The Crisis in Civil Law

Benjamin B. Saunders

Reviewed by: Todd V. Wagenmaker

The Crisis in Civil Law: What the Bible Teaches about Law and What It Means Today, by Benjamin B. Saunders. Lexham, 2024. Paperback, 220 pages, $22.99. Reviewed by OP pastor Todd V. Wagenmaker.

Is the crisis in civil law because the state does not promote the first table of God’s law, commandments one through four, or the second table of God’s law, commandments five through six (or both)? Benjamin Saunders gives a nice overview of the basis of moral law, quoting the Westminster Standards many times. Many Western Christians are anxious because the state increasingly does not promote the second table of the law and this leads to moral crisis (121). The author says that natural law may provide a basis for promoting some of the second table of the law. But, he then says that Christians’ efforts to promote not only the second table but also the first table are reasonable (128).

The author’s “salad bowl” approach to the topic is, in the end, not very helpful. He spends pages using what is known as “two kingdoms theology” to critique attempts at implementing the moral law, and he also argues that natural law is more important than what we think. But then, he blows up his support for a two kingdoms approach by saying that it is not helpful (182–183) and suggesting that Christians perhaps should work to implement not only the second table but even the first table of the law. Saunders would better serve the reader by picking a cogent option, and not trying to identify the kernels of truth in the different approaches. His attempt at reconciling disparate views falls flat (193).

Jesus and Paul did not seem to think that there was a crisis in civil law, even though the magistrates of their day were aggressively pagan—the Roman emperor actively promoted idolatry, blood sports, infanticide, promiscuity and perversion, and slavery. Although the state of affairs in our governments is sobering, we should embrace Christ’s otherworldly kingdom like Daniel and his three friends did. Daniel prayed for and promoted the peace of Babylon, realizing that Babylon was not a this-worldly theocracy. Yet, he disobeyed the king when evil laws demanded that he sin against our Great King.