Take it to Heart--The heart is the most important component of the soul; from it, Solomon explained, flow all the issues of life (Prov. 4.23).

The Rule of Law: Government of the Heart (1)

Set your heart on the Law of God.

“And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.” Deuteronomy 6.6

The heart is the most important component of the soul; from it, Solomon explained, flow all the issues of life (Prov. 4.23). The rule of God’s Law, unto holiness and righteousness and goodness (Rom. 7.12), must begin in the heart. If the Law is not on our hearts, if it is not shaping our affections in the direction of love for God and neighbor, then we will not be inclined to keep the Law and, thus, will forfeit all the benefits outlined in it.

Moses commanded the people of Israel to “Take to heart” all the words of the Law of God (Deut. 32.46). It’s not enough merely to learn the content of the Law, nor even to carry out its commands in our daily lives. This is the way of legalism, which strives to know and practice the letter of the Law but has no regard for its spirit.

Taking the Law of God to our hearts certainly means that we will need to understand its content. And it will also mean that the Law comes out through our words and works as expressions of the inward work of the Spirit, transforming us increasingly into the image of Jesus Christ (1 Jn. 2.1-6; 2 Cor. 3.12-18). But we must take the Law to heart, allowing it to expose and shape our affections, so that we desire what we are learning and carry out the teaching of the Law with hearts full of gratitude, joy, and love.

The place to begin in taking the Law to heart is by resting in the Spirit of God, pleading with Him and listening for Him as He searches the deep recesses of our hearts to reveal the state and need of our affections with respect to the Law and will of God (Ps. 139.23, 24). This is not a one-time experience; rather, we must learn to take refuge in God’s Spirit and wait upon Him, day by day, as He exposes our deepest affections and turns and shapes them to desire the Law of God from the depths of our hearts.

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

We should ask ourselves, Is that my experience?

The facts of the past do, indeed, affect the future of humankind.

We want everything Jesus has to give us.

We do not want people to go to hell.

Are we losing our vision of the unseen realm or just trading it in?

Poetry sneaks up on you

God spoke to Job out of the tornado.

The secular world may be more ready for God's Law than we think.

This is Life!--“Keeping” or, more literally, “guarding” the Law of God begins in the soul,

The Rule of Law: Government of the Soul (7)

This is the way we’re meant to live.

“You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the LORD.” Leviticus 18.5

“Keeping” or, more literally, “guarding” the Law of God begins in the soul, as we daily strive, in the Word and by God’s Spirit, to keep our affections, thoughts, and values subordinate to God’s revealed will, beginning in His Law. Such constant vigilance can be arduous, it’s true. Thus, the Scriptures refer to living this way as work, warfare, running a race, doing battle, and so forth. But though life on God’s terms is difficult, it is not onerous (Matt. 11.30).

Only God is able to define life on the most blessed and beneficial of terms, life in the fullness of joy and with pleasures forevermore (Ps. 16.11). All our vain attempts to find our way in life apart from God will only leave us disappointed, or worse (Prov. 14.12). Real life is through faith in Jesus Christ, by dying through Jesus to the wrath of God’s Law, and living in Him unto the righteousness of that Law (1 Jn. 2.1-6). Jesus is the life we seek, and we know His life through faith and obedience, from the inside-out.

So let us guard our hearts, minds, and consciences against the destructive influences of the world, the flesh, and the devil, by filling our souls with the Law of God, leaning on the Spirit to search, teach, and form us into the image of Jesus Christ, walking in daily obedience to God’s Law, and exhorting all around us to do the same. Thus we will know the greatness of God’s Kingdom and fullness of life in Jesus Christ (Matt. 5.17-19).

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.

True Righteousness--Jesus surely must have shocked His hearers by telling them that they could have no part in the Kingdom of God unless their righteousness exceeded that of the scribes Pharisees (Matt. 5.20).

The Rule of Law: Government of the Soul (6)

Here is true righteousness, indeed.

“And it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to do all this commandment before the LORD our God, as he has commanded us.” Deuteronomy 20.25

Jesus surely must have shocked His hearers by telling them that they could have no part in the Kingdom of God unless their righteousness exceeded that of the scribes Pharisees (Matt. 5.20). All their lives these people had believed they could never measure up to the righteousness of their leaders. Now Jesus was telling them they had to exceed even that standard.

He was simply telling them what Moses had been saying all along, that true righteousness begins in the soul, where the heart, mind, and conscience work together, under the tutelage of God’s Law and Spirit, to bring forth love that is genuine and sincere (1 Tim. 1.5).

Doing “all this commandment” surely implied doing it from the heart (Deut. 6.4-9). Only when Israel’s love and obedience flowed from within could they expect to know the promised blessings of the Lord. Only as we thus love and serve the Lord can we expect the same.

The righteousness that Christians begin to realize is the righteousness of Jesus Christ, formed in them by God’s Word and Spirit as they “put on” Jesus in every area of life, beginning with their renewed souls. When our hearts love God supremely; when our minds are in sync with the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2.16); and when our consciences value supremely His highest priorities – seeking the Kingdom and building His Church – then our lives will reflect His righteousness in all our words and deeds.

But the soil in which this righteousness grows to fruition is the reading and study of God’s Law. Unless we are governed in our souls by the Law of God, and by all the subsequent revelation of God elaborating, clarifying, explaining, and applying that Law, we will never see the righteousness of Jesus Christ take shape and come to expression in our everyday lives.

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.

The Necessity of the Spirit--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 Rule of Law: Government of the Soul (1)

We cannot submit our hearts, minds, and consciences to God’s rule apart from His Spirit.

“And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may truly 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 them and teaches them God’s Word, convicting and transforming them by His inward presence, and empowering them outwardly to live as witnesses for Jesus 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.

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.