Chapter 26

Man and God

The Use of God's Law Today

In this chapter and the next one we will discuss the Law of God as it was given in the Old Testament and as it applies now.

God's Law Is Good

First, it should be noted that God's Law is good. Many people look upon it as a burden. However, the Apostle John says that "His commandments are not burdensome" (1John 5:3). The Bible also says the Law is good, but that it must be used in a lawful way. Paul, when writing to Timothy, said:

		1Timothy 1:8-11
	8	But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully,
	9	realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous man, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers
	10	and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching,
	11	according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted.

Paul wrote to the Romans, "So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good" (Romans 7:12). He continued in verse 14, saying, "we know that the Law is spiritual." However, the author of Hebrews wrote that the old covenant of Law has a problem. But, he says, the problem was not with the covenant itself; rather, it was with the people to whom it was given:

		Hebrews 8:7-8
	7	For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second.
	8	For finding fault with them [not it], He says, "Behold, days are coming, says the Lord, When I will effect a new covenant With the house of Israel and with the house of Judah."

So, the New Testament covenant of grace bears abundant testimony to the fact that the Old Testament covenant of Law was good.

The Commandments of God

Just what is the Law of God? Many people who have not read the Bible do not know that God gave laws to regulate the affairs of mankind. There are rules of conduct between men, and between God and man.

Exodus records the Ten Commandments of God which form the basic moral law from which other laws are taken. There are over 600 separate laws in the Old Testament, but they have to do with the detailed application of the basic Ten Commandments. Let's read the Ten Commandments, as God gave them to Moses:

		Exodus 20:1-17
	1	Then God spoke all these words, saying,
	2	"I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
	3	"You shall have no other gods before Me.
	4	"You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.
	5	"You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me,
	6	but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
	7	"You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.
	8	"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
	9	"Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
	10	but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you.
	11	"For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.
	12	"Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you.
	13	"You shall not murder.
	14	"You shall not commit adultery.
	15	"You shall not steal.
	16	"You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
	17	"You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor."

God's Purpose for Giving the Law

The problem with the Law is that no one can keep it all the time. The problem lies with us, not the Law. The question then is, even though the Law is good, if we cannot keep it, why did God give it? What was the purpose of the Law which God gave? The purpose was twofold. First, God's laws were given to prove to man that he is a sinner in need of a Savior. The Word of God says:

		Romans 3:19-20
	19	Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, that every mouth may be closed, and all the world may become accountable to God;
	20	because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.

Those two verses simply state that when the time comes for each person to stand before God in judgment, no one will be able to say that he lived an acceptable life, nor can he say that he did not know right from wrong. Every mouth will be shut. No one will have a word to say in self-defense because the Word of God is very clear as to what is right and what is wrong. Furthermore, Romans says that through the Law no person will be justified in God's sight because through the Law comes the knowledge of sin. As you can see, the first purpose of the Law is to show man that he is a sinner who has broken specific laws and is, therefore, guilty before Almighty God.

But that is not the only purpose of the Law. If it were, we would have no hope, and no place to turn. The second purpose for the Law is to lead people to Jesus. Paul, writing to the Galatians, says:

		Galatians 3:23-24
	23	But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed.
	24	Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith.

Here, the purpose of the Law is said to be to lead us to Christ. The picture is of a child under the direction of a tutor until he reaches adult age. The Law was a tutor given to bring us to Christ so that we may be justified by faith.

The two purposes of the Law work together. First, it shows us that we are unable to be justified by keeping the commandments. Therefore, we need another way, a way of grace. When the Ten Commandments were given in the Old Testament, the laws of sacrifice for salvation by grace were also given as an example of the grace that was to come through Jesus Christ. Thus, the second purpose of the Law was to give us hope by leading us to Jesus Christ that we may be justified by faith.

Use of the Law Today

We began by saying that the Law is good if one uses it lawfully. The question then is what is a lawful use of the Law? Today it can still be used to show men that they are guilty before God and need a Savior. A lawful use of the Law is to preach God's requirements very clearly as a standard by which men will be judged. Men need to realize there is a judgment to come.

We do not preach that one can be saved by the Law, for by it no one will be justified. We do point to the broken Law as the sign of condemnation and judgment. Then, at the same time, we point to Jesus Christ as the one who perfectly fulfilled the Law for us. He gave His life on Calvary as an atonement for those who have broken the Law and sinned against God. So, our use of the Law today still fulfills its twofold purpose revealed in the Scriptures.

A well-known evangelist of past years, a man named Charles Finney, said that you cannot get men saved until you first get them lost. There's a great deal of truth in that. While it is true that all men are lost without Jesus Christ, it is equally true that many do not know they are lost because they have not heard the preaching of the Law. Jesus said, "I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" (Matthew 9:13 KJV). He also said that healthy people do not need a physician, but the sick do. Jesus came to give help to those who are sick and know it, and to those who are sinners and know it. We can use the commandments of God as a starting point for the Holy Spirit to bring the conviction of sin to the hearts of those who hear the message preached.

Make It Personal

If you have never trusted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, I urge you to do it today – right this minute! Why? Because you have broken God's holy Law and therefore stand condemned before Him without excuse. But the good news is that God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to bear the guilt and condemnation in your place. By simply confessing your sin to God and believing the record that He gave concerning Jesus, you will be saved. If you will confess that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9). The righteous demands of the Law were satisfied by Jesus on your behalf. Believe God and believe in Jesus and live in faith and truth before Him forever.

		John 1:17
	17	For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.

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