The Law of God
Lesson 40
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“Blessed are
they whose ways are blameless,
who walk according to the law of
the Lord. Blessed are they who
keep his statutes and who seek
him with all their heart. They do
nothing wrong; they walk in his
ways. You have laid down precepts
that are to be fully obeyed. Oh,
that my ways were steadfast in
obeying your decree! Then I would
not be put to shame when I
consider all your commands. I
will praise you with an upright
heart as I learn your righteous
laws. I will obey your decrees;
do not utterly forsake me.
-Psalm 119: 1-8
Introductory
Can a person who
lives today in the 21st
century, obey all of God’s
laws? The answer is a resounding
yes! When Jesus was on
Earth about 2,000 years ago, He
proved that a human being could
live a perfect life. Jesus
told His disciples, “You are
my friends if you do what
I command…whoever has my
commands and obeys them, he is
the one who loves me. He who
loves me will be loved by my
Father, and I too will love him
and show myself to him. (John
15:14; 14:21) This study will
show you what God’s laws
really say and how to interrupt
them in our everyday lives.
NATURE OF GOD’S
LAW
What is the nature
of God’s law?
“Wherefore the
law is holy, and the commandment
holy, and just, and good.”
“For we know the law is
spiritual: but I am carnal, sold
under sin.” Romans 7:12,14.
Note - Christ demonstrated the
spiritual nature of the law,
showing that it relates not
merely to the outwards actions,
but also to the thought and
intents of the heart. (See
Hebrews 4:12) Obedience to this
law therefore, requires not
merely an outward compliance but
genuine heart service. This can
be rendered only by a regenerated
soul.” Psalm 19:7. “Is
there such a thing as a perfect
law? Everything that comes from
God is perfect. The law of which
we are thinking comes from Him.
It becomes defiled in our hands.
We take from it and try to add to
it, and in that way it becomes
less than perfect. In a very real
sense the law of God is the
manifestation of the nature of
the Lord. It could no more be
imperfect that He is.”
How comprehensive
are these commandments?
“Fear God, and
keep his commandments: for this
is the whole duty of man.”
Ecclesiastes 12:13. Note
– “No human lawgiver
could have given forth such a law
as that which we find in the Ten
Commandments. It is a perfect
law; for all human laws that are
right are to be found in that
brief and weighed together of all
that is good and excellent toward
God, or between man an man.”
God’s Law
1
You shall have no
other gods before me.
2
You shall not make
unto thee any graven image, or
any likeness of any thing that is
in heaven above, or that is in
the earth beneath, or that is in
the water under the earth, you
shall not bow down thyself to
them, nor serve them, for I am
the Lord thy God am a jealous
God, visiting the iniquity of the
fathers upon the children unto
the third and fourth generations
of them that hate me, and showing
mercy unto thousands of them that
love me, and keep my
commandments.
3
You shall not misuse
the name of the Lord your God,
for the Lord will not hold him
guiltless who misuses his name.
4
Remember the Sabbath
day, to keep it holy. Six days
shall you labor, and do all thy
work, but the seventh day is the
Sabbath of the Lord your God, On
it you shall not do any work,
neither you, nor thy son or
daughter, nor your manservant or
maidservant, nor your animals,
nor the alien within thy gates:
for in six days the Lord made
heaven and earth, the sea, and
all that in them is, and rested
the seventh day, Therefore the
Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and
hallowed it.
5
Honor your father
and your mother, so that you may
live long in the land which the
Lord your God is giving you.
6
You shall not
murder.
7
You shall not commit
adultery.
8
You shall not steal.
9
You shall not give
false testimony against your
neighbor.
10
You shall not covet
your neighbor’s house; you
shall not covet your
neighbor’s wife, or his
manservant, or his maidservant,
or his ox, or donkey, or any
thing that belongs to your
neighbor.
Exodus 20:3-17.
What is the
essential principle of the law of
God?
“Love does no
harm to its neighbor. Therefore
love is the fulfillment of the
law.” Romans 13:10.
What two
commandments sum up the law of
God?
”Love the Lord
your God with all your heart and
with all your soul and with all
your mind. This is the first and
greatest commandment And the
second is like it: Love your
neighbor as yourself. All the Law
and the Prophets hang on these
two commandments.” Matthew
22:37-40. Note – If you love
God with all your heart, you will
keep the first table; if you love
your neighbor as yourself, you
will keep the second.
PURPOSE OF LAW
Why should we fear
God and keep His commandments?
“Now all has
been heard; here is the
conclusion of the matter: Fear
God and keep his commandments,
for this is the whole duty of
man, For God will bring every
deed into judgment, including
every hidden thing, whether it is
good or evil.” Ecclesiastes
12:13,14.
What will be the
standard in the judgment?
Speak and act as
those who are going to be judged
by the law that gives freedom,
because judgment without mercy
will be shown to anyone who has
not been merciful. Mercy triumphs
over judgment! James 2:12,13.
What is sin declared
to be?
“Everyone who
sins breaks the law; in fact, sin
is lawlessness.” 1 John 3:4.
DISOBEDIENCE TO LAW
How many of the
commandments is it necessary to
break in order to become a
transgressor of the law?
“For whoever
keeps the whole law and yet
stumbles at just one point is
guilty of breaking all of it. For
He [Jesus] who said, “Do not
commit adultery,” also said,
“Do not murder.” If you
do not commit adultery but do
commit murder, you have become a
lawbreaker.” James 2:10,11.
Note – The Ten
Commandments are not ten
different laws; they are one law.
If I am being held up in the air
by a chain with ten links and I
break one of them, down I come,
just as surely as if I break the
whole ten.
Can one know God and
not keep His commandments?
“The man that
says, “I know him, ‘but
does not what he commands is a
liar, and the truth is not in
him.” 1 John 2:4.
NECESSITY OF
OBEDIENCE
What was
Christ’s attitude toward
God’s will, or law?
“Then I said,
“Here I am, I have come- it
is written about me in the
scroll. I desire to do your will,
O my God; your law is within my
heart” Psalms 40:7,8.
Who did say would
enter the kingdom of heaven?
“Jesus said,
Not everyone who says to me,
‘Lord, Lord, will enter the
kingdom of heaven, but only he
who does the will of my Father
who is in heaven.” Matthew
7:21
How will men be
rated in relation to God’s
commandments?
“Anyone who
breaks one of the least of these
commandments and teaches others
to do the same will be called the
least in the kingdom of heaven,
but whoever practices and teaches
these commands will be called
great in the kingdom of
heaven.” Matthew 5:19.
Note – The Ten
Commandments constitute a summary
of the duties God requires of
men. These commandments are the
foundation that lies beneath the
ethical life of humanity. They
are as binding upon Christians
today as they were upon the
Hebrews who first received them.
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