The Law of God

39. What is the duty which God requires of man? Obedience to His revealed will.

40. What did God at first reveal to man for the rule of His obedience? The Moral Law.

41. Where is the moral law summarily comprehended? In the Ten Commandments.

42. What is the sum of the Ten Commandments? To love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind; and to love our neighbor as ourselves.

Micah 6:8

Romans 2:14-15

Exodus 31:18

Matthew 22:34-40

Introduction

We learned last week that the fear of the Lord produces obedience in the Christian. Obedience requires a law. Without a law, there’s nothing to obey. If we are going to obey God, then God must have set down rules, directions, and instructions. Laws.

Today I want to explain what God says about how He has revealed His laws to men throughout history.

The Moral Law

Romans 2:14-15

“For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them...”

Written on the natural (φύσει) heart of every person.

Confirmed (συμμαρτυρέω; root μαρτυς, witness) by the conscience.

Role of Conscience

Conscience tells us whether we are doing right or wrong according to God’s Moral Law.

When we trust Christ and obey, we experience the peace of a good conscience (1 Tim 1:5) and a clear conscience (1 Tim 3:9).

Problem: Conscience can be misinformed (1 Cor 8:7), wounded (1 Cor 8:12), defiled (Titus 1:15), or even seared (1 Tim 4:2).

Sin creates dissonance in the sinner, who desires and chooses to sin even though he knows it is wrong. He is alternately accused and excused by his conscience.

Way of explanation: “You know better.”

No explicit rule.

Nevertheless, it’s obvious.

Illustration: Donuts around the college guy.

Explain what I did.

There were no signs, no instructions, no rules, etc.

But I knew I was wrong. It was obvious.

The Mosaic Law

Exodus 20

Ten Commandments

Further explained in additional commandments and case studies

The Moral Law, written on men’s hearts, are spelled out more fully in the Ten Commandments, written on stone.

“Let me spell it out for you.”

Explicit rules.

Obvious, but difficult (impossible) to obey.

Illustration: Our little hairstylist

Mercy cut Siana’s hair last year.

We laid down some laws.

Then she did it again.

The Mega (Greatest) Law

Mark 12:28-34

“And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32 And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. 33 And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”

Love God with “110%.”

Love others as much as you love yourself.

Reinforced throughout the NT.

“Royal law,” (James 2:8)

1 Cor 13

The Ten Commandments, which more fully reveals the Moral Law, can be boiled down to one law or command: love.

First four: love God.

Last six: love others.

“This is the bottom line.”

If I do this, does it demonstrate love for God or others?

If I don’t do this, does it demonstrate love for God or others?

This is the heart of God’s Law. You could say this is God’s heart behind every one of His commands.

Examples of commands

“Having put away falsehood, let each of you speak the truth with his neighbor” (Eph 4:25).

“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear” (Eph 4:29).

“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Eph 4:31-32).

“Sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you” (Eph 5:3).

“Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place” (Eph 5:4a).

“Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit” (Eph 5:18).

“Wives, submit to your husbands...Husbands, love your wives...Children, obey your parents” (Eph 5:22, 25; 6:1).

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves” (Philippians 2:3).

Why all these commands?

God loves you and everyone He made. Obeying these commands is best for you and others.

As a Christian, obeying them demonstrates love for God and for His creation.

Revealed in Christ Himself

His coming was an act of love.

His mission (humility, obedience, rejection, death) was an act of love.

“We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

Conclusion

When your heart is aligned with God’s, obedience becomes a joy.

Maybe you’ve never aligned your heart with God’s?

You are dead in trespasses and sins and remain an enemy of God and outside of His grace.

You must be born again.

Are you aligning your heart with God’s?

What are you feeding your heart?

Submit to Christ daily.