The Rule of Law: First Things (7)

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

“And in all that I have said to you, be circumspect…” Exodus 23.13

We are beginning to see that submitting to the rule of God’s Law is much to be preferred to submitting to any other law. The Ten Commandments, and the attending civil statutes which elaborate their meaning, are the foundation for becoming holy, and for learning to love God and our neighbor as God intends for us. As we learn to fear and love God, submitting to His Law will not be a burden, but will follow from thanksgiving and a desire to please, enjoy, and honor Him.

And this entails on our part three duties which we must embrace as the key components of our submission to the rule of God’s Law: learn the Law, obey the Law, and teach the Law to others (cf. Ezra 7.10).

We must begin to learn the Law of God. The Law of God is encoded in written revelation consisting of commandments, statutes, precepts, and rules. The Prophets of the Old Testament, together with the teaching of Jesus Christ and His Apostles, enable us to understand how those laws are to function in our lives. We must be students of all the Word of God if we would understand the Law. We must read, meditate in, and study the Law, and all the counsel of God, if we would fulfill the first of our duties in submitting to it.

We must also work hard to obey the Law. We have been redeemed for good works, the works outlined for us in the Law of God (Eph. 2.8-10; 1 Jn. 2.1-6). We cannot read and study the Law of God in isolation from the rest of Scripture; this is a certain route to misunderstanding and failures of obedience. Instead, by reading all the Scripture, reflecting backward and forward throughout the Word of God, as the Spirit leads (1 Cor. 2.12, 13), we will be able to understand how the Law applies to our daily lives, and how to access the power of God’s Spirit for obedience.

And then we must teach and encourage one another with the Law of God (Matt. 5.17-19). In this study we shall be considering the many benefits that accrue to those who submit to the rule of God’s Law. These are so many and so affirming that we should eagerly want others to learn them as well. We teach the Law truly when we teach it in the light of Jesus Christ (Jn. 5.39): He fulfilled the Law for us; He bore the Law’s wrath in our place; He rose again to teach us the Law’s application in a Kingdom context, and to give us His Spirit to instruct and empower us. He is at work within us, bringing His own character to life and light in and through us to the praise of the glory of God’s grace; and He is the fulfillment of the Law for all who believe in Him.

If we would submit to the rule of God’s Law, and thus enjoy all the benefits such submission affords, we must devote ourselves to learning, obeying, and teaching the Law of God.

Next steps – Preparation: Find a Christian friend who will agree to read this In the Gates series and meet once or twice a month to discuss what you’re learning. Order a copy of  The Ground for Christian Ethics, from our online store to learn more about why the Law of God is so important.

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

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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.