The Institutes of Biblical Law
R.J. Rushdoony
The Institutes of Biblical Law has as its purpose a reversal of the present trend. it is called “Institutes” in the older meaning of the that word, i.e., fundamental principles, here of law, because it is intended as a beginning, as an instituting consideration of that law which must govern society, and which shall govern society under God.
To understand Biblical law, it is necessary to understand also certain basic characteristics of that law. In it, certain broad premises or principles are declared. These are declarations of basic law. The Ten Commandments give us such declarations.
A second characteristics of Biblical law, is that the major portion of the law is case law, i.e., the illustration of the basic principle in terms of specific cases. These specific cases are often illustrations of the extent of the application of the law; that is, by citing a minimal type of case, the necessary jurisdictions of the law are revealed.
The law, then, asserts principles and cites cases to develop the implications of those principles, with is purpose and direction the restitution of God’s order.
IBL00: Introduction to IBL
1. Introduction to the Law (50 min.)
2. Direction of the Law (51 min.)
IBL01: First Commandment
1. The First Commandment (45 min.)
3. Laws of Covenant Membership (64 min.)
5. Law as Power and Discrimination (56 min.)
IBL02: Second Commandment
1. Second Commandment (51 min.)
2. The Throne of Law (48 min.)
3. The Altar and Capital Punishment (55 min.)
4. Sacrifice and Responsibility (47 min.)
5. Holiness and the Law (48 min.)
6. Law: Partial and Impartial (55 min.)
IBL03: Third Commandment
1. Negativism and the Law (56 min.)
2. Swearing and Revolution (38 min.)
3. The Oath and Society (50 min.)
4. Swearing and Worship (47 min.)
5. Oath and Authority (51 min.)
IBL04: Fourth Commandment
4. Sabbath and Authority (41 min.)
IBL05: Fifth Commandment
1. Authority of the Family (48 min.)
3. Economics of the Family (55 min.)
4. Education and the Family (50 min.)
5. Family and Delinquency (56 min.)
7. The Family and Authority (51 min.)
IBL06: Sixth Commandment
1. Sixth Commandment (49 min.)
2. The Death Penalty (67 min.)
3. Origins of the State: Its Prophetic Office (48 min.)
5. Hybridization and Law (53 min.)
7. Responsibility and Law (41 min.)
8. Restitution and Restoration (47 min.)
11. Love and the Law (47 min.)
13. Christ and the Law (46 min.)
14. The Laws of Quarantine (50 min.)
18. Amalek and Violence (47 min.)
19. Violence as Presumption (44 min.)
20. The Social Inheritance of Land Marks (36 min.)
IBL07: Seventh Commandment
3. Marriage and Woman (59 min.)
8. Law of the Levirate (52 min.)
10. Sex and Religion (47 min.)
12. The Law of Divorce (51 min.)
13. The Family as Trustee (50 min.)
15. Uncovering the Springs (48 min.)
16. Mediatorial Work of the Law (51 min.)
17. The Transvestite (54 min.)
19. The Architecture of Life (52 min.)
IBL08: Eighth Commandment
3. Restitution and Forgiveness (47 min.)
4. Liability and the Bystander (54 min.)
5. Money and Measures (61 min.)
9. Landmarks and Land (55 min.)
10. The Virgin Birth and Property (39 min.)
17. Restitution to God (47 min.)
18. Rights of Strangers, Widows, and Orphans (40 min.)
IBL09: Ninth Commandment
2. Sanctification and the Law (53 min.)
3. The False Prophet (55 min.)
4. Jesus Christ as the Witness (40 min.)
5. Witness of the False Prophet (50 min.)
10. The Lying Tongue (47 min.)
11. Slander Within Marriage (37 min.)
13. Slander of Theft (39 min.)
17. The Responsibility of Judges (36 min.)
19. Procedures of the Court (51 min.)
20. Judgment of the Court (51 min.)
IBL10: Tenth Commandment
3. Special Privilege (54 min.)
4. Offenses Against Neighbors (43 min.)
IBL11: Promises of the Law
1. The Use of the Law (57 min.)
2. The Law and the Ban (47 min.)
3. Curses and Blessings (54 min.)
4. The Unlimited Liability Universe (42 min.)
IBL12: Law in the Old Testament
2. The Law and the Prophets (46 min.)
3. Natural and Supernatural Law (51 min.)
4. Law as Direction and Life (46 min.)
5. The Law and the Covenant (53 min.)
IBL13: The Law and the New Testament
1. Christ and the Law (44 min.)
2. Woman Taken in Adultery (53 min.)
3. Antinomianism Attacked (60 min.)
4. The Transfiguration (32 min.)
5. The Kingdom of God (50 min.)
6. The Tribute Money (45 min.)
7. The Cultural Mandate (54 min.)
8. Law in Acts and Epistles (51 min.)
IBL14: Church Law
2. Office of Elder in the Church (53 min.)
3. The Christian Passover (52 min.)
4. Circumcision and Baptism (45 min.)
5. The Priesthood of All Believers (41 min.)
7. Rebuke and Excommunication (46 min.)