Free to Be Pure – The Law of Liberty (25)

Free to Be Pure

The Law of Liberty (25)

Readers will gain a better perspective on the main teaching of this series by reading The Ground for Christian Ethics, by T. M. Go to www.MyParuchia.com, click Publications, then click Waxed Tablet, and scroll down until you see this little volume.

…the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes… Psalm 19:8

I recall reading an article some time ago that explained the difference between guilt and shame. Both are equally yucky feelings. Either makes us feel dirty, embarrassed, and even a little threatened. The devil loves it when we feel this way, almost as much as when, having become hardened to sin, we don’t feel anything at all.

The difference, the article explained, is that guilt relates to something we have done. As such, we can atone for guilt–apologize, make things right, shake hands, and so forth. Shame, on the other hand, relates to feeling bad about something that you are. In yourself you are simply no good, unworthy, a wretched person–and there’s nothing you can do about it.

But the Law of God comes to the aid of the Lord’s redeemed at precisely this point. For, while the Law is used of God to point out impurity in our lives, it also guides us along the path of righteousness, so that, as we walk in the way of God’s Law, we can be confident that our lives are pure and acceptable to God, regardless of anything the old accuser might say.

By meditating in God’s Law, praying it in and living it out in the power of God’s Spirit, we can become increasingly pure and Christ-like in all our ways. Guilt and shame can be a thing of the past for us, as we grow in the power of God’s Law to liberate us from such feelings of wretchedness and unworthiness.

Daily meditation in the Law of God helps us along the path of holiness, righteousness, and goodness (Rom. 7:12). Order your copy of The Law of God, a compilation of the Mosaic Law for contemporary believers, and The Ground for Christian Ethics, by T. M. Go to www.MyParuchia.com, click Publications, then click Waxed Tablet, and scroll down until you see these companion volumes.

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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore.

T.M. Moore is editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001, 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.