But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.[1]
God’s people disobey
Isaiah 48:1-5 NLT
Listen to me, O family of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel and born into the family of Judah. Listen, you who take oaths in the name of the Lord and call on the God of Israel. You don’t keep your promises, even though you call yourself the holy city and talk about depending on the God of Israel, whose name is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
Long ago I told you what was going to happen. Then suddenly I took action, and all my predictions came true. For I know how stubborn and obstinate you are. Your necks are as unbending as iron. Your heads are as hard as bronze. That is why I told you what would happen; I told you beforehand what I was going to do. Then you could never say, ‘My idols did it. My wooden image and metal god commanded it to happen!’
Matthew Henry
The Jews valued themselves on descent from Jacob and used the name of Jehovah as their God. They prided themselves respecting Jerusalem and the temple, yet there was no holiness in their lives. If we are not sincere in religion, we do but take the name of the Lord in vain. By prophecy they were shown how God would deal with them, long before it came to pass. God has said and done enough to prevent men’s boasting of themselves, which makes the sin and ruin of the proud worse; sooner or later every mouth shall be stopped, and all become silent before Him. We are all born children of disobedience. Where original sin is, actual sin will follow. Does not the conscience of every man witness to the truth of Scripture? May the Lord prove us and render us doers of the word. [2]
Unbelieving Gentiles obey
Romans 2:12-16 NLT
When the Gentiles sin, they will be destroyed, even though they never had God’s written law. And the Jews, who do have God’s law, will be judged by that law when they fail to obey it. For merely listening to the law doesn’t make us right with God. It is obeying the law that makes us right in his sight. Even Gentiles, who do not have God’s written law, show that they know his law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it. They demonstrate that God’s law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right. And this is the message I proclaim—that the day is coming when God, through Christ Jesus, will judge everyone’s secret life.
Warren Wiersbe
God will judge people according to the light they have received. But never think that the Gentiles (who were unaware of Moses) lived apart from law; for the moral law of God was written on their hearts. Dan Crawford, veteran missionary to Africa, came out of the jungles and said, “The heathen are sinning against a flood of light.” “It is most evident from Scripture,” writes Dr. Roy Laurin, “that men will be judged according to the knowledge of God which they possess and never according to any higher standard they do not possess.” The Jews hear the Law but refuse to do it and will be thus judged more severely. The same will happen to sinners who hear God’s Word today but will not heed it.[3]
A Kingdom Catechism
Question #19
What is the promise of the Law of God?
The promise of the Law of God is that all who walk in obedience to it will know life, peace, joy, and hope, and will rejoice in and manifest the glory of God.
Question #22
Is the Law of God intended for believers only?
God has given His Law to be a rule of holiness for all people, and, to that end, He has written the works of His Law on the hearts of all people.
Question #23
How does the Law of God benefit non-believers?
The Law of God benefits nonbelievers by protecting them from the harmful effects of sin, teaching them to recognize sin, and directing them to look beyond themselves for righteousness.[4]
Grant us, O Lord, we pray, the spirit to think and do always those things that are right, that we, who can do no good thing apart from you, may by you be enabled to live according to your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.[5]
Asleep in the Light
Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine: Glory to him from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus forever and ever. Amen.[6]
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Corinthians 4.15).
[1] Tyndale House Publishers, Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2015), Jas 1:22.
[2] Matthew Henry and Thomas Scott, Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, 1997), Is 48:1.
[3] Warren W. Wiersbe, Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the New Testament (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1992), 367.
[4] T. M. Moore, A Kingdom Catechism, 2022, Waxed Tablet Publications, pp. 26, 28.
[5] Collect Proper 9, Anglican Book of Common Prayer, 2019, p. 617.
[6] Benediction based on Ephesians 3:20-21, Anglican Book of Common Prayer, 2019, p. 53.
