The Grace Of The Law – The Eighth Commandment

The Grace of the Law

The eighth commandment

Exodus 20.15; Deuteronomy 5.19

“You shall not steal.”

Exodus 22.6

“If fire breaks out and catches in thorns so that the stacked grain or the standing grain or the field is consumed, he who started the fire shall make full restitution.”

The Law is full of grace, if we let it.

So the man who started the fire that burned your standing grain ends up, after paying restitution, without a home or land or personal possession of any sort. He is still a member of the society and is no longer guilty of any sin. He’s just on hard times as a result of his selfish or careless behavior. Serves him right? Well, of course not. The same Law of God that maintained justice through restitution maintained justice by requiring communities to care for those who had fallen on hard times for whatever reason. That man would still be provided for by his neighbors and family in a variety of ways – the laws of gleaning and the third-year tithe, for example. He would not be allowed to languish because the God Who required him to restore his neighbor’s wealth loved him and determined that his neighbors should love him, too. But we short-circuit the grace of law when we fail to make people take responsibility for their sins so that we can then take responsibility for helping them get back on their feet, without spreading additional injustice throughout the community or into the generation to come. The Law of God is meant to give us fullness of life. We can’t expect our unsaved neighbors to see the wisdom in it; but we who know Jesus and have His Spirit can show them a better and more just way to live, if only we will (Ezek. 36.26, 27; Phil. 2.13).

Pray

Lord, what can I do – one person – to begin restoring the holiness, righteousness, and goodness of Your Law back into the everyday life of my community (Rom. 7.12)?
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“In the Gates” is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore

T. M. Moore is 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.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.