Trusting God
God does not promise us an easy life, but He does assure us of a justified and victorious life.
- R. J. Rushdoony
Chalcedon Report No. 237, April 1985
One of the amazing facts about most church members is their implicit atheism. They believe that all things in this world are stronger than God, and that God’s Word is least to be trusted. For example, God says, in Isaiah 41:10, “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” We are plainly told that God is our defender, and that He will never leave us nor forsake us (Heb. 13:5–6). God does not promise us an easy life, but He does assure us of a justified and victorious life. He upholds us with His “righteousness.” The word in Hebrew is tsedeq: it means justice, and it has a legal connotation, but most translations give us a watered-down reading.
We trust so many idiocies, including ourselves. Why not take God at His word and trust Him? If we do not believe that God is true to His Word, how can we believe that God will be true to us who distrust Him? One of the church’s greatest sins is its refusal to trust in the Lord. How can God honor such a people?
- R. J. Rushdoony
Rev. R.J. Rushdoony (1916–2001), was a leading theologian, church/state expert, and author of numerous works on the application of Biblical law to society. He started the Chalcedon Foundation in 1965. His Institutes of Biblical Law (1973) began the contemporary theonomy movement which posits the validity of Biblical law as God’s standard of obedience for all. He therefore saw God’s law as the basis of the modern Christian response to the cultural decline, one he attributed to the church’s false view of God’s law being opposed to His grace. This broad Christian response he described as “Christian Reconstruction.” He is credited with igniting the modern Christian school and homeschooling movements in the mid to late 20th century. He also traveled extensively lecturing and serving as an expert witness in numerous court cases regarding religious liberty. Many ministry and educational efforts that continue today, took their philosophical and Biblical roots from his lectures and books.