Uses of the Law: Make Known the Character of God (4)

T. M. Moore

“For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the people who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers…” Deuteronomy 7.6-8

The eternal, self-existing, self-revealing God, the Creator of worlds and the Redeemer of His people, the altogether sovereign Lord of heaven and earth is holy, and He commands the people He has chosen for Himself to be holy as well (Lev. 11.44). To this end they must consecrate themselves, receive His covenant, submit to His Law, and love Him supremely (Deut. 6.4, 5).

This holy God is also loving. Given His holiness, and given the sinfulness of His people and all mankind, God owes nothing to men but to condemn and destroy them. He would be in no way diminished, either in character or necessity, if He should do so. However, this holy God is also loving. He chose to redeem a people for Himself as a treasured possession (1 Pet. 2.9, 10). His love is not constrained by any condition in the object of His love; rather, it is entirely generated within His holy will.

In His love, moreover, He redeems those He has chosen, sets them apart for Himself and His glory, and lavishes them with every good gift, according to His freely given precious and very great promises (2 Pet. 1.4). Given our sinfulness and God’s sovereignty and holiness, His love is a very great mercy and continuing blessing.

It is altogether appropriate to fear and obey such a sovereign and holy God; but it is also altogether appropriate to love and serve Him freely.

For a practical guide to the role of God’s Law in the life of faith, get The Ground for Christian Ethics by going to www.ailbe.org and click on our Book Store.