The Happy, Good, Blessed, and Fulfilling Work of Godly Dominion

“A man, when free from the corruption of modern humanism, will work in terms of God’s calling, and, under God, for his family, for his personal realization of his abilities, and more. These are essentially non-economic motives.”1

It’s easy for the average Christian to be occupied with anything but the application of their faith to every area of life and rethinking all things in terms of God’s revealed will in Scripture. Whether it’s being consumed with the needs and expenses of the megachurch, absorbed in the political climate, or being hyperfocused on end times scenarios, believers are being taxed mentally, emotionally, and financially with very little left for the work of reconstruction.

Isn’t the “work” of reconstruction itself a great burden? Obviously, God has called us to the work of dominion, so the question to answer is what sort of work are we doing for the Lord, and what are we allowing our minds to dwell on? Are we stressing ourselves over tasks and issues that are not the Lord’s work?

Salvation’s Earthly Purpose

God has promised a rest for the people of God, and each Sabbath represents a rest for us, but the great call to dominion is itself a restful mission:

The rest we gain in Jesus Christ is the rest of God after creating a world that was very good (Gen. 1:31). By our regeneration through Jesus Christ, we are now reestablished in our dominion mandate (Gen. 1:26-28), and we are commissioned to enter into God’s rest by doing His will, and by bringing every area of life and thought into captivity to Jesus Christ and placing all things under the government of God’s law-word.2

Therefore, we should be energized and enthusiastic regarding all that’s involved in the work of reconstruction, and as we know, much of that work begins with ourselves, and the individual work we do and the potential we each possess. This was Rushdoony’s point in the citation featured below the title of this article. Salvation delivers us from the corruption of sin and humanism in any era—for us the modern era of humanism—but only to empower us to work in terms of God’s calling and to realize our own abilities. We are not awaiting a rapture, nor are we absorbed within institutions or political parties. We are part of the body of Christ, but we are to be productive members in all that we do and all that we become.

Our Blessed Work

Not only is dominion a restful position for us, but it is also our greatest blessing from God as it pertains to this life. As Rushdoony notes, man’s work was cursed under Adam, but in Christ, all that we put our hand to is blessed:

God, in giving the commandment to work and to exercise dominion, thereby blessed man. After the Fall, man’s total life, thus including his work (Gen. 3:9-19), was placed under the curse, but the curse was not work but God’s judgment on man in all his being and work. By blessing work and dominion, God pronounced it happy, good, and fulfilling for man. As we give ourselves to godly work, we place ourselves under God’s blessing, whereas work apart from God moves under His curse.3

What’s needed for today’s Christian is simply a better understanding of all that’s offered in the worldview of Christian Reconstruction. In other words, if we can provide the believer with  new “glasses” through which to view themselves, history, their family, the church, the state, etc., then we’ll help to unleash a new degree of energy and enthusiasm which can lead to greater advancements than any other time since Rushdoony founded the Chalcedon Foundation. The world is more interconnected than ever before, and although there are detriments to the internet and social media, they still present far more opportunity than anything we’ve seen previously.

Let’s Seize the Moment

The work of God is truly a blessing for all of us, and for Chalcedon, it’s a joyous and happy experience to see the long way the ministry has come since 1965. As you know, we continue to publish new works by R. J. Rushdoony, but our existing catalog contains more than enough resources that untold masses still need to discover.

As you might expect, a message focused on Christian responsibility is not an easy sell, but times are rapidly changing though our message and mission never change. They are still the only solution to the times we face, but they are a message and mission that is becoming more palatable with each development in society and culture.

Christians are starting to see the failure of the Religious Right, end times thinking, and the church growth movements. Were it not for the political victory of Donald Trump, their hearts may have slumped facing a darker future.

We are not out of the weeds, but opportunities abound for Christians to seize the moment and discover the happy, good, blessed and fulfilling work of godly dominion.

1. R. J. Rushdoony, Systematic Theology in Two Volumes (Vallecito, CA: Ross House Books, 1994), p. 1045.

2. R. J. Rushdoony, Hebrews, James & Jude (Vallecito, CA: Ross House Books, 2001), p. 27.

3. Systematic Theology, p. 1045.