Posted on 07/25/2016 5:21:13 AM PDT by Gamecock
“In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”
- Judges 21:25
Twenty-first-century America is full of citizens who profess that there is but one absolute truth, and that is that there are no absolute moral standards. It is a self-refuting belief system to be sure, for if one denies that absolute truth exists, that rules out any absolute denial of absolute moral standards. Nevertheless, people hold to this denial most absolutely, and the social cost has been enormous.
Modern America is not the first culture to have embraced moral relativism, denying that there is a fixed, objective, transcendent standard of right and wrong. Israel during the time of the judges also embraced moral relativism. The book of Judges depicts a recurring cycle of events in which the ancient Israelites sinned, God handed them over to their enemies, the Israelites cried out for deliverance, and God delivered them. At the end of each cycle, the whole process would start over again. The concluding verse of Judges explains the reason for this trouble: “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judg. 21:25).
Here we have an important insight into human nature, particularly fallen human nature—without a king, people will quickly descend into doing whatever seems right to them. The absence of the king in the period of the judges was twofold. First, there was no human king, no representative of God’s righteous rule to direct the people. More importantly, there was no king in the sense that the Israelites did not acknowledge or obey the one, true King, namely, Yahweh, who created all things.
Yahweh, although He had a special relationship to Israel, was not only the God of Israel. He gave a law to Israel that contained many commandments designed only for the ancient Israelites, but as the New Testament shows us, His law also contains transcendent norms designed for all people (Rom. 2:14; 13:8–10). In fact, even the culturally bound rules in the law of Moses reflect transcendent principles.
If there is only one God and He has a law, it is not only Christians, Jews, Muslims, or people in any other religion that are bound by this law. Everyone God creates is answerable to His law. God and His law are the universal basis for ethics—not just for Christian ethics but for human ethics. This law reflects the very moral character of our Creator, of our King, and we cannot please Him or do what is right if we do not know His law.
Coram Deo
Dr. R.C. Sproul notes that Christian ethics are theonomic, that is, governed by God’s law. This does not mean the church is called to institute a theocracy in the civil realm. It does mean that no correct ethical decision can be made apart from reflection on God’s law. Many Christians neglect the study of the law of the Lord, but if we do not seek to understand His commandments, we will lack the wisdom needed to discern between right and wrong in our decisions.
Passages for Further Study
Psalm 37:30–31 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice. 31 The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not slip.
Matthew 5:17 Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, suntil heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Romans 7:12 So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.
James 2:12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty.
Ping
All law has a moral component. Or, to phrase it another way, all laws contain a “should.”
Roger that. Embracing moral relativism ain’t the way out of the dire fix we’re in. Only national repentance and faith in Christ will do that. But we’re collectively too depraved for that. So instead we’re already feeling His wrath, and it will only get worse.
I believe that liberty is the state that the Lord desires for mankind.
But He knew that with our fallen nature we would misuse and abuse it. He let the Children of Israel go without a king so that they would learn, and mankind also, that doing what was right in their own sight would leave to anarchy and evil for the people.
Only with a God-anointed and God-fearing king would peace and blessings multiply. Even then, if the king turned away from the Lord, bad things would happen.
Only Christ is our perfect king. And one great thing about Him is that if we follow Him, then regardless of the situation around us, we will triumph in His Grace in the end.
Of course, I cannot supply a theological support for any but the last paragraph, but it makes sense to me.
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