Letter from the Pastor 12/31/2024, Part 2 of 7
INTRODUCTION
To summarize last week’s letter: Obedience to God is hard-wired into humanity because, as creations, we owe God perfect and universal obedience. The Law, therefore, is fundamental not only to a just society but to our very nature as creatures. Adam was given a Covenant of Works: obey God regarding the tree of the knowledge of evil and live. Adam had both the power and the ability to keep the Covenant of Works, but he failed.
This week we’ll see God’s further revelation of his Law in the covenant God made at Sinai through Moses.
1: The Law of God Given to Adam[1]
2: The Nature of the Moral Law
3: The Mosaic Ceremonial Laws
4: The Mosaic Judicial Laws
5: The Perpetuity of the Moral Law
6: The Moral Law and Our Salvation
7: The Moral Law and the Gospel
We’re also introducing a new term today: moral law. In the following weeks, we’ll learn the distinction between God’s moral law, which is perpetually binding, and the ceremonial and judicial laws of the Mosaic Covenant which have expired.
SECOND LONDON CONFESSION, 19:2
Today, we will consider paragraph 2 of chapter 19 which reads:
The same law that was first written in the heart of man continued to be a perfect rule of righteousness after the fall, and was delivered by God upon Mount Sinai, in ten commandments, and written in two tables, the four first containing our duty towards God, and the other six, our duty to man.
EXPOSITION
From Eden, we make our way through the Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) to the foot of Mount Sinai. God has delivered and redeemed his people from their bondage in Egypt (Exodus) where he will now make a covenant with Israel (Ex. 19-24), just as he had made a covenant with Adam.
Contained within the Mosaic Covenant is God’s moral law, namely the Ten Commandments. How ought we, as Christian members of the church, think about the Ten Commandments?
- The Ten Commandments Reveal God’s Nature and Character.
Though the Mosaic Covenant contained hundreds of judicial and ceremonial laws, the Ten Commandments are written on stone with the very “finger of God.” (Ex. 31:18) God, of course, does not have fingers. This is metaphorical language signifying that the Ten Commandments as moral law, are uniquely connected to and flow from God’s very nature.
For this reason, the moral law contained in the Ten Commandments is a timeless, unchanging standard by which God judges all people. Even those who have never read the law have the law of God written on their hearts and “by nature do what the law requires.” I cannot stress how important it is that you familiarize yourself with Romans 2:12-24 in relation to this paragraph. Sam Waldron writes, “Though [Gentiles] have not received it as a written revelation, they nonetheless are confronted with [the Law].”[2] The moral law of God confronts us through our conscience.
- The Ten Commandments Contain Two Sections
Often referred to as the two “tables” of the law, the moral law of God can be divided between the first four commandments which contain our duty to God, and the last six which contain our duty to man expressed as:
Our Duty to God
- No Idolatry
- No Images
- Not Take God’s Name in Vain
- Honor the Sabbath
Our Duty to Man
- Honor Father & Mother
- No Murder
- No Adultery
- No Theft
- No Coveting
These Ten Commandments do not exhaustively teach the moral duties owed to God and man. Rather, they are a summary.
- The Ten Commandments are Not a Means of Justification
The Ten Commandments are given to Israel after their redemption from slavery. Though we are obliged to keep the commandments, they are not given as a means for justifying ourselves before God. “For by works of the law no human being will be justified…” (Rom. 3:20a) “For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law.” (Gal. 3:21b) Later in this series we’ll examine the relationship between the law and the gospel.
- The Ten Commandments Condemn Us All
“For 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.” (Gal. 3:10) No one has kept all Ten Commandments perfectly. And, as the Apostle James reminds us, anyone who breaks the law in one part is guilty of breaking the entire law. (Jas. 2:8,9) The law makes us aware of our sin and misery. It prepares us, through guilt and condemnation, to see Christ’s obedience and death as our only hope of justification before the Father.
- The Ten Commandments Are Good
Too many Christians, understanding the condemnation that comes through the law, and loving the grace which comes through Christ have dismissed the law as unnecessary or even denigrated the law as evil. We ought rather to agree with the Apostle Paul, that most ardent expositor of grace, that we “agree with the law that it is good. (Rom. 7:16)
CONCLUSION
I want to give two applications as I conclude.
First, you ought to memorize the Ten Commandments. They train us for loving God and man. Challenge yourself to memorize them and then teach them to your children if you have little ones in your home. If you would like to study them in more depth, the Westminster Larger Catechism will be a great resource.[3]
Second, because the moral law is written on our hearts, we must emphasize the importance of natural law arguments in culture. We need not appeal to Scripture to argue for the evil of murder, theft, adultery or many other sins. The surrounding secular culture has no objective basis for morality. We do. The moral law is written on our hearts by our Creator God from whose nature the moral law derives.[4]
So much more could be said regarding the moral law of God. Let us all pray that the Lord grants repentance to our nation which has despised the law of God. May our fellow citizens feel the sting of condemnation the law brings so that they may also see the beauty of Christ, the fullness of his obedience and turn to him in contrition and faith.
In Christ,
Pastor Jonathan
[1] I have found Pastor Tom Hick’s expositions on the confession helpful. They can be accessed here: https://www.fbcclintonla.com/ss-1689-Confession.html
[2] Samuel E Waldron, Modern Exposition of the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith (Leyland, England: Evangelical Press, 2013) 280.
[3] https://thewestminsterstandard.org/westminster-larger-catechism/#101 Questions 103-148 expand upon each commandment.
[4] For more on natural law theory see Natural Law: A Short Companion by David VanDrunen, available in the church bookstall.