And Moses said to the people, "Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before You, so that you may not sin" (Exodus 20:20).
THEME
LAW
Alexander Solzhenitsyn told the 1978 graduates of Harvard, "I have spent all my life under a Communist regime, and I will tell you that a society without any objective legal scale is a terrible one indeed. But a society with no other scale but the legal one is not quite worthy of man either."
More than three thousand years ago God gave Moses an objective legal document to guide Israel. The Ten Commandments provided moral guidance, and the other laws gave Israel civil, legal, personal, religious, and social instructions.
In the brutal and cruel ancient world, Israel's legal code was a model of wisdom and justice. As a gift from God, it gave every Jew the basis for receiving God's blessing, though no one could live up to its high standards.
The law revealed God's character and each person's sin. In these ways it pointed people to a holy life, but it could not produce right living.
What the law could not do, Jesus did. With His life and death, He replaced the old scale with a perfect new model: Love. Simple, complex love. The Jews couldn't get the old model out of their heads, and Gentile believers couldn't figure out how to use the new one. But for the first time, God gave His people a moral system that fully revealed His character and was worthy of His creation.
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MAR 04
ROMANS 7:1-6
You who make your boast in the law, do you dishonor God through breaking the law? (Romans 2:23).
A twenty-five year veteran of the Internal Revenue Service was convicted of income tax evasion. The IRS auditor was caught trying to exploit what he thought was a flaw in the system. About the time that story made headlines, the DETROIT NEWS ran a feature article on the growing problem of the unethical and immoral conduct of some criminal court judges. The article raised the question, "Who's going to judge the judges?"
The lawlessness of people familiar with the law is not confined to courtrooms and the IRS. There is one law that we all have broken--God's law. Worse than that, some religious people take pride in their relationship to that law. Without fail, these people are exposed by the very law they love. The law of God reveals all self-professed lawkeepers to be lawbreakers.
Writing to the Romans, Paul made it clear that the law of God should never be used as a basis for self-righteous pride. Instead, it should be used to show how much we all need God's mercy. The law is a schoolmaster or tutor to bring us to Christ so that we can be justified by faith (Ga 3:24). Only when we rely on God's mercy rather than on our record of keeping the law will we bring honor to the Lord. And only then can we be "delivered from the law" (Ro 7:6).
--M.R.D.II
In Christ, we can all live above the law.
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MAR 05
ROMANS 8:1-11
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2).
Laws seem to encourage lawbreaking. Issue a strong prohibition, and before long somebody breaks it. Tell a little boy he must stay out of the cookie jar, leave him alone in the kitchen, and what happens? The command creates in him an irresistible desire for one of the forbidden treats. He looks longingly; he yields. Had the order not been issued, the youngster may not have become an offender.
We respond in much the same way to God's holy law. It seems to incite us to do the very thing it is intended to prevent. This is because another law, "the law of sin and death" (Ro 8:2), also operates within us. Paul said he would not have known covetousness, "unless the law had said, You shall not covet" (Ro 7:7). That prohibition, when brought in contact with Paul's heart, stirred up within him "all manner of evil desire" (Ro 7:8). Although the law is good, it has no power to make us obedient.
How then can we fulfill God's law if all it does is condemn us? We must learn to live by "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus" (Ro 8:2), which gives us a marvelous freedom and power. It's like flying in an airplane. On the ground the aircraft is subject to gravity. But as it races down the runway, it reaches a point where the laws of aerodynamics displace the law of gravity. So, too, when we yield to what we know is right, God's Spirit takes over, superseding the "law of sin and death," and then we find delight in keeping God's commands (Ps. 119:143).
--D.J.D.
Law keeps us limping in the dark; grace sets us walking in the light.
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MAR 06
GALATIANS 3:19-29
Therefore, the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ
(Galatians 3:24).
The law has never saved anyone, and it never will. God did not give it to redeem us from sin but to show us our need of salvation. That's why the apostle Paul called it "our tutor."
In an unforgettable sermon, evangelist Fred Brown used three images to describe the purpose of the law. First, he likened it to the small mirror dentists use. With the mirror they can detect cavities. But they can't drill with it or use it to pull teeth. The mirror reveals the decayed area or other abnormality, but it can't fix the problem.
Brown then drew another analogy. He said that the law is also like a flashlight. If the lights go out at night, you use it to guide you down the darkened basement stairs to the electrical box. When you point it toward the fuses, it helps you see the one that is burned out. But after you've removed the bad fuse, you don't insert the flashlight in its place. You put in a new fuse to restore the electricity.
In his third image, Brown likened the law to a plumbline. Builders check their work by using a weighted string. If this plumbline reveals that the work is not true to the vertical, the plumbline cannot correct it. The builder must get out a hammer and saw.
Like the mirror, flashlight, and plumbline, the law points out the problem--sin, but it doesn't provide a solution. The only way to salvation is through Jesus Christ, who fulfilled the law. Only He can save.
--D.C.E.
The law shows us a need that only grace can fill.
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MAR 07
2 CORINTHIANS 5:10-15
For the love of Christ constrains us (2 Corinthians 5:14).
The Lord loves us first, and we in turn love Him. Because we do, we should serve Him out of devotion--not duty. This is the law of love.
A husband and wife didn't really love each other. The man was very demanding, so much so that he prepared a list of rules and regulations for his wife to follow. He insisted that she read them every day and obey them to the letter. Among other things, his "do's and don'ts" indicated such details as what time she had to get up in the morning, when his breakfast should be served, and how the housework should be done.
A few years after the husband died, the woman fell in love with another man, one who dearly loved her, and they were married. This husband did everything he could to make his new wife happy, continually showering her with tokens of his appreciation. One day as she was cleaning house, she found tucked away in a drawer the list of commands her first husband had written for her. As she looked it over, she realized that even though her new husband hadn't given her any kind of list, she was doing everything her first husband's list required. She was so devoted to this man that her deepest desire was to please him out of love, not obligation. Doing things for him was her greatest joy.
So it should be with us in our relationship to Christ. Because He loves us, we love Him and want to serve Him. That's the law of love.
--R.W.D.
Serving Christ under law is duty; under love it's delight.
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MAR 08
ROMANS 8:29-39
Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies
(Romans 8:33).
A cat burglar in Northville, Michigan, knows from experience what it is like to live above the law. The story began with a missing diamond ring. Although authorities located the robber, they made no arrest. With tongue-in-cheek, a state trooper described the thief as "small of stature, fleet of foot, and moving with a great deal of stealth." He also explained that because of the suspect's age and first-offender status, no charges could be filed. The real reason for letting the culprit go was that he was not subject to the law. The burglar was the complainant's 7-month-old kitten. The pet was implicated by a metal detector that beeped when waved over the animal. X-rays later confirmed their suspicions. The kitten, of course, was not booked; cats live above the law.
This amusing story reminds us of the Christian's position in relation to God's law. In Romans 8, Paul tells of those who will never be accused and tried by the court of heaven. And in Romans 4:8, the apostle said, "Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin." Of such a person he asks, "Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies." Believers live above the law because the cross of Christ protects them from eternal condemnation.
If we become careless about sin, we will suffer pain and loss and be disciplined. But, praise God, we will not be sentenced to hell. Christ has delivered us from the curse of the law.
--M.R.D.II
When I'm justified through Christ's merits, God looks at me "just as if I'd" never sinned.
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MAR 09
2 CORINTHIANS 3:1-10
The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life (2 Corinthians 3:6).
A group of ministers attending an evangelistic conference gave testimonies as to how they came to know Christ. Most spoke of dramatic conversions. One pastor, however, had been born into a Christian home and had grown up in the church. "It seems from my earliest years I have always known and loved the Lord," he said. The other clergymen couldn't identify with this, since most of them remembered a definite time and place when they trusted in Jesus. The first minister quickly added, "But I do remember when 'have to' became 'want to.'"
Yes, that's the key to knowing that our faith is real. The Holy Spirit fills us with a love for God that creates a desire to keep His commands for Christian living, not from force but from the impulse of a renewed heart. That's what Paul meant when he said that "the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."
If our service for the Lord is all "have to" but no "want to," we have probably become legalistic, having substituted adherence to man-made rules for loving obedience to God's commands. We need to ponder again the great price Jesus paid for our redemption. God exposed His heart of love for us. He inflicted on His beloved Son the punishment we deserve so that we could be forgiven. As we confess our sins and ask the Holy Spirit to fill us, we'll experience afresh His marvelous love. And this will bring us back to the place where "want to" replaces "have to."
--D.J.D.
Legalism weighs us down; love lifts us up.
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MAR 10
1 CORINTHIANS 8
But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak (1 Corinthians 8:9).
Many states in the U.S. allow motorists to make a right turn when the traffic signal is red--if the way is clear. This gives drivers liberty and keeps traffic moving. At some intersections, however, signs say, "No turn on red." These corners are exceptions because they are potential danger spots. By turning on red there, a motorist could cause a serious accident.
In 1 Corinthians 8, we have a similar situation concerning Christian liberty. Paul had perfect freedom to eat meat offered to idols. He knew that there was only one true God and that idols were nothing. Eating meat offered to them was neither right nor wrong. But not all believers felt that way. A person who had a weak conscience believed that the meat was defiled by the idol, and therefore it was off limits. Paul recognized the need to take special care lest by eating he would influence such a person to eat, thus violating his conscience. Concern for weaker believers kept him from exercising his liberty.
As Christians, we are free in Christ--free to engage in social practices and customs not specifically forbidden by biblical commands. Yet the Holy Spirit may prompt us to refrain from some legitimate practices. Then the principle of love must take precedence over the principle of liberty. A mature Christian will heed the "no turn on red" sign to keep from causing a weaker believer "to have a serious accident."
--D.J.D.
None of us has a right to do as we please, unless we please to do right.
