April 23, 2024 • 11 mins
Why did God give the law? What use is the law to a believer who is saved by grace? Are all laws we find in the Bible binding on Christians today? We discuss these questions and more in this episode # 24 of All Things Reformed Podcast.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Music.
(00:20):
The next 11 episodes of this podcast are going to focus on God's law.
From Genesis chapter 2, God has finished creating the world.
God has created man. God will relate with man.
But man will also have to relate with fellow man. What is God's purpose in giving the law?
(00:44):
What are the types of God's law?
What does this mean to us? Today, in All Things Reformed Podcast, my name is Zee Chunga.
I'm joined again by Pastor Confex Makalera.
God creates everything in perfect order.
And for that order to be maintained, he gives the rule that we'll make sure
(01:08):
that things are going according to God's will and plan.
So he gives that first commandment, which sadly, as we know,
our first parents were not able to keep.
They broke the law in Genesis chapter number three, when they went against God's
will and ate the forbidden fruit.
That's where we see the first breaking of the law of God.
(01:31):
Therefore, how do we define God's law? Really, the law is a revelation of God's will for his people.
One thing that the law does is to reveal to us the will of God,
the one who created us. How does he want us to live?
How does he want us to relate with him? How does he want us to relate with one another?
(01:55):
That is explained in the law.
What are the types of the law as the scripture puts them? Yeah,
that's a very good question, Z, because that helps us a lot when we are talking
about the law, because we need to be on the same page.
What do we mean by the law? So when you look at God's law as it is being given,
(02:17):
especially in the Old Testament, you're going to see what are called three types of God's law.
The first is what is called the moral law, really at the heart of a revelation
of God's will for his people. So the example is the Ten Commandments. That's the moral law.
And then there is what are called judicial or civil laws.
(02:40):
These are the laws that God gave to the nation of Israel.
And these are no longer binding on us today in the new covenant because these
were given to that nation.
But I should be quick to say, but the principles behind the civil or judicial
laws are very helpful to us. So I'll give you an example of Exodus 23, verse 4.
(03:05):
It's an example of a judicial civil war.
It says, if you meet your enemy's ox or his donkey going astray,
you shall bring it back to him. That doesn't apply to me.
But the principle is very helpful for me as a Christian. What is really the
principle behind this? God is saying you shall love your neighbor as yourself.
So I might have some disagreements with my neighbor, but I see his donkey going
(03:28):
astray. I don't say, well, yeah, I don't like my neighbor. Let it die.
No, I shouldn't do that. God says, don't do that. So the principle still applies
to us as Christians to be kind and gracious to one another.
The principle might be that. So the judicial and civil laws no longer apply
to us as New Testament believers, but we can borrow from their principles because
(03:50):
they help us to live our Christian life even better. And then there are ceremonial laws.
Ceremonial laws, those are especially to do with sacrifices.
When you have sinned, you take a goat, you take a lamb and offer it through a priest.
Those no longer apply to us because the perfect sacrifice was sacrificed, Jesus Christ.
So completely no longer applying to us. But the moral law, the first one,
(04:15):
still applies to believers today, especially the Ten Commandments.
They are still applying to us today.
So the moral law, the moral law pertains to our relationship with God and our
relationship with fellow man. Right.
And the moral law is given in the form of the Ten Commandments.
(04:40):
Yes. From these three types of the law, the moral law, which ones pertain to
our relationship with God and which ones pertain to our relationship with men?
So we are talking about the Ten Commandments as moral.
I read the heart of the moral of God.
(05:00):
You're going to notice that the first four laws.
Apply to our relationship with God. Okay, so thou shall not have any other gods beside me.
Thou shall not make any image of God. It goes on and on and on.
And then it talks about not taking the name of our God in vain.
(05:22):
And then it talks about observing the Sabbath.
Those first followers apply to our relationship with God because Sabbath had to do with worship.
Relationship then the name of the lord has to do with the
lord himself not having idols has to do
with the lord himself so the first four apply
to our relationship with god then the last six apply to our relationship with
(05:46):
one another so it's called the two uh tables or two tablets or the ten commandments
the first tablet has to do with our relationship with god the first four commandments
And then the last six commandments,
the second tablet, has to do with our relationship with one another.
And we're going to expand that more as we discuss each commandment in detail.
(06:10):
What is the purpose of the law? Yes, a good question again, because the Lord
did not just give us the moral for no reason. There is a reason.
And again, thank the Lord for the Reformation. Reformation because during the
Reformation, particularly John Calvin really spent some time and led with clarity
in understanding the law of God.
(06:32):
And he came up with what is called the threefold use of the law.
Now, he did not just think of, wow, this is a good idea.
He came with this understanding from the scripture itself.
So this is not just the teaching of John Calvin as a person,
but the teaching of scripture scripture, gratified, better, and made more clear to us by John Calvin,
(06:52):
the reformer, or the three uses of the law. The first one is the mirror.
When you come to the law, as you're reading the law, the Ten Commandments,
they act like a mirror to show you where you have not lived according to the law.
So it's like you coming to a mirror, and as you're looking at your face,
(07:16):
you see a spot that need to be cleaned on the forehead.
So the mirror is showing you, oh, there's a spot on your forehead which needs
to be cleaned or removed.
So in that way, and actually this language, or the mirror is used in the book
of Galatians. Paul uses that one.
So the law acts as a mirror in that it shows us our sin, but then doesn't end there.
(07:38):
After showing us our sin, it points us to Christ as the one who is able to help
us keep the law. Actually, it's the one who has kept the law so that when we
believe in him, we are counted as righteous as himself who has kept the law.
So in that way, it's a mirror showing us our sin and pointing us to Christ,
the Savior, the first use.
(07:59):
The second use applies to everyone, even unbelievers.
Again, we go back to what we were saying. The Bible is very clear.
Each one of us are born with a law written in our minds or hearts.
So we know that stealing is bad, is evil, is wrong.
(08:19):
We can go ahead and steal, but still in our hearts, we are convicted. This is wrong.
Now, how do we get convicted? Because that law is written in our minds.
And the Lord uses the law written on our minds to restrain evil.
So that's the second use of the law, as a restrainer of evil in the world.
(08:40):
Because as people have a sense of right and wrong, and they know that when they
do wrong, there might be a punishment that will come their way for that.
They may restrain from evil.
So I might desire my neighbor's car and say, well, I wish I had that car, right? Right.
But because it's really on my mind, if I just go take that car that is stealing
(09:01):
and there's a possibility that I might be imprisoned for stealing,
that might stop me, that might restrain me from stealing my neighbor's car.
And that's the second use of the law applying to both believers and unbelievers.
And then the third use of the law is only for believers. us.
(09:21):
And the third use of the law is really, the law shows us how we may please or
how we may demonstrate our love and thankfulness to God who has saved us from our sin.
Now it's like a family, I like to use it, it's like a family code that,
Now the Lord has saved you from your sin. He has brought you into his household.
(09:44):
And God says, well, in this household, this is how we live.
And this is our code of conduct in this family.
And for you being grateful for what God has done, you keep the commandments.
You follow the code as a way of being thankful, of showing your gratitude,
but also thanking God and seeking to please him for what he has done to you.
(10:09):
So that's the third use of the law.
There is a quote which I want you to guess who said it.
The law orders that we, after attempting to do what is ordered and so filling
our weakness under the law, may learn to implore the help of grace.
Wow. Who do you think this is? Yeah. This is really the teaching of the Reformed faith.
(10:33):
It could be St. Augustine. It could be John Calvin. It could be Martin Luther.
It could be one of the confessions. I don't know.
Wow, it's actually St. Augustine. Oh, yeah.
I thought so because, you know, even in the Reformed tradition,
John Calvin really gratifies on the law more, but he based his work on St.
(10:54):
Augustine. So I'm not surprised. Right. Yeah. Okay.
This also is where we leave it for today. Please email us your thoughts about
the program. and any questions you may have.
You can email us on atreformed at gmail.com atreformed, one word,
(11:18):
at gmail.com You can also inbox us on All Things Reformed podcast page.
Music.
Music.
(00:20):
The next 11 episodes of this podcast are going to focus on God's law.
From Genesis chapter 2, God has finished creating the world.
God has created man. God will relate with man.
But man will also have to relate with fellow man. What is God's purpose in giving the law?
(00:44):
What are the types of God's law?
What does this mean to us? Today, in All Things Reformed Podcast, my name is Zee Chunga.
I'm joined again by Pastor Confex Makalera.
God creates everything in perfect order.
And for that order to be maintained, he gives the rule that we'll make sure
(01:08):
that things are going according to God's will and plan.
So he gives that first commandment, which sadly, as we know,
our first parents were not able to keep.
They broke the law in Genesis chapter number three, when they went against God's
will and ate the forbidden fruit.
That's where we see the first breaking of the law of God.
(01:31):
Therefore, how do we define God's law? Really, the law is a revelation of God's will for his people.
One thing that the law does is to reveal to us the will of God,
the one who created us. How does he want us to live?
How does he want us to relate with him? How does he want us to relate with one another?
(01:55):
That is explained in the law.
What are the types of the law as the scripture puts them? Yeah,
that's a very good question, Z, because that helps us a lot when we are talking
about the law, because we need to be on the same page.
What do we mean by the law? So when you look at God's law as it is being given,
(02:17):
especially in the Old Testament, you're going to see what are called three types of God's law.
The first is what is called the moral law, really at the heart of a revelation
of God's will for his people. So the example is the Ten Commandments. That's the moral law.
And then there is what are called judicial or civil laws.
(02:40):
These are the laws that God gave to the nation of Israel.
And these are no longer binding on us today in the new covenant because these
were given to that nation.
But I should be quick to say, but the principles behind the civil or judicial
laws are very helpful to us. So I'll give you an example of Exodus 23, verse 4.
(03:05):
It's an example of a judicial civil war.
It says, if you meet your enemy's ox or his donkey going astray,
you shall bring it back to him. That doesn't apply to me.
But the principle is very helpful for me as a Christian. What is really the
principle behind this? God is saying you shall love your neighbor as yourself.
So I might have some disagreements with my neighbor, but I see his donkey going
(03:28):
astray. I don't say, well, yeah, I don't like my neighbor. Let it die.
No, I shouldn't do that. God says, don't do that. So the principle still applies
to us as Christians to be kind and gracious to one another.
The principle might be that. So the judicial and civil laws no longer apply
to us as New Testament believers, but we can borrow from their principles because
(03:50):
they help us to live our Christian life even better. And then there are ceremonial laws.
Ceremonial laws, those are especially to do with sacrifices.
When you have sinned, you take a goat, you take a lamb and offer it through a priest.
Those no longer apply to us because the perfect sacrifice was sacrificed, Jesus Christ.
So completely no longer applying to us. But the moral law, the first one,
(04:15):
still applies to believers today, especially the Ten Commandments.
They are still applying to us today.
So the moral law, the moral law pertains to our relationship with God and our
relationship with fellow man. Right.
And the moral law is given in the form of the Ten Commandments.
(04:40):
Yes. From these three types of the law, the moral law, which ones pertain to
our relationship with God and which ones pertain to our relationship with men?
So we are talking about the Ten Commandments as moral.
I read the heart of the moral of God.
(05:00):
You're going to notice that the first four laws.
Apply to our relationship with God. Okay, so thou shall not have any other gods beside me.
Thou shall not make any image of God. It goes on and on and on.
And then it talks about not taking the name of our God in vain.
(05:22):
And then it talks about observing the Sabbath.
Those first followers apply to our relationship with God because Sabbath had to do with worship.
Relationship then the name of the lord has to do with the
lord himself not having idols has to do
with the lord himself so the first four apply
to our relationship with god then the last six apply to our relationship with
(05:46):
one another so it's called the two uh tables or two tablets or the ten commandments
the first tablet has to do with our relationship with god the first four commandments
And then the last six commandments,
the second tablet, has to do with our relationship with one another.
And we're going to expand that more as we discuss each commandment in detail.
(06:10):
What is the purpose of the law? Yes, a good question again, because the Lord
did not just give us the moral for no reason. There is a reason.
And again, thank the Lord for the Reformation. Reformation because during the
Reformation, particularly John Calvin really spent some time and led with clarity
in understanding the law of God.
(06:32):
And he came up with what is called the threefold use of the law.
Now, he did not just think of, wow, this is a good idea.
He came with this understanding from the scripture itself.
So this is not just the teaching of John Calvin as a person,
but the teaching of scripture scripture, gratified, better, and made more clear to us by John Calvin,
(06:52):
the reformer, or the three uses of the law. The first one is the mirror.
When you come to the law, as you're reading the law, the Ten Commandments,
they act like a mirror to show you where you have not lived according to the law.
So it's like you coming to a mirror, and as you're looking at your face,
(07:16):
you see a spot that need to be cleaned on the forehead.
So the mirror is showing you, oh, there's a spot on your forehead which needs
to be cleaned or removed.
So in that way, and actually this language, or the mirror is used in the book
of Galatians. Paul uses that one.
So the law acts as a mirror in that it shows us our sin, but then doesn't end there.
(07:38):
After showing us our sin, it points us to Christ as the one who is able to help
us keep the law. Actually, it's the one who has kept the law so that when we
believe in him, we are counted as righteous as himself who has kept the law.
So in that way, it's a mirror showing us our sin and pointing us to Christ,
the Savior, the first use.
(07:59):
The second use applies to everyone, even unbelievers.
Again, we go back to what we were saying. The Bible is very clear.
Each one of us are born with a law written in our minds or hearts.
So we know that stealing is bad, is evil, is wrong.
(08:19):
We can go ahead and steal, but still in our hearts, we are convicted. This is wrong.
Now, how do we get convicted? Because that law is written in our minds.
And the Lord uses the law written on our minds to restrain evil.
So that's the second use of the law, as a restrainer of evil in the world.
(08:40):
Because as people have a sense of right and wrong, and they know that when they
do wrong, there might be a punishment that will come their way for that.
They may restrain from evil.
So I might desire my neighbor's car and say, well, I wish I had that car, right? Right.
But because it's really on my mind, if I just go take that car that is stealing
(09:01):
and there's a possibility that I might be imprisoned for stealing,
that might stop me, that might restrain me from stealing my neighbor's car.
And that's the second use of the law applying to both believers and unbelievers.
And then the third use of the law is only for believers. us.
(09:21):
And the third use of the law is really, the law shows us how we may please or
how we may demonstrate our love and thankfulness to God who has saved us from our sin.
Now it's like a family, I like to use it, it's like a family code that,
Now the Lord has saved you from your sin. He has brought you into his household.
(09:44):
And God says, well, in this household, this is how we live.
And this is our code of conduct in this family.
And for you being grateful for what God has done, you keep the commandments.
You follow the code as a way of being thankful, of showing your gratitude,
but also thanking God and seeking to please him for what he has done to you.
(10:09):
So that's the third use of the law.
There is a quote which I want you to guess who said it.
The law orders that we, after attempting to do what is ordered and so filling
our weakness under the law, may learn to implore the help of grace.
Wow. Who do you think this is? Yeah. This is really the teaching of the Reformed faith.
(10:33):
It could be St. Augustine. It could be John Calvin. It could be Martin Luther.
It could be one of the confessions. I don't know.
Wow, it's actually St. Augustine. Oh, yeah.
I thought so because, you know, even in the Reformed tradition,
John Calvin really gratifies on the law more, but he based his work on St.
(10:54):
Augustine. So I'm not surprised. Right. Yeah. Okay.
This also is where we leave it for today. Please email us your thoughts about
the program. and any questions you may have.
You can email us on atreformed at gmail.com atreformed, one word,
(11:18):
at gmail.com You can also inbox us on All Things Reformed podcast page.
Music.
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