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P. Andrew Sandlin's avatar
Dennis Darville's avatar

Andrew, once again, delivers on the promise to provide theologically deep, exegetically accurate, canonically broad, historically faithful, and culturally relevant material. This distinction between soteriology and gospel is essential to understand if we are ever to overcome the dualisms and reductionism(s) that currently plague the self-inflicted impotency of the church; this is especially damaging when we consider the failure of the “church scattered” Monday through Saturday. Moreover, discovering or re-discovering a biblically robust, wholistic understanding (i.e., “as far as the curse is found”), and leavening application of the ‘gospel’ to all of life cannot be—should not be—intimidated by the false charges and caricatures of triumphalism or over-realized eschatology. Which is what typically happens when men like Andrew speak or write from a cosmic perspective. In fact, this distinction aids us in overcoming what should be obvious to any Christian living in this hour: the church, knowingly or unknowingly, by reducing the gospel to personal salvation has succumbed to a under-realized, eschatology of Christ’s redeeming work. This understanding of the gospel broadens the scope of ‘church work,’ corrects our hermeneutical myopia, and intensifies our doxological expressions. May Christ Jesus increase Andrew’s tribe! So grateful for this man’s tireless labor in prayer, study, and writing. DD

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Michael Petek's avatar

The error in this is the proposition that the state has no power of legislation, but is bound to enforce only the judicial precepts of the Torah.

The correct statement of divine law is that the state has no jurisdiction to break the bond of marriage or permanently to set aside it's legal consequences, and no jurisdiction in matters of public worship. It may not enjoin insubordination to God, or homicide, or sexual immorality.

Otherwise, divine law is as handed down for the Jews by the beit din, and the state may freely legislate, subject to correction by the Church on appeal, judicial review, referral, or at her own first instance.

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