The Cross and Civil Justice

The Cross and Civil Justice
by Francis A. Schaeffer

“… The problem always was, and is, What is an adequate base for law? What is adequate so that the human aspiration for freedom can exist without anarchy, and yet provides a form that will not become arbitrary tyranny?

In contrast to the materialistic concept, Man in reality is made in the image of God and has real humanness. The humanness has produced varying degrees of success in government, bringing forth governments that were more than only the dominance of brute force.

And those in the stream of the Judeo-Christian worldview have had something more. The influence of the Judeo-Christian worldview can be perhaps most readily observed in Henry De Bracton’s influence on British Law. An English judge living in the thirteenth century, he wrote De Legibus et Consuetudinibus (c. 1250).

Bracton, in the stream of the Judeo-Christian world view, said:

And that he [the King] ought to be under the law appears clearly in the analogy of Jesus Christ, whose vice-regent on earth he is, for though many ways we are open to Him for His ineffable redemption of the human race, the true mercy of God chose this most powerful way to destroy the devil’s work, he would not use the power of force but the reason of justice.

In other words, God in His sheer power could have crushed Satan in his revolt by the use of that sufficient power. But because of God’s character, justice came before the use of power alone. Therefore Christ died that justice, rooted in what God is, would be the solution. Bracton codified this: Christ’s example, because of who He is, our standard, our rule, our measure. Therefore power is not first, but justice is first in society and law. The prince may have the power to control and to rule, but he does not have the right to do so without justice…

What the Reformation did was to return most clearly and consistently to the origins, to the final reality, God; but equally to the reality of Man – not only Man’s personal needs (such as salvation), but also Man’s social needs.

What we have had for four hundred years, produced from this clarity, is unique in contrast to the situation that has existed in the world in forms of government. Some of you have been taught that the Greek city states had our concepts in government. It simply is not true. All one has to do is read Plato’s Republic to have this come across with tremendous force.

When the men of our State Department, especially after World War II, went all over the world trying to implant our form-freedom balance in government downward on cultures whose philosophy and religion would never have produced it, it has, in almost every case, ended in some form of totalitarianism or authoritarianism.”

- Francis Schaeffer, A Christian Manifesto (Crossway: 1982/2005) pages 27-29.

[Summary: God does not act out of power alone, but rather His power is displayed in acting righteously according to His Law. Thus, we see the significance of the Cross and the character of God in a democracy where the law curbs the power of its rulers. Countries that do not grasp the justice of God revealed in Christ's work on the Cross (justification) are prone to being ruled unjustly by those with the most power. We can thank God today for His Law and for His Son and for His declaration that those in His Son's blood are free from guilt! He is both just and the justifier (Rom. 3:26). ... Have a great 4th of July! ... "For freedom Christ has set us free" (Gal. 5:1).]

Announcement: A Theology for the Church

Book announcement
A Theology for the Church edited by Daniel L. Aiken

Those who enjoy systematic theology will want to note the fruit of our Southern Baptists friends in their newly-released A Theology for the Church (B&H Academic). The one-volume systematic is written by a host of contributors including Russell D. Moore on natural revelation, Daniel L. Aiken on the person of Christ, Paige Patterson on the work of Christ, Mark Dever on the nature of the church and a concluding essay by Albert Mohler on “The Pastor as Theologian.”

[Side note: Patterson, the president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, will always remain dear to my family. On a Sunday morning in September, 1999 God was gracious to save both my wife and I at the same time through Dr. Patterson’s sermon on Luke 18:9-14 in Lincoln, NE. He is a fitting writer to describe the work of Christ on the Cross.]

A Theology for the Church is just that, written to be useful for laypersons and for preachers in sermon preparations. The book’s content is developed around four questions:

(1) What does the bible say?

(2) How has the church developed this theology historically?

(3) How does the systematic category fit in the broader canon of Scripture?

(4) What is the significance of the doctrine for the church today?

Increasingly over the past few years systematic theologies have displayed a greater awareness to historical theology and especially the work of the early church. Systematic Theology: Biblical and Historical by Robert Duncan Culver (Mentor: 2005) was a good example.

A Theology of the Church was wisely developed around historical theology and makes good use of Aquinas, Aristotle, Augustine, Irenaeus, John of Damascus, Origen and Plato into the theological discussions. To me, the most impressive use of this historical approach was the chapter on eschatology by Russell D. Moore (see pages 873-892). Moore traces out the eschatological convictions of the Patristic authors (Irenaeus of Lyons, Justin Martyr, Origen and Augustine), then moves into the eschatology of the Medieval writers, then on to Reformed and Post-Reformed writers and finishes in the contemporary theological positions where he explains Protestant Liberalism, Neo-orthodoxy, Revisionist Theologies, the range of views in current Evangelicalism, the significance of Progressive Dispensationalism and concludes with the historically important movements particular to Baptist eschatology.

Overall, A Theology for the Church is a very nice work. Baptists and non-Baptists will find it pastorally sensitive and very useful.

—————

Title: A Theology for the Church
Editor: Daniel L. Aiken
Authors: Gregory Alan Thornbury, Russell D. Moore, David S. Dockery, David P. Nelson, Timothy George, Peter R. Schemm, Jr., John S. Hammett, R. Stanton Norman, Daniel L. Aiken, Paige Patterson, Malcom B. Yarnell III, Kenneth Keathley, Mark E. Dever, R. Albert Mohler, Jr.
Reading level: 3.0/5.0 > moderate but not difficult
Boards: hardcover
Pages: 1,000
Volumes: 1
Dust jacket: no
Binding: glue
Paper: normal
Topical index: yes
Scriptural index: yes
Text: perfect type
Publisher: Broadman & Holman Academic
Year: 2007
Price USD: $49.99 from B&H; $36.99 from CBD
ISBNs: 080542640X, 9780805426403