The Law of God is Good for Us

I will put my teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people… I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will place my Spirit within you and cause you to follow my statutes and carefully observe my ordinances. Jeremiah 31:33, Ezekial 36:26-27 CSB

We tend to get the notion that the law is a bad negative thing, especially in our American society now. However, that’s not how God sees it. Breaking God’s moral demands is called ‘sin.’ Sin kills us, literally we will die because of it (whether today or someday) and also in judgment (will cause the 2nd death, hell). We need law and order to keep us in communion with God. We broke covenant agreements (laws and demands from Sovereign God in order to be His people) with God and He is absolutely not under any obligations to have to be faithful to us, yet He continues to be.

Even after the Old Testament (Old Covenant), there is the introduction of the New Testament (New Covenant). We see in the opening verses that God will be the acting agent for us: He will change our hearts and our minds to follow Him. With the Law given to Moses (Mosaic Covenant), we see that God gives the law and then also provisions on what to do in the event that the law is broken (Robertson, 75). The law itself was not intended to save them, but to keep them and guard the people of Israel (Galatians 3:19-26). We are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:1-9), this was true in the Old and New Testaments.

We Still Need the Law

Jesus came to fulfill the law requirements in the Old Testament but not to necessarily do away with it (Matthew 5:17-18). We are not under the law but under grace, yet still need the law to keep us from sin (Romans 6:13-16). We need God to remove our heart of stone and give us a heart of flesh that has His laws written on it so that we are keeping His law with us and doing the law even when we’re not conscious of doing the requirements of the law. We actually see this play out in Matthew 25:34-40:

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

“‘For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger and you took me in; I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me; I was in prison and you visited me.’

 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and take you in, or without clothes and clothe you?  When did we see you sick, or in prison, and visit you?’

“And the King will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

The group that treated Jesus as a guest was not conscious of doing so, their hearts were changed and the law was written on their hearts to act even when they weren’t aware.

Conclusion

In view of us still needing this law ‘written on our hearts’ and that this is actually for our benefit, I wanted us to end with Psalm 19:8-14 CSB:

-Austin

Bibliography

O. Palmer Robertson, Covenants (Philadelphia: Great Commission Publications, 1987), 75.