The Law Doesn’t Do It

The law doesn’t do what, justify. We do not find our justification through the upholding of the law. And by law I am speaking primarily of the law of man, but also the law of God. I have written that even those who do not know God and the gospel still have His law written on their hearts. Where that is true, I have also written that they still have not arrived and are still accountable to their sins.

This morning I am again for the umpteenth time in Galatians at the passage titled in my ESV Bible, “Justified by Faith”, and that could not be more true to me where I am in my study of the word “law”. You see, we are aware of the law and we know that we are to keep it. But, we are incapable of keeping the law perfectly. As such, we cannot be justified by the law. The law is there to guide us by providing a living standard.

“¹⁵We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; ¹⁶yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.” – Galatians 2:15-16 (ESV)

We need Jesus Christ to be justified. Our faith in His coming and taking on the consequences of our sin, even as He had no sin. We turn to Him to be our salvation and not the works of the law, as keeping the law does nothing for us.

“¹⁹For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God.” – Galatians 2:19 (ESV)

Keeping the law is a reaction to our new found justification. We keep the law as we are guided to do so by the Holy Spirit who resides in us thanks to our justification. We know that the LORD sent Jesus to die for our sin and that I deserved to die for those sins. With our justification comes a desire to be more like Jesus and it is the law that provides the guardrails as to our actions. But again, this is a result of our justification and it does not get us there, that comes from our faith. The law doesn’t do it.

What is your approach to justification? Are you of the view that following the law will somehow give you the high ground? What if it is a result of justification that you follow the law and you were to find justification through faith in Jesus Christ?

Christ is Our Righteousness

How do we know that we have done something wrong? We compare our actions to the law or the rules. The same goes for our sin. We know that we have sinned when we compare our actions to the Law of the LORD written on our hearts.

“¹Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.” – Romans 10:1 (ESV)

I recently saw a debate where one of the debaters asked a group of onlookers if they wanted everyone to go to heaven and there was 100% respondents of yes. Now, this was not exactly the subject of the debate, but the question was a valid one. You see, people are inherently good and want the best for others. Paul echos this in verse one above. He wants, no desires’ that everyone is saved.

“³For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.” – Romans 10:3 (ESV)

Even as Paul and others want the best for us, there is truth in that people still follow their own desires and law as oppose to the Law of the LORD. There is a continued seeking of our own rules and laws to get us through. We want heaven, but we insist on getting there our own way and do not submit to the Law of the LORD which is written on our hearts.

“⁴For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” – Romans 10:4 (ESV)

Jesus is the where we find the path to righteousness and heaven. We know the Law of the LORD, we are just not submitting to it. We are aware of the path to heaven, we simply choose to take another path. We choose to do things our way, avoiding The Way because, “we know better”.

“⁶Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” – John 14:6 (ESV)

Jesus told us that the way to righteousness is through Him, and that is the only way. We cannot get there on our own. We cannot reach heaven doing things our way. We cannot submit to Christ without finding Him. Christ is for our righteousness and the path to heaven, we only need to trust in and submit to Him.

What does your path look like? Are you intent on going your own way as you know better? What if you were to submit to and trust in Jesus as He is our path to righteousness?

We Sin Because of the Law

Do you remember your parents telling you not to do something and as such you had an almost insatiable desire to do it now that they said not to? I know that I do. I remember with my first B.B. gun I was told not to point at something that I did not intend to shoot. Well, I did and pulled the trigger and shattered the back window of my uncle’s pickup. I did it because I was told not to. This is the effect of sin in our lives as well.

I know it sounds as though I am making an excuse for sin, saying that it was or is the law that made me do it. I am not doing that. I am saying that we know about the negative impacts of sin through the law that tells us not to do and our nature is such that we are drawn to that thing to really test the validity of the law.

“⁷What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, ‘You shall not covet.’ ⁸But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead.” – Romans 7:7-8 (ESV)

We see here that Paul is saying just that. He would not know what is or how to covet, had the law not indicated that it should not be done. And as he now knows, he is drawn to it like the moth to the flame, ultimately to his detriment. Had he not known of this thing called covetousness, he would not have been drawn to it. As he notes in the last part of verse eight, if he had not known, the he would not have sinned.

Now, as I have read, studied and written, just because we don’t know does not absolve us of the sin. I may not sin consciously, but I do sin subconsciously every day. And I pray for forgiveness every day. I am still accountable to all of my sin whether conscious or subconscious. The difference is in my heart. Without knowing of the sin through the law, I am not looking to sin. I am aware and do it because of my nature to test the bounds of the law. Without the law, I am working through things based on what is written on my heart thanks to God.

“⁹I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died.” – Romans 7:9 (ESV)

So, I was alive and now I am dead. Not physically, but I am no longer free to simply live by way of the law on my heart that is placed there by the LORD. I am a slave to the law in knowing that this and that are against the LORD and thanks to my nature, I choose to do them anyway because I know. I choose sin thanks to knowing of sin through the law.

What is the law to you? Are you of the view that it keeps you from sin? What if you consciously sin because of knowing the law and what if you leaned on the law of your heart as the LORD wrote there?

One Man

Our sin and our forgiveness are each the result of one man’s actions. Adam sinned therefor we are now all sinners. Jesus took our sin upon Himself and died for us and therefor we all have salvation available.

“¹⁹For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.” – Romans 5:19 (ESV)

Before I get more into the one man, I want to point out the verbiage in the verse above as it relates to my first paragraph. “many will be made righteous” are the words and “will be” is the focus. We are not guaranteed to be righteous only that it is available and that many will be. Each of us have to go through the acknowledgment of our sin and the acceptance of forgiveness in our hearts to be saved.

It is one man who made our fall into sin happen. Adam did the one thing that God instructed him not to do. Adam sinned and that opened the gate to our sin. He was made in the image of God and yet fell for the idea from the evil one that he could be like God. Thanks to the one man’s transgression, we all now fall for the evil one’s tricks and deception which lead to our sin and our fall from the grace of God.

Jesus. The one sent by God to remedy the results of the fall. Jesus came to take our sin and provide a path back to God and the grace He has for us all. He came and took our sin, dying in the process, and as a result, we are afforded the sparing of our lives due to the sins we commit. He did that, one man, sent by God to to provide the way to righteousness.

Again, I come to the fact that the way to righteousness is provided, but not all will take the way. We are given the choice to take the path of one man. Either we can take the path we are on which was provided by Adam that leads to death for the very sin we commit, or we can take the path to righteousness provided through the shed blood of Jesus who took our sin and atoned for it so that we could have life everlasting.

What is your choice? Are you going to choose the path of sin and destruction provided through the sin of Adam? What if you were to accept salvation from the one man, Jesus, who took your sin so you could have life everlasting?

The Law is Here, Now

Righteousness is through our faith in the LORD and not through our works or adherence to the law of any kind. This is shown through those introduced in God Word as being righteous before there was the described law that is known today. We have Abel, Noah, and Abraham who were all shown to us and described as righteous even as Moses had not been or been given the law from God as of yet. So, as we know righteousness and salvation, it does not require the law, but it is here now and it is to be held.

You see, we are not able to keep the law. We are sinners and will sin continually. We may minimize our conscious sin, but we will still sin subconsciously continually. I pray daily for forgiveness and ask the LORD to help keep me from sin, yet I know that I cannot avoid it.

“¹⁴For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. ¹⁵For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression.” – Romans 4:14-15 (ESV)

The promise of salvation and being heirs with Jesus cannot be left to our adherence to the law as we are not able to keep the law, no matter how hard we try. With that breaking of the law, or sinning, we are subject to the wrath of God. And frankly, we deserve it.

So, the law is here to guide us as much as possible. There is no escaping the law, but there is an escape from the wrath of God. That escape is thanks to the sacrifice of Jesus for our sin. That sacrifice carries from yesterday, into today, and out through tomorrow. Even as I sin, those are forgiving through my faith in the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Abraham did not have the law to direct him and Jesus had yet to come, yet his faith in God and the work of God saved him from the certain wrath of God.

Adherence to the law today as our outward demonstration of our obedience to the LORD. We have what is right written on our hearts and we display that through our actions for the world to see. But remember adherence to the law does not our righteousness make. It is our faith in and reliance on God where we find grace. Yes, the law is here today, yet our salvation is found in Christ?

What is your view of the law today? Is the law saving us from something? What if you were reliant on your faith in God and adherence to the law is just that outward expression of what is on your heart?

No Salvation Due to Works of the Law

“²⁰For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.” – Romans 3:20 (ESV)

There is no excuse for us as we are fully aware of the Law of the LORD as He has written it on our hearts. Because of that, we are accountable to the Law of the LORD to follow the Law. But even as such, we are not justified by our works. No matter how much we do in the Law of the LORD or what actions we take, those works are not going to do anything for us in the line to salvation. It is not the works that bring us to salvation, but our hearts in the following of the Law that the LORD has written there.

“⁹Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? ¹¹If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” – Matthew 7:9-11 (ESV)

You see, even evil among us know how to take action that is right, but that action does not make righteous. We are judged according to our actions, but we are saved according to our heart, our acknowledgment of, our acceptance of, and our devotion to our LORD and to His works for His Glory and not our own. We take action not to gain salvation, but as an outward display of our salvation the new condition of our heart.

Where does your salvation come from? Are you striving to do the best for the world to see in hopes that you will be rewarded? What if your reward has already been given through salvation and now you do works to show the condition of your heart?

Ignorance is No Excuse

Ignorance is not a bad thing. There are things in this world that we just don’t know and it is okay not to know. It is in the choosing not to know where the excuses stop. When the information is available and we choose not to make it known to ourselves that we find the “bad”.

“¹²For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. ¹³For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. ¹⁴For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. ¹⁵They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them ¹⁶on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.” – Romans 2:12-16 (ESV)

When it comes to the Law of the LORD, there is no excuse for not knowing, as it is written on our hearts. Regardless of where we are, where we come from, our exposure to God, or any other circumstance where we are not privy to the Law of the LORD, we still know internally the difference in what is right and what is wrong. There is no excuse for us to not follow God’s Law, and we will be judged on the day of judgment based on our keeping of God’s Law.

Now, do not misunderstand me to say that salvation is possible for those who are ignorant to God. Remember;

“⁶Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” – John 14:6 (ESV)

We are held to getting to be with Jesus by knowing Him and that is the only way. But, we will be judged according to our adherence to the Law of God and that is written on our hearts, regardless if we have heard or been exposed to the Law.

So, we uphold the Law of the LORD based on our hearts. We know what is right under His Law and we are held accountable to acting as such. Ignorance in our mind is no excuse for doing wrong in the eyes of God.

What are your thoughts on ignorance of the Law? Are we given a pass because we did not know the Law of the LORD? What if you look inward and see that even as you did not know in your mind, your heart was still in the know of the Law of the LORD and therefor ignorance is no excuse?

The Law Within

I have a comparison of the Old Covenant and the New Covenant in the back of my Bible and where my current study is not directly related to these, law is and is an important thing for me to remember. The Old Covenant was an external one where we were informed of what was needed so the LORD would not exact his wrath on us. We were given the law to abide and were reminded of our sin. The New Covenant is internal and we are drawn near to the LORD in protection from the evil in the world. We are given the law to remove sin from our lives.

“³³But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. An I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” – Jeremiah 31:33 (ESV)

The LORD will put His law within me, not just give it to me, but write it on my heart for always. My heart is within me and that is where He places His law. Reading and visualizing this morning has opened my eyes a bit more to the intentional actions of the LORD in my life. He does not just provide the law for me, He writes it on my heart within me. He no longer is driving fear in me, but faith. He does not keep me away from Him, but draws me near.

“¹I love you, O LORD, my strength.”

— Psalm 18:1 (ESV)

When I look to the New Covenant and see that the LORD writes His law on my heart, the above verse hits a little different. Our strength comes from the LORD, and now, I know and can take solace in the fact that strength has been written on my heart and comes from and will always be within me.

Where is God’s Law in your life? Are you still trembling in fear to keep from sin? What if you embrace the LORD and His Law as He writes on your heart and gives you strength to be realized is within you?

Keep the Law of the LORD in Your Heart

It is one thing to know something and something else to commit it to your very being. The second is where I find my learning this morning in God’s Word. I continue my study of the word “law” and in this study I have found that it is important to read, study, know, and understand the Law of the LORD. We have to commit it to memory to use in our daily walk with Him and in the carrying out of His plan for our lives.

I see on social media a number of people that are defending their position on things and using God’s Word in their rhetoric. Yet when they are presented more context as to the verse or passage they are using, their arguments fall apart. These people may have read, studied, know, and understand the Law of the LORD, yet they have not committed the Law to their being and only use it to get what they want as opposed to what God plans.

I know, when I am doing my study I will post a single verse and to the first time visitor to my posts it may seem as though I am cherry picking verses. You are entitled to your opinion, yet I encourage you to read many of them and dig into God’s Word for yourself. I am a sinner just like you and will get it wrong.

“⁸I delight to do your will, O my God;

your law is within my heart.”

— Psalm 40:8 (ESV)

The above verse is found in a passage titled, “My Help and My Deliverer” in my ESV Bible. Yes, it is only one verse, yet again I encourage you to seek out God’s Word for yourself. I have been in the passage and studied this verse before and what I got from it I wrote in the margin of my bible, “God is in your heart.” And this morning I see more than that, God is in my heart indeed, but I have to allow Him to be there and along with Him is His Word and Law.

The Law of the LORD is more than just words on a page or in a book. It is the very culture that I am to live out in this world to carry me to heaven. Actions don’t do it, it is the condition of my heart that God is looking to. He will determine my righteousness from the condition of my heart that leads to the following of His Law, not necessarily the actions that I perform. Oh, the actions are important, as they will demonstrate to the world the condition of my heart. But those actions are not what get me anywhere as they are simply an extension of my heart and the application of God and His Law to my life and those actions. I can follow the law to avoid discipline, but when I have God’s Law in my heart, I follow His Law because of discipline.

God is indeed in my heart. It is up to me to allow Him to be there and also His Law. I live the Law of the LORD and not just read, study, know, and understand. I keep the Law of the LORD in my heart to guide me into actions that bring glory to Him and show the world that He is in my heart and my life always.

Where to you keep the law of the LORD? Are you storing it up in your mind to use to avoid discipline? What if you keep the Law of the LORD in your heart to guide you in you actions to bring glory to Him ans show the world that He is in your heart and your life?

The LORD Consoles the Worry

I have a number of worries in my heart right now. I am having a hard time with some things and I need all the help I can get to deal with them and get through them.

“¹⁹When the cares of my heart are many,

your consolations cheer my soul.”

— Psalm 94:19 (ESV)

But, even as I have those worries, I know that the LORD will help me through them. The thing is that I am not aware of when His “consolations will cheer my soul”. God does not let us in on the timeline to His work. Only He knows all of that. I have only to trust that He will take care of things.

It is hard knowing that relief is in the cards, yet not knowing when that relief will come. I can only continue to follow Christ and do that which He has for me in this world. I have to put those “cares” aside to ensure that I am moving forward with the work of the LORD. I am not called to understand all, I am called to go and do and then the LORD will take care of the results that are to be in His plan for things.

When we are working for the LORD, our cares are put aside, being dealt with by the LORD on our behalf. As I sit here this morning studying and writing, I am not thinking of those worries. The LORD is working to guard me against them and keep me focused on Him. The “cares” are still there, they are just minimized in the moment and the longer I stick with the work of God, longer they stay at bay to the point that their hold on my slips away.

And there it is. God’s consolation comes in time as we place ourselves in His hands, doing His work. When I am focused on Him, all else goes away and the relief comes.

What is your approach when worry gets hold of you? Are you paralyzed by the worry and allow it to take you over? What if you were to dig into the work of the LORD and allow Him to console your soul over time by showing you that the worry is just not worth the time and effort you are spending?