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VIII. The Law Of God
Chapter 82
:
Perpetuity of the Law
1. HOW many lawgivers are
there?
"There is one lawgiver, who is able
to save and to destroy." James 4:12.
2. What is said of the
stability of God's character?
"For I am the Lord. I change not."
Mal. 3:6.
3. How enduring are His
commandments?
"The works of His hands are verity
and judgment; all His commandments are sure.
They stand fast forever and ever, and are done
in truth and uprightness." Ps. 111:7,8.
4. Did Christ come to
abolish or to destroy the law?
"Think not that I am come to destroy
the law, or the prophets: I am not come to
destroy, but to fulfil." Matt. 5:17.
NOTES.-The law; broadly, the writings
of Moses; specifically, the ten
commandments, or moral law, from which the
writings of Moses primarily derived their
name. The prophets; that is, the
writings of the prophets; Neither of these
Christ came to destroy, but rather to fulfil,
or meet their design.
"The laws of the Jews are commonly divided
into moral, ceremonial, and judicial. The
moral laws are such as grow out of the
nature of things which cannot, therefore, be
changed,-such as the duty of loving God and
His creatures. These cannot be abolished, as
it can never be made right to hate God, or
to hate our fellow men. Of this kind are the
ten commandments; and these our Saviour
neither abolished nor superseded. The
ceremonial laws are such as are appointed to
meet certain states of society, or to
regulate the religious rites and ceremonies
of a people. These can be changed when
circumstances are changed, and yet the moral
law be untouched."- Dr. Albert Barnes, on
Matt. 5:18.
"Jesus did not come to change the law, but
He came to explain it, and that very fact
shows that it remains; for there is no need
to explain that which is abrogated.... By
thus explaining the law He confirmed it; He
could not have meant to abolish it, or He
would not have needed to expound it.... That
the Master did not come to alter the law is
clear, because after having embodied it in
His life, He willingly gave Himself up to
bear its penalty, though He had never broken
it, bearing the penalty for us, even as it
is written, 'Christ hath redeemed us from
the curse of the law, being made a curse for
us.'... If the law had demanded more of us
than it ought to have done, would the Lord
Jesus have rendered to it the penalty which
resulted from its too severe demands? I am
sure He would not. But because the law asked
only what it ought to ask, namely, perfect
obedience, and exacted of the transgressor
only what it ought to exact, namely, death
as the penalty for sin,-death under divine
wrath,-therefore the Saviour went to the
tree, and there bore our sins, and purged
them once for all."-"The Perpetuity of
the Law of God," by C. H. Spurgeon, pages
4-7.
"The moral law contained in the ten
commandments, and enforced by the prophets,
He did not take away. It was not the design
of His coming to revoke any part of this....
Every part of this law must remain in force
upon all mankind and in all ages, as not
depending either on time or place, or any
other circumstance liable to change, but on
the nature of God, and the nature of man,
and their unchangeable relation to each
other."-John Wesley, in his "Sermons,"
Vol. I, No.25, pages 221,222.
5. When used with
reference to prophecy, what does the Word
fulfil mean?
To fill up; to accomplish; to bring to pass; as,
"that it might be fulfilled which was
spoken by Esaias the prophet." Matt. 4:14.
6. What does it mean
when used with reference to law?
To perform, to keep, or to act in
accordance with; as, "Bear ye one another's
burdens, and so fulfil the law of
Christ." Gal. 6:2. See also Matt. 3:15; James
2:8,9.
7. How did Christ treat
His Father's commandments?
"I have kept My Father's
commandments, and abide in His love." John
15:10.
8. If one professes to
abide in Christ, how ought he to walk?
"He that saith he abideth in Him
ought himself also so to walk, even as He
walked." 1 John 2:6.
9. What is sin?
"Whosoever committeth sin
transgresseth also the law: for sin is the
transgression of the law." 1 John 3:4.
NOTE.-This text does not say that sin was
the transgression of the law, but that it is
this, thus demonstrating that the law is
still in force in the gospel dispensation.
"Whosoever" likewise shows the universality
of its binding claims. Whoever of any
nation, race, or people commits sin,
transgresses the law.
10. In what condition
are all men?
"For all have sinned, and come
short of the glory of God." Rom. 3:23.
11. How many are
included in the "all" who have sinned?
"What then? are we better than they?
No, in no wise:
for we have before proved both Jews and
Gentiles, that they are all under sin."
Verse 9.
12. By what are all men
proved guilty?
"Now we know that what things
soever the law saith, it saith to them who
are under the law: that every mouth may be
stopped, and all the world may become guilty
before God." Verse 19.
NOTE.-It is what the law says, and not what
one may interpret it to mean, that proves
the sinner guilty. Moreover, God is no
respecter of persons, but treats Jew and
Gentile alike. Measured by the law, all
the world are guilty before God.
13. Does faith in God
make void the law?
"Do we then make void the law through
faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the
law." Verse 31.
14. What, more than all
else, proves the perpetuity and immutability of
the law of God?
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His
only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth
in Him should not perish, but have everlasting
life." John 3:16. "Christ died for our sins." 1
Cor. 15:3.
NOTE.-Could the law have been abolished, and
sin been disposed of in this way, Christ
need not have come and died for our sins.
The gift of Christ therefore, more than all
else, proves the immutability of the law of
God. Christ must come and die, and satisfy
the claims of the law, or the world must
perish. The law could not give way. Says
Spurgeon in his sermon on "The Perpetuity of
the Law of God," "Our Lord Jesus Christ gave
a greater vindication of the law by dying
because it had been broken than all the lost
can ever give by their miseries." The fact
that the law is to be the standard in the
judgment is another proof of its enduring
nature. See Eccl. 12:13,14; James 2: 8-12.
15. What relation does
a justified person sustain to the law?
"For not the hearers of the law are
just before God, but the doers of the law
shall be justified." Rom. 2:13.
16. Who has the promise
of being blessed in his doing?
"But he that looketh into the perfect
law, the law of liberty, and so continueth,
being not a hearer that forgetteth, but a
doer that worketh, this man shall be blessed
in his doing." James 1:25, R. V.
17. By what may we know
that we have passed from death unto life?
"We know that we have passed from
death unto life, because we love the
brethren." 1 John 3:14.
18. And how may we know
that we love the brethren?
"By this we know that we love the
children of God, when we love God, and keep
His commandments." 1 John 5:2.
19. What is the love of
God?
"For this is the love of God, that we
keep His commandments." Verse 3.
20. How are those
described who will be prepared for the coming of
Christ?
"Here is the patience of the saints:
here are they that keep the commandments of God,
and the faith of Jesus." Rev. 14:12.
O
THAT the Lord would guide my ways
To keep His statutes still!
O that my God would grant me grace
To know and do His will!
O
send Thy Spirit down to write
Thy law upon my heart,
Nor let my tongue indulge deceit,
Nor act the liar's part.
From
vanity turn off my eyes,
Let no corrupt design
Nor covetous desire arise
Within this soul of mine.
Order my footsteps by Thy word,
And make my heart sincere;
Let sin have no dominion, Lord,
But keep my conscience clear.
Make
me to walk in Thy commands,
'Tis a delightful road ;
Nor let my head, nor heart, nor hands
Offend against my God.
Isaac Watts. |
