Praise God for the Law

“Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners…,” (1Ti 1:9 AV)

 

Law is a good thing.  Law is necessary.  Not just for the lost, but for the saved as well.  We need law.  We need rules.  We need structure.  We need to be told what is right and wrong.  We need to be held accountable.  We need the power of the law to keep us in the way we should go.  Not merely to keep us from the consequences of breaking the law, but for the blessings that come with obedience.  I, for one, am so grateful for law.  Law is the structure that keeps society functional and orderly.  Law is predictable, certain, and absolute.  It plays no favorites.  Law is the extension of God’s character.  Law is the security needed for the soul which is undisciplined.  Law is made and provided that our wicked nature would come under the control of something or someone greater than ourselves.  I like law.  I appreciate law.  I need law.

Just this morning, I was having a discussion with someone regarding a well-known professional baseball player who was caught betting on his own team.  The IRS, of all possibilities, were the ones to discover his betting habits.  This led to a lifetime ban from the hall of fame even though he is known as one of the best ball players of all time.  In our discussion, my soul-winning partner quoted, “But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out.” (Nu 32:23 KJB)  We had talked about how this is a bad thing, but ultimately a good thing.  It is good when we are confronted with what we have done wrong and have the privilege of coming clean.  Repentance from sin is a good thing.  It may be uncomfortable.  It may not be easy.  It may humble us to a level never felt before.  But after repentance is complete and it is all out in the open, then we feel much better.  Guilt, which we have been carrying for so long, is finally gone.  Consequences are accepted.  Reconciliation is attained.  None of this is possible without law.  If there were no laws against betting, Rose would not have been caught.  But that doesn’t mean betting is right.  His excuse that he loved the Reds so much that he bet on every game for them to win didn’t make it right.  Publishing his confession decades later didn’t make it right.  But what the law did was allow Rose to do the right thing after he had done the wrong thing.

The law is simply a published version of the character of God.  The law is our friend.  Not our enemy.  The law disciplines the old man to crucify self so that the glory of God might reign in the heart.  The law cleanses us from all unrighteousness.  Most of all, the law conforms the soul to the character and nature of God.  This results in a life of peace and joy that can come no other way.  The law is good. It is just.  It is holy.  It was given for our benefit.  The law is a fence around the heart that keeps the heart from discovering every and all indulgences it could ever imagine.  The law is a solid reference point from which sanity is defined.  The law is the guiding light and beacon of hope that gives the life that is out of control a sure reference to which it can bend.  The law is the soundness of mind and heart.  The law is the standard by which reality operates.  The law is good.  The law is necessary.  The law is for all of us because we are all sinners in desperate need of it.  The law is our hope.  The law is our comfort.  The law is a constant north pole that does not change and the constraints that make all that could be uncertain and certain.  Praise the LORD for the law!