Thy mercy, my God, is the theme
of my song. The word law appears 300 times
in the Old Testament and 223 times in the New Testament in
our English Bibles. It is most often used in the
Old Testament to describe the law of God which was given to
Moses for the nation of Israel. While that law was often divided
by men into what is referred to as the ceremonial law and
the moral law, we don't find such a division spoken of in
the scriptures. Moses' law is not simply what
has come to be referred to as the Ten Commandments, but includes
all of those commands which were given to him on Mount Sinai,
and written in stone by the hand of him who changes not, and whose
word cannot fail. When we come to the New Testament,
the Greek word, which is predominantly translated as law, literally
means a custom, a statute, a principle, or a force or influence which
compels to action. The use of the term law in the
New Testament sometimes refers to the Mosaic Law, but not exclusively. The Mosaic Law was given to the
nation of Israel, primarily to instruct them about the great
distance that there was between them as sinful men and a holy
God who dwells in a light to which no man can approach. That
law which was holy and irreproachable they disregarded and broke. Therefore
this law became to them a law of sin, death, and condemnation. It is most certainly a good thing
for men to love the Lord their God with all their hearts, and
to love their neighbor as themselves. Yet who has kept this law? This
law demands and provides nothing that would aid a man in keeping
it, and does but promise condemnation to all who fail to abide by it.
This is the very reason that Christ came to redeem His elect
from it. For what the law could not do,
in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son
in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in
the flesh. So the law cannot be of service
to any who would seek to be found acceptable before a righteous
and holy God. Men who are not personally acquainted
with the condemnation breathed out in the Mosaic law will often
simply view it as a good code of ethics for men to follow.
Quite often they are akin to the Pharisees who considered
themselves to be law-keepers. They look upon the outward letter
of that law and see it as a good rule to keep. While we are certain
that nothing contained in the Mosaic law is anything less than
holy and good, we are also certain of the utter impossibility of
a man to keep it in its jot and tittle. Paul warns Timothy of
those who were desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding
neither what they say nor whereof they affirm. The correction of
this error is that which occupies the majority of Paul's letter
to the Galatians, and this error has beset the people of God in
just about every age up to the present. Those who have a limited
understanding of the purpose and weakness of the Mosaic law
will continue to seek to bind it upon the very people whom
the Lord has set free from it. There is a law spoken of in the
New Testament which we might call the natural law. The scripture
says that this is a law written in the hearts of every man and
leaves him without excuse before God whether he is Jew or Gentile.
This is the power of the conscience from which none can escape except
those who are reprobate. This very law condemns him because
he testifies of the righteousness of that law by condemning conduct
in others which he allows in himself. In this men testify
that they are knowledgeable about right and wrong. All men shall
be condemned who stand before God on the basis of conscience,
since they have despised His righteousness time and again
and denied that which He plainly gave. While conscience does indeed
serve to subdue men, yet they will often even deny their own
conscience to pursue their own destruction. If the natural law
and mosaic law were the only laws given to men, none should
ever escape condemnation. Thankfully, we read that there
is a law which is given to the sons of God, which forever sets
them free from the law of sin and death, whether that be written
in the conscience or chiseled in tablets of stone. Paul writes
this, there is therefore now no condemnation to them which
are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after
the spirit. For the law of the spirit of
life in Christ Jesus hath made me free. from the law of sin
and death. Those who find themselves burdened
with the grief of their sin can find no consolation in the law
of conscience or the law of Moses. In these they are reminded of
their sin. For the law made nothing perfect,
but the bringing in of a better hope did, by the which we draw
nigh unto God. Those who are made righteous
in Jesus Christ are made free from the law of sin and death.
Wherefore, the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that
we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come,
we are no longer under a schoolmaster. Has the law brought you to Christ,
or do you vainly try to keep it? If you would like a free transcript
of this broadcast, email us at forthepoor at windstream.net.