The Outworking of the Law

The Outworking of the Law

This answer may seem simplistic, but it is not mean.

“You shall be holy to me, for I the LORD am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine.” Leviticus 20:26

What does obedience to the rule of God’s Law yield? What benefit may we expect to gain if, properly motivated out of fear of and love for God, we take up the yoke of obedience to His Law in every aspect of our lives?

All the benefits of God’s Law are summed up in this one good: we will be His holy people. We will be like Him!

This answer may seem simplistic, but it is not mean. God is full of majesty, glory, splendor, might, goodness, wisdom, joy, love, life, and strength. Wouldn’t it be nice to be more consistently like that ourselves? God does not experience fear or disappointment, defeat, discouragement, setback, self-doubt, or any of the other negative affections and consequences of our sinful state. Would we not truly enjoy our lives if they could be made free of such unpleasantness?

God uses His Law to make us like Himself—holy, set apart for the purposes of eternal glory. His Law is the gateway to His promises, by which we may partake of the divine nature, when we have escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust (2 Pet. 1:4). As the Spirit of God leads us through the Law into the presence of God’s glory, we are there transformed, made to conform a bit more to the image of Jesus Christ, so that His righteousness lives through us, and His holiness comes to expression in all our words and deeds (2 Cor. 3:12-18).

Thus, as we grow in holiness, into the image of Jesus Christ, every aspect of our lives, even the most mundane, everyday activities, become platforms for the glory of God to display Him to the world around us (1 Cor. 10:31). The consequence, therefore, of rightly submitting to the rule of God’s Law is that we become holy, as He is holy, in the holiness only He can bring out through us, so that we are blessed beyond description and He is glorified in the world.

It would be difficult, I think, to describe a more desirable agenda for human life.

The psalmist says that the righteous person meditates day and night in God’s Law (Ps. 1). Would you like to get started in this discipline? Order a copy of The Ground for Christian Ethics and The Law of God. The first will explain the importance of God’s Law and guide you in taking up the practice of daily reading and meditation. The second provides all the statutes, precepts, and rules of God’s Law organized under their proper number of the Ten Commandments.

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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.