The law
"Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart. Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it."
(Psalm 119:34-35)
March 24, 2025
Dear friends,
Sometimes, we as evangelical Christians feel that we have little or nothing more to do with God's law. The law has done its convicting work, showing us our many deep moral failures, and reveals that God's judgment upon us is justified. We have embraced Christ for forgiveness, for new life, and now we rejoice in his faithful love, and that forever.
Certainly, we can relapse and try to live before God under some system of works, or formalistic religion, or performance to earn God's favor, or even just a vague sense of condemnation all the time. But in Christ we stand justified before God, our Father, by faith through his death on our behalf, removing sin and guilt, and this is confirmed by his resurrection, bringing justification and new life to us.
But that new life has a definite and particular shape: the character of our Lord Jesus, who is the image of God. It is by God's grace and mercy that we are called to share in that image! And that involves a positive attitude toward the commandments of God. Think about these words from Jerram Barrs:
"God’s character lies behind every commandment or decree he makes. The law, therefore, is beautiful, simply because it reveals the character of God."
"As persons made in the image of God, we were designed to walk in his ways, for this is precisely the life he created us for: to be like him."
"God desires that we love his law and submit ourselves to what he says. He does not want us replacing his prescription for our lives with our own. In the end such an approach is arrogant and presumptuous, for we imagine that we know better how to serve God than he knows. Let us determine to be content with his commandments!"
"But God’s rules are never arbitrary or merely for the purpose of displaying his authority over us. They are always for bringing the good life into being."
[Quotes are taken from Delighting in the Law of the Lord: God's Alternative to Legalism and Moralism, by Jerram Barrs (Crossway, 2013). I recommend this book for getting the right balance on law and grace.]
Recently, I've been studying the wisdom books of the Bible, especially Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and certain Psalms. These passages call us to the beauty of God's wisdom and of walking on his pathway (Prov 4:18). For the believer there is a highway of holiness (Isa 35:8) and the narrow gate and hard road that Jesus taught (Matt 7:13-14). To know and trust the love of God is vital, but it is also vital to know and revere the Lord in his holiness: "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight." (Proverbs 9:10) We tremble not in fear of destruction but in reverence for his greatness (Isa 66:2). The Psalmist writes, "Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me." (Psalm 119:98)
And like the Psalmist, we believers today should also pray, "Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it."
READING, WRITING, AND SUCH.
-- I was asked to be the speaker at the women's Abound retreat this year. In preparing for a message on Proverbs 9:10, I spent several weeks working my way through Proverbs and trying to make a chart of what the path of wisdom looks like. My hand-drawn chart (I like charts and maps, you know) and the final handout can be seen here.
-- Finished reading: On Stories, a collection of essays by C. S. Lewis (for a reading group), and we have now begun Chance or the Dance: A Critique of Modern Secularism (Ignatius Press 1969, 2018), by Thomas Howard, who was Elisabeth Elliot's brother.
-- Also reading: Jesus Changes Everything: A New World Made Possible (Plough, 2025), by Stanley Hauerwas, compiled by Charles Moore. And, Follow the River: A Novel, by James Alexander Thom (Ballantine, 2010), the story of Mary Draper Ingles. Also, the collected short stories of Clifford Simak.
-- Watching: the signs of spring; and new to our neighborhood is the house finch, which looks a bit like a purple martin, but isn't. And we watched the first two episodes of Ludwig, a new mystery series on Britbox, which is very well done.
-- This week I'm writing with a Parker 51 Special (vintage, 1950s) and with a Platinum 3776 Century (modern, Japanese). Just thought you should know that.
FINAL QUOTE.
"This is God's universe, and God does things his way. You may have a better way, but you don't have universe." (J. Vernon McGee)
And that's it for this week!
Sandy
Afterwords is an occasional newsletter on topics of interest to me (Sandy Young) since my retirement from full-time pastoral ministry. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.