Exodus 20.2, 3

“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.”

Deuteronomy 5.6, 7

“‘I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.’”

The Law, which God gave to His people upon their deliverance, was intended as an administrative means by which the people of the covenant could know the blessings of the covenant in fellowship with the God of the covenant and His people. The Law, therefore, is, like the deliverance of God, a gesture of His covenant love, given to Israel entirely by grace and wholly for their good and God’s glory.

Consequently, the redeemed of the Lord are not their own; as Israel belonged to God Who delivered them from captivity in Egypt, so believers belong to God Who redeemed them through Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 6.19, 20). We have been redeemed by grace through faith so that we, belonging to God, might do the good works which God has before ordained for us in His Law (Eph. 2.8-10).

Thus the Law of God, written on our hearts as the image-bearers of God (Rom. 2.14, 15), is now being re-written on our hearts by the indwelling Spirit of Christ (Ezek. 36.26, 27). We should expect, given the presence of the Spirit and the changes wrought in God’s relationship with the world through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, that certain aspects of the eternal Law of God would need to be adjusted and adapted to this new age of grace.

The triumph of the Gospel and the reality of salvation by grace does not negate the Law of God (Rom. 3.31). The Law remains holy and righteous and good (Rom. 7.12). Thus we need to understand the intent of the Law as it relates to us today as the redeemed people of God.

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Exodus 20.2, 3

“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.”

Deuteronomy 5.6, 7

“‘I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.’”

God Who gave us His Law is eternal and unchanging. He is also personal and loving, and gives us precious and very great promises by which to draw us into a loving relationship with Himself. God’s Law plays an important role in enabling us to “partake” of God (2 Pet. 1.4) and to share in His eternal life and love.

God Who gave the Law is also the One Who brought Israel out of captivity in Egypt. In Egypt Israel was enslaved to the whims of Pharaohs and overseers. The promises eluded them; oppressors exploited them; and all the memory of their special calling from the Lord was being systematically erased.

But in faithfulness to His covenant promises (Ex. 2.24) – He is unchanging, after all – God came to His people in Egypt, and by a mighty arm and an outstretched hand, delivered them from captivity under the leadership of Moses and Aaron. This deliverance was all of grace, and bears strong testimony to the steadfast love and faithfulness of God.

He Who had thus delivered His people would not fail, from that time forward, to relate to them on that same basis. Israel, after her deliverance, belonged to God; they were His people, and He would be their God, dwelling among them, receiving their worship, and blessing them according to all their needs and all His precious and very great promises.

Sign up to receive Crosfigell, our thrice-weekly email devotional, featuring T. M. Moore’s insights to Scripture and the Celtic Christian tradition.

Exodus 20.2, 3

“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.”

Deuteronomy 5.6, 7

“‘I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.’”

The Law of God has its source in the unchanging and eternal Yahweh, God of heaven and earth. We should expect, therefore, that, like Him Who gave it, God’s Law would be eternal and unchanging as well.

Yahweh is also a personal Deity, existing in three Persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In the eternal Godhead the Persons of the Deity enjoy perfect glory and mutual love. It is reasonable to expect, therefore, that the Law issuing from such counsel will be intended for the same. Through obedience to the eternal and unchanging Law, God’s people learn the ways of love and live within the context of His glory.

Yahweh is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – the God of magnificent and precious promises which He holds out to His people as the way to partake of His very essence (Ex. 3.6; Gen. 12.1-3; 2 Pet. 1.4). The Law is thus not in conflict with the promises (Gal. 3:15-8; cf. Rom. 4.13-25). It was given as a means to aid Israel in moving toward that which God intended for them in loving Him and their neighbors. As Jesus Christ fulfills the Law, and all the Prophets (Matt. 5.17-19), so also He is the fulfillment of all the promises of God as well (2 Cor. 1.20). Thus the Law and the promises are embodied in Jesus Christ, and all the blessings and glory of each is realized only through Him.

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Exodus 20.2, 3

“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.  You shall have no other gods before me.”

Deuteronomy 5.6, 7

“‘I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.  You shall have no other gods before me.’”

Psalm 73.25; Romans 1.21-25

In this briefest of prologues, God identifies Himself as sole Giver of the commandments, statutes, precepts and rules that follow. The Law thus has its origins in the eternal being and counsel of the one true God, and this has important implications for the nature of the Law itself.

The Lord. The Law comes to the redeemed of the Lord from an eternal and personal Being, Yahweh, the great I Am. He is holy and unchanging; hence, we should expect that whatever He might ordain in the way of moral instruction for His people would be of the same character. The Law of God is and unchanging, as is God Who gave it; it is therefore also eternal.

Consequently, the Law of God is the absolute and final standard for human moral conduct. The works of the Law are written on the heart of every human being (Rom. 2.14, 15), who bears the image and likeness of God. Thus, by living in conformity to the teaching of the divine Law may any human being expect to find the fullness of God’s purpose for life.

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Failure to keep watch over our hearts will cause us to stumble.

Get ready for violence every day.

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The Law of God in the Life of the Church (14)

The Law of God in the Life of the Church (13)

The Law of God in the Life of the Church (12)

The Law of God in the Life of the Church (11)

The Law of God in the Life of the Church (10)