The Institutes of Biblical Law

An excellent chapter is the one on the woman forgiven for adultery. Rushdoony explains that this trial actually reaffirmed the death-penalty statutes in the Law of Moses. When Christ drew in the dust at the temple after the Pharisees made their accusation against the woman, he invoked the curse of the bitter water (from the Book of Numbers) on the Pharisees. When he asked who was without sin, Christ referred to the sin of adultery. Since the curse of the bitter water was invoked on the Pharisees (and the penalty for adultery is death), they knew that if they threw a stone at the woman, they would also come under the death penalty for adultery themselves. Therefore no one threw a stone and they all left. Thus, there was no legal case against the woman since "the testimony of two or three witnesses" is necessary to convict of a crime in the Law. So Christ had no legal case against the woman, and she was let go and warned not to sin again.

Other good chapters in this book deal with Christ's political messianic leadership reaffirmed at the transfiguration, and Gary North's "In Defense of Biblical Bribery" appendix.


Solid Biblical Application for Today   July 3, 2007
Scott Matthew Dix (Stanely, NC United States)
5 out of 7 found this review helpful

Although I am not a "theonomist" per se, this is a must read for any serious Bible student. Modern Christianity has turned the Old Testament into a storybook for simple life application. This approach renders most of the Old Testament, e.g., Lev, Num, Deut, et al. void and not applicable today. Such an approach is misguided, and this book will provide a framework of OT law and challenge you to apply it's principles today in modern culture. If you study the Biblical Law, you will find it wonderfully relevant to today's issues, and find yourself saying with the Psalmist, "I delight in God's law and meditate on it day and night". You will also marvel at God's wisdom, love, mercy, wrath, and sense of justice. This book will foster an in-depth understanding of God's law and help you to grow in Christ-likeness as well.


Unvarished Eternal Truths vs. Trendy Church Culture   February 25, 2002
Mark Hoverson (Manvel, ND United States)
17 out of 25 found this review helpful

Rushdoony, with straight-faced and clear-eyed conviction, does what every great teacher should do: Remind of us the obvious. The essence of the book is this: If we do not use God's Law as our rule for existence in every facet of life, then we are using "something else" to guide our lives. If we boil down the message even more, it may be: What exactly are we putting our trust in: God, or Something Else. This book will no doubt be disregarded and ignored by we who prefer to follow "Something Else" instead of God.


It's a must   March 13, 2004
Pierre Habib (Canada)
14 out of 22 found this review helpful

After having read many books about law, whether common law or any form of law, this book tops them all. It goes straight to the origins of Justice on earth and doesn't try to please anybody: it explains the truth. Strongly recommended for anybody who wants to study law. For every Christian, it's a must!


The Law of the LORD is perfect!   March 11, 2008
Michael M. Denna (Sacramento, CA)
6 out of 10 found this review helpful

The modern church is characterized by antinomianism. The clergy and the laity spout forth cliché's and humanistic ideas and claim them as Christian. Modern man struggles with the idea of a perfect law word. Rushdoony, in "The Institutes of Biblical Law Vol. I", tackles this garbage with the idea that the law word of God is the only source of infallible truth we have.

Many humanists and pietistic Christians (which is a redundant statement) will attack this book, because they prefer autonomy to God's law, but Rushdoony shows in this masterful work that the law of God is far superior to any man made law system. It is rather ironic that many in the Church today are just as lawless as their non-Christian neighbors. They reject God's law without really even knowing it. In this book the law of God is examined, and it is found not to be wanting. The book is also full of many great examples of humanistic law that is supposedly so much better than Biblical law, and the entrapments that come with it.

I first read this book 12 years ago. There are many things Rushdoony writes that were a challenge to my thinking. This book, however, is a must read, for any one who has ever struggled with the question of the relevance of the Law of God in the Christian Life and in society. Far too often Christians reject God's law outright, or they simply internalize it. By what standard will we be able to disciple the nation if we reject the law word of our King?

I have also read Volumes 2 and 3 and while I considered the section on community in Book 2 to be very good, nothing in either of these volumes rises to the greatness of the first book.