This article considers theonomy as an alternative proposal to how Moses’s law relates to Christians.[1] It first tackles the tripartite division of the law (moral, civil, and ceremonial) and then critiques three vital tenets for theonomy: its understanding of how Christ fulfilled the law, its understanding of the nature of Christ’s kingdom, and its understanding of church-state relations.
ASSESSING THE THREEFOLD DIVISION OF THE LAW
Historically, Protestants have often made distinctions between three kinds of laws when considering the contemporary importance of Moses’s instruction:[2]
Moral laws are those fundamental ethical principles that are eternally applicable, regardless of the time or covenant. Civil laws relate to Israel’s political and social structures and supply case-specific applications of the moral law in Israel’s context. Ceremonial laws are those symbolic requirements related to Israel’s religious rituals and cult worship that find their typological end in Christ.
Many covenant theologians believe the “moral laws” alone (most clearly exemplified in the Ten Words) remain legally binding on Christians today, whereas the “civil” and “ceremonial” laws are time-bound and no longer applicable.[3] For example, Michael Horton writes,
Civil laws . . . are obviously in force only so long as the theocracy itself exists.
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