The relationship of Biblical Law to communion and community, the sociology of the Sabbath, the family and inheritance, and much more are covered in the second volume. The purpose of this second volume is to point men to God and His Word for the government of their lives and our world. To serve and magnify God is the greatest of privileges and callings, as is the reconstruction of all things in terms of the Word of God. This, after all, is the purpose of life, to be conformed to God. Contains an appendix by Herbert Titus.
To attempt to study Scripture without studying its law is to deny it. To attempt to understand Western civilization apart from the impact of Biblical law within it and upon it is to seek a fictitious history and to reject twenty centuries and their progress. The Institutes of Biblical Law has as its purpose a reversal of the present trend. it is called "Institutes" in the older meaning of the that word, i.e., fundamental principles, here of law, because it is intended as a beginning, as an instituting consideration of that law which must govern society, and which shall govern society under God. To understand Biblical law, it is necessary to understand also certain basic characteristics of that law. In it, certain broad premises or principles are declared. These are declarations of basic law. The Ten Commandments give us such declarations. A second characteristics of Biblical law, is that the major portion of the law is case law, i.e., the illustration of the basic principle in terms of specific cases. These specific cases are often illustrations of the extent of the application of the law; that is, by citing a minimal type of case, the necessary jurisdictions of the law are revealed. The law, then, asserts principles and cites cases to develop the implications of those principles, with is purpose and direction the restitution of God's order.
God's law is much more than a legal code; it is a covenantal law. It establishes a personal relationship between God and man." The first section summarizes the case laws. The author tenderly illustrates how the law is for our good, and makes clear the difference between the sacrificial laws and those that apply today. The second section vividly shows the practical implications of the law. The examples catch the reader's attention; the author clearly has had much experience discussing God's law. The third section shows that would-be challengers to God's law produce only poison and death. Only God's law can claim to express God's "covenant grace in helping us."
Without Obedience to God's Law, Our Faith is a Dead One. Is God's law opposed to love, grace, and faith? The Apostle Paul makes clear in Roman 13:8-10 that love is the fulfilling of the law because love puts law into action by respecting God's requirements concerning life, property, our neighbor, our enemy, and ourselves. If we commit adultery, we do not love our spouse. If we are idolaters, we do not love God. Love is more than a feeling; it is a way of life lived either in faith and obedience to God and His law, or in unbelief and disobedience. Love is the law of God put into action by a person of faith. Therefore, it is the grace of God that He has given us His commandments. In this powerful introduction to Biblical law, R. J. Rushdoony reveals that to be born again means that where you were once governed by your own word and spirit, you are now totally governed by God's Word and Spirit. This is because every word of God is a binding word. Our money, our calling, our family, our sexuality, our political life, our economics, our sciences, our art, and all things else must be subject to God's Word and requirements. The Scripture says that "the wages of sin is death" (Rom. 6:23), and that "sin is the trangression of the law" (1 John 3:4). Therefore, to be lawless - without law - is leading our society to death. Might this explain the disasters and collapses of our time? Can you see how important such a study of God's law would be? If so, then here is your introduction.
What is the Law? Where does it get its authority? With unparalleled scope and minute detail, Historical &Theological Foundations of Law studies the earliest origins of Law in the legal systems of ancient societies all across the earth, explores their common threads and differences, traces their development through history, and notes common trends that should cause hope or alarm today. Volume I: Ancient Wisdom. Book I, The Foundation begins by exploring the laws of ancient civilizations: Egyptian stability, Babylonian precision, Persian enlightenment, Indian philosophy, Chinese Taoism/Buddhism/Confucianism, Polynesian kapu, Incan absolutism and efficiency, Mayan oligarchy, Aztec judicial independence, Cheyenne volunteerism, and the Iroquois Confederacy's sage balancing of power. How did these systems arise? What are the trends? Polytheism to monotheism, or monotheism to polytheism? Decentralization or centralization of power? Fewer laws or more laws? Gentleness or brutality? Book II, The Cornerstone, focuses on a unique people who many believe have influenced the world more than any other. In a canon of 39 books, the Hebrews established the Tanakh (Old Testament). How did the Hebrew constitution function, and upon what precepts was it based? Are the Ten Commandments truly the foundation of Western Law? Why is their influence so often overlooked today? Volume II: Classical and Medieval. Book III, The Structure, turns to Greece and Rome. Hailed as the birthplace of democracy, the Athenian system was unstable, inefficient, and short-lived. Nevertheless, Plato laid a philosophical basis for natural law, and Aristotle provided a foundation for justice. Rome had a genius for law and organization, but the constitutional constraints of the Republic gradually gave way to the Empire. However, the followers of Christ, once a persecuted minority, came to rule the Empire and put a Christian stamp on Roman law. Out of Roman law the rise of the Canon law of the Church occurs. The Sharia law of Islam is also surveyed. Book IV, The Centerpiece, begins with the Dark Ages--the darkness of the womb, out of which was born the Common Law. From the Celtic mists, with the Druids and their Brehon lawyers, St. Patrick and the Senchus Mor, the Anglo-Saxons in the forests of Germany with their witans and juries which they brought to Britain, Alfred the Great who began his Book of Dooms with the Ten Commandments, to the Norman Conquest and the warfare between the centralizing Norman kings and their opponents, the precepts and institutions of the Common Law took form. What is the Common Law? If it is so common, why is it so seldom defined? How does it relate to Canon law or civil law? And is it Christian, Roman, or a fusion of both? Volume III: Reformation and Colonial. Book V, The Pinnacle, examines the Lutheran and Calvinist Reformations, whereby the doctrines of justification by grace through faith and the priesthood of all believers led to republican concepts of government by consent of the governed, social contract, God-given rights, and justified resistance against tyranny. Constitutional jurists such as Selden, Milton, Coke, Althusius, Grotius, Locke, Montesquieu, and Blackstone fused Biblical theology with the Common Law. To take root and grow, the Common Law needed fresh soil. In Book VI, The Beacon, the Anglicans establish the Common Law in Jamestown and the Southern Colonies, Puritans in the New England Colonies, Presbyterians, Quakers, Catholics, and others in the Middle Colonies. In 1776 they took the ultimate republican step of declaring independence. When, in 1787, 55 delegates gathered in Independence Hall to draft a Constitution, they did not write on a blank slate. Rather, they were prepared with thousands of years of "echoes of Eden," Holy Writ, and the Common Law. The event, Washington said, was "in the hands of God." This book provides information and answers, but just as important are the questions it raises about the nature, purpose, and source of law. Jurists have articulated it, philosophers have theorized about it, theologians have explored the moral principles that underlie it. Statesmen have enacted it, judges have interpreted it, sheriffs have enforced it, soldiers have defended it, kings have implemented it. And then, after the fact, people have written about it, to try to explain what it is, and what it should be. This is a journey worth taking, for its insight into mankind's legal heritage. The truths contained in these volumes will reverberate to future generations who may well need reminding, even as needed today, of the foundations as well as the Founder of the unique American system of Law.
A Collection of Weekly Radio Messages by R. J. Rushdoony From 1953 to 1956, Reverend R. J. Rushdoony gave weekly radio talks at Santa Cruz, California station KSCO that reveal a perfect blend of strong theology with poignant pastoral counsel. In fact, these insightful, concise messages are so well done they could be used for both individual and group discipleship at any level. They are a storehouse of wisdom, inspiration, strong doctrine, exhortation, and comfort for the Christian life. Spanning subjects from the Reformed faith to the Trinity, life, suffering, prayer, the Bible, church, wisdom, and much more, you’ll hear Rushdoony in a way you may not have heard him before. You’ll sense he’s speaking directly to you in pastoral fashion, and you’ll enjoy every chapter. This three-volume series is must have for any Christian of any age and experience.
The Old Testament law is foundational for our understanding of the Bible, but for many it remains some of the Old Testament's most foreign and exotic material. This book by a leading evangelical expert in biblical law helps readers understand Old Testament law, how it functioned in the Old Testament, and how it is (and is not) instructive for contemporary Christians. The author explicates the often confusing legal system of ancient Israel, differentiates between time-bound cultural aspects of Israelite law and universally applicable aspects of the divine value system, and shows the ethical relevance of Old Testament law for Christians today.
YAHWEH (The LORD God) and His Son YAHSHUAH (Jesus Christ) made statements with regard to Eschatology that have been “Spiritualized” for over a Millennium, which has led to the belief in Universalism, the belief that YAHSHUAH died for EVERYONE. Well, after one studies the original languages of the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, the message of the Kingdom of God was preached to and accepted by a certain House in the Bible. The other House rejected this message, and YAHSHUAH punished that House by taking the Kingdom away from them and giving It to another nation bringing forth fruit. There are only the House of Israel, the House of Judah, and the House of David, mentioned in the Bible. All three existed then, as they do today. However, most of today’s Babylonian Priesthood/Churchianity refuses to accept the secular historical position with regard to the House of Israel, and who they are today. The people groups, which YAHWEH and YAHSHUAH addressed, still exist today. However, these people are all mixed-up, and known by different names, but they DO exist. This book goes back to the origin of these people groups in the Bible, and brings them forward to the present using their old names, in order to understand Eschatology. This brings us to the major question of, “Is the Bible only about Israel?” And, if so, how does it affect our Eschatology today? This book answers these hard questions...
THE CHRISTIAN LIFE IS ABOUT SERVING A PURPOSE GREATER THAN OURSELVES. DISCOVER THAT PURPOSE NOW! There is one thing we are to seek. One vision given for us to fulfill. A single mission that would serve as the goal for something so large as a nation, yet specific to us as individuals. There is one primary cause by which we are to define all that we are, all that we have, and all that we do. What we are to seek above all else is the Kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matt. 6:33) and to do the will of God on earth as it is in heaven (Matt. 6:10). A vital, governing institution for this mission is the family - in specific, the trustee family. It is the Christian family that holds this great Kingdom mission "in trust" and instills this mission in its members. It is the Christian family that serves as the first church, state, workplace, and school in which children are prepared for godly dominion. Therefore, Christian parents are called to establish Kingdom-driven families. They are to build a home for God - a house that is dedicated to the service of the King and His Kingdom. To aid in this calling, Christian author and education expert, Andrea Schwartz has carefully put together this collection of essays entitled A House for God: Building a Kingdom-Driven Family. Both your personal life and your family life will be challenged and transformed through the pages of this easy-to-read, insightful book on building a Kingdom-driven family.
