The Rule of Law: First Things (12)

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“And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.” Deuteronomy 30.6

God knew that His people did not have the kind of inner strength they would need in order to be governed in all their affairs by the Law of God. The history of Israel throughout the Old Testament bears ample witness to their failures of soul. Loving themselves and the world more than God, the people of Israel consistently repudiated His covenant, despised His Law, and forfeited His blessings.

We continue doing the same to this day.

Yet, even as Israel was preparing to invade the land of promise, God held out yet another promise for them, which they would realize only after much suffering and hardship: He would circumcise their hearts so that they would be truly holy, would love the Lord their God as He intended, and would enjoy all His promised blessings as they walked in obedience to all His Law (vv. 9, 10).

As the Lord explained through Ezekiel and Jeremiah, this new heart would come with the new covenant, as God sent His Spirit to establish a pliant, living soul within His people, that they might know the fullness of His presence and power for blessing (Jer. 31.31-34; Ezek. 36.26, 27). Only the Holy Spirit can bring the inward renewal unto life that is essential for God’s people to be governed in their souls by His Law. He dwells in all who believe in Jesus, and teaches them God’s Word, convicting and transforming them by His inward presence, and empowering them outwardly to live as witnesses for Christ.

If we would know the rule of God’s Law in our souls, therefore, we must be filled with the Spirit of God. Conversely, if we possess the Spirit, and if we are truly filled with Him, we must expect that our inward life will be such – heart, mind, and conscience – as to produce glad obedience to God’s Law in all the outward expressions of our lives (Rom. 8.5-9).

Next steps – Preparation: Remember, the Spirit’s work within us is to convict (Jn. 16.8-11), transform (2 Cor. 3.12-18), empower (Acts 1.8), and bear fruit (Gal. 5.22, 23). As you pray through the Ten Commandments today, ask the Spirit to work in some specific way for an action of love consistent with each Commandment.

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.