Benefits for Unbelievers

Benefits for Unbelievers

A Kingdom Catechism

The Law of God is good for those who reject Him

Q 23     How does the Law of God benefit nonbelievers?

A 23     The Law of God benefits nonbelievers by protecting them from the harmful effects of sin, teaching them to recognize sin, and causing them to look beyond themselves for righteousness. (Ps. 66:3; Ps. 81:15; Rom. 7:7; Rom. 3:21-31)

The Law of God restrains sin. Imagine if there were no civil laws in this or any nation against stealing, murder, or rape. The fact that such laws exist and are enforced conduces to the peace and order of society. Yet such laws have no basis, in a world dominated by an evolutionary and pragmatic worldview, except the lingering “memory” of the Law of God in the hearts of men.

The fact that such laws exist makes it possible for citizens, prosecutors, juries, and judges to recognize sinful behavior and to eschew it or, as necessary, enforce laws against it, thus maintaining a rule of law in society which conforms, if only to a certain extent, to God’s intentions and designs.

The Law functions in the souls of people as well as their consciences condemn their sinfulness and their inability to live up even to their own moral standards, thus making them aware of their need of a righteousness beyond what even they can define or attain. This righteousness is only available through Jesus Christ, as we have seen.

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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.