As a pastor, I am greatly concerned about theonomy and its fallout.
Theonomy asserts that the judicial laws of the Mosaic covenant are normative for all geopolitical entities, whether directly (reconstructionists)[1] or in an adapted fashion (general equity theonomists).
This broadens the mission of the church to include building a Christian society by establishing the Mosaic judicial code or an updated version of it. It burdens the saints with a weight they were never meant to bear. Trusting in Christ and living “peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness” (1 Tim. 2:2) doesn’t cut it. Following Jesus requires transforming the culture and the civil government.
As a result, theonomy obscures the gospel—the forgiveness of sins, the imputation of Christ’s righteousness, and the guarantee of eternal life on account of him alone. Wherever theonomy wins the day, these truths get fuzzy, or at least downplayed.
Pastors must therefore engage theonomy with robust biblical and theological arguments. My aim in this article is to do so from a confessional Baptist’s perspective. Confessional Baptists hail from the Puritan stream of the Reformed tradition.[2] Our theology, piety, and practice are articulated in the Second London Confession of Faith (2LCF).[3] And our doctrine defends against theonomy
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