Written by Craig A. Carter |
Wednesday, April 27, 2022
Into human cultures dominated by mythology, the Bible reveals the novel idea of history. History is the idea that the cosmos had a beginning (creation) and is going somewhere (eschatology). Mythology says that matter is eternal and everything goes in endless cycles.

Can Christian theology make do with the kind of “historical Adam” that is just an evolved hominid with a nickname? That is the question arising from a recent headline in Christianity Today: “Evangelicals Have Four Proposals for Harmonizing Genesis and Evolution.” Progressive evangelicalism continues to lobby the rest of us to jump on the Darwinism bandwagon, but are they advocating a “historical Adam” or merely a “mythological Adam”?
The article’s premise is that evangelicalism is in big trouble because the culture is becoming more and more offended at our “anti-science” stance. Young people, we’re told repeatedly, are leaving the evangelical church because of its supposed Darwin denialism. This is supposed to alarm us, even though the fact is that the most Darwin-affirming churches are losing members the fastest and dying out. So, maybe this isn’t the whole story.
One does get weary of hearing how orthodox Christianity will expire any day now unless it openly embraces evolutionary ideology. This has been breathlessly proclaimed for 150 years, and it has not happened. On the contrary, what has happened is that the forms of Christianity least receptive to the Darwin myth have grown in numbers and influence all over the world, while those most receptive to it are rapidly shrinking into insignificance. But why get all fussy over the facts when there is a bandwagon to jump on?
If you look at the four options discussed in the article (a rehashing of a book by Calvin University physics professor Loren Haarsma), they boil down to two possibilities: Adam and Eve did not exist, or Adam is just a nickname we give to one of the early hominids who evolved into modern human beings. There is no special creation of Adam, no special creation of Eve from Adam, no original sinlessness, and no historical fall into sin. Human beings just evolved naturally from lower life forms, precisely as naturalistic evolution says. Nothing changed ontologically either for human beings or for creation as a whole as a result of a fall into sin. The world today is exactly as it always was; death and the struggle for survival determine our nature. Death has always been part of the world.
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Written by Keith A. Mathison |
Wednesday, July 12, 2023
What are the three uses of the moral law? They are the political use, the pedagogical use, and the normative use. The first and second uses are found in a different order in some discussions. The third use of the law (Latin tertius usus legis), however, almost always refers to the normative use.

If you were to ask the average Reformed Christian to name the three uses of the law, there is a decent chance that the answer might be the moral, the civil, and the ceremonial. In short, some Christians confuse the threefold division of the law with the three uses of the law. The threefold division of the law has to do with the different kinds of laws that we find in the Mosaic covenant—namely, the moral law, the ceremonial law, and the civil law. The three uses of the law are something different. But before we get to that, let us briefly look at the threefold division of the law, commonly delineated as the moral law, the ceremonial law, and the civil law. This is necessary because the three uses pertain to only one of those divisions.
The moral law is contained in its most concise written form in the Ten Commandments, which concern our duties toward God and man. The ceremonial laws, such as those concerning the priests and the sacrifices, were typical ordinances that prefigured the person and work of Christ. These ceremonial laws are now abrogated since Christ offered the once-and-for-all sacrifice of Himself on the cross (see Heb. 7–10). Few today (outside certain strands of Messianic Judaism) argue for any continuing use of the ceremonial law, and even then, such arguments typically contend only for things such as the observation of Jewish festivals.
The civil law consists of those laws given to Israel as a unique political state (for example, the cities of refuge in Josh. 20:7–9). As the Westminster Confession of Faith explains, these laws “expired together with the state of that people, not obliging any other, now, further than the general equity thereof may require” (19.4). The civil law has expired because it had to do with Israel in its unique place under the Mosaic covenant. Within the Reformed churches, however, there are some who argue for a continuing use of the civil law that goes beyond the “general equity” mentioned in the Westminster Confession. Those who hold to the view known as theonomy have often argued for an essentially twofold division of the law rather than threefold. In this twofold division, the civil law is effectively a subset of the moral law. Proponents of theonomy argue that the civil law should be enforced by every nation on earth (with qualifications related to different times, places, and cultures). There are a number of serious problems with theonomy, but the most serious has always been a failure to come to grips with the absolute uniqueness of Old Testament Israel within redemptive history.
The ceremonial laws prefigured Christ and His work, and we are still able to learn much about Him by studying these laws even though they have been abrogated. Furthermore, we can still make use of the general equity of the civil law even though it has expired. To say that the ceremonial laws are abrogated and the civil law has expired is not to say that these laws are worthless. When we discuss the three uses of the law in a technical sense, however, it is important to understand that we are specifically talking about the three uses of the moral law. We are not discussing the ceremonial law, and we are not discussing the civil law.
What, then, are the three uses of the moral law? They are the political use, the pedagogical use, and the normative use. The first and second uses are found in a different order in some discussions. Some will speak of the political use first, while others will speak of the pedagogical use first. The third use of the law (Latin tertius usus legis), however, almost always refers to the normative use.
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We can be confident of God’s love for all of eternity because He perfectly demonstrated His love when He gave His own Son for our salvation. Whatever suffering you may face in your life right now, Christ’s sacrificial death for you reminds you that God is not withholding from you. Romans 8:32 says, “He who indeed did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?” Get your heart and mind fixed on what you know!

Recently I spoke with a Christian who was walking through a time of suffering in his life that he found overwhelming. Physical trials, family trials, and a recent loss were all converging upon him at once.
This brother loved the Lord and had actively served Him for years. As he shared his pain, it seemed clear to me that he had been seeking the Lord with a pure heart and desired to see the Lord be glorified. And as I listened to his tearful words, It was evident that he had earnestly sought the Lord in prayer. He had not failed to ask the Lord, and there was no evidence that he was asking of the Lord simply to fulfill his own desires (James 4:2, 3).
Still yet, his painful circumstances clouded his mind with confusion and questions. The questions he asked were the kind I have heard many times in ministry and ones I have asked during my own trials.
The Common Questions We Ask
When we go through times of suffering, there are common questions that often flood our minds.

“Why did God allow this to happen the way it did?”

“Why has God not answered my prayers?”

“Why does it feel like God is not at work for me?”

In the middle of our suffering, our tendency is to allow our minds to be consumed with questions that can’t be answered in that moment and may never be answered. We may be asking with sincere motives, but with most of the questions that flood our minds, the honest answer is, “I don’t know.” Little to no comfort is found in that answer. What we need is a change of perspective. When it comes to suffering, don’t focus on what you don’t know, focus on what you do know.
What We Do Know
Rather than being controlled by our thoughts and emotions, we need to “take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). Scripture is filled with wonderful promises that should captivate our hearts and minds as we walk through times of suffering. With all the things that you don’t know, there are absolute certainties God has revealed in Scripture that you do know.

You are God’s child, and He loves you. (1 John 3:1)

God won’t abandon you. He will never leave you nor forsake you.  (Deuteronomy 31:6)

The LORD is your helper, and you have no need to fear. (Psalm 118:6)

If you lack wisdom, ask of God and He will give it to you. (James 1:5)

God will comfort you in all your affliction. (2 Corinthians 1:3-5)

While there may be many questions we may never have answered, these are some of the promises that we know. But one of the most encouraging passages to help us face suffering is Romans 8:18-27.
A Biblical Response to Suffering
Paul’s words in Romans 8:18-39 are deeply profound and vital to responding to suffering in our lives. Many commentaries and books have expounded upon this passage, and no single article could come close to exhausting its richness.
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