Dr. Hart (church historian, OPC),

When I visited with Mrs. J.G. Vos
at RP Home in Pittsburgh a couple
of years ago, she confirmed that late Dr. J.G. Vos was a good friend of late Rev. Bruce Hunt.

Rev. Hunt led “covenanting movement” among Korean Christians
during Japanese occupation in
Manchuria.

F.Y.I.

Katsunori

> But in the culture it means
> toleration for idolatry and
> blasphemy? Sorry, but I don’t
> understand.

It is sad indeed.

But if Christ were to execute
his ORIGINAL kingship as the
eternal Son to the world,
there would be no point of OPC sending missionaries to Uganda
(or, this pagan land of Japan, where OPC’s GA seems to be rather indifferent nowadays, if I’m correct.)

Likewise, if Christ were to
execute his ORIGINAL kingship
alone to the church, how can
“half-baked” Christians like us survive in the face of the holy
God?
No hope for sanctification!

But it gets more complicated because we would never tolerate such a gracious kingship in the church where I would expect a church honoring Christ’s kingship would excommunicate someone who poped or smithed. In other words, kingship in the church signfies a church rightly ordered in its marks, preaching, sacraments in discipline. But in the culture it means toleration for idolatry and blasphemy? Sorry, but I don’t understand.

Maybe if I knew the RP handshake it would all become clear. Someone please enlighten me.

This is where we see the genius
of Christ’s MEDIATORIAL kingship,
that is “slow to anger”.

If Christ executed his ORIGINAL
kingship now, all the infidels as
well as far-from-impeccable RPers like us would have to evaporate
coram Deo!

We need to be thankful for Christ’s
mediatorial kingship; no hope for
evangelism without it.

One concern I have with appealing to the sword of the magistrate for enforcing the 10 commandments is that it seems to make light of the powers of the church.

As a Christian, shouldn’t I fear being barred from the table, more than I fear imprisonment? Shouldn’t I fear excommunication, much much more than execution?

Sphere sovereignty needs to be maintained. Baptising a whole nation because its ruler converts over rules the prerogatives of the heads of families. If the state were to punish ministers who (in the state’s mind!) are unfaithful in their preaching, that would violate the powers and priviledges of the Church.

Israel IS a special case. Church, State, AND Family were one. In my view from the pew, I don’t see that in the NT for the Church today.

Also, I wonder how much of Isaiah 49:23 was fulfilled in the return of the exiles from their captivity?

I will concede that I misunderstand a lot about the Old Testament, but Israel did not have a commission to invade China because the ancient Chinese denied the first commandment. And yet, Christ was Lord over ancient China, right?

If you appeal to the first commandment as part of the created order, which is easier to assert before than after the fall, then there is no room for Mormons or Roman Catholics in a nation in which Christ is Lord? Where’s the love? Where’s the pluralism? But if we tolerate blasphemers and idolaters, aren’t we violating the third commandment?

Are you serious? It is to much to say that Israel is absolutely off limits. Israel certainly had typological aspects that are not relevent to new covenant nations, but it also had moral aspects that made it a light to the nations around it (even in the old covenant).

As for Babylon, funny I did not understand their rulers presumptious rebellion against the Almighty to be a part of the creation mandate but a perversion of it. The creation order includes the first commandemt: You shall have no other God. A universal command for all men at all times… an intrinsic part of the natural/moral law.

If Christ is Lord of both the sacred and secular (which you seem willing to grant) how does the secular realm get a pass on the first commandment? How do they get to ignor Christ and His law?

So plumbing is common to all men and part of the creation mandate. So what? So is gravity and all the rest of the laws of nature. Christ upholds the whole universe by His Kingly reign. All the creation ordiances are under his dominion are are subservient to His glory.

The stakes may be higher for the magistrate or statesman, since the work of human justice is a foretaste of eschatological justice. But I still think the same logic applies in that the norms for the state come from creation rather than special revelation. Is Christ lord of each realm? Of course. Is his Lordship executed differently in each sphere? I answer yes. No fair appealing to Israel to answer that question. The rules governing the sphere of redemption have changed since the coming of Christ. The closer parallel for the magistrate today is not Irael but Babylon where created order norms governed political life, or should have, not the book of special revelation.