Good Morning!
I wanted to expand on something I wrote a bit ago and go back to the commandments today. In Romans 13:10 Paul writes, “…love is the fulfilling of the law.” Those two “L” words are both powerhouses in the mouth of God. The former is one we like to think on a lot more than the later, but they both in some sense mean the same thing when held in the right light. There is no doubt that the law laid bare on the conscience of sinful man is a terror and a burden, a constant reminder of our sin and our inability to save ourselves, yet our Redeemer would not give something to His sheep that would only bring harm. Some people are fond of saying that guns don’t kill people, people kill people, and they would be right. A firearm is a tool. Wielded rightly and used for its proper instrumental cause and it brings peace and provides food and protection. However, mishandled and as Ronnie Van Zant sang forty plus years ago, it will put a man six feet in a hole. In our worship and prayer help today we are going to talk a little bit more about the law, love, and why it is important for the Christian to learn to love the law of God and see it be their heart’s desire for good in life.
It might sound weird to say that law and love have a lot in common. It probably does. Yet as an example in the eyes of the LORD the giving of the law was an act of love for His people as they prepared to go into the Promised Land. At this point it would probably do us good to define both what law and love are. Law is understood both Biblically and culturally as the established rules given by a higher authority that provide the agreed upon boundaries of what is legal and illegal behavior in a society. When it comes to the Scriptures we know that the higher authority is God and that we “agree” to their legality by virtue of our being born of man and woman in the Lord’s creation. No one gets to opt out of their responsibility to keep the law. The Bible illustrates it for us by describing the reality that the law is written on the hearts of man. It is as if the Ten Commandments are written in every mitochondria of every cell in our body. Another way to think about the law in the life of the human being is that the law is neither random nor accidental. The commandments of God are a revelation of the very character of God. We do not commit adultery not only because the law tells us not to, but in a positive sense through the example of our faithful Deity we see how to treat our spouse. He shows us what it means to be committed to them by the nature of His promise keeping. It is a terror to those who do evil, and a mercy to those who seek righteousness.
Talking about marital adoration provides us a chance to define love for a second. There are many ways we could give an answer to it, but ultimately I think we would all agree that love is simply the emotion that we feel towards an object/idea/person from whom we derive joy, warmness, and pleasure. Something that we could not get from any other in those categories. I love collard greens. No amount of trying to get me to eat brussel sprouts is going to change my heartfelt desire to eat my greens when given the opportunity. Jesus describes love as the willingness to give up the most important thing to us (our life) for the benefit of someone else. Putting others before ourselves, which is another aspect of love is the sacrifice we make for what we want/need for the betterment of our neighbor.
So if love means having a smile on our face about something how are to be happy in and with the law of God?
As noted above with firearms the Law is a blessing as long as the receiver uses it rightly. For example, think you can get to Heaven by keeping the commandment fully and you will find yourself in a world of hurt. The apostle elsewhere tells us in Romans 7 and 1 Corinthians 15, “For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.” and “The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.” Hearing both of these verses back-to-back is seemingly contradictory from what I said about love/law having similar definitions. How can love be associated with death? Well, like most words it depends on what you mean when you use it. The act of God giving the law was a blessing unto us, especially when we see it in the context of the graciousness of Jehovah in bringing the people out of bondage to slavery in Egypt. However, the problem with us and the law is not the law’s fault. It was not made to give life, it has not the power and it didn’t even have that power before Adam’s breaking of the Covenant of Works. In a way the law is an inert object. What matters is its relation to us. For instance in a different place in Galatians 3:21 Paul notes, “Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.”
If our hearts have been exchanged from one of stone to one of flesh then it’s as if we went to the CCP class, to our hunter safety course, and received a license to carry. Though even if you have received all this it is not then permission to misuse. Great responsibility has been granted to you. The four rules of gun safety could apply to the law as well.
In closing, let’s go back to the word for a couple thoughts to end our time on the law of love this morning. First of all, another message from the Apostle Paul in Romans 8:2, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” Herein lies the unity of law and love. The love of Christ Jesus in His dying to the law, has raised up in us no longer a fear, but an appreciation for the law of God, dare I say a love that bears with it a reminder of these words of Christ from John 14:21 and from Moses in Deuteronomy 7:9, “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” “ and “Therefore know that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments”.
Here is a little bit more today:
https://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/love-gods-law
Blessings in Jesus,
Rev. Benjamin Glaser
Pastor, Bethany ARP Church