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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 21^st 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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