The Spirit Beyond the Words – The Law of God and Public Policy

The Spirit beyond the Words
The Law of God and Public Policy

We must learn to seek the spirit and not the letter of the Law.

“When men quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist and the man does not die but takes to his bed, then if the man rises again and walks outdoors with his staff, he who struck him shall be clear, only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall have him thoroughly healed.” Exodus 21:18, 19

Christians want to see the benefits of justice and neighbor-love, as these are revealed in the Law of God, for their own communities and nation. We must, therefore, work hard to understand the concept of justice as this is revealed in God’s Law and the rest of His Word.

But we must not suppose that we are to be bound merely by the letter or words of the Law. In this age when God has poured out His Spirit—Who is the Giver of God’s Law (Luke 11:20; Matt. 12:28; Ex. 31:18; Deut. 9:10) and both its Teacher (Ezek. 36:26, 27) and its Power (Ezek. 36:26, 27; Phil. 2:13)—believers must look to the Spirit of God to help them discern the spirit of His Law. Thus they will be better prepared to work for bringing neighbor-love and justice to their communities and their nation.

As believers grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and learn to walk in the Spirit rather than in the flesh (2 Pet. 3:18; Gal. 5:16-23) they will discover applications of the Law of God that exceed the letter of the Law and bring renewing and liberating power for reconciliation and justice into the their daily practice of the faith.

The story of the good Samaritan illustrates this well (Luke 10:25-37). Here Jesus provides a lesson in how to restore justice and neighbor-love by following the spirit and not just the letter of the Law of God.

Visit our website, www.ailbe.org, and sign up to receive our thrice-weekly devotional, Crosfigell, featuring writers from the period of the Celtic Revival and T. M.’s reflections on Scripture and the Celtic Christian tradition. Does the Law of God still apply today? Order a copy of T. M.’s book, The Ground for Christian Ethics, and study the question for yourself.

–

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.