Description

Volume 1

To attempt to study Scripture without studying its law is to deny it. To attempt to understand Western civilization apart from the impact of Biblical law within it and upon it is to seek a fictitious history and to reject twenty centuries and their progress.

The Institutes of Biblical Law has as its purpose a reversal of the present trend. it is called “Institutes” in the older meaning of the that word, i.e., fundamental principles, here of law, because it is intended as a beginning, as an instituting consideration of that law which must govern society, and which shall govern society under God.

To understand Biblical law, it is necessary to understand also certain basic characteristics of that law. In it, certain broad premises or principles are declared. These are declarations of basic law. The Ten Commandments give us such declarations.

A second characteristics of Biblical law, is that the major portion of the law is case law, i.e., the illustration of the basic principle in terms of specific cases. These specific cases are often illustrations of the extent of the application of the law; that is, by citing a minimal type of case, the necessary jurisdictions of the law are revealed.

The law, then, asserts principles and cites cases to develop the implications of those principles, with is purpose and direction the restitution of God’s order.

Volume 2

The purpose of Law and Society is to show how God’s law applies to every aspect of our lives and world. There are in God’s Word specified consequences, curses and blessings, for disobedience and obedience. We cannot understand history apart from that fact.

The relationship of Biblical Law to communion and community, the sociology of the Sabbath, the family and inheritance, and much more are covered in the second volume. Contains an appendix by Herbert Titus.

Volume 3

“God’s law is much more than a legal code; it is a covenantal law. It establishes a personal relationship between God and man.” The first section summarizes the case laws. The author tenderly illustrates how the law is for our good, and makes clear the difference between the sacrificial laws and those that apply today. The second section vividly shows the practical implications of the law. The examples catch the reader’s attention; the author clearly has had much experience discussing God’s law. The third section shows that would-be challengers to God’s law produce only poison and death. Only God’s law can claim to express God’s “covenant grace in helping us.”