A Work of Warning – Uses of the Law: To Engage God’s Spirit (5)

A Work of Warning

Uses of the Law: To Engage God’s Spirit (5)

“And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment…” John 16:8

The Holy Spirit works with the Law of God from within His residence in our souls, illuminating and renewing our minds, cleansing our hearts, and fortifying our consciences to will what is upright and good. When necessary, He pains us with guilt and shame because of some sin our lives. But He does not stop there. He immediately brings us to the Law of God as the fount of good works and points us in the path of righteousness to which He beckons us to return (Ps. 119:59, 60). He convicts us of sin, and He teaches and persuades us of the way of righteousness.

Then, to ensure that we will work out our salvation according to the good pleasure of God, the Spirit reminds us of the judgment of God against those who scorn His ways.

Because God loves us He disciplines us when we stray from His path (Heb. 12:3-11). Such discipline can take various forms—conviction of sin, public shaming (cf. Gal. 2), deprivation and want, and more. However God chooses to discipline us, it will not be pleasant. We would not have signed up for such an experience, even though we should know, as the discipline unfolds, that is from the Father’s love and for our good.

The Law of God teaches throughout that sanctions will be applied against those who disrupt justice and scorn love for God and neighbor by transgressing against His Law. Thus the Law of God reinforces the need to bring holiness to completion in the fear of God (2 Cor. 7:1). We are to fear God because He takes His Law seriously, He takes seriously the redemption He has applied to us and the good works He intends us to fulfill, and He is able to bring unpleasant discipline against those who depart from the prescribed path.

Thus, as part of His teaching and transforming work within us—work rooted in the Law of God—the Spirit works to reinforce fear of God within the same soul where He is working to nurture love for God as the highest of all virtues. His work of warning is essential to our sanctification, but we will have difficulty benefiting from this aspect of His work unless we make reading and study of God’s Law part of our daily discipline in the Word.

For a practical guide to the role of God’s Law in the life of faith, get The Ground for Christian Ethics by going to www.ailbe.org and click on our Bookstore, then Church Issues.

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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.