Question 92: What did the Lord say through the law?

 

Question 92: What did the Lord say through the law?

Answer: God said the following (Exodus 20:1-17; Deuteronomy 5:6-21):

First Commandment: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.”

Second Commandment: “You shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them. For I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.”

Third Commandment: “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes my name in vain.” Fourth Commandment: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall not do any work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your male or female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.”

Fifth Commandment: “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.”

Sixth Commandment: “You shall not murder.”

Seventh Commandment: “You shall not commit adultery.”

Eighth Commandment: “You shall not steal.”

Ninth Commandment: “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” The Tenth Commandment: “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, or his ox or donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”

Romans 3:19-20 "Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped and the whole world may become accountable to God. Therefore, by observing the law no one will be justified in his sight, because through the law comes the knowledge of sin."

All believers think they know the Law. While they strive to keep it, they actually don't fully grasp its meaning. They don't understand the Apostle Paul's statement that "Jesus abolished the Law on the cross," nor do they grasp the meaning of Jesus' statement that he came not to abolish the Law but to fulfill it. These two statements seem diametrically opposed.

God's purpose in giving the Law to Israel was to make them realize that they were all under sin and destined for judgment. If they realized they were being judged for their sins, they would be disillusioned. However, God, in His mercy and compassion, planted in them the promise of forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ. And the Law tells us that once this forgiveness is complete, all we need to do is believe.

Therefore, the law is not simply about keeping or doing certain commandments literally, but "the fact that humans are sinners and deserve to die because they are sinners, but God showed mercy and compassion in the law and showed His promise of salvation, and that the promise of salvation will be fulfilled and that if you believe in it, you will be saved."

Romans clearly explains the law and the gospel. The law cannot do what the flesh desperately tries to do. But believers cannot. What God sees as absolutely impossible, humans insist they can. The law is something I do. I act according to my own judgment and conviction, believing that I am right. It's as if I can act according to my own judgment and thoughts, even without God.

However, the new covenant is something that human flesh cannot accomplish, but God promises to do with His power. It is not I who does it, but God. Believing this is the gospel through Jesus Christ. To receive the law means God does not exist, and to be a sinner who has turned away from Him. If God is in your heart, you are a being unrelated to the law.

This is what Jeremiah describes as the law of the heart. Keeping the commandments means keeping them in your heart. The first two stone tablets, the Ten Commandments, are representative of the laws God created, and are recorded in the Book of Exodus. These stone tablets are the words God gave to the Exodus people through Moses on Mount Sinai. However, these stone tablets were broken due to the people's sin. This implies that the people are incapable of fully keeping the law with their fleshly hearts.

However, the second set of stone tablets, recorded in Deuteronomy 5, are the words of God spoken by Moses to the new people born in the wilderness in the land of Moab at the entrance to Canaan. These are not laws, but laws of the Spirit written on the heart. While the first two stone tablets required obedience to written words, the second two tablets were written on the heart, leading to the guidance of the Holy Spirit and acting with a spiritual mind. This signifies the fulfillment of the law through the power of the Holy Spirit.