The political use of the Law
A post at A Firm Nail about looting in
New Orleans got me thinking about the political use of God's Law, and the
function of the state
A Firm Nail has an excellent post today on the
looting in New Orleans after the hurricane and
flood and what it really tells us of the evil lurking beneath the surface in all
of us. Like Lord of the Flies so adequately expounded, when the restraints of
societal order are removed, man is quick to show his true self. Nailman does an
excellent job showing us how the answer to this problem is the Gospel - our
realization of our own self-centered and awful wickedness ought to bring us to
our knees, to plead forgiveness from the God we have offended. We see this as
God's Law in action, showing us our need of Christ and driving us to the Gospel.
Theologians call this the theological use of the
law.
But in reading his post it got me thinking about the other use of the Law - the political use of the Law (some Lutherans and almost all Reformed/Calvinists hold to three uses of the law, and include the didactic use of the Law where the Law acts as a guide for Christians in how the might live more righteously). The political use of the Law is to restrain sin in this world, to act as a curb to the destructive force of sin in Mankind. It does this by acting as a curb in Man's heart - because he fears retribution - and it serves as a foundation for civil governments.
When George Forell, a great Lutheran author and professor at the University of Iowa, taught a class at my church he had some great insights into the Law. In describing the political use of the law and how it effects man's hearts he said "We see that everyone slows down when they see a police officer." Everyone, no matter how wicked, does not want to deal with the consequences of that evil and so the Law is able to curb their hearts through fear of retribution. It won't make us righteous, because God's Law demands more than public or civil obedience, but it will keep us from being as awful as we would desire.
I've heard many Calvinists explain the difference between Total Depravity and Utter Depravity in defending the first of the five points of Calvin. Utter depravity means that we do nothing but sin and that we sin as much as we possibly could. Total depravity does not claim this, but simply that sin touches the totality of our being. In other words, while it is true that there is no part of our soul that is not infected with sin, it is also true that we could be more sinful than we are. Part of the reason for this is God's merciful restraint of us through the political use of the Law.
Forell also pointed out that, while we tend to think of God's Law as only a function of His justice, God's Law is actually an act of His grace as well. Left to his own devices, man would simply destroy himself in sin. Look for a few minutes at the scene in New Orleans and then multiply it a hundredfold to see where Man would be with no restraints whatsoever - in that state, Man couldn't produce anything worthwhile, and he'd be lucky if he lived for even a short period. But God in his grace works through the restraining power of the Law, and holds the world together long enough for Christ to come to earth and redeem us. In His grace, He still restrains evil in this manner, not wanting any to perish and knowing that there are still lost sheep out there that He will gather to Himself.
The other way in which the political use restrains Man's sin is by acting as a foundation for civil law and order. God has placed the sword in the hand of government, in order that they might protect us from each other by punishing those who do evil - "But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. " (Romans 13:4). We see this in action in New Orleans - order is restored gradually by the state sending in troops. Brave National Guardsmen, Army personnel and others will come into distressed, riotous areas and restore order, because they have the power to take the lives of people who refuse to restrain themselves and thus endanger others.
It is a scary thing indeed to see exactly what happens when the curtain is pulled back on man's nature. As Nailman suggests, this ought to make us pull back the curtain of our own soul and realize that beneath the surface of our own civil righteousness lie deep wells of spiritual unrighteousness. Let us also take the time to thank God for His merciful restraint of that sin through the administration of the political use of the Law.
But in reading his post it got me thinking about the other use of the Law - the political use of the Law (some Lutherans and almost all Reformed/Calvinists hold to three uses of the law, and include the didactic use of the Law where the Law acts as a guide for Christians in how the might live more righteously). The political use of the Law is to restrain sin in this world, to act as a curb to the destructive force of sin in Mankind. It does this by acting as a curb in Man's heart - because he fears retribution - and it serves as a foundation for civil governments.
When George Forell, a great Lutheran author and professor at the University of Iowa, taught a class at my church he had some great insights into the Law. In describing the political use of the law and how it effects man's hearts he said "We see that everyone slows down when they see a police officer." Everyone, no matter how wicked, does not want to deal with the consequences of that evil and so the Law is able to curb their hearts through fear of retribution. It won't make us righteous, because God's Law demands more than public or civil obedience, but it will keep us from being as awful as we would desire.
I've heard many Calvinists explain the difference between Total Depravity and Utter Depravity in defending the first of the five points of Calvin. Utter depravity means that we do nothing but sin and that we sin as much as we possibly could. Total depravity does not claim this, but simply that sin touches the totality of our being. In other words, while it is true that there is no part of our soul that is not infected with sin, it is also true that we could be more sinful than we are. Part of the reason for this is God's merciful restraint of us through the political use of the Law.
Forell also pointed out that, while we tend to think of God's Law as only a function of His justice, God's Law is actually an act of His grace as well. Left to his own devices, man would simply destroy himself in sin. Look for a few minutes at the scene in New Orleans and then multiply it a hundredfold to see where Man would be with no restraints whatsoever - in that state, Man couldn't produce anything worthwhile, and he'd be lucky if he lived for even a short period. But God in his grace works through the restraining power of the Law, and holds the world together long enough for Christ to come to earth and redeem us. In His grace, He still restrains evil in this manner, not wanting any to perish and knowing that there are still lost sheep out there that He will gather to Himself.
The other way in which the political use restrains Man's sin is by acting as a foundation for civil law and order. God has placed the sword in the hand of government, in order that they might protect us from each other by punishing those who do evil - "But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. " (Romans 13:4). We see this in action in New Orleans - order is restored gradually by the state sending in troops. Brave National Guardsmen, Army personnel and others will come into distressed, riotous areas and restore order, because they have the power to take the lives of people who refuse to restrain themselves and thus endanger others.
It is a scary thing indeed to see exactly what happens when the curtain is pulled back on man's nature. As Nailman suggests, this ought to make us pull back the curtain of our own soul and realize that beneath the surface of our own civil righteousness lie deep wells of spiritual unrighteousness. Let us also take the time to thank God for His merciful restraint of that sin through the administration of the political use of the Law.
Posted: Sat - September 3, 2005 at 10:21 PM | | | | | | |
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Published On: Sep 04, 2005 09:04 AM
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