“The civil government, God’s servant, finds the revelation of God’s holy will in that Scripture. On that basis, Groen Van Prinsterer taught that ‘the state, i.e., the organic whole of all the nation’s interests, cannot be built upon an atheistic or pantheistic system, but only on the authority and will of Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church, and ruler of the kings of the earth. Upon that basis, the states of 1618 ‘let all kings and princes know that the foundation of that Republic was the …. true religion.’ On that basis, we now repeat what Groen reminded us, ‘that religion not only was a desirable attitude of citizens but the foundation of legislation and the administration of justice.’
This would possibly be otherwise if one could say that religion, the doctrine of faith and morals, and philosophy had no influence whatsoever on the nature of legislation and public policy. The question could then be reduced to what Dry Kuyper posed: what is the true relation of church and state? But only as long as one equates Holy Scripture with the gospel, and the way he repeatedly does in his essay. In that case, one, in fact, robs Holy Scripture of authority in matters concerning public power and the public life of the people. But now that it has become clear that the rights and duties of prince and people, the vocation of husband, wife, and child, the rich and the poor, the propertied and the laborer, all must be determined either according to and from out of the Word or from reason, it does not help at all to put Holy Scripture to one side, in or with the Confession.”
Dr. P. J. Hoedemaker
Article 36 of BCF Vindicated Against Dr. Kuyper — 77-78
Hoedemaker, with the observation above, gives key insights into the “theology” of R2K. R2K, like Hoedemaker’s charge against Kuyper reduces the definition of the Christian Scriptures to be exactly coterminous with the definition of the Gospel. Now certainly one finds the definition of the Gospel in the Christian Scripture. Indeed one may even say that the most important part of Christian Scripture is the communication of the Gospel. However, to say that the Gospel is the most important part of Christian Scripture is a very different thing than saying that Christian Scripture = the Gospel. By reducing the Scriptures to be only exactly equivalent to the Gospel one rules out, apriori, the notion that the Christian Scriptures provide a revelatory Word for public life.
But our best theologians never reduced the Christian Scriptures to be exactly equivalent to “the Gospel.” Consider Dr. Herman Bavinck,
The Gospel is temporary, but the law is eternal and is restored precisely through the Gospel. Freedom from the law consists, then, not in the fact that the Christian has nothing more to do with the law, but lies in the fact that the law demands nothing more from the Christian as a condition of salvation. The law can no longer judge and condemn him. Instead, he delights in the law of God according to the inner man and yearns for it day and night.
The Christian Scripture includes the continuing eternal law as speaking to the public realm. This was observed by Dr. J. Gresham Machen,
“The Christians can not be satisfied so long as any human activity is either opposed to Christianity or out of connection with Christianity. Christianity must pervade not merely all nations but also all human thought.”
Christian Scripture cannot be reduced to being exactly coterminous with the Gospel because when one does that one amputates the leaven and impact of Christianity on all areas of life. The Christian Scriptures may first answer the question, “What must I do to be saved,” but from there it goes on to answer the question, “How shall we then live in the public square.”
R2K has a nasty habit of reducing the Christian Scriptures to the Gospel. They are forever asking, “Is this or that a Gospel issue,” as if the negative answer “no, it is not a strictly Gospel issue” therefore means it is not an issue to which the Christian Scriptures speak and so upon which the Christian must take a stand.
Note the connection here between R2K reductios. First, the Christian Scripture is reduced to “the Gospel.” Then R2K reduces the Kingdom to be exactly synonymous to the Church. Well, if one reduces the Christian Scriptures to the Gospel, it only stands to reason that the next reduction is the reduction that shrinks the Kingdom to only the Church. In such a manner the Christian Scriptures, which are reduced to the Gospel, would indeed uniquely belong to a Kingdom that has been reduced to the Chruch. The first R2K reduction implies the second R2K reduction.
But Christian Scripture can’t be reduced to the Gospel as if it does not speak to all of life and all aspects of life and as the Christian Scripture speaks to all of life all that it speaks to can be brought underneath the canopy of the Kingdom of God.
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This post elicited the following conversations with one of my learned friends (LF). I post it for your ability to see the ebb and flow of this issue.
LF
I see what you are getting at. However, the R2k folks would deny they reduce the Scripture to just the “gospel”, but clearly argue for a law/gospel distinction in all of Scripture. They would say the Law is scripture too, but it just doesn’t have authoritative effect on the civil sphere.
BLM
I see them (R2K) saying that the law is Scripture but is overcome by the Gospel and then the law is only personal and individual and really only serves the purpose of making us flee to Christ as opposed to being a guide to life in the public square.
LF
Correct, but some of them (R2K) would still say it is a guide to the “individual’s” life as he lives in the public square, but not a guide for any “institutional” life in the public square. There is no Christian family, state, school, etc.
BLM
But no individual lives his life as divorced from the public square. This private vs. public life is a non-biblical distinction I’m beginning to think. Institutions are comprised of people living in the public square. I don’t see how one can talk about an individual living in the public square as distinct from Institutions in the public square.
LF
I know, makes no sense. I just know they would say all 66 books are Scripture. It just what they do with that Scripture, dichotomizing it with law/gospel is what is maddening.
BLM
Hoedemaker accuses Kuyper of making an Anabaptist move in matters of Church and state.
LF
Seeing that more now.
BLM
Yeah… more and more I’m seeing R2K as a Reformed attempt to save the classically liberal (Libertarian) worldview.
