Appendix C: Bibliography

This bibliography lists works cited, referenced, or influential in the development of the philonomic hermeneutic presented in this book. It is organized by category for ease of reference.

I. Holy Scripture

Scripture is the supreme authority for all matters of faith and practice. It is the foundation upon which every argument in this book rests. “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

II. Confessional Documents

The Second London Baptist Confession of Faith (1689)

The primary confessional standard for the Baptist covenantal position articulated in this book. Particularly relevant are:

Chapter 19: “Of the Law of God”
Chapter 24: “Of the Civil Magistrate”

The 1689 Confession affirms that judicial laws “expired together with the state of that people, not obliging any other now, further than the general equity thereof may require” (19.4). This is the key confessional statement underlying the philonomic project.

The Westminster Confession of Faith (1646)

The foundational Reformed confession from which both the Savoy Declaration and the 1689 Baptist Confession drew substantially. The language concerning general equity in Chapter 19.4 is nearly identical across all three confessions, demonstrating the shared Reformed heritage on this point.

The Savoy Declaration (1658)

The Congregationalist confession, mediating between Westminster and the 1689 Baptist Confession. Its treatment of the law mirrors Westminster’s and demonstrates that the doctrine of general equity was held across Reformed ecclesiological traditions.

III. Primary Historical Sources

Augustine of Hippo (354-430)

The City of God (De Civitate Dei)

Augustine’s magisterial work tracing the antithesis between two cities built on two loves: the City of God, founded on love of God even to the contempt of self, and the City of Man, founded on love of self even to the contempt of God. This framework profoundly shapes Chapter 4’s argument against the myth of neutrality.

John Calvin (1509-1564)

Institutes of the Christian Religion

Particularly relevant is Book IV, Chapter 20, “Of Civil Government,” where Calvin addresses the magistrate’s authority, the threefold use of the law, and the continuing relevance of the moral law for civil order.

Nehemiah Coxe (d. 1689)

A Discourse of the Covenants that God Made with Men Before the Law (published 1681)

The foundational work for what is now called 1689 Federalism. Coxe articulated the Baptist understanding of covenant theology, distinguishing the old and new covenants as distinct covenants rather than administrations of a single covenant of grace. His treatment of typology and the relationship between Mosaic economy and new covenant is essential background for the philonomic hermeneutic.

John Owen (1616-1683)

An Exposition of the Epistle to the Hebrews, 7 vols. (originally published 1668-1684; various modern editions including Banner of Truth)

Owen’s Hebrews commentary is the single most important historical source for the philonomic hermeneutic. Two passages are foundational. In Vol. 2, Exercitation IV.6 (“Of the Judaical Sabbath”), Owen establishes the ontological claim that “all the judgments relating unto civil things were but an application of the moral law to their state and condition,” and argues that no capital offense in the Mosaic code punished anything other than a moral transgression. In Vol. 5, on Hebrews 7:4, Owen provides the epistemological test: “where not only the subject-matter, but the formal reason of the command is the same, there it is of natural equity, and unalterable.” He demonstrates the test with the blood-eating prohibition (same practice across three epochs, but different rationales each time–therefore not morally permanent in its specific form) and applies it to tithes, concluding that the precise tenth is not perpetually binding while the moral substance (dedicating a portion of one’s increase to God’s service) remains. Owen’s materia (subject-matter) and ratio formalis (formal reason) correspond to what this book calls form and function, respectively. Additional relevant passages appear in Vol. 5 on Hebrews 7:12, where Owen calls the judicial law “an explication” of the moral law, and in the Exercitations of Vol. 1, where he affirms the threefold division.

Also: A Dissertation on Divine Justice; Covenant Theology: From Adam to Christ (with Nehemiah Coxe; Reformed Baptist Academic Press).

Samuel Bolton (1606-1654)

The True Bounds of Christian Freedom (1645)

Bolton’s work addresses how the Christian relates to God’s law under the new covenant, distinguishing the law’s condemning power (from which believers are freed) from its instructing power (which remains). His treatment of law and liberty provides important pastoral wisdom for understanding the philonomic affirmation that Christians love God’s law.

IV. Secondary Historical Sources

Josephus, Flavius (37-100 AD)

Against Apion

Josephus coined the term “theocracy” (theokratia) to describe Israel’s unique political arrangement under God’s direct rule. His definition (government in which God Himself is the formal ruler) provides the precise understanding employed in Chapter 11.

V. Modern Theological Works

Cornelius Van Til (1895-1987)

Van Til’s work on presuppositional apologetics, particularly his insistence that there is no neutral ground between believer and unbeliever, provides the epistemological foundation for Chapter 4’s argument. His emphasis on the antithesis and the impossibility of autonomous reasoning shapes the philonomic rejection of political neutrality.

Key works include:

The Defense of the Faith
A Christian Theory of Knowledge
An Introduction to Systematic Theology

John M. Frame (b. 1939)

Frame’s development of Van Til’s insights, particularly his triperspectival approach (normative, situational, existential) and his work on the lordship of Christ, influences the philonomic framework. His work demonstrates that presuppositional commitments have implications for every area of life, including civil law and public justice.

Key works include:

The Doctrine of the Knowledge of God
The Doctrine of the Christian Life
Apologetics: A Justification of Christian Belief

James N. Anderson

Anderson’s work in philosophical theology and apologetics, building on Van Til’s legacy, provides careful argumentation for Reformed epistemological commitments. His precision in handling paradox and logical analysis models the kind of careful reasoning the philonomic project aims to employ.

VI. Works on Covenant Theology

Jeffrey D. Johnson

The Fatal Flaw of the Theology Behind Infant Baptism

Johnson’s work articulates the 1689 Federalist position and its implications for understanding the relationship between old and new covenants. His careful distinction between covenantal discontinuity and moral continuity provides important support for the philonomic argument.

Samuel Renihan

The Mystery of Christ: His Covenant and His Kingdom and From Shadow to Substance: The Federal Theology of the English Particular Baptists (1642-1704)

Renihan’s historical and theological work on Particular Baptist covenant theology provides essential scholarly background for understanding how seventeenth-century Baptists understood the law’s continuing relevance within their covenantal framework. His research demonstrates that the philonomic approach has deep historical roots in Baptist theology.

Richard C. Barcellos

Getting the Garden Right: Adam’s Work and God’s Rest in Light of Christ and In Defense of the Decalogue: A Critique of New Covenant Theology

Barcellos’s work on covenant theology and the continuing validity of the Decalogue provides important exegetical support for the philonomic position. Of particular relevance is his observation that Paul’s catalogue of sins in 1 Timothy 1:9-10 implicitly follows the structure of the Decalogue itself, demonstrating that the apostle understood the law’s abiding moral categories. His careful Baptist scholarship shows how a robust affirmation of the law’s continuing relevance is fully compatible with 1689 Federalist covenant theology.

VII. Works on Theonomy and the Law

Greg L. Bahnsen (1948-1995)

Theonomy in Christian Ethics (1977)

While philonomy distinguishes itself from Theonomy proper, Bahnsen’s exegetical work on the continuing validity of God’s law contains much valuable insight. His careful attention to the biblical text and his challenge to antinomian assumptions have influenced the philonomic project, even where we draw different conclusions about the form of the law’s application.

R. J. Rushdoony (1916-2001)

The Institutes of Biblical Law (1973)

Rushdoony’s comprehensive treatment of Mosaic law, while controversial in some of its applications, represents a serious attempt to understand what God’s law teaches about justice, society, and human life. His insistence that Scripture speaks to every area of life resonates with the philonomic affirmation of Christ’s comprehensive lordship.

Gary North

Boundaries and Dominion: An Economic Commentary on Leviticus (1994)

North’s economic commentaries on the Pentateuch, while often provocative, contain valuable hermeneutical insights. Of particular relevance to philonomy is his classification of Mosaic laws into categories, including what he terms “seed laws” (laws designed to preserve Israel’s tribal identity and genealogical lineage until the promised Seed [Christ] arrived). North argues that seed laws, land laws, and priestly laws were tribal in nature and do not extend into the New Covenant era, while “cross-boundary laws” (those dealing with universal moral principles) retain their validity. This categorical approach, whatever one’s assessment of North’s broader project, provides a useful hermeneutical tool for distinguishing between laws that have fulfilled their redemptive-historical purpose and laws that embody enduring moral principles.

VIII. Biblical Commentaries

Douglas K. Stuart

Exodus (New American Commentary, 2006)

Stuart’s commentary on Exodus includes a remarkably philonomic treatment of Mosaic law. In his discussion of the Book of the Covenant (Exodus 20:22-23:33), Stuart classifies the laws and provides guidance on their modern applicational usage that closely parallels the form-function distinction employed in this book. His work demonstrates that the philonomic hermeneutic is not a novelty but reflects sound evangelical scholarship on how to read Old Testament law. Though Stuart’s commentary covers only Exodus, his method is readily extensible to the rest of the Pentateuch.

IX. A Note on Sources

This book is not primarily an exercise in historical theology but a constructive hermeneutical proposal. The sources listed above have influenced the argument, but the ultimate authority is Scripture itself. Where historical sources illuminate Scripture’s meaning, they are valuable. Where they conflict with Scripture, they must yield.

The philonomist approaches all human writings (including this one) with the humble recognition that our understanding is partial and our formulations fallible. “Now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known” (1 Corinthians 13:12).

The goal of this bibliography is not to establish the philonomic position by appeal to human authority but to acknowledge intellectual debts and to point readers toward further study. May all our reading serve to deepen our knowledge of the God who has revealed Himself in Scripture and to sharpen our love for His law.

For Further Reading

Readers interested in exploring the topics addressed in this book may find the following suggestions helpful:

On Covenant Theology:

Nehemiah Coxe and John Owen, Covenant Theology: From Adam to Christ (Reformed Baptist Academic Press)
Pascal Denault, The Distinctiveness of Baptist Covenant Theology (Solid Ground Christian Books)

On the Law and Christian Ethics:

Ernest Kevan, The Grace of Law: A Study in Puritan Theology (Reformation Heritage Books)

On Presuppositional Apologetics:

K. Scott Oliphint, Covenantal Apologetics: Principles and Practice in Defense of Our Faith (Crossway)

On Civil Government and the Christian:

The relevant chapters in Calvin’s Institutes, particularly Book IV, Chapter 20
The confessional documents themselves, available in numerous editions

May the Lord bless your continued study of His Word and His law.

Soli Deo Gloria