For Remembering the Work of the Lord – The Law of God: Questions and Answers

For Remembering the Work of the Lord

The Law of God: Questions and Answers

The sacraments replay the work of God, and by them we proclaim His salvation.

What’s the purpose of the religious laws in the Old Testament?

For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. 1 Corinthians 11:26

The Sabbath Day and various feasts of the Old Covenant focused on the work of the Lord. They reminded the people that God was their Creator and Redeemer, and that He provided for their needs by causing their lands and herds to be fruitful. God’s people in every age need such reminders. The sacraments which Jesus instituted in the New Covenant perform this memorializing role for the Church today.

Baptism is a seal and symbol of the grace of the Lord in cleansing us from our sin, granting us new life, and incorporating us into His own Body, which is the Church. Not just our own baptism, but every baptism we observe offers a reminder of God’s grace which, by its words of institution and drama, remind us of the grace of God in our salvation.

While the Lord’s Supper is more than merely a memorial, it is at least that. Every communion of the Body, every branch of the Vine of Christ can agree in this. By the words and drama of the Supper we are reminded of Jesus’ suffering and sacrifice, of the renewing power of His blood, of His giving Himself to us to be with us and in us, of His making us one Body in Him, and of His coming again to receive us unto Himself. The elements of the Lord’s Supper provide actual participation in Him, as Paul explains (and as we shall see). The nature of this participation is differently understood by different communions; however, all agree that, at the very least, the Supper—along with baptism—recalls the mighty saving works of the Lord.

With the sacraments, the Sabbath—now the Lord’s Day—continues to remind us not only of the rest to which we have attained in Jesus Christ, but of the sovereign grace of God in creating and redeeming us for His glory.

These New Covenant “ceremonial laws” have their precedent in the religious or ceremonial laws of the Old Testament. We should make sure we understand the sacraments and the Lord’s Day, and the purposes for which God intends them. We should prepare well and participate attentively and sincerely, for then we will gain the benefit and know the promise of these ordinances, precisely as God intended we should.

For a fuller study of the pattern of worship revealed in Scripture, order the book, The Highest Thing, by T. M. Moore, from our online store. These studies and brief essays will help you to see how the pattern of sound worship, which began in the Law of God, comes to complete expression in the rest of Scripture. Subscribe to Crosfigell, the devotional newsletter of The Fellowship of Ailbe.

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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.