Delighting in God – The Law of God: Question and Answers

Delighting in God
The Law of God: Question and Answers

We are only truly free when we delight in the Lord.

Question: What does the Law of God teach about free will?

Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

This psalm may seem like a kind of carte blanche for getting from God whatever we want.

In fact, it is the key to knowing the true freedom of our wills which is ours through Him Who sets us free (Gal. 5:1).

In the power of God’s Spirit we may learn to delight in the Lord, to have all our strongest and most positive affections directed toward Him—fear, love, hope, longing, anticipation, gladness, and all the rest. As the indwelling Spirit teaches us the things of Christ, He works to convict us of sin, righteousness, and judgment; to bring us into the very presence of God and His glory; to bring forth fruit, gifts, and power for holy living; and to transform us into the image of our Lord Jesus Christ (John 16:8-11; 2 Cor. 3:12-18; Gal. 5:22, 23; 1 Cor. 12:7-11; Acts 1:8).

As this happens, as we increase in Christlikeness, we will know the joy the Lord knows within Himself, because we will be partaking of Him through Jesus Christ (2 Pet. 1:4). The joy of the Lord is full and complete, lacking nothing. The joy of the Lord follows from knowing Him unto righteousness and peace (Rom. 14:17, 18).

And when all our joy is in the Lord, what we will desire will be only more of the same. No lesser distraction or enticement will hold any thrall for us when, our hearts free from the power and persuasion of sin, we are delighting in the Lord at all times. Then we will be free in the Lord, to know the Lord and rejoice in Him, from which condition we will freely choose to obey Him—but only by the power of His indwelling Spirit.

So, do we have “free will”? In Christ, yes; by the power of His Spirit, yes; as we delight in the Lord, yes; and as we walk in His Law of liberty (James 2:12)—emphatically, yes! Not completely, and not perfectly, but truly, and increasingly. If the Son sets us free, we shall be free, indeed!

Got a question about the Law of God? Write to T. M. at tmmoore@ailbe.org, and your answer might appear in this series of In the Gates columns.

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.

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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.