Wednesday: The Stability of God’s Law
What truth about God does the presence of God’s law in the covenant relationship teach us about His essential nature? Malachi 3:6, James 1:17.
God’s law is an oral or written expression of His will (compare Psalm 40:8). Because it is a transcript of His character, its presence in the covenant assures us of the permanence and dependability of God. Although we always may not be able to discern the outworkings of His providence, we know He is trustworthy. His universe is under unvarying moral and physical laws. It is this fact that gives us true freedom and security.
Image © Ain Vares from GoodSalt.com
The “assurance that God is reliable and dependable lies in the truth that He is a God of law. His will and His law are one. God says that right is right because it describes the best possible relationships. Therefore God’s law is never arbitrary or subject to whim and fancy. It is the most stable thing in the universe.” — Walter R. Beach, Dimensions in Salvation (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1963), p. 143.
If God’s law cannot save a person from sin, why did He make it a part of the covenant? (Hint: see Amos 3:3.)
A relationship requires agreement and harmony. Because God is not only the Creator of the world but also its moral Governor, law is essential for the happiness of His created, intelligent beings to live in harmony with Him. His law, the expression of His will, is thus the constitution of His government. It is naturally the norm or obligation of the covenant arrangement and relationship. Its purpose is not to save, but to define our duty to God (commandments 1-4) and our duty to our fellow humans (commandments 5-10). In other words, it sets forth the manner of life that God designs for His covenant children to live, for their own happiness and well-being. It prevented Israel from substituting some other philosophy as a way of life. It was and is the purpose of the covenant relationship to bring the believer through God’s transforming grace into harmony with His will and character.
| Look around. Can you not see the devastating effects of lawlessness? Even in your own life, can you not see some damage done by breaking God’s law? In what ways do these realities help to affirm the goodness of God’s law and why law should be a crucial part of our relationship with Him? |
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During the Covid event here in Australia it has sometimes been quite confusing. Our governments, federal and state, have issued advisories and laws in an attempt to reduce the spread of the disease. With very short notice, we would be told that we were in lockdown, state borders closed, masks required. Sometimes it was a statewide requirement and at other times it only applied to districts. Earlier this year we travelled from NSW to Queensland and while we were travelling, some COVID cases occurred in Brisbane. Hotspots were declared, and for a while it was uncertain that we would be allowed to cross the border back into our home state. Since we were camping in our Troopy the uncertainty was quite unsettling. To be fair to our government, their efforts have largely paid off and we have been spared the rapid spread of the disease we have seen in other countries. However, the sudden changes in the law have been confusing and some people have rebelled at what they considered a heavy-handed approach.
God's law, by contrast, does not change. Designed to limit the effects of sin, it has not changed. It is built on principles of love and respect for both God and Man. The fact that the last six of the ten commandments are incorporated to a certain extent in the laws of most civilised society underlines the importance of their core values.
If then, the law is a good thing, why do we have this discussion about law-keeping in the Christian context? I believe that the answer lies in the difference between "want to" and "have to". Essentially, you can keep laws if you "have to", even if you don't "want to". But keeping the law because you "want to" changes the landscape. That is why Jesus goes to some length in the Gospels to challenge the forensic Pharisaical "have to" approach to law-keeping and replace it with the "want to" heart-based law-keeping.
And in all honesty, the only way we can get the "want to" part right is to have our hearts changed by our relationship with Jesus.
The Psalmist understood the "want to" idea when he said:
In fact the whole psalm is really a song about the results of "wanting to".
The Stability of God’s Law
Many tries to live the law instead of living the precepts of the law. Men have tried and failed over and over again. We have to allow the Holy Spirit to live himself in us.
'The law was not spoken at this time exclusively for the benefit of the Hebrews. God honored them by making them the guardians and keepers of His law, but it was to be held as a sacred trust for the whole world. The precepts of the Decalogue are adapted to all mankind, and they were given for the instruction and government of all. Ten precepts, brief, comprehensive, and authoritative, cover the duty of man to God and to his fellow man; and all based upon the great fundamental principle of love.' {PP 305.2}
Truly, the presence of any law make limits to everything. The pedestrian law says ,in this part only of the road shall the people must cross. To provide safety, comfortable and orderly. It limits to cross the road anywhere. Passersby and motorist can take precautions before the pedestrian lane so no one can be injured, out in danger but in more safe order.
The Torah, applies to everyone and everywhere. So wonderful this God's law, it helps one to be in God's side 24/7. When you woke up every morning, you can talk to Him first b4 everything, when you do working the whole day , He helps you comfortable. At bed at night you don't worry when you sleep because He is still there on you. God's law give good camaraderie with your neighbors....respect to each other, comply doing good, gives caring to the needy, praying for comfort, sharing beautiful thoughts are few to mention that we are lucky to have a such God's law in our heart. This Torah, limit us to do the things that are not pleasant to our fellow, we don't want it to experience too in ourselves. Without God's law (Torah) everyone is free for all, limitless immagine your life, doing everything whether good or bad, no matter how cruel it is, look back in sodom and gomorah. But thanks God, we are bonded with His love, we accept Jesus presence in our life , we are safe, truly safe in Gods law. We abide Torah, because we are save by His grace , through faith we love Jesus as he first love us.
Eduardo, you wrote, "Without God's law (Torah) everyone is free for all..."
I'm not sure that you meant that everyone is "free" without God's law. But I do want to note that living outside of God's law results in slavery. God gives us freedom, but the devil takes captives. That's why James calls God's law the "law of liberty." (See James 1:25)
I understand Eduardo saying “free for all” to mean “chaos” rather than having freedom
The law as given to man reveals that the LORD God is gracious, merciful, good, deliberate, specific, holy, and unchanging. It also demonstrates His desire for us to be like Him.
The law brings a knowledge of sin and conviction for the NEED of salvation, which is a vital part of the process of being saved. While the Law cannot JUSTIFY, it will convert/sanctify the soul(Ps 19:7, John 17:17).
Without the law there would be no knowledge of sin, yet any ignorance on our part will not stay the final Judgment, and our ignorance will be willful, by rejecting the conviction of the Holy Spirit(John 16:8) which comes to every soul, for God, who so loved the world, desires to save all.
Just like the Israelites, it is not ritual law keeping that God is looking for. Christ did all of that for us, perfectly and paid the price for our mistakes and disobedience. What He is looking for, is for us to live by the principles of the law; to be good people and to good things for those around us. When Moses asked God to reveal Himself to him; God responded in Ex 33 with, “ I will let my goodness pass before you”. Dennis Prager, “Exodus, The Rational Bible”, points out that goodness is defined by action, doing good for others. These principles of goodness are defined by our actions; being kind, cooperative, congenial to our fellow man and taking care of the “widows and orphans” and the less fortunate we find in the path of our lives.
Good point, Jim. I believe that recognizing this simple principle would prevent a lot of quibbling over "law" and a lot of judging others as well.
Christ's parable of the sheep and the goats seems to indicate that whether or not persons enter His Kingdom depends on how they have treated others - whether or not their actions demonstrated a heart transformed by His Spirit. See Matthew 25:31-46
Thank you for this!
God's law its a mirror, showing us where we are not right or rather when we move out of the right/righteous path. However God is not forcing anyone to obey his laws but it's our person decision to do what is good ,hence for u and me to live a good life it requires us to obey his laws and by obying his laws we create a conducive environment for ourselves and our friends.