7 Quotations - Political Use of the Law

All the quotations are found in Greg Bahnsen's book, "By This Standard", Chapter 21.

From Publisher's introduction of Samuel Bolton's The True Bounds of Christian Freedom:

"Grievous and alarming is the present-day deterioration in the moral condition of society. For this decay the Church is partIy blameworthy because, as the preserving salt of the community, she has largely lost her savour. Modern theology has defected. It has cut itself adrift from the ancient landmarks, and present-day society reaps 'the evil thing and bitter' which is the inevitable consequence. The present prevailing theology has not been able to elevate society and halt its moral decline, and unquestionably, one explanation of this is its misunderstanding of the place of the law and its usefulness in the service of the covenant of grace." (pp.204-205)

From Carl F. H. Henry's, Christian Personal Ethics:

"Even where there is no saving faith, the Law serves to restrain sin and to preserve the order of creation by proclaiming the will of God.... By its judgments and its threats of condemnation and punishment, the written law along with the law of conscience hinders sin among the unregenerate. It has the role of a magistrate who is a terror to evildoers.... It fulfills a political function, therefore, by its constraining influence in the unregenerate world." -   (p. 205).

From Donald Guthrie's "The NT Approach to Social Responsibility:

"In the New Testament a standard of justice is assumed and there is a clear differentiation between what is right and what is wrong. There are echoes of the Old Testament view of social justice.... The approach to law in general in

the New Testament is intricately bound up with the Mosaic Law, which makes extensive provision for social justice.... The importance of this evidence of the sanctity of the law is that it provides a sound basis for social action. For a stable society law is indispensable." - (p. 206). 

From Martin Luther's Commentary on Galatians:

"...the first use of the law is to bridle the wicked. This civil restraint is very necessary, and appointed of God, as well for public peace, as for the preservation of all things, but especially lest the cause of the Gospel should be hindered by the tumult and seditions of wicked, outrageous and proud men." (p. 208). 

From Calvin's Institutes:

"The first use of the law is, by means of its fearful denunciations and the consequent dread of punishment, to curb those who, unless forced, have no regard for rectitude and justice. Such persons are curbed, not because their mind is inwardly moved and affected, but because, as if a bridle were laid upon them, they refrain their hands from external acts, and internally check the depravity which would otherwise petulantly burst forth." (p. 208)

From Samuel Bolton himself: 

"First of all, then, my work is to show the chief and principal ends for which the law was promulgated or given. There are two main ends to be observed, one was political, the other theological or divine. The political use is hinted at by the apostle in 1 Tim. 1:8-9 ... ; that is, it was made for them in such fashion that, if it were not their rule, it should be their punishment. Such is the political use of the law." - (pp. 208-209)

From Greg Bahnsen himself: 

"The political use of the law is admittedly negative and merely deterrent in character. It does nothing to regenerate the sinner or make him right with God; it does not touch his heart or bring him any closer to the Savior. Nevertheless, this function of the law is crucial for man's society. When the known ordinances of God's law are spurned by a culture, it experiences the wrath of God revealed against it in the progressive breakdown of social order and moral decency (Romans 1)." - (p. 209). 

Source: Greg Bahnsen, Greg. 1985. By This Standard. Tyler, Texas: Institute for Christian Economics.