THE LAW OF GOD!

WHAT ABOUT IT?

 THE SUMMARY!
The great principles of God's law are embodied in
the Ten Commandments and exemplified in the life
of Christ. They express God's love, will, and
purposes concerning human conduct and
relationships and are binding upon all people in
every age. These precepts are the basis of God's
covenant with His people and the standard in
God's judgment. Through the agency of the Holy
Spirit they point out sin and awaken a sense of
need for a Saviour.
 THE SUMMARY CONT!
Salvation is all of grace and not of works, but
its fruitage is obedience to the Commandments.
This obedience develops Christian character
and results in a sense of well-being. It is an
evidence of our love for the Lord and our
concern for our fellow men. The obedience of
faith demonstrates the power of Christ to
transform lives, and therefore strengthens
Christian witness.—Fundamental Beliefs, 18
 AT SINAI!
• When He gave the law at Sinai God not only revealed
Himself as the majestic supreme authority of the
universe. He also portrayed Himself as the redeemer
of His people (Ex. 20:2). It is because He is Saviour
that He called not only Israel but all humanity (Eccl.
12:13) to obey ten brief, comprehensive, and
authoritative precepts that cover the duty of human
beings to God and to their fellow beings.
• And God Said:
• "You shall have no other gods before Me
 COMMANDMENT ONE AND TWO!
• And God Said:
• "You shall have no other gods before Me

• "You shall not make for yourself any carved image or any
likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the
earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall
not bow down
• to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous
God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the
third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but
showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep
My commandments.
 COMMANDMENT THREE!
"You shall not take the name of the Lord Your
God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him
guiltless who takes His name in vain.
 COMMANDMENT FOUR!
"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days
you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh
day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you
shall do no work; you, nor your son, nor your
daughter, nor your manservant, nor your
maidservant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who
is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the
heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in
them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord
blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
 COMMANDMENTS FIVE, SIX, SEVEN AND
EITHGTH
• "Honor your father and your mother, that your
days may be long upon the land which the
Lord your God is giving you.
• "You shall not murder.
• "You shall not commit adultery.
• "You shall not steal.
 COMMANDMENT NINE AND TEN!
• "You shall not bear false witness against your
neighbor.
• "You shall not covet your neighbor's house;
you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor
his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his
ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your
neighbor's" (Ex. 20:3-17).
 THE NATURE OF THE LAW!

As a reflection of God's character the Ten

Commandment law is moral, spiritual, and
comprehensive, containing universal principles.
 A FLECTION OF THE CHARACTER OF THE
LAWGIVER!
Scripture sees the attributes of God in His law.
Like God, "the law of the Lord is perfect" and "the
testimony of the Lord is pure" (Ps. 19:7, 8). "The
law is holy, and the commandment holy and just
and good" (Rom. 7:12). "Your commandments
are truth. Concerning Your testimonies, I have
known of old that You have founded them
forever" (Ps. 119:151, 152). Indeed, "all Your
commandments are righteousness" (Ps. 119:172).
 A MORAL LAW!
The Ten Commandments convey God's pattern
of conduct for humanity. They define our
relationship with our Creator and Redeemer and
our duty to our fellow beings. Scripture calls the
transgression of God's law sin (1 John 3:4, KJV).
 A SPIRITUAL LAW!
"The law is spiritual" (Rom. 7:14). Therefore,
only those who are spiritual and have the fruit
of the Spirit can obey it (John 15:4; Gal. 5:22,
23). It is God's Spirit that empowers us to do His
will (Acts 1:8; Ps. 51:10-12). By abiding in Christ,
we receive the power we need to bear fruit to
His glory (John 15:5).
 A POSITIVE LAW
The Decalogue is more than just a short series of
prohibitions; it contains far-reaching principles.
It extends not only to the things we should not
do, but to the things we should do. We must not
only refrain from evil acts and thoughts; we
must learn to use our God-given talents and gifts
for good. Thus every negative injunction has a
positive dimension.
 A POSITIVE LAW CONT!
For example, the sixth commandment, "You shall
not kill," has as its positive side "You shall promote
life." "It is God's will that His followers seek to
promote the well-being and happiness of everyone
who comes within their sphere of influence. In a
profound sense the gospel commission—the good
news of salvation and eternal life in Jesus Christ—
rests upon the positive principle embodied in the
sixth precept."1
 A SIMPLE LAW!
The Ten Commandments are profound in their
simple comprehensiveness. They are so brief
that even a child can quickly memorize them,
yet so far-reaching that they cover every
possible sin.
 NO MYSTERY!
"There is no mystery in the law of God. All can
comprehend the great truths which it embodies.
The feeblest intellect can grasp these rules; the
most ignorant can regulate the life, and form the
character after the divine standard."3
 A LAW OF PRINCIPLES!
The Ten Commandments are a summary of all
right principles—they apply to all humanity at all
times. Scripture says, "Fear God and keep His
commandments, for this is the whole duty of
man" (Eccl. 12:13).
 THE DECALOGUE!
• The Decalogue—the Ten Words, or Ten
Commandments (Ex. 34:28)—consists of two
parts, indicated by the two tablets of stone
upon which God wrote it (Deut. 4:13). The first
four commandments regulate our duty to our
Creator and Redeemer, and the last six
regulate our duty toward people.4
 TWOFOLD DIVISION!
• This twofold division derives from the two great
fundamental principles of love upon which God's
kingdom operates: "'You shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your
strength, and with all your mind,' and 'your neighbor as
yourself'" (Luke 10:27; cf. Deut. 6:4, 5; Lev. 19:18).
Those who live these principles will be in full harmony
with the Ten Commandments, for the commandments
express these principles in more detail.
• in more detail.
 SUMMARY OF THE COMMANDMENTS AND
EMPHASIS!
• The first commandment directs the exclusive
worship of the one true God. The second
forbids idolatry.5 The third prohibits
irreverence and the perjury that involves the
invoking of the divine name. The fourth calls
for the observance of the Sabbath and
identifies the true God as the Creator of
heaven and earth.
 THE SUMMARY AND EMPHASIS CONT!
The fifth commandment requires children to submit
to their parents as God's appointed agents for the
transmission of His revealed will to succeeding
generations (see Deut. 4:6-9; 6:1-7). The sixth
protects life as sacred. The seventh enjoins purity
and safeguards the marital relationship. The eighth
protects property. The ninth guards truth and
proscribes perjury. And the tenth goes to the root of
all human relationships by prohibiting the coveting of
that which belongs to others.6
 A UNIQUE LAW!
The Ten Commandments have the unique
distinction of being the only words God spoke
audibly to an entire nation (Deut. 5:22). Not
trusting this law to the forgetful minds of
humans, God then engraved the
commandments with His finger on two tablets
of stone that were to be preserved inside the
ark of the tabernacle (Ex. 31:18; Deut. 10:2).
 A DELIGHTFUL LAW!
God's law is an inspiration to the soul. Said the psalmist:
"Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the
day." "I love Your commandments more than gold, yes
than fine gold!" Even when "trouble and anguish have
overtaken me," he said, "Your commandments are my
delights" (Ps. 119:97, 127, 143). To those who love God,
"His commandments are not burdensome" (1 John 5:3).
Transgressors are the ones who consider the law a
grievous yoke, for the sinful mind "does not submit to
God's law, nor can it do so" (Rom. 8:7, NIV).
 THE PURPOSE OF THE LAW!

God gave His law to provide people with

abundant blessings and to lead them into a
saving relationship with Himself. Note the
following specific purposes:
It Reveals God's Will for Humanity. As the expression
of God's character and love, the Ten Commandments
reveal His will and purpose for humanity. They demand
perfect obedience, "for whoever shall keep the whole
law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all"
(James 2:10). Obedience to the law, as the rule of life,
is vital to our salvation. Christ Himself said: "If you
want to enter into life, keep the commandments"
(Matt. 19:17). This obedience is possible only through
the power the indwelling Holy Spirit provides.
It Is the Basis of God's Covenant. Moses wrote
the Ten Commandments, with other explanatory
laws, in a book called the book of the covenant
(Exodus 20:1, 24:8).8 Later he called the Ten
Commandments "the tablets of the covenant,"
indicating their importance as the basis of the
everlasting covenant (Deut. 9:9; cf. 4:13. For
more on the covenants, see chapter 7 of this
book).
It Functions as the Standard of Judgement. Like
God, His "commandments are righteousness" (Ps.
119-172). The law, therefore, sets the standard of
righteousness. Each of us will be judged by these
righteous principles, not by our consciences. "Fear
God and keep His commandments," Scripture says,
". . . for God will bring every work into judgment,
including every secret thing, whether it is good or
whether it is evil" (Eccl. 12:13, 14; cf. James 2:12).
• It Points Out Sin. Without the Ten Commandments people cannot see
clearly God's holiness, their own guilt, or their need to repent. When
they do not know that they are in violation of God's law, they do not
sense their lostness or their need of the atoning blood of Christ.
• To help people see their true condition, the law functions like a mirror
(see James 1:23-25). Those who "look" into it see their own character
defects in contrast to God's righteous character. Thus the moral law
demonstrates that all the world is guilty before God (Rom. 3:19),
making everyone fully accountable to Him.
• "Through the law we become conscious of sin" (Rom. 3:20, NIV)
because "sin is the transgression of the law" (1 John 3:4, KJV). Indeed,
Paul said, "I would not have known sin except through the law" (Rom.
7:7).
It Is an Agent in Conversion. God's law is the instrument the
Holy Spirit uses to bring us to conversion: "The law of the Lord
is perfect, converting the soul" (Ps. 19:7). When, after seeing
our true character we realize that we are sinners, that we are
on death row and without hope, we sense our need of a
Saviour. Then the good news of the gospel becomes truly
meaningful. Thus the law points us to Christ, the only one who
can help us escape our desperate situation.10 It was in this
light that Paul referred to both the moral law and the
ceremonial law as "our schoolmaster ["tutor," NKJV] to bring
us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith" (Gal. 3:24).
11
It Provides True Freedom. Christ said that "whoever commits
sin is a slave of sin" (John 8:34). When we transgress God's
law, we have no liberty; but obedience to the Ten
Commandments assures us true freedom. Living within the
confines of God's law means liberty from sin. And it means
freedom from that which accompanies sin—the continual
worry, wounding of the conscience, and increasing guilt and
remorse that wear out life's vital forces. Said the psalmist, "I
will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out Your
precepts" (Ps. 119:45, NIV). James referred to the Decalogue
as "the royal law," "the perfect law of liberty" (James 2:8;
1:25).
It Restrains Evil and Brings Blessings. The increase
in crime, violence, immorality, and wickedness that
floods the world has resulted from disregard for the
Decalogue. Where this law is accepted, it restrains
sin, promotes right actions, and becomes a means
of establishing righteousness. Nations that have
incorporated its principles into their laws have
experienced great blessing. On the other hand,
abandonment of its principles brings about a steady
decline.