Think and Talk – Interpreting the Law of God (23)

Think and Talk

Interpreting the Law of God (23)

Read, meditate on, and talk about the Law of God.

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. Psalm 1:1, 2

Understanding the Law of God is so important because of the Law’s relationship to the rest of Scripture, as we have seen. Every member of the believing community is responsible for being able to live within the parameters of love marked out in the Law, and therefore every member must make it his or her business to become skilled in handling this perfect Law of liberty, since we will all be judged by it daily and at the end of days (Jas. 2:12, 13).

So each of us needs to include some time in our reading and study of Scripture for focusing on the Law of God, the books of Moses. Memorizing the Ten Commandments would be a good start, and spending some time each day meditating on these and listening as the Spirit searches our hearts and lives for any unacknowledged transgressions (Ps. 139:23, 24). It might also be a good idea to include regular reading through all the commandments, statutes, and precepts of Exodus—Deuteronomy as part of one’s regular Bible reading.

The Lord also instructed His people to talk about the Law in their homes and to include conversation about the Law as part of their normal, daily routines (Deut. 6:4-6).

We must not continue to ignore the Law or to give it merely passing attention. Jesus taught that love grows cold when the Law is neglected (Matt. 24:12), and failing to attend to the Law can also impede our prayers (Prov. 28:9). So each citizen of the Kingdom, every believer, needs to develop some approach to the Law that will make it possible for us to internalize it more completely and more consistently (Ps. 119:9-11; Col. 3:16). The more we think about the Law and talk about it with our fellow believers, the greater the likelihood will be of the Law beginning to form our souls to love God and our neighbors as Jesus intends.

Order a copy of The Law of God from our online store, and begin daily reading in the commandments, statutes, testimonies, precepts, and rules of God, which are the cornerstone of divine revelation. Sign up at our website to receive our thrice-weekly devotional, Crosfigell, written by T. M. Moore.

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