WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE LAW?

The reason this question is important is because the law has been considered by many to be important, but for different reasons. Some say the law is given so believers will know how to conduct themselves in a way that is pleasing to God. Others suggest it brings order to society. Many evangelicals, however, propose that it is no more than a mirror that exposes a person’s sinfulness when measured according to God’s lofty standard.

I have been talking about the importance of obedience to our kid’s on Sunday morning and have always taught that the law is a mirror that exposes ones sinfulness. Although this is true, it is not the sole purpose of the law. Author R.C. Sproul suggests, “Scripture shows that God intends His law to function in three ways.”

According to Sproul, “(The Law’s) first function is to be a mirror reflecting to us both the perfect righteousness of God and our own sinfulness and shortcomings.” The Apostle Paul made it clear that the law is meant to make one aware of sin. He affirms, “For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression” (Romans 4:15). Paul also taught about the law to help his readers understand their need for forgiveness and restoration that only comes through repentance and faith in Christ. He asserts, “All who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.’ Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for ‘The righteous shall live by faith’” (Galatians 3:10-11).

The second function of the law is what Sproul calls the “civil use.” He says, “Though the law cannot change the heart, it can to some extent inhibit lawlessness by its threats of judgment, especially when backed by a civil code that administers punishment for proven offenses…Thus it secures civil order, and serves to protect the righteous from the unjust.” In the book of Deuteronomy, there are many offenses punishable by death. One of those is premeditated murder.

The third function is for believers and is explained by Paul in Ephesians 2:10. He insists, “(Believers) are (God’s) workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” According to Sproul, “The Christian is free from the law as a system of salvation (Rom. 6:14; 7:4, 6; 1 Cor. 9:20; Gal. 2:15-19; 3:25), but is ‘under the law of Christ’ as a rule of life (1 Cor. 9:21; Gal. 6:2).

The Three Purposes of the Law. The Reformation Study Bible. Edited by R.C. Sproul, pp. 264.

"Quote" of the Week

"God, being who He is, cannot cease to be what He is, and being what He is, He cannot act out of character with Himself. He is at once faithful and immutable, so all His words and acts must be and must remain faithful. Men become unfaithful out of desire, fear, weakness, loss of interest, or because of some strong influence from without. Obviously none of these forces can affect God in any way. He is His own reason for all He is and does. He cannot be compelled from without, but ever speaks and acts from within Himself by His own sovereign will as it pleases Him."

-A.W. Tozer on the faithfulness of God.

DOES GOD TAKE RISKS?

It is impossible for people to avoid taking risks. Author John Piper defines risk as, “An action that exposes you to the possibility of loss or injury.” He also affirms that the reason there is such thing as risk is because, “There is such a thing as ignorance.” When thinking about risk in this way, it seems foolish to say that an all knowing and all powerful God takes risks. Many, however, believe that God did take a risk by leaving His message and mission in the hands of human beings.

Last week, the youth discussed whether or not Jesus took a risk by leaving us with the task of taking the Gospel to the world. Although it does appear that way, one must ask, “Why is Jesus so confident that ordinary men and women can complete this extraordinary assignment?”

Scripture teaches that Jesus does not place his faith solely in his disciples, but in the ability of the three persons of the Godhead who abide with, indwell and empower all who trust in him for salvation. There are several affirmations Jesus makes during his earthly ministry that indicate this.

Jesus first insists that salvation is a work of God. In John 6:44 he states, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.” He also testifies of himself, “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (John 12:32).

Jesus also affirms that his disciples are not left to carry out the mission of God by themselves. He promises them his presence and the presence of the Holy Spirit. After giving the Great Commission, Jesus affirms, “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). He also asserts in John 14:16, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him or knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”

Finally, Jesus indicates that his followers will be successful because of the power of the Holy Spirit. It is interesting that Jesus tells his disciples in Acts 1:4, “Wait for the promise of the Father.” In this verse Jesus is referring to the Holy Spirit. This is one of the few times the followers of Jesus are instructed to wait. The reason they are told to linger is because they need to receive the power of the Holy Spirit so they can be witnesses for Christ making him known where he is not (Acts 1:8).

The Holy Spirit not only gives the followers of Christ strength and boldness, but knowledge of how to be adequate witnesses for him. Jesus told them, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (John 14:26).

Believers are correct in thinking that if it were left to them alone; God's mission would be in jeopardy. One thing we learn throughout Scripture, however, is that when God sets seemingly unattainable demands upon His people, He provides the means to accomplish the ends.

"Quote" of the Week

"God is over all things (and) under all things; outside all; within but not enclosed; without but not excluded; above but not raised up; below but not depressed; wholly above, presiding; wholly beneath, sustaining; wholly within, filling."
-Hildebert of Lavardin on God's Omnipresence

OUR FATHER KNOWS BEST

Yesterday, I asked our young people if they believe their parents know what is best for them. When I was young, it was difficult for me to believe this to be true when it came to the importance of eating my vegetables. I would reason, “How could something that tasted bad be good for me.” In time, however, I acquired a taste for many different types of vegetables and learned that eating vegetables positively affects my physical condition.

If parents make decisions that are in a young person’s best interest, how much more is this true of our Heavenly Father? At times we may question His working in our lives and whether it is for our good, but we must in faith believe that it is. Paul affirms in Romans 8:28, "All things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

During their time in the wilderness, the Jewish people questioned God's goodness after hearing the report about the powerful men who were currently dwelling in the land God had promised the Israelites. In response, God’s people replied, "If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword" (Numbers 14:2)?

The Jewish people were disobedient because they lacked faith in God. An easy definition of faith is, "Taking God at His word." God had told them that the land was theirs for the taking. All they had to do was take God at His word, respond with obedience, and reap the benefits. Instead, they thought that God would go against His promises and kill them when they tried to take the land. God knew what was best for His people, but instead gave the Israelites what they thought was best and as a result, that generation, with the exception of Joshua and Caleb, did not enter into the land of promise and died in the wilderness.

There are several times in Scripture where God grants people what they want, but what they want is not at all what they need. What if a parent let a toddler have anything he/she wanted? The child might get seriously injured or worse. The same is true for the people of God. One must want what God wants and do away with making decisions based upon comfort and/or convenience.

One of the major strategies of the enemy is to tempt believers to take the easy way out. Both of our representatives were tempted in this way. Scripture clearly explains the results of both. In Romans 5:19, Paul affirms, "By (Adam's) disobedience the many were made sinners, so by (Christ's) obedience the many will be made righteous." Although God's way is not always the easiest, it should be the only choice for all who believe in Him.

"Quote" of the Week

"We must not think of God as highest in an ascending order of beings, starting with the single cell and going on up from the fish to the bird to the animal to man to angel to cherub to God. This would be to grant God eminence, even pre-eminence, but that is not enough; we must grant Him transcendence in the fullest meaning of that word. Forever God stands apart, in light unapproachable. He is as high above an archangel as above a caterpillar, for the gulf between God and the archangel is infinite. The caterpillar and the archangel, though far removed from each other in the scale of created things, are nevertheless one in that they are alike created. They both belong in the category of that-which-is-not-God and are separated from God by infinitude itself." -A.W. Tozer on God's Divine Transcendence

WHO BENEFITS FROM FORGIVENESS?

Last night, our youth discussed the benefits of forgiveness. Many see forgiveness as beneficial, but not to the person who has been wronged. What they fail to see, however, is that withholding forgiveness is as much if not more detrimental to the sufferer. Lewis B. Smedes, a former professor of theology and ethics at Fuller Theological Seminary, once said, “To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that prisoner was you.”

Jesus had a lot to say about the importance of forgiving others. He asserts, “If you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matt. 6:14-15). He also says, “Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against any one; so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses” (Mark 11:25). When commenting on these verses, Wayne Grudem states, “Our Lord does not have in mind the initial experience of forgiveness we know when we are justified by faith, for that would not belong in a prayer that we pray every day. He refers rather to the day-by-day relationship with God that we need to have restored when we have sinned and displeased him” (Systematic Theology, pp. 386).

Jesus also affirms that our forgiveness of others should precede our request for forgiveness from God. In Matthew 6:12, Jesus instructs his followers to pray, “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” According to Grudem, “If there are those whom we have not forgiven when we pray this prayer, then we are asking God not to restore a right relationship with us after we sin, in just the same way as we have refused to do so with others” (Ibid).

Although a right relationship with God is a biblical motivator for forgiveness, a believer must also forgive to properly represent God to others. Paul asserts in Colossians 3:13, “As the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” What better way to demonstrate who God is and what he has done then by forgiving others and restoring broken relationships?

"Quote" of the Week

"Since He has at His command all the power in the universe, the Lord God omnipotent can do anything as easily as anything else. All His acts are done without effort. He expends no energy that must be replenished. His self-sufficiency makes it unnecessary for Him to look outside of Himself for a renewal of strength. All the power required to do all that He wills to do lies in undiminished fullness in His own infinite being." -A.W. Tozer on the omnipotence of God

"Quote" of the Week

"The wisdom of any creature or of all creatures, when set against the boundless wisdom of God, is pathetically small. For this reason the apostle is accurate when he refers to God as 'only wise.' That is, God is wise in Himself, and all the shining wisdom of men or angels is but a reflection of that uncreated effulgence which streams from the throne of the Majesty in the heavens." -A.W. Tozer on the wisdom of God