A love affair with God's law

Just reflecting on the recent talk about the 10 commandments and God's law....

The bible is a united proof of God's love for us... yes, it may be divided into the Old testament and the New testament-- but some christians start to believe that the OT is bad news and the NT is good news.

"They sniff from the theological wind that the God of the OT is a demanding God, while the God of the NT is a giving God. But children do not smell this odour. They see as many demands in the NT as there are in the OT- and perhaps harder ones. If the good news depends on God not demanding, there is no gospel. But kids know better. And we might learn from them to enjoy the OT if we see that the obedience it demands is the obedience of faith in future grace."
- John Piper "Future Grace"

By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice then Cain...
By faith Noah... prepared an ark for the salvation of his household...
By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac...
By faith Moses... refused to be called the son of Pharoah's daughter...

Hebrews 11:4,7,17,24

When Moses recorded what the Lord required of his people, he said it was "to keep the Lord's commandments... for your good" (Deut 10:13) It is for our good that God commands us to do his will. The men and women of the Old testament knew this. They who loved God received his commandments as blessings and not burdens. They seemed to have a love affair with God's law!

"I shall delight in Thy commandments, which I love. And i shall lift up my hands to Thy commandments which I love; and I will meditate on Thy statutes... I love Thy commandments above gold, yes above fine gold." (Psalms 119:47, 48, 127)

King David knew, more than anyone, how the law of God could crush with guilt- like the guilt of adultery and murder (2 Sam 12:13). But no one loved the law more than David. He reveled in its practical, spiritual value. he said that it "is perfect, restoring the soul;" it is "sure, making wise the simple;" it is "right, rejoicing the heart;" it is "pure, enlightening the eyes." It is "sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb" (Psalm 19:7-10) In other words, he experienced profoundly the truth of Moses' words that the commandments of God are "for your good."

The law is not a mere list of commandments. The commandments of the law are woven together with threads of grace- past grace, future grace, forgiving grace and empowering grace. These threads are part of the Old testament law. Before God gave moses the Ten commandments, He reminded him of past grace: "... You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings, and brought you to Myself. Now then , if you will indeed obey My voice and keep my covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine." (Exodus 19:3-5)

God promised forgiving grace at the centre of the law-giving on Mt Sinai. God identified himself as "compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished." (Ex 34:6-7) In other words, at the head of the law stands a future provision for failing to keep the law- God has poured out his forgiving grace!

The grace of empowerment for obedience was not poured out fully in the Old testament times. This greater outpouring was promised in the "new covenant" which Christ inaugurated and sealed by the shedding of his blood (Luke 22:20; 1 Cor 11:25). Both prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel mention the time that was coming when God would empower his people with a new heart, and a new spirit!

"Behold the days are coming... I will put My law within them and on their hearts I will write it." (Jer 31:31,33) "I shall give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them. I shall take the heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and Keep My ordinances" (Ezekiel 11:19-10 cf. 36:26-28)

We are living in exciting times! The 'days which are coming' in the bible are the times now! Do not exalt our precious privilege as beneficiaries of the new covenant at the expense of the old covenant- it did not command the wrong things- it was not complete because it was not accompanied, by and large, with inner, transforming, enabling divine power (Rom 8:3)

Taken as a whole, the old testament has one great aim:" Whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perserverance and encouragement of the Scriptures we might have HOPE" (Rom 15:4)

The OT was written to strengthen our hope in God!

The commandments of God are not negligible

because we are under grace.

They are doable (through Christ) because we are under grace.

The new covenant gift of the Spirit

is the power to obey the revealed will of God;

but the path along which the Spirit comes and works

is faith in future grace.

- John Piper 'Future grace'