Calvinism … Then & Now

“Calvinism denied that the Kingdom of God is to be equated with the church. Instead, wherever God reigns, there is the Kingdom—and God should reign everywhere. Hence, man can serve God everywhere, and the Kingdom of God includes every area of life, and every institution which obeys his commandments. Thus, church, civil government, school, agriculture, art, business, every realm under God’s law is an area of Kingdom activity.”

“All who are content with a humanistic law system and do not strive to replace it with Biblical law are guilty of idolatry. They have forsaken the covenant of their God, and they are asking us to serve other gods. They must be called out of their idolatry into the service of the living God.”

~R.J. Rushdoony

1.) Militant Amillennialism, (R2K) however insists that the Kingdom of God is an exact synonym with the Church. As such, no Institutional realities outside the Church can be part of the Kingdom of God according to Militant Amillennialism. Further, any Reformed Christian who disagrees with them on this are not to be tolerated. Keep in mind that when consistent this means that Militant Amillennialism does not allow for Christian being used in an adjectival sense. Because nothing can be part of the Kingdom of God except the Church there is no such thing as Christian Magistrates, Christian family, Christian education, Christian law, Christian Nations or even Christendom. According to Militant Amillennialism all of this reflects category mistakes in thinking.

2.) As such, per the quote above, it is indeed the case that all Militant Amillennialism (as well as any other expression of “Christianity” that agree with them in this matter) is indeed guilty of Idolatry and as they are guilty of idolatry no Biblical Christian should be found in a Church where the Church itself promotes this or where this idea is promoted by the clergy of the Church. Idolatry is, after all, heresy.

3.) Note that where it is believed that the Church alone is an exact synonym for “The Kingdom of God,” there you are going to find an entitlement mentality. If, as a clergy member, you alone are a servant of “the Kingdom of God,” then you alone are special the way nobody else in any other calling is special. You alone, as a servant of the Kingdom of God, are thus separated and exalted from the rest of the poor schlubs who labor in the comparatively insignificant “common realm.” As such, you dare not correct the “Kingdom of God” clergy about anything they speak on since they have a relationship to God that is unique to the back of the bus crew.

This explains why you find such arrogance among the R2K types. In their theology they’re just better than the rest of us. Now, that idea is likely often left unstated and the R2K clergy may not even be epistemologically self-conscious about their hoity toity ways, but it only takes a little amount of time interacting with them before you realize that these people believe they are riding in the front of the bus and all the folks riding in the back of the bus should just “hush.”

Author: jetbrane

I am a Pastor of a small Church in Mid-Michigan who delights in my family, my congregation and my calling. I am postmillennial in my eschatology. Paedo-Calvinist Covenantal in my Christianity Reformed in my Soteriology Presuppositional in my apologetics Familialist in my family theology Agrarian in my regional community social order belief Christianity creates culture and so Christendom in my national social order belief Mythic-Poetic / Grammatical Historical in my Hermeneutic Pre-modern, Medieval, & Feudal before Enlightenment, modernity, & postmodern Reconstructionist / Theonomic in my Worldview One part paleo-conservative / one part micro Libertarian in my politics Systematic and Biblical theology need one another but Systematics has pride of place Some of my favorite authors, Augustine, Turretin, Calvin, Tolkien, Chesterton, Nock, Tozer, Dabney, Bavinck, Wodehouse, Rushdoony, Bahnsen, Schaeffer, C. Van Til, H. Van Til, G. H. Clark, C. Dawson, H. Berman, R. Nash, C. G. Singer, R. Kipling, G. North, J. Edwards, S. Foote, F. Hayek, O. Guiness, J. Witte, M. Rothbard, Clyde Wilson, Mencken, Lasch, Postman, Gatto, T. Boston, Thomas Brooks, Terry Brooks, C. Hodge, J. Calhoun, Llyod-Jones, T. Sowell, A. McClaren, M. Muggeridge, C. F. H. Henry, F. Swarz, M. Henry, G. Marten, P. Schaff, T. S. Elliott, K. Van Hoozer, K. Gentry, etc. My passion is to write in such a way that the Lord Christ might be pleased. It is my hope that people will be challenged to reconsider what are considered the givens of the current culture. Your biggest help to me dear reader will be to often remind me that God is Sovereign and that all that is, is because it pleases him.

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