The Destruction of Nations – Law Matters: The Law and the Nations (2)

The Destruction of Nations

Law Matters: The Law and the Nations (2)

Thus says the LORD: “For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment….” Amos 1:3

In the language of Scripture, “transgression” indicates any violation of the Law of God (cf. 1 John 3:4). Nations and peoples who do not know the Lord nevertheless have the works of the Law written on their hearts, and their consciences either confirm or accuse them according to the degree of their faithfulness in obeying what they know to be right (Rom. 2:14, 15).

Thus, even those nations and peoples who do not know the Lord through the Gospel of Jesus Christ are accountable before God for the works they do and the laws by which they live. It is a consistent message of the Old Testament prophets—as represented in our text from Amos—that the ground for God’s pouring out His wrath on the nations is transgression of His Law. The formula “three transgressions and four” probably has a twofold significance. On the one hand, it represents repeated and accumulating sin for which no repentance has been offered. On the other, it suggests, through the use of the Scriptural numbers for God and man, transgression of both tablets of the Law. Nations which do not obey the Law of God heap up His judgment against themselves. They must therefore be made to know that, in His time and way, God will hold them accountable for their disobedience.

Knowing that such judgment awaits those nations that disregard the Law of God, the Christian should be eager to spare his own nation such wrath by working diligently, through all lawful means, to help bring the laws of his own nation, and the practices of her citizens, into conformity with the Law of God. This alone will not achieve the salvation of the nation or our neighbors. However, it will free up space for the blessings of God to flourish, rather than His wrath, and will establish a framework in which goodness, justice, and truth have objective significance, thus greatly facilitating conversation about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which alone is the hope of salvation for all peoples.

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 Book Store.

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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.