The Law of the Land

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday, the 14th of August, 2022, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Please note that there was no service on August 7th due to illness in the church.  Our YouTube streaming channel is: 

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.]

The earthly ministry of our Lord Jesus effectively began with His baptism in the River Jordan by John, who we call the Baptist.  From the river, Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness, there to be tempted for forty days and forty nights by Satan, and to resist all temptation.  Next we are told that Jesus called His first four disciples – four fishermen: brothers Andrew and Simon and brothers James and John – promising to make them fishers of men.

And then Jesus went throughout all the land, teaching in the synagogues, preaching the Gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and illness among the people.  Everywhere He went, crowds quickly gathered and followed Him.  At one point, He led them all up onto a mountainside.  There, with His disciples at His feet and the multitude before Him, Jesus began to teach them all.

Please listen and follow along to a short passage of our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, as recorded for us by the Apostle Matthew in the 5th chapter of his Gospel account, verses 17 through 20, and I’ll be reading this from the Contemporary English Version of our Holy Bible…

17 "Don't suppose I came to do away with the Law and the Prophets. I did not come to do away with them, but to give them their full meaning. 18  Heaven and earth may disappear. But I promise you not even a period or comma will ever disappear from the Law. Everything written in it must happen.

19 "If you reject even the least important command in the Law and teach others to do the same, you will be the least important person in the kingdom of heaven. But if you obey and teach others its commands, you will have an important place in the kingdom. 20 You must obey God's commands better than the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law obey them. If you don't, I promise you will never get into the kingdom of heaven."

--Matthew 5:17-20 (CEV)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for giving us Your law.  By this we can clearly know when we are doing something that displeases You, we can discern when we are being disobedient, we can recognize when we sin.  And then, because we were never really capable of fully obeying Your law, You sent Your own Son to fulfill Your law, that through Him and His blood sacrifice we might be atoned of our sin and disobedience.  Thank You, gracious God, for giving us another chance.  Forgive us, please Father, when we still struggle to do what is right in Your eyes.  Forgive us when we think Your law no longer applies to us now that we have been washed clean by the blood of Jesus.  Please help us remember what Jesus said regarding Your law.  Remind us of how important it is for us to obey Your commands, even as we believe unto Your Son for our salvation.  And Father, please protect us from Satan and from those who do his bidding, trying to divide us one from another.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, worship, and service, and healthy and safe through these trying times.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand the message You have for us this day.  Imprint Your law into our minds and upon our hearts that we may never again fail You in our disobedience.  This we pray in the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Redeemer.   Amen.

Dr. Phil Williams of the Dallas Theological Seminary once noted that, "The law is the light that reveals how dirty the room is, not the broom that sweeps it clean."  That’s a pretty good word picture, I think.  The law is a light that shines into the corners to show us where we need to clean things up a bit, not the tool used for cleaning.

We have laws to show us what is good and acceptable behavior.  A well-ordered society depends upon adherence to the laws of the land.  If we break the law, there are consequences.  Basically, we have laws so that we can try to live together peacefully.  It doesn’t always work that way, because not everyone abides by the law all the time.  And in some small or large way, we all pay the price when anyone breaks the law.

Of course, every now and then, it seems like there is someone who is just untouchable, who can get away with doing pretty much anything they want and there are no consequences for them.  Well, I can promise you that while they may be able to sneak their way around man’s laws, they’ll never be able to fool God.  Listen to what the Apostle Paul had to say about this, in the 2nd chapter of his letter to the church in Rome, verses 12 through 16…

12 Those people who don't know about God's Law will still be punished for what they do wrong. And the Law will be used to judge everyone who knows what it says. 13 God accepts those who obey His Law, but not those who simply hear it.

14 Some people naturally obey the Law's commands, even though they don't have the Law. 15 This proves that the conscience is like a law written in the human heart. And it will show whether we are forgiven or condemned, 16 when God appoints Jesus Christ to judge everyone's secret thoughts, just as my message says.

--Romans 2:12-16 (CEV)

Everyone will be judged according to God’s law, whether they are aware of it or not.  You’ve probably heard the expression, “Ignorance of the law is no excuse.”  Well, ignorance of God’s law does not excuse anyone from obeying it.

But the great thing is that some people just naturally obey God’s law even if they don’t know it.  His law is already written into our hearts by His Holy Spirit when we accept Jesus as Lord.  Our conscience is the voice of the law speaking directly to us, warning us when we do wrong.  With Christ Jesus as our Lord, we are forgiven.  Without Him, we are condemned.

And this last is clearly evident as Jesus concludes His Sermon in chapter 7 of Matthew’s Gospel account, in verses 21 through 23 when our Lord says…

21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’"

--Matthew 7:21-23 (NKJV)

“Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness, for I never knew you.”

How harsh and terrible an indictment is that, coming from the lips of the One who could save you from eternal pain and punishment?  “Get away from me.  You had every chance in this world to obey the law, and yet you purposely chose to disobey it, to ignore it, to do just the opposite and engage in a life of breaking God’s law.  You are judged ‘Guilty’.”

Every organization ever formed by man has its own set of laws, even the nuclear family.  The kingdom of God has laws just like any other land, like any nation on earth.  In this case, though, God gave us the law so we would know when we sin, when our actions, our words, our deeds are not righteous, not pleasing in His sight.

What does it mean to reject His Law, but to reject that we are sinners, to ignore that we sin in the eyes of God?  Are we even capable of keeping God’s law in its fullness?  No, otherwise there would have been no need for Jesus to sacrifice Himself to redeem us.

But if nothing else, God is forgiving and understanding.  Listen to the reassuring words Paul gave the Romans in the 3rd chapter of his letter to their church family, in verses 19 through 22…

19 So the judgment of God lies very heavily upon the Jews, for they are responsible to keep God’s laws instead of doing all these evil things; not one of them has any excuse; in fact, all the world stands hushed and guilty before Almighty God.

20 Now do you see it? No one can ever be made right in God’s sight by doing what the law commands. For the more we know of God’s laws, the clearer it becomes that we aren’t obeying them; His laws serve only to make us see that we are sinners.

21-22 But now God has shown us a different way to heaven — not by “being good enough” and trying to keep His laws, but by a new way (though not new, really, for the Scriptures told about it long ago). Now God says He will accept and acquit us — declare us “not guilty” — if we trust Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, by coming to Christ, no matter who we are or what we have been like.

--Romans 3:19-22 (TLB)

Jesus came to fulfill the law, to give it its full meaning, not to abolish it or change it in any way.  To "fulfill" means to carry out; to perform or do, as a duty; to obey or follow; to satisfy, as requirements or obligations; to develop the full potential of.  Jesus satisfied all the requirements of God’s law on our behalf, as a duty to God.

Some day He will return to this earth to judge us all.  He will be looking to see if God’s law has been written on our heart.  He will know if we have done our level best to obey God’s commands, or if we have ignored them and engaged in lawlessness.

Breaking God’s law will bring dire consequences.  Let’s do our best to obey it.  For this is the law of His land.

In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for giving us a simple and clear set of rules to live by.  You did not want to see us condemned by our inability to keep Your law, so You sent Your Son Jesus to meet the obligations of the law for us.  Thank You, Father, for loving us enough to give us another chance.  Father, too often we tend to ignore the parts of Your law that are too difficult for us, or that we just don’t want to try to keep.  Sometimes we knowingly, arrogantly disobey You.  Forgive us, Father, when we forget that we are sinners, redeemed only by Your love and grace and the precious blood of Jesus.  Forgive us when we get all wrapped up in ourselves and our own little world and ignore Your command to love others as we love ourselves.  Please, loving Father, help us be more obedient.  Keep reminding us that we are not our own, but are always at Your mercy.  And Father, please help us remain strong, faithful, and true through all that we face in this age.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, You came to fulfill God’s law, to do what we are not capable of doing.  In You, in our belief in You, our acceptance of You as Lord, we find fulfillment in God.  Please, Lord, remain at our side, hold our hand, and guide us through the treacherous waters of this life.  Please help us see and recognize when our behavior is not pleasing to God.  Forgive us when we stray from the straight path You set for us.  Remind us that we too will be judged when our time on this earth is over.  And Lord Jesus, please heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another.  Help us remain trusting and obedient no matter what we go through.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.