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VIII. The Law Of God
Chapter 81
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The Law of God
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The Law of God
I
Thou shalt have no other gods
before Me.
II
Thou shalt not make unto thee any
graven 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: thou shalt not bow down
thyself to them, nor serve them: for
I the Lord thy God am a jealous God,
visiting the iniquity of the fathers
upon the children unto the third and
fourth generation of them that hate
Me; and showing mercy unto thousands
of them that love Me, and keep My
commandments.
III
Thou shalt not take the name of the
Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord
will not hold him guiltless that
taketh His name in vain.
IV
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it
holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and
do all thy work: but the seventh day
is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God:
in it thou shalt not do any work,
thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter,
thy man servant, nor thy maid
servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy
stranger that is within thy gates :
for in six days the Lord made heaven
and earth, the sea, and all that in
them is, and rested the seventh day:
wherefore the Lord blessed the
Sabbath day, and hallowed it.
V
Honor thy father and thy mother:
that thy days may be long upon the
land which the Lord thy God giveth
thee.
VI
Thou shalt not kill.
VII
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
VIII
Thou shalt not steal.
IX
Thou shalt not bear false witness
against thy neighbor.
X
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's
house, thou shalt not covet thy
neighbor's wife, nor his man
servant, nor his maid servant, nor
his ox, nor his ass, nor anything
that is thy neighbor's.
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1. WHEN God brought His people out of Egypt,
how did He republish His law?
"And
the Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the
fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw
no similitude; only ye heard a voice. And He
declared unto you His covenant, which He
commanded you to perform, even ten commandments;
and He wrote them upon two tables of stone."
Deut. 4:12,13. See also Neh. 9:13,14.
2. Where are the ten
commandments recorded?
In Ex. 20:2-17.
3. How comprehensive
are these commandments?
"Fear God, and keep His commandments:
for this is the whole duty of man." Eccl.
12:13.
4. What inspired
tribute is paid to the law of God?
"The law of the Lord is perfect,
converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord
is sure, making wise the simple. The
statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing
the heart: the commandment of the Lord is
pure, enlightening the eyes." Ps. 19:7,8.
5. What blessing does
the psalmist say attends the keeping of God's
commandments?
"Moreover by them is Thy servant warned: and
in keeping of them there is great reward."
Verse 11.
6. What did Christ
state as a condition of entering into life?
"If thou wilt enter into life, keep the
commandments." Matt. 19:17.
7. Can man of himself,
unaided by Christ, keep the law?
"I am the vine, ye are the branches:
he that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same
bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye
can do nothing." John 15:5. See also Rom.
7:14-19.
8. What provision has been
made so that we may keep God's law?
"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: that the
righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in
us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the
Spirit." Rom. 8:3,4.
9. What is the nature of
God's law?
"For we know that the law is
spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin."
Rom. 7:14.
NOTE.-In
His comments on the sixth and seventh
commandments, recorded in Matt. 5:21-28,
Christ demonstrated the spiritual nature of
the law, showing that it relates not merely
to outward actions, but that it reaches to
the thoughts and intents of the heart. See
also Heb. 4:12. The tenth commandment
forbids lust, or all unlawful desire. Rom.
7:7. Obedience to this law, therefore,
requires not merely an outward compliance,
but genuine heart service. This can be
rendered only by a regenerated soul.
10. How is the law further
described?
"Wherefore the law is holy,
and the commandment holy, and just,
and good." Verse 12.
11. What is revealed in
God's law?
"And knowest His [God's]
will, and approvest the things that are
more excellent, being instructed out of the
law." Rom. 2:18.
12. When Christ came to
this earth, what was His attitude toward God's
will, or law?
"Then said I, Lo, I come: in the
volume of the book it is written of Me, I
delight to do Thy will, O My God: yea, Thy law
is within My heart." Ps. 40:7,8. See Heb.
10:5,7.
13. Who did He say
would enter the kingdom of heaven?
"Not everyone that saith unto Me,
Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of
heaven; but he that doeth the will of My
Father which is in heaven." Matt. 7:21.
14. What did He say of
those who should break one of God's
commandments, or should teach men to do so?
"Whosoever therefore shall break one
of these least commandments, and shall teach men
so, he shall be called the least in the
kingdom of heaven." Matt. 5:19, first part.
15. Who did He say
would be called great in the kingdom?
"But whosoever shall do and teach
them, the same shall be called great in the
kingdom." Same verse, last part.
16. How did Christ
estimate the righteousness of the scribes and
Pharisees?
"For I say unto you, That except your
righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of
the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no
case enter into the kingdom of heaven."
Verse 20.
17. For what did Christ
reprove the Pharisees?
"But He answered and said unto them,
Why do ye also transgress the commandment of
God by your tradition?" Matt. 15:3.
18. How had they done
this?
"For God commanded, saying, Honor thy
father and mother. . . . But ye say, Whosoever
shall say to his father or his mother, It is a
gift, . . . and honor not his father or his
mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the
commandment of God of none effect by your
tradition." Verses 4-6.
19. In consequence of
this, what value did Christ place upon their
worship?
"But in vain they do worship Me,
teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."
Verse 9.
20. What is sin
declared to be?
"Whosoever committeth sin
transgresseth also the law: for sin is the
transgression of the law." 1 John 3:4.
21. By what is the
knowledge of sin?
"For by the law is the knowledge
of sin." Rom. 3:20. See Rom. 7:7.
22. How many of the
commandments is it necessary to break in order
to become a transgressor of the law?
"For whosoever shall keep the
whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is
guilty of all. For He that said, Do not
commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if
thou commit no adultery, and yet if thou kill,
thou art become a transgressor of the law."
James 2:10,11.
NOTE.-This
shows that the ten commandments are a
complete whole, and together constitute but
one law. Like a chain of ten links, all are
inseparably connected together. If one link
is broken, the chain is broken.
23. How may we be freed
from the guilt of our sins, or our
transgressions of God's law?
"If we confess our sins, He is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John
1:9.
24. Why are we
admonished to fear God and keep His
commandments?
"Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this
is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring
every work into judgment, with every secret
thing, whether it be good, or whether it be
evil." Eccl. 12:13,14.
25. What will be the
standard in the judgment?
"So speak ye, and so do, as they that
shall be judged by the law of liberty."
James 2:12.
26. What is said of
those who love God's law?
"Great peace have they which love
Thy law: and nothing shall offend them." Ps.
119:165.
27. What would
obedience to God's commandments have insured to
ancient Israel?
"O that thou hadst harkened to My
commandments! then had thy peace been as a
river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the
sea." Isa. 48:18.
28. What is another
blessing attending the keeping of God's
commandments?
"The fear of the Lord is the
beginning of wisdom: a good understanding
have all they that do His commandments." Ps.
111:10.
29. In what does the
man delight whom the psalmist describes as
blessed?
"Blessed is the man that walketh not
in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in
the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of
the scornful. But his delight is in the law
of the Lord; and in His law doth he meditate day
and night." Ps. 1:1,2. See Rom. 7:22.
30. Why is the carnal
mind enmity against God?
"Because the carnal mind is enmity
against God: for it is not subject to the law
of God, neither indeed can be." Rom. 8:7.
31. How do those with
renewed hearts and minds regard the commandments
of God?
"For this is the love of God, that we
keep His commandments: and His commandments
are not grievous." 1 John 5:3.
32. What is the
essential principle of the law of God?
"Love worketh no ill to his neighbor:
therefore love is the fulfilling of the law."
Rom. 13:10.
33. In what two great
commandments is the law of God briefly
summarized?
"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with all thy heart, and
with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This
is the first and great commandment. And the
second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy
neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments
hang all the law and the prophets." Matt.
22:37-40.
NOTE.-"Does
any man say to me, 'You see, then, instead
of the ten commandments, we have received
the two commandments, and these are much
easier'? I answer that this reading of the
law is not in the least easier. Such a
remark implies a want of thought and
experience. Those two precepts comprehend
the ten at their fullest extent, and cannot
be regarded as the erasure of a jot or
tittle of them. Whatever difficulties
surround the commands are equally found in
the two, which are their sum and substance.
If you love God with all your heart, you
must keep the first table; and if you love
your neighbor as yourself, you must keep the
second table."-"The
Perpetuity of the Law of God," by C. H.
Spurgeon, page 5.
34. What is said of one
who professes to know the Lord, but does not
keep His commandments?
"He that saith, I know Him, and
keepeth not His commandments, is a liar,
and the truth is not in him." 1 John 2:4.
35. What promise is
made to the willing and obedient?
"If ye be willing and obedient, ye
shall eat the good of the land." Isa. 1:19.
36. How does God regard
those who walk in His law?
"Blessed are the undefiled in the
way, who walk in the law of the Lord." Ps.
119:1. |
