“Justice, and only justice shall you follow, that you may live and inherit the land that the LORD your God is giving you.” Deuteronomy 16.20

It’s interesting that this text takes “justice” as something to be “lived” and not merely “pronounced,” as by a court of law. When God’s people go out from their homes into the world – whether to school, the workplace, the marketplace, church, or anywhere else – God calls them to follow justice.

Justice is simply the will of God enacted as neighbor-love in every situation. “Justice” is a term that comprehends the “good works” for which believers have been redeemed through Jesus Christ (Eph. 2.8-10). Homes in which the Law of God is thoroughly tilled into the soil of members’ souls, and practiced according to the demands of justice, will prove to be fertile nurseries to promote fruitful lives of good works in the larger world.

The Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Paul urges all his readers to pursue these (Rom. 14.17-19), and Jesus said that Kingdom greatness is realized through obeying and teaching the Law of God (Matt. 5.17-19). If we want the people in our homes to be great in seeking and advancing the Kingdom of God throughout all their various personal spheres – bearing spiritual fruit in all their relationships, roles, and responsibilities – then we must take seriously the command of teaching God’s Law in our homes as we have been describing.

Churches should also contribute to the formation of their members into the image of Jesus Christ. But they are not the primary ground for raising godly spiritual fruit. This is the work of the home, and for this work to have its maximum effect, it should be anchored in the Law of God as the cornerstone of divine verbal revelation and the primary pointer to our Lord Jesus Christ.

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.