The Mediatorial Work of the Law
by Andrea Schwartz on September 2, 2010
Chalcedon has long chronicled the sins against the family by the church and the state. Identifying the causes and consequences of these attacks helps God's people see the effects of them in their families' lives. However, there are Scriptures directly relating to the family that are ignored or disregarded as though they have passed away. These transgressions are categorized as abominations by God. Christian families must rectify this ignorance, so that God's blessings may again flow into our families and culture. It is hard to conceive of God blessing any endeavor to restore "family values" when His values have been categorically dismissed.
In determining how the family is to live and serve the Kingdom of God, examine the personal relationships within the family to ascertain whether or not the family is adhering to the call to "the righteousness of the law" (Rom 8:4). Rushdoony explains,
No direct relationship is possible between persons except through the law of God. Attempts to by-pass the law for a person-to-person confrontation without God means the judgment of God, for the law is operative against its violators and against the destruction of the true relationship of man to man under God's law.1
Here Rushdoony makes an important distinction to avoid the charge of salvation by law:
To speak of the mediatorial work of the law is to arouse immediately the hostility of Protestant evangelicals, with their deeply rooted antinomianism. To clarify the matter as quickly as possible, Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and Man. There is no salvation except through Jesus Christ, the God-given mediator and redeemer. The mediation of Jesus Christ is between God and man; the law is the God-given mediator between man and man.2
By understanding and living out the implications of God's ordained relationships within the family, the ability to influence church, school, vocations, free associations, and the civil government will be established on a surer footing. (more)
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Listen here to RJ Rushdoony lecture on this subject.
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