Introduction
In a recent sermon, A Legal Primer, we considered how the case laws of Exodus 21–23 put flesh on the Ten Commandments, demonstrating how God’s moral law applies to everyday life. But this raises an important question: What do these laws have to do with us today? Are they merely historical regulations given to ancient Israel, or do they continue to instruct us concerning righteousness and justice? This brings us into a theological discussion commonly referred to as theonomy.
What Is Theonomy?
The word theonomy comes from two Greek words, theos (God) and nomos (law), and literally means “God’s law.” Broadly speaking, it expresses the conviction that God’s law, rather than autonomous human reasoning, is the ultimate standard of righteousness and justice. More specifically, within Reformed theology, theonomy concerns the continuing authority and application of the Mosaic law, particularly its judicial provisions.
It is important to recognize that theonomy represents a spectrum of thinking. Some, following theologians such as Greg Bahnsen, maintain that the Mosaic judicial laws remain binding unless Scripture indicates otherwise. Others emphasize that while Israel’s judicial laws have expired as a covenantal code, their underlying moral principles continue to instruct us. Between these positions are various approaches concerning which laws apply, how they apply, and to whom they apply.
Consequently, identifying someone as a theonomist tells us relatively little until we understand what they believe about the continuing authority and application of God’s law.
The Confessional Basis: General Equity
The Westminster Confession of Faith addresses this question in chapter 19, paragraph 4:
“To them also, as a body politic, He gave sundry judicial laws, which expired together with the State of that people; not obliging any other now, further than the general equity thereof may require.”
Notice the twofold emphasis. First, Israel’s judicial laws expired with Israel as a particular political community. They are not simply transferred wholesale to modern nations. Second, their general equity, the enduring principles of righteousness and justice embodied in those laws, continues to have authority.
Consider Exodus 21:33–34, which holds a man responsible when he leaves a pit uncovered and his neighbor’s animal falls into it. Although the circumstances reflect ancient agricultural life, the principle remains: we are responsible for foreseeable harm resulting from our negligence, and justice requires appropriate restitution.
Thus, the Confession provides a basis for affirming the continuing relevance of Mosaic judicial legislation without necessarily requiring every particular regulation or penalty to be reproduced. The laws have expired in one sense, yet their moral instruction remains.
The Scriptural Basis: Paul’s Use of the Law
Perhaps the clearest New Testament demonstration of this principle comes from the Apostle Paul. In 1 Corinthians 9:8–10, he writes:
“Do I say these things as a mere man? Or does not the law say the same also? For it is written in the law of Moses, ‘You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain.’ Is it oxen God is concerned about? Or does He say it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written, that he who plows should plow in hope, and he who threshes in hope should be partaker of his hope.”
Paul quotes Deuteronomy 25:4, a case law prohibiting Israelites from muzzling an ox while it worked. The animal was not to be deprived of the fruit of its labor. Yet Paul takes this agricultural regulation and applies it to the church’s responsibility to provide material support for those who labor in gospel ministry.
He makes the same argument in 1 Timothy 5:17–18, applying the law to elders who labor in preaching and teaching:
“For the Scripture says, ‘You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain,’ and, ‘The laborer is worthy of his wages.'”
Notice what Paul does. He neither dismisses the law as obsolete nor reproduces its original circumstances. Rather, he identifies the moral principle embedded in the legislation and applies it to a different situation. A law concerning working animals becomes authoritative instruction concerning the compensation of gospel ministers.
This is a compelling biblical example of what the Confession describes as general equity. The original circumstances have changed, but the righteousness revealed in the law remains applicable.
What Applies, and to Whom?
This brings us to an important distinction within theonomy. The question is not simply whether God’s law remains relevant, but which aspects remain binding, how they apply, and who is responsible for observing or administering them.
Some theonomists argue that the specific judicial requirements and penalties of the Mosaic law remain authoritative unless Scripture sets them aside. Others maintain that the abiding moral principles must govern our understanding of justice, while their particular applications may differ according to historical and covenantal circumstances.
Furthermore, not every law is administered by the same institution. Some obligations concern individuals and families, others the church, and still others the civil magistrate. For example, the prohibition against theft binds everyone, but the administration of criminal justice belongs to the civil government. Likewise, Paul’s application of Deuteronomy 25:4 establishes an obligation concerning ministerial support, but he directs that instruction to the church rather than the civil magistrate.
These distinctions are essential. Affirming the continuing authority of God’s law does not eliminate the need to interpret it carefully, particularly in light of Christ and the New Covenant.
Reading the Case Laws as Christians
As we work through Exodus 21–23, we should avoid two errors. The first is dismissing these laws as irrelevant simply because they were given under the Old Covenant. Paul’s example will not permit that. The second is assuming that every judicial provision must be reproduced without regard to its historical setting, covenantal purpose, or fulfillment in Christ.
Instead, we should receive these laws as God’s Word, discerning their enduring moral instruction and faithfully applying it to our circumstances.
And this brings us back to the three principles considered in A Legal Primer. First, these laws help us apply the Ten Commandments by giving us a fuller understanding of what God’s moral law requires. Second, they help us administer justice by providing standards for making righteous judgments. Third, they contextualize the Ten Commandments, placing those great moral declarations squarely in the real world, where people live, work, worship, and interact with their neighbors.
In doing so, the case laws remind us that God’s law is neither an abstract collection of religious rules nor something confined to one corner of our lives. Rather, it speaks to every area of human existence. Whether in our homes, churches, workplaces, or civil communities, we are called to think, act, and judge according to His righteousness. And that, at its heart, is the enduring concern of theonomy: that every area of life should be governed by the wisdom and righteousness of God’s Word.
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