Saeculum: government, law and culture

Natural law has enjoyed something of a resurgence in Protestant circles in recent decades. It seems fair to say, however, that there remains confusion around precisely what the doctrine of natural law is, and many Protestants remain hesitant.

In this post I aim to briefly expound the doctrine of natural law and explain how it is consistent with Protestant commitments. Much of this is drawn from my forthcoming book Natural Law: A Guide for the Perplexed, to be published by Lexham Press, which explores these issues at greater length.

Natural law as moral law

Natural law can be understood first as the moral law. The moral law is authoritatively revealed in Scripture. But not all people have read the Bible. Despite this, Scripture tells us that all people have an understanding of the moral law and are accountable for breaching it.

Scripture teaches that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” and that all people are condemned by the law (Romans 3:19–21, 23). Sin is a transgression of God’s commands (Leviticus 5:17; 1 John 3:4). Thus, all people are subject to the moral law.  

Romans 2:14–15 is probably the classic biblical text relating to natural law. It teaches that all people have an internal witness to the moral law:

For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them.

And in Romans 1 Paul wrote that “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them” (Romans 1:18–19). That is, all people have knowledge of God, but suppress that knowledge in unrighteousness.

These verses teach that there is a universally applicable moral law which applies to all people at all times. All people have a knowledge of this law, because the work of the law is written on the heart.

Natural law as moral order

The term “natural law” may be misleading. This is because natural law is not primarily “law” in the sense of a set of commands or rules to be obeyed, which is what we often think of as being law. Instead, “natural law” actually means something like created order or moral order. We can express aspects of the moral order in rules or commands, but natural law is broader than those rules. Philip Melanchthon referred to the “beautiful order which has been so wisely established among all creatures”. This reflects the scriptural teaching that God made the world and pronounced it “very good” (Genesis 1:31).

Moral law (in the narrow sense described above) and moral order can be seen as two sides of the same coin. Lutheran theologian Niels Hemmingsen put it like this: because “it commands and forbids, it is called ‘law,’ and because it is implanted in nature, it is called ‘natural.’” Viewing the law in this way helps us to understand that the moral law is not a set of arbitrary commands, but reflects the nature of things, the way things are.

For example, the sixth commandment states, “you shall not kill.” This reflects the reality that humans are made in the image and likeness of God and so possess great value (Genesis 1:27). Only God has the right to give and take away life.

Understanding the moral law in light of the moral order according to which God has made all things helps us see the rationale, purpose and logic of the law. Natural law, therefore, is a moral order which is hard-wired into human nature and the creation, and which can be partially expressed in moral laws or rules.

How do we know the natural law?

The Christian tradition has widely held that the natural law has been written on every human heart and that conscience and reason are witnesses to the natural law. All people have an inbuilt witness to the natural law, and so people can distinguish between good and evil even if they have never encountered Scripture. Our conscience convicts and condemns us when we breach the moral law.

However, our ability to discern the natural moral order has been obscured by sin, and so we corrupt and suppress the knowledge of the moral law. Because of our sin, a full and complete knowledge of God and the moral law is not possible through natural law alone, and it is not possible to attain salvation through obedience to the natural law. Therefore, Scripture is necessary as a clearer statement of the moral law.

Nevertheless, the knowledge of the moral law is never completely effaced. All people have some remaining inbuilt knowledge of the moral law. Many thinkers in the natural law tradition argue that it is impossible not to know the primary precepts of the natural law. Francisco Suárez wrote that “it is not possible that one should in any way be ignorant of the primary principles of the natural law.” Even where people adopt morally repugnant views, these are often distorted versions of true moral principles. It is therefore possible to gain a non-salvific understanding of aspects of the moral law outside of Scripture.

Natural law and civil law

Another key aspect of the doctrine of natural law is that laws enacted by human civil governments ought to be ordered in accordance with the natural law. Natural law establishes the precepts of the moral law which are in principle knowable to all people. Civil rulers, therefore, are able to discern the precepts of the natural law, although imperfectly. The natural law provides the foundational moral principles for human civil laws, which should be made in accordance with natural law.

Natural law is an overriding, objective standard against which human laws can be measured. Civil laws which contravene the natural law are defective and in cases of extreme injustice ought not to be considered laws.

However, the natural law is relatively indeterminate, leaving freedom to lawmakers when enacting civil laws. The Bible does not provide a prescriptive blueprint for contemporary civil law; rather, it provides the foundational principles. This means that civil lawmakers need to exercise wisdom and prudence when developing laws based on the moral law and accommodating them to the circumstances of human societies.

Natural law and Scripture

The Protestant position is that Scripture is the authoritative revelation of the will of God, sufficient for faith and life. Protestants are often cautious about the doctrine of natural law, worrying that natural law undermines the sufficiency of Scripture. And why do we need natural law when we have the clarity of Scripture?

The obvious response is that Scripture itself teaches the principle of the natural law, namely that reality is meaningfully ordered by God and there is a universally applicable moral law which is knowable through reason and conscience. As already noted, our natural knowledge of the natural law is corrupted and distorted by sin, and so Scripture is necessary to provide a clear and authoritative restatement of the moral law.

Scripture and natural law should not be pitted against each other, but should be seen as complementary. If natural law and Scripture both reflect the nature of reality, then this means that general and special revelation are complementary means of understanding and interpreting that reality, and mutually illuminate each other. We should reflect on the world in light of the word, and the word in light of the world.

A definition of natural law

Here is my definition of natural law. Natural law is the moral order according to which God has created all things. That order defines the proper ends of human nature, the good that is to be pursued, and the evil to be avoided. The moral order is partially encapsulated in moral precepts or commands; the Decalogue is a perfect summary of the content of those moral precepts. The work of the moral law is written on the human heart and knowable through reason and conscience. However, humans suppress that knowledge in unrighteousness and our capacity to act in accordance with its precepts is corrupted by sin. As such, natural law is not sufficient for humans to attain salvation and Scripture is necessary as a clearer statement of the moral law. Finally, laws enacted by civil governments ought to be consistent with the natural law.

Further reading

J. Budziszewski, What We Can’t Not Know: A Guide (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2010).

Niels Hemmingsen, On the Law of Nature: A Demonstrative Method, trans. and ed. E. J. Hutchinson (Grand Rapids: CLP Academic, 2018).

Franciscus Junius, The Mosaic Polity, ed. Andrew M McGinnis, trans. Todd M Rester (Grand Rapids: CLP Academic, 2015).

Benjamin B Saunders, The Crisis of Civil Law: What the Bible Teaches about Law and What It Means Today (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2024).

David VanDrunen, Divine Covenants and Moral Order: A Biblical Theology of Natural Law (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2014).

David VanDrunen, Politics after Christendom: Political Theology in a Fractured World (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2020), chapter 5.

David VanDrunen, Natural Law: A Short Companion (Brentwood: B&H Academic, 2023).

Andrew T. Walker, Faithful Reason: Natural Law Ethics For God’s Glory and our Good (Brentwood: B&H Academic, 2024).  

Girolamo Zanchi, On the Law in General, trans. Jeffrey J. Veenstra (Grand Rapids: CLP Academic, 2013).