The Creator’s Law and Our Accountability

I tried my best to limit the number of words in creating a Wave on Ecency. However, it seems not possible to express the idea of the author in a short Wave. Advised by the platform, I decided to expand my intended Wave into a long post instead.

For if the Creator has no rewards and punishments, he has no judgment; and if he has no judgment, he has no law; and if he has no law, he is no governor of man; and if he is not our governor, he is not our God; and if he is not our God, we are not his creatures (Richard Baxter, Christian Ethics, p.9).

The above quote is taken from the first chapter of Baxter's book, where he explained his presuppositions about a man who needs saving grace. He describes him as reasonable and free, and someone who acknowledges that the Creator exists. If such an assumption is not accepted by the reader, then it logically follows that the reader does not acknowledge himself as a creature.

If the reader is no creature, then Baxter's admonition won't be applicable. However, for the sake of argument, if he acknowledges himself as a creature, then it follows that the Creator is the Owner and Governor of all, and He has a law that his creatures must listen to.

Moreover, the reader, as a reasonable creature, naturally expects that he has no desire to live a miserable life but aims towards his own happiness. Acknowledging himself as a creature, it also follows that his Creator knows the best for him and that the law of his Creator is given for his good. The existence of such a law implies that there is a judgment depending on how the reader will respond to the law.

I tried my best to present the immediate grammatical context of the quote above so it would make sense. I think the point of the quote is that the idea of both the existence of the Creator and his law implies that not only the reader but also all creatures are accountable to Him for how we conduct our lives here on earth.