Welcome to Call to Decision 

God’s law vs. Self-law

by Robert McCurry

America continues its chaotic free-fall and pursuit into unrestrained immorality, lawlessness, wickedness, and anarchy that can best be described as “perilous times” (II Tim 3:1-9).  Perilous=barbaric; savage; hard to bear; full of or involving peril; dangerous, very hazardous.

It is obvious that the populace at large has ‘no fear of God’ (Rom 3:18) and ‘every man is doing that which is right in his own eyes’ (Judges 17:6). And the current populace, as the populace two thousand years ago, continues to cry out concerning the Lord Jesus Christ: “Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priest answered, We have no king but Caesar” (John 19:15).

Jesus Christ is God. To reject Christ is to also reject God’s inspired, inerrant Word—the Bible. A nation and every individual must choose between God’s law and man’s autonomy for their knowledge and guidance regarding good and evil and right and wrong.

God’s Law - The Lord Jesus said: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. (Matthew 5:17-20).

“Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:19-20).

“What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.” (Romans 7:7).

autonomy n. The condition or quality of being autonomous; independence. a. Self-government or the right of self-government; self-determination. b. Self-government with respect to local or internal affairs: granted autonomy to a national minority; c. the doctrine that the individual human will is or ought to be governed only by its own principles and laws. d. the state in which one's actions are autonomous [from Greek autonomia - freedom to live by one's own laws].

Man, being a sinner, a fallen creature, can only create laws and societies which, in their developed form, simply amplify man’s sin. The result is tyranny, rule without God.

The power to make laws is the mark of lordship, sovereignty, or explicit or implicit divinity. According to William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, “Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it, and this I know, my lords, that where law ends, Tyranny begins.” Edmund Burke, a year later, 1771, said, “The greater the power, the more dangerous the abuse.” Both men made their comments in response to the John Wilkes affair. Wilkes represented the unfettered will of the people as against a still lingering belief in a higher law.

The word tyranny comes from the Latin tyrrannus; it means normally rule by an oppressive power, but, very commonly, tyrannies have been popular. Thus, Adolf Hitler was clearly a man with a popular following, as was Mussolini, and others as well. A tyranny can be a popularly elected party, or group of men, so that a tyranny can exist without a single tyrant. The essence of the tyranny is that no absolute and God-ordained law and justice prevails, only the will of a man, a group or party of men, or a majority or a minority of men. The essence of tyranny is that it represents in some form the will of man, not the law of God. In our time, God’s law represents to all too many people the essence of evil, for the will of man is held to be the source of determination, of law, and morality.

As various areas of society, and its peoples, enthrone autonomy, they dethrone God’s law, and they replace God with man. Thus, in one church after another, to all practical intent God’s law has been replaced by man’s, and the rules and canons of the church tend to prevail over God’s law. In issues relating to sexuality, homosexuality, abortion, and euthanasia, this has been especially the case. Tyranny in the church as in the state is tied to this substitution of man’s law for God’s law.

Tyranny, rule without God’s law, is inescapable where God’s law is set aside. The very statement of the need for God’s law nowadays inflames unbelievers and churchmen alike and the difference between them is often in name only.

The tyrants are earnest men, from the days of the Tower of Babel to the present. They believe that they are alone capable of saving the world by means of their planned world order. Implicit in their stand is the belief that the Bible is wrong, and Jesus Christ was wrong.

The Thirty Tyrants of Greece, pupils of Plato, wanted to save Greece, and they helped to destroy it. Much of the world’s evil presents itself as the true good, and a failure to recognize the moral earnestness of evil can be deadly. The new pornography does not see itself as the purveyor of dirty books but as the source of true enlightenment, as the basis of the liberation of man. Its fervor often is marked by a missionary zeal.

Tyranny is increasing the world over. The decline of the Soviet Empire made way for other and more extensive tyrannies. The moral warfare presently underway is more deadly than nuclear war.

Jesus Christ is our Redeemer King, our law-giver from the foundation of the world. The insane interpretations of Matthew 5:17-20 which seek to separate Jesus from the law tell us more about the blindness and/or depravity of such men than they do about the Bible. But all men must be taught. In Isaiah’s words, “For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little” (Isa. 28:10).

                Some excerpts in this article are by R. J. Rushdoony, The Chalcedon Foundation

Psalm 19

7 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul:

the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.

8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart:

the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.

9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever:

the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.

10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold:

sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

11 Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in

keeping of them there is great reward.

12 Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.

13 Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins;

let them not have dominion over me:

then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.

14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart,

be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.

“The word of the Lord endureth for ever.”

1 Peter 1:25

Wake-up, Pastors! Wake-Up, Christians!

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The Wake-Up Herald is published by Robert McCurry. The publication is designed to exalt the true God of the Bible, the Lord Jesus Christ, and inform, inspire, and challenge its readers regarding biblical truth and real-life issues. The contents are the sole responsibility of Robert McCurry and do not represent or speak for or on behalf of any other person or group. There is no subscription charge. The publication is a ministry of faith and dependent on the contributions of its readers. Contributions are not tax-deductible. Send all correspondence to: Robert McCurry, 605 Moore Rd, Newnan, GA 30263 or herbap@aol.com Remove? Send reply with “remove” in Subject line.