The Rule of Law: Government of the Mind (7)

“For the LORD your God is testing you, to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and all your soul.” Deuteronomy 13.3

There is no escaping temptation; we will always be confronted with opportunities to disobey the Lord. In ancient Israel one of the most dangerous temptations would be when someone sought to lead the people to worship other gods. But this was only the most dangerous temptation; temptations confront the people of God all day long in a wide variety of ways.

The Lord allows these tests in order to give His people an opportunity to recall His Law and continue in the path of obedience.

But the only way to recognize temptation is to know the Law of God. We could not know we were being tempted to covet, Paul explained, unless the Law taught us about coveting (Rom.7.7). So even the daily temptations that come our way are designed to get us thinking about the Law of God, to recognize that we are being tested, and to choose the way of obedience and holiness rather than the way of sin. Even temptation therefore becomes a means for strengthening our minds in the Law of God.

God intends to rule our minds – what and how we think – so that, by obeying Him we may know Him and enjoy the blessings of His promises. By commanding us to learn the Law, giving us examples of parents and rulers who live and teach it, reminding us of the goodness and purpose of the Law in various ways, and even exposing us to the tests of temptation, God works by His Spirit to strengthen our minds in understanding and using His Law.

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.