The Law, Part 2

Holy Forever, Chris Tomlin

Psalm 119:17–24 NIV

17 Be good to your servant while I live, that I may obey your word. 18 Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law. 19 I am a stranger on earth; do not hide your commands from me. 20 My soul is consumed with longing for your laws at all times. 21 You rebuke the arrogant, who are accursed, those who stray from your commands. 22 Remove from me their scorn and contempt, for I keep your statutes. 23 Though rulers sit together and slander me, your servant will meditate on your decrees. 24 Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors.

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The Law, Part 2

People do not like to be told what they can or cannot do. They feel they can make the best choice for themselves. “It is my life and I know what is best for me!” most will say. There are many tales that relate the inaccuracy of this declaration, but I will share just one.

10,000 Sermon Illustrations (God Is a Type of Killjoy)

A high school guy wanted to go swimming with his girlfriend at midnight. The neighbors down the block had a pool, and he knew it. What could it hurt for them to use it just once. They would’t hurt anybody. So they ran down there and scaled the fence even though there were No Trespassing and Do Not Enter signs. Just as he hit the diving board, the girl yelled, but it was too late. There was only a foot of water in the pool. He broke his neck, and he’s in therapy to this day. He didn’t realize that the signs on the fence—the precepts—would have protected him.

Laws are not to stop us from having fun! They are often there to protect us and others. This week, we will continue with the next set of Ten Commands from God. The first four we spoke of last week, were regarding our relationship with God. This week, we will look at the next set which are regarding our relationship toward others. For continuity sake, I will read from the beginning of this chapter.

Exodus 20:1–17 NIV

1 And God spoke all these words: 2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 3 “You shall have no other gods before me. 4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. 7 “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. 8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. 12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. 13 “You shall not murder. 14 “You shall not commit adultery. 15 “You shall not steal. 16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. 17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

The Word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God!

I. God’s Ten Words, Part 2

When we talk of “The Law,” we most often think of the Ten Commandments. These are the key laws that come to mind, but they were only a part, though a significant part. They are what we know as...

A. The Moral Law

Last week we looked at the purpose of the law and there was one key point I made repeatedly, as it is one of the biggest mistakes people make. The law was not provided to save us. It can only reveal to us how far short of righteousness we fall. Once we realize that we cannot save ourselves and even at our best, we are never good enough, we are ready to find the answer to our salvation. It comes in the form of the body of Jesus. He is good enough, and He sacrificed Himself to provide our salvation. However, the blood shed on our behalf is not automatically applied on our account. It is a gift offered us and we must choose to receive it. It is a gift of grace. We do not deserve it, but it is offered to us anyway out of God’s grace and mercy. I will address this more in our conclusion, but for now, let’s jump into the moral laws which were so key, that God wrote them on stone with His own finger.

The moral law is divided into two parts. The first we addressed last week. These were...

1. The Commands Regarding Our Behavior Toward God, (Exodus 20:1-11)

It is imperative that we start here because it is only through our relationship with God, that we are able to understand the importance of the next set of commands which are...

2. The Commands Regarding Our Behavior Toward Others (Exodus 20:12-17)

a. Honor your father and your mother. v 12

b. You shall not murder. v 13

c. You shall not commit adultery. v 14

d. You shall not steal. v 15

e. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. v 16

f. You shall not covet. v 17

Once we receive the gift, Jesus’ Spirit enters us and works on us from within to help us grow in righteousness, in the meantime, Jesus blood covers our shortcomings. Jesus’ Spirit is always working on us from within to help us to grow in righteousness. This is a work of sanctifying proportions. Cleansing us and changing us. We do not carry on as we did before. We are being made into a new person. A better person.

I read a story of a young Navajo man from Arizona who had attended a young people’s meeting in Oakland, CA one evening. They were studying Galatians and the subject was law and grace. There were many trying to describe the difference between law and grace. Finally, this young Indian man was asked what he thought. This was his reply.

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“Well, my friends, I have been listening very carefully, because I am here to learn all I can in order to take it back to my people. I do not understand all that you are talking about, and I do not think you do yourselves. But concerning this law and grace business, let me see if I can make it clear. I think it is like this. When Mr. Ironside brought me from my home we took the longest railroad journey I ever took. We got out at Barstow, and there I saw the most beautiful railroad station and hotel I have ever seen. I walked all around and saw at one end a sign, ‘Do not spit here.’ I looked at that sign and then looked down at the ground and saw many had spitted there, and before I think what I am doing I have spitted myself. Isn’t that strange when the sign say, ‘Do not spit here’?

“I come to Oakland and go to the home of the lady who invited me to dinner today and I am in the nicest home I have been in. Such beautiful furniture and carpets, I hate to step on them. I sank into a comfortable chair, and the lady said, ‘Now, John, you sit there while I go out and see whether the maid has dinner ready.’ I look around at the beautiful pictures, at the grand piano, and I walk all around those rooms. I am looking for a sign; and the sign I am looking for is, ‘Do not spit here,’ but I look around those two beautiful drawing rooms, and cannot find a sign like this. I think ‘What a pity when this is such a beautiful home to have people spitting all over it—too bad they don’t put up a sign!’ So I look all over that carpet, but cannot find that anybody have spitted there. What a queer thing! Where the sign says, ‘Do not spit,’ a lot of people spitted. Where there was no sign at all, in that beautiful home, nobody spitted. Now I understand! That sign is law, but inside the home it is grace. They love their beautiful home, and they want to keep it clean. They do not need a sign to tell them so. I think that explains the law and grace business.”

As he sat down, a murmur of approval went round the room and the leader exclaimed, “I think that is the best illustration of law and grace I have ever heard.”

God said the day would come when the law would no longer be written on stone, but would be written on our hearts. That is fulfilled when we receive Jesus as our Savior. We no longer need laws on stone because the love Jesus bring to us and sets up in us, makes the law obsolete. We no longer desire to do the things we once did that required written laws to say they are wrong. We now have different desires and motives.

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