The Rule of Law: First Things (5)

Click here to watch a brief video introducing this week’s study.

“When your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies, the statutes, and the judgments which the LORD our God has commanded you?’ then you shall say to your son: ‘We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand…” Deuteronomy 6.20, 21

The meaning of God’s Law also provides the motive for our obedience. This should be especially so for the believer in Jesus Christ.

What does the Law of God mean? It means that God has set His love on a people whom He has redeemed from slavery and degradation. He is determined to renew and restore this people, so that they enjoy and live together in His love, and make His glory known to the ends of the earth. The Law of God provides the moral and spiritual renovation God’s people require in order to fulfill His Kingdom purposes.

When we understand God’s meaning in giving us His Law, we should be motivated to embrace that meaning, particularly if we have come to know and benefit from the redemption He has accomplished for us through our Lord Jesus Christ. The motive to obey God’s Law is inherent in the meaning of that Law. God means for us to know, enjoy, and glorify Him. He has saved us and is equipping us for that grand and lofty calling. Our motive in obeying His Law is thus to enter into His holy and righteous and good meaning for our lives, so that we might realize His eternal purposes and blessings as fully as possible.

We do not submit to the rule of God’s Law in order to be saved. Nor do we do so grudgingly. Rather, having been saved, redeemed from sin and death by our Lord Jesus Christ, we surrender to the rule of Law in order that we may love God, and our neighbor through good works that glorify Him.

Next steps – Preparation: Learning and obeying God’s Law flows as a response to our increased awareness of His love for us. Begin today practicing more thanksgiving for the many blessings of God – your life, your salvation, the beauty of creation, the love of others. Begin and end your day in thanksgiving, and even set aside a time or two throughout the day to reflect with gratitude on the goodness and grace of the Lord.

The Law of God is the soil which, fertilized by the rest of God’s Word and watered by His Spirit, brings forth the fruit of the Christian life. If you’d like to understand this process better, and how to make best use of the Law in your walk with and work for the Lord, order the book, The Ground for Christian Ethics, from our online store.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.