Law of Consent (1 of 1)

only to remove the liability of hell, and no law governs man, man works his own way through life by his own conscience. Man is saved, in such a world, by his own work of faith, of accepting Christ. not by Christ's sovereign acceptance of him. Christ said, "Ye have not chosen me, but 1 have chosen you" (John 15:16). The pietist insists that he has chosen Christ; it is his work, not Christ's. Christ, in such a faith, serves as an insurance agent, as a guarantee against liabilities, not as sovereign lord. This is paganism in Christ's name. In paganism, the worshipper was not in existence. Man did not worship the pagan deities, nor did services of worship occur. The temple was open every day as a place of business. The pagan entered the temple and bought the protection of a god by a gift or offering. If the god failed hint, he thereafter sought the services of another. The pagan's quest was for an insurance, for limited liability and unlimited blessings. and, as the sovereign believer, he shopped around for the god who offered the most. Pagan religion was thus a transaction, and, as in all business transactions, no certainty was involved. The rods could not always deliver, but man's hope was that, somehow. his liabilities would be limited.

The "witness" of pietism, with its "victorious living," is to a like limited liability religion. A common "witness" is, "Praise the Lord, since I accepted Christ, all my troubles are over and ended." The witness of Job in his suffering was, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust him" (Job 13:15). St. Paul recited the long and fradid account of his sufferings after accepting Christ: in prison, beaten, shipwrecked, stoned, betrayed, "in hunger and thirst,...in cold and nakedness" (II Cor. 11:23-27). Paul's was not a religion of limited liability nor of deliverance from all troubles because of his faith. The world is a battlefield, and there are casualties and wounds in battle, but the battle is the Lord's and its end is victory. To attempt an escape front the battle is to flee from the liabilities of warfare against sinful men for battle with an angry God. To face the battle is to suffer the penalties of man's wrath and the blessings of God's grace and law. [The Institutes of Biblical Law Rousas John Rushdoony. 1973, pp. 664-669]

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3.2 God forbids believers to contract away rights to government or civil rulers 1 Here is the First Commandment from Exodus 20:1-6:

1.1, the Lord. am your God, who [acted and] brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery. [Therefore...] 2. You shall not have other gods besides me.

God makes it clear that the state gods of Pharaoh could not release them from slavery. Though Pharaoh was obstinate in keeping the Israelites in slavery...he could not prevent the God of Israel from delivering them. Then God claimed the allegiance that the Israelites formerly had for the Pharaoh. Allegiance is a covenant between a people and their protector. From now on God would be the only protector of the Israelites. These are the elements of the First Commandment. And it 's easy enough to recite. However to understand the Commandment, there are four things to take note of so that you can grasp what obligations you incur under this, the first condition of God's covenant with humanity. The First Commandment is First because: 1. In any contract, with God or with humanity, from time immemorial to the present day, the parties to the contract must be clearly identified. 2. And God identifies himself as the one God who can act in the world, the one not made of stone, or wood or any other inert substance. He is the God who acted and brought his chosen people out of slavery (which they did not always think was a good idea [Ex 16:2, 17:3]). 3. That means they must not choose slavery ever again though they were inclined to (Ex 16:2). 4. God makes clear that loving him is not pious sentimentality played out amid hymns and incense...but love is actively keeping the Commandments. He reiterates this in Matthew. 19:17ff and John 14:15,21,23,24. That means that we today cannot choose slavery, it is prohibited by the First Commandment. Slavery means to be unable to choose (makes sense!) and follow God's law when man's law conflicts with it. For example, if a police officer pulls you over for doing 100 mph in a 35 mph zone...you cannot say "Sony officer, I only obey God's law and he doesn't have speed limits". Speed limits do not offend God's law. But, if you are the Christian administrator of a Christian hospital...and you have subjected the institution to man's law...and man's law requires your medical staff to perform partial birth abortions...then as a slave to man's law you have a conflict with God's law...Thou shalt not murder...and as a slave you have no choice. To choose slavery, a condition where you can only do what your master dictates, is to repudiate and reject the Lord God...who proves over and over that he will provide for us (Mt 6:25ff).

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