canine christianity

A discussion of freewill through analogy to two classes of animals

“Be not like horse or mule, without understanding, which must be curbed by a bit or bridle, or it will not stay near you.” 

(Psalm 32:9) 

Who are we without God?  This passage describes us – we run from good.  That means we are sinners.  It doesn’t end, “or it may not stay near you.”  There is no question that, if unleashed, we will not choose to continue to serve.  I once heard John Piper call this a “moral inability,” similar to when we say we “can’t get out of bed in the morning;” sure, we may have the technical ability to do so, but ten out of ten times, we won’t.   If you let a workhorse out of its yoke, it will not continue to work of its own volition.  Similarly, our will is not free; we will choose the selfish path every time.  Sure, we can disobey God’s commands; in fact, that’s all we can do without his help and provision. 

So how does he help?  God’s initial response was to give us the law as a bit or bridle.  We – as shown in the type of the first Adam – were essentially supposed to run this beautiful estate he had created.  We messed up, and became the workhorses of the estate, and eventually slaves of another kingdom (Egypt).   To teach and enable us to be of use again on his estate, he gave us the Mosaic law.  We broke bit and bridle, and jumped the fence. 

God’s second response was to change our identity.  He reset our role through a second Adam (Jesus) who instead of merely serving on the estate was in fact a son.  Through him, we too became part of the household.  Instead of workhorses, we’re more like dogs – part of the family.  This comparison of Christianity to canines can show us several things:

(1) Our will is still not free.  If you let a dog off its leash or out of the yard, it will run away or wander off, guaranteed.

(2) We are driven by God’s grace rather than his punishment.  Even when dogs wander off, they tend to return eventually for meals.  God softens our hearts through love and grace rather than the force of the bit and bridle.  God has cultivated dependence in his people based on grace. 

(3) We don’t have to perform to merit his love.  Because this is an identity change, our lifestyle is an outflow rather than a prerequisite.  As my friend Sean Brown puts it, “A dog barks because he is a dog, not to prove he is a dog.”  (He may have stolen this, but I wouldn’t know where from, so he gets the credit for now)

Our goal is to not need the bit-n-bridle of the law because it has become our nature; instead of answering to the family’s standard, we have been adopted into the family.