ferocity and tenderness, but we should rather see deep consistency. Compromise with false gods is the very worst thing you can do to the poor.

The book requires true loyalty and dedication on the part of Israel, predicts that they will fall away from their loyalty, but also predicts that God in His absolute covenant faithfulness, will bring them back again—which is what He did through Christ. The book concludes with a charge to Joshua—be strong and courageous (31:23). Joshua takes this to heart, because the book of Joshua begins with a reminder of that same charge (Josh. 1:6, 7, 9, 18).

One last thing to note about the book. The New Testament counterpart to Deuteronomy is the book of Hebrews. Consider the content of the books, the placement of the books, and the context of both books.

Jesus in Deuteronomy

The apostle Paul taught us that Christ is the end of the law (end, purpose, telos) for everyone who believes. As we saw in our treatment of Leviticus, the unbelieving heart sees everything as law—either intolerable demand or as a sign post toward the shining path of self-improvement. The believing heart sees Christ in, through, and underneath everything. And not Christ the Judge either, but rather Christ the Savior. We are talking about Jesus, who saves His people from their sins.

“For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed” (Rom. 10:4-11).

Don’t say that the law is up in Heaven. Why? Because Christ has come down to be with us. Don’t say the law is across the sea, far beyond your reach. Why? Because Christ has risen from the dead. What does this mean? It means that Jesus is your law, your life, your morality, the breath in your lungs. Jesus is everything.

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Bedrock Discipleship I: Bible Reading


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Douglas Wilson on

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Introduction

Many of you were kind enough to fill out the survey on Bible reading that we sent out to the congregation. The results were of a nature to delight a pastor’s heart—which they certainly did. About ninety percent of you read the Bible either daily or multiple times weekly. That’s a good business, and it means that this message will not be packed with fulminations and blue ruination. You are doing well, and so the message will be to exhort you as Paul did the Thessalonians. You are doing well, but I want to urge you to do so more and more (1 Thess. 4:10). And this exhortation is particularly addressed to the young people. This is not something to rest on, but rather something to grow up into.

The Text

“And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live” (Dt. 8:3).

Summary of the Text

Moses reminded the people that God humbled them in the wilderness, and brought them to the point of hunger. He gave them hunger so that He might give them food. The food was unexpected—from a source that they “knew not.” Their fathers didn’t know anything about it either. He did this so that they would be made to know that man does not live by bread alone, but rather by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. That is our life.

The Fact of Food

The Scriptures refer to the words of God repeatedly under the heading of food. We have this passage from Deuteronomy, of course, but there are many others. Jesus says that He is the true manna, and that His words must be eaten (John 6:63). Peter tells us that we should, like newborn infants, sincerely desire the milk of the Word, so that we might grow. “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby” (1 Pet. 2:2).

But a young boy of six, who is eager to contend with his older brother in basketball, might push himself away from the table and complain, “I ate two helpings. Why am I not taller yet?” But that’s not how food works.

Some Basic Pointers

It should not be a great surprise that there are ways to read the Bible that turn out to be less than helpful. So . . . Walk, don’t run. It would be far better to read a chapter a day for several months—at which point it will be a habit—than to read half the New Testament over the course of three frenzied days, and then to quit in exhaustion. Scripture is food, but you are not to eat like a python, gorging occasionally.

Don’t wring the text out like a washcloth. Just read normally. Don’t panic if you think you missed something. You are a Bible reader—you will drive this stretch of road again.

Some of your meals will be filet mignon. But lots of them will be a spiritual bowl of Cheerios. Don’t create a set of false expectations. And some of the genealogies are Grape Nuts. But you are to live by every word—it is not just sola Scriptura, but also tota et sola Scriptura. All of Scripture and only Scripture.

Don’t be intimidated. The Bible can look imposing, but a little at a time adds up. The Bible has 1,189 chapters in it, with 260 of them from the New Testament. If you read a chapter a day, you would get through the entire Bible in just over three years. If you read that pace in the New Testament you would have read it twice in just over a year.

Some Intermediate Pointers

Half of you read the King James or New King James. Another quarter use the ESV. Happily, you are not going in for the versions that have the angel of the Lord greeting people with, “Hey, guys! Chill!” Using the translations you are using is not the barrier to understanding that it is often pretended to be. A recent study found that 9% of all Americans read the Bible daily, and that the King James was still the top translation used, and that by a wide margin—55% use the King James, with the next runner-up being the NIV at 19%. You might not be one of the hep cats, but you should still do all right.

Secondly, 75% you still read from a printed Bible—which I am not at all trying to discourage. About 16% of you read on an e-device, and 6% of you listen to audio. But I would encourage those of you who are still paper- and-ink-friendly to make a point of supplementing that with many of the electronic helps that are available now. And for those of you who use e-devices, I would like to give a blessing for you to bring them here. Some of you may have been holding back because you were afraid that people would think you were playing Angry Birds in church. Used rightly, you have many more options with much less ostentation.

Obedience Opens Eyes

The point is not to pack the head, but to fill the heart. Read with a spirit of openness. Ask the Lord to use the Word as a mirror that will show you how to escape from the snares of self-delusion.

Oriented in Joy

We live in a dark generation. We live in a time of great confusion. But when we read the Scriptures, we know what we are supposed to do, and we are equipped with the strength to do it. “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Ps. 119:105). We read and therefore we understand. “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Ps. 119:11). We are kept in the way by the Word. And this overflows naturally into joy.

“And all the people went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great mirth, because they had understood the words that were declared unto them” (Neh. 8:12).

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