The Law and the Gospel

Romans 1.16, 17

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

The Good News is that Jesus is good enough.

If fulfilling all the righteous requirements of God’s Law is the way to salvation, and if none of us is good enough to accomplish that feat, then are we just doomed? Of course not. The Good News is that God has been pleased to satisfy those requirements for us by sending His own Son in the form of a human being to fulfill all righteousness for those who would be saved. Theologians refer to this as an “alien righteousness” because it comes to us from afar, from outside ourselves, and yet really. Jesus kept the Law of God completely, perfectly, and at all times. He literally fulfilled all the righteousness God will ever require for anyone and everyone who would be saved. And God is prepared to receive men into His presence through the righteousness of His Son, so that we need not despair of falling short of the glory of God because Jesus has taken care of that; and invites us to come in Him and be fully accepted by God. He offers this wonderful gift freely, without any merit on our parts. We, however, must receive it by faith, believing in Jesus as He is revealed in God’s Word, and trusting in Him that His righteousness alone – which is the full and complete righteousness of the Law of God – will suffice for us, just as He has promised. Jesus makes no sense as a Savior apart from the Law of God, so when we proclaim Jesus to our neighbors, let it be in that context.

When you think of Jesus, do you think of Him in relation to the Law of God? Why is it important that you do?

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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.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.

Matthew 22.37, 38

And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.”

1 John 4.7

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Love those whom God loves.

If we love God we will show that love by loving those He loves. He loves His own, those for whom He died. He loves them so much that He laid down His life for them, poured out His Spirit upon them, speaks His Word daily to them, upholds them and all their concerns by His Word of power, and is even now preparing a place for them to dwell with Him forever. And for us, too, of course. But the point is, since this is how much Jesus loves our fellow believers, ought we not to nurture such aggressive love for them as well, just to show how much we love the Lord? John says Yes. We cannot be a sourpuss, a backbiter, a gossip, or a Grinch to our fellow believers without throwing away some of the love we have for God. It grieves Him to see His children at odds. As far as in us lies, let us take away every obstacle to loving our fellow believers. Thus we will prove our love for God.

Is there anyone right now with whom you need to make some amends or clear up a matter? What does love for God require of you?

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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.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.

The coveting Hall of Shame, Series 1

The tenth commandment

Exodus 20.17; Deuteronomy 5.21

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, his house, his field, his male or female servant, his ox or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”

Genesis 37.4

But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.

Jealousy is just another form of covetousness.

Joseph’s brothers were jealous of him. They thought they should be more favored by their father than Joseph, and they must have griped about it to one another on more than one occasion. For when, later on, the opportunity came to “punish” Joseph, they did, selling him to the Midianites and lying to their father about his “death.” If only they had recognized that tinge of resentment for the covetousness it portended. Their covetousness led to treachery and lying, a lie that they would conceal for nearly two decades. At times of solitude, perhaps in the presence of God, they must have regretted their actions and hoped against hope that, somehow, Joseph would be all right.

Pray

Lord, I’m not always good at recognizing when covetousness is beginning to worm its way into my soul. Teach me to wait on You, Lord, and to listen for the leading of Your Spirit whenever I may be inclined to join this Hall of Shame.
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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.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.

The ninth commandment

Exodus 20.16; Deuteronomy 5.20

“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”

Psalm 12.1, 2

“Help, LORD, for the godly one is gone; for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man. Everyone utters lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.”

Seek the Lord’s help against all forms of the Lie.

We’re back to where we started the week. We live in a day when lying is practically second nature and truth is all but rejected. God is the North Star of Truth. His Word is Truth. His Son is Truth. His Spirit is the Spirit of Truth. He can set us on a fixed and sure course of personal growth and living that will keep us out of the quicksand of the Lie and set us firm and secure on the path of righteousness. But we must make the study of God’s Word and the contemplation of His Son the most important times of our day. How else will you protect yourself against the Lie and all its deleterious consequences if not by making recourse to God’s Word the touchstone of all your experience? I know of no other way.

Pray

Help me, Lord, to give more of my time to reading and contemplating Your Word. Teach me to see Your glory and truth in the face of Jesus. Help me to know the Truth that alone can set me free.

—

“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.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.

The ninth commandment

Exodus 20.16; Deuteronomy 5.20

“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”

John 8.32

“…and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

It’s just the opposite of what we think.

See, we think that the Lie is going to free us up. It’s going to make us look good, take the heat off, make someone else think better of us, or whatever. So we lie because we think this is the way to get what we want, to know true freedom from uncertainty. But in reality the opposite is the case. Only truth makes us free. Lies and deception set us adrift on a dissolving raft in a sea of acid. We can’t remember what we said or to whom we’ve said it. We aren’t satisfied with the first lie, so we add a second, and a third, and a fourth in the hope that these will help us get along. The more we lie the more insecure we feel, hoping the day won’t come when our lies will be discovered and we’ll be found out. We feel like we’re running from something, some wild beast threatening to devour us. So we lie a little more to protect our tracks. Now we have become slaves of the lie, and we are no longer free to enjoy Truth. There’s only one way out of this quicksand: look to Jesus. He is the Truth, and His truth can set us free from sin snapping at our heels.

Have you ever been caught in a lie? How did you feel? Was there any sense of relief now that the truth was out?

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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.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.

The ninth commandment

Exodus 20.16; Deuteronomy 5.20

“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”

Acts 5.4

“Why have you contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”

The Lie serves the self, not God.

Does God hate lying? Ask Ananias. Here’s a guy who, for the sake of a little attention and esteem, lied to apostles, lied to the church, and, ultimately, lied to God. And he didn’t even have to! He could have kept all the money from the sale of his property and given none to the church. Or he could have given just a little. Nothing was required of him. He chose to lie in the hope that he would both look good and be able to line his pockets at the same time. Lies are always promoted because we think they will benefit us personally. We think the Lie has something to offer us that we can’t get by holding on to the truth and standing firm for the Lord. So we lie. But when our lies begin to encroach on the glory and honor of God, then we need to watch out. God may not strike us dead in a moment for an egregious lie, but He has His ways of exacting repentance and renewal from us.

Do you ever feel like anything about your church is promoting a kind of lie? Can we be guilty of lying simply because we don’t practice – or preach – all the truth?

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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.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.

The ninth commandment

Exodus 20.16; Deuteronomy 5.20

“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”

Psalm 58.1, 2

“Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods? Do you judge the children of man uprightly? No, in your hearts you devise wrongs; your hands deal out violence on the earth.”

Whatever they have to say, they will.

The “gods” in our psalm is probably a reference to earthly rulers. Apparently the rulers of David’s day were not much different from politicians in our day. They say whatever they think they need to say to get what they want – either to be elected or to pass some legislation. Politicians travel far and wide, altering their stump speeches just enough to make them palatable to the audience they are addressing. They rationalize set-asides, add-ons, and other assorted forms of pork by gussying up the language of their legislation and burying their project in an amendment somewhere. They say what they will, even it if means stretching the truth, because they believe this is the way to retain power. People get tired of being told lies, especially when they know the person talking to them is not communicating the truth. The teaching of Scripture is that God will not long tolerate the practice of lying. Sooner or later, His judgment falls on a nation that will not reckon with truth. And on its rulers.

What can we do to ensure that our political leaders are telling us the truth? How can we encourage and hold them accountable for being truthful? Is this important?
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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.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.

The eighth commandment

Exodus 20.15; Deuteronomy 5.19

“You shall not steal.”

Exodus 22.6

“If fire breaks out and catches in thorns so that the stacked grain or the standing grain or the field is consumed, he who started the fire shall make full restitution.”

We made everyone bear the burden of the sins of some.

It is a basic teaching of the Law of God, and of all Scripture, that each person should be held accountable for his or her own transgressions. Granted, those transgressions can sometimes have damaging effects on others – as when fields were unlawfully grazed or standing grain torched by a careless neighbor’s fire. The sins of others will inflict harm on the society as a whole; we never sin alone (Ps. 73.10-15). In such cases, the Law of God provides that the suffering of the innocent shall be mitigated by the restitution imposed on the guilty. That may not be much comfort in some cases, especially when the sin of the guilty leaves the innocent with irreparable economic damage or bodily harm. But the Law of God never promised it would eradicate sin and its effects, merely control them as far as can be done in a society of sinners. In the present economic “downturn” we did the opposite of what God’s Law requires. Instead of making the guilty pay the consequences of their selfishness, we made everybody pay, even some who have not been born yet, as we sought to rescue the guilty from their foolishness and sin. The only consequences they have had to bear are those inflicted by themselves. Meanwhile, everybody is required to pony-up to make sure that that the crash landing of those who precipitated this mess – a few notable white collar types excepted – should be as soft as possible.

Is it unkind to allow people to bear the consequences of their sinful behavior? Why, or why not?

—

“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.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.

The eighth commandment

Exodus 20.15; Deuteronomy 5.19

“You shall not steal.”

Exodus 22.6

“If fire breaks out and catches in thorns so that the stacked grain or the standing grain or the field is consumed, he who started the fire shall make full restitution.”

You mean, take responsibility?

When I think of the state of the world’s economy, I can’t help but recall a line from the movie, Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves. The flustered Sheriff of Nottingham, in a moment of abject exasperation, stabs the top of a table with a dagger, over and over, with increasing frustration and anger. The house witch, observing, says, “Something vexes thee?” What in the world has happened? It’s really quite simple. A relatively few people, thinking they could beat the odds, took some very high-stakes risks in real estate investment. Bankers just knew they couldn’t lose, just because they were making loans that could not possibly be repaid, for they fully intended to bundle those “instruments” into investment packages for hedge-fund managers or other banks. Borrowers, assured by loan officers that their properties would continue to rise in value, and that, by the time their ARM raised its hoary head, they’d be OK, took out loans that would catch up to them before they had improved their lot sufficiently to meet their obligations. Default spread like a virus in a Petri dish, triggering a wave of bank closings, stock dumping, job losses (with the attendant unemployment payouts), liberal cries of “We must do something to help main street!” echoed by conservative cries of “To the rescue of Wall Street” and, well, the rest is history. Greed, irresponsibility, blame-shifting, and mere self-interest ignited like a brushfire, and, suddenly, everyone’s field is ablaze.

Is there any sense in which we might all share in the blame for this economic upheaval?

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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.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.

The sixth commandment

Exodus 20.13; Deuteronomy 5.17

“You shall not murder.”

Leviticus 19.17

“You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him.”

1 John 2.9

“Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in the darkness”

How to know if you’re really in the Lord’s light.

It’s OK to get angry with people from time to time, as long as that doesn’t become a defining attribute of our character. But you can’t let that anger linger; we must not “let the sun go down” on our anger (Eph. 4.26). The proper way to deal with anger, as the Law indicates, is to go to the neighbor who, as we you it, has offended against you, and talk about the situation until you reach a resolution. The more you allow anger toward a brother in the Lord to fester, the greater is the likelihood it will combust into hate. John says that hate toward our brothers indicates a lack of light, and the lack of light is darkness. If we hate our brothers in the Lord, we are actually living in the darkness, and not the light of life. But if we walk in the Light, as Jesus is in the Light, then we will deal with our anger in appropriate ways, not allowing it to fester into hate so that it issues in one or another kind of murder. See how wise and practical the Law of God is! By submitting to its teaching and walking in its ways, we keep ourselves in the path of light and nurture love for God in neighbor in all our ways.

Have you developed the discipline of daily meditation in the Law of God? Can you see how doing so would help you to walk in the Light as Jesus is in the Light?

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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.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.