Our current government system loves Pelagianism. Its currency is one of salvation by works. It thrives in demanding that we go out and find our straws to make more bricks to build their kingdom. One mask is not enough, so two, but if three, then you can rightly earn your redemption. Now, I understand that such demands are outrageously obtuse, but when an entire system is built upon the thesis of works righteousness, then no demand is too great if it serves a greater purpose.
The reason many of us have been talking for these last 12 months about granting the church freedom to make decisions is precisely that we reject the premise of government that seeks to overrule our theology of grace and works The Church functions as the headquarters of grace and our works are fruits of a redeeming corpus that works as a means to bring glory to her full-time Savior. Our system of works takes heavy burdens off the weak and encourages them to come weary and heavy-laden to find rest. But the governmental structures today function to add more burdens to the weary.
Peter Leithart said recently that many people feared death–necrophobia–during this season and therefore abandoned all things that bring life. As a result, many have embraced necrophilia, a love of death. It’s not that people love death in itself, but by choosing to forsake the things that bring life, they embrace the habits of death.
The reason this can be easily adopted is that for many Americans it is easier to live in a system of works–thou shalt not–rather than a system of beneficence–He has done for us. Obviously, we do not accept the old pietistic tendency–Let go and let God–but we do look to the sovereignty of God as a tangible theological paradigm that grabs hold of our hearts and minds and calls us to trust in his definition of true help and health. The body they may kill, the truth abideth still; his kingdom is forever because it is a kingdom secured by the captain of our faith.
Almost 365 days later, we have an opportunity to take a definitively Augustinian view of life: to accept grace as a natural outpouring of life to us, even amidst dangers; to accept the overflow of God’s chalice to bless our beards and banquets.
Vaccines or not, many will continue to accept the higher authority of a system of works that will happily pile more and more works on you, because like Pharaoh they understand that if they can keep you busy with straw-searching, they can keep you motivated to serve their purposes. It’s already clear that the Pharisees of medicine are eager to demand more masking after vaccines world without end, amen.
I am not asking that you have a big mask burner party and I am certainly not asking that you be the annoyer in chief at the local coffee shop making the sweet little college student tense every time she sees you coming in; don’t be an idiot. Choose your battles well. What I am asking however is that you see that we have competing systems of salvation seeking your approval. As we move on in this phase of American history, we need to dissect very carefully which works bear good fruits and which ones perpetuate spoiled ones.
