Q 22: Is the Law of God then for believers only?

A 22: No, God has given His Law to be a rule of holiness for all people, and He has written the works of His Law on the hearts of all men to that end. (Rom. 3.19; Rom. 2.14, 15)

The Law is good, objectively, because it reflects the good character of God. God created all people for His good purposes, that they might know, enjoy, and glorify Him in all ways. Made in the image of God, human beings have the “works of the Law written on their hearts” by some mysterious and spiritual means, so that their consciences are attuned to God’s good purposes, and to the knowledge of God.

It does not negate the goodness of the Law nor the good purposes and intentions of God toward human beings that people deny the Lord, reject His Word, and prefer other paths in life. God continues to woo men and women, appealing to their conscience and to the knowledge of God inherent in their souls, even though many will never acknowledge, submit to, or love Him.

Their hardness of heart notwithstanding, God’s Law remains a faithful guide by which all human beings may know at least a measure of His grace in this life. The fact that so many of the laws of nations draw on aspects of the Law of God indicates that, in spite of themselves, unbelieving people still are able to discern elements of the good society which the Law of God encodes.

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