Why do people disregard laws that God recommended in his laws? Why do they completely ignore laws that were given to the civil government of the Israelites? If the God of heaven gives you civil laws to rule a country by, why would you ignore them in the modern day?
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3 replies on “Why?”
Because we're not a theocracy. Unlike the days of the Israelites, we don't have a Moses or a Joshua to rule us. So what we are left with is a group of highly sinful people trying to figure out how best to rule their land. Therefore, our basis of rule is not founded on the idea of God speaking from the temple or the top of the mountain, as that is way too open to interpretation. Instead we try to limit how much one wacko is allowed to hurt the people at large.
It's a bit naive to think that the form of government God gave to a group of people in the desert over 4000 years ago is the absolute only form of government that he approves of.
I probably should've said take the principles. It's not as if the nature of a man's heart has changed in 4,000 years. He still lies, cheats, commits adultery, murders, etc.
I guess my question would be, would you accept the punishments given for stealing, murder, adultery, and other such sins in the Biblical law, as better than the punishments of our current system today?(Assuming you're starting in a culture that isn't steeped in it, like ours tends to be today (at least in regards to homosexuality and adultery))
tbcpp, We don't need God to speak from the mountain anymore. He has spoken! We are not in the dark, His law has given us light. Granted, there is a ceremonial and sacrificial part to the law that is fulfilled in Christ. But there is a part of the law that is moral and civil, and it was the established teaching of all Christendom until the very recent rise of Dispensationalism that God's law is the rule and pattern for all legitimate Civil law!
We may not be a theocracy, but we are a theonomic republic. All nations by default are theonomic. The question merely is, who is "theo?" Who is God? God, or a conglomeration of men?
It's actually really a lot more naive to suppose that God would approve of any other form of law system than the one he put his approval on. We know Him by His Spirit who speaks through His objective Word, not by what we vainly suppose.
If God isn't speaking from the mountain, then there is really no weight to law at all; it's the word of men against men, and law becomes a question of superior power rather than righteousness.
Stand Fast,
Andrew R.