Destination Approaching: The Good Law and the Better Savior

 

Well, as we approach our day of worship, I thought I’d come back and reflect a little on the Law. I’ve been reading through Deuteronomy—a book I’m always excited to dive into—and came across a retelling of the Ten Commandments in chapter 5.

Really Matt, the Law? As we get ready to worship Christ, you want to reflect on the law?

Yes—indeed!

Some, out of fear of legalism, have slipped into antinomianism (which means against the law or without the law)—and that’s just as (if not more) dangerous. To take God’s law and elevate it above Christ is dangerous, yes. But to ignore God’s law altogether and step into a land of rebellion disguised as freedom is equally, if not more, dangerous. One may be elevating rightful regulation too high—but the other, by ignoring it, risks walking in unrepentant sin.

But in order to ground us in how the law is something we can love, let’s first take a look at someone we all likely know: David. He was referred to as a man after God’s own heart—not my words, but God’s:

“But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.”
— 1 Samuel 13:14 (ESV)

“And when He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king, of whom He testified and said, ‘I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after My heart, who will do all My will.’”
— Acts 13:22 (ESV)

And in Psalm 119—often thought to be a crowning work of David’s life, or at least a reflection from someone walking deeply with the LORD—we get a glimpse into how he felt about God’s laws, commands, precepts, and testimonies:

“Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day.”
— Psalm 119:97 (ESV)

“I will delight myself in your statutes; I will not forget your word.”
— Psalm 119:16 (ESV)

“Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart.”
— Psalm 119:34 (ESV)

Yet most importantly, the question should always be—whenever we read Scripture (or even any flawed writing from sinners like me!)—this:

How does this help me worship Jesus?

To help answer that, I love this quote from John Wesley. Frankly, it speaks to the heart of this blog entry. In fact, I could just post this and be done! But as always, putting pen to paper (or finger to keyboard) really helps me reflect, meditate, and marinate on these thoughts rather than letting them pass through my brain too quickly.

Nonetheless, here’s the quote:

“The law sends us to Christ to be justified, and Christ sends us back to the law to be regulated.”
— John Wesley

This circular reference is the heart and balance of the tension we live in—between law and grace, between the “law of Moses” and the “grace and truth that came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17).

Yet the problem is, we love to become Pharisees. We start doing good things, then we create extra rules to stop us from breaking God’s rules… and then become legalistic about both! Now we’ve just elevated ourselves to God.

(Yes—it escalates quickly.)

On this, one of my favorite quotes comes from the book Ordinary by Michael Horton (highly recommended):

“The gospel keeps our eyes fixed on Christ, while the law tells us how to run the race. But our tendency is always to add our own doctrines to the gospel and our own commands and expectations to God’s revealed Word. No longer content with the gospel and the commands of Scripture, we begin to look for something more.”

We take something good and purposeful… and turn it into something beyond what it was meant to be—and that’s when it becomes sin.

Even in the context of Deuteronomy 5, we reach verse 29, and we see what God’s desire for the law really was. Was it that we’d become robotic servants?

No...

“Oh that they had such a heart as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments, that it might go well with them and with their descendants forever!”
— Deuteronomy 5:29 (ESV)

What a Good, Good Father…

… now is that song stuck in your head? Not a bad one. Maybe I’ll go listen to it after I post this. (Okay, yes—that song may not be the most theologically full, but it’s not bad either. And when sung with gospel clarity in mind, it can be a beautiful reminder of His love.)

So as you gather this weekend, as you worship this weekend, maybe remember this:

He is a Good, Good Father—and His law is good too.

Not to be idolized.
Not to measure ourselves.
But to be received as a way to respond to His love.

So when you turn the other cheek, when you stop those words from coming out of your mouth, when you close your browser before you get too far down that dark path, when you choose to praise rather than complain, when you recognize your lusting, lying, and blasphemous heart…

May you repent—not out of shame, but out of love.
Turning away and saying to yourself:

“No. This is not good for me. He is.
Thank You, Jesus, for showing me—and rescuing me—from the law.”

Be well, Church.

Let’s walk His Path, Daily—together.
If something here encouraged you, challenged you, or stirred a question, I’d love to hear from you. It’s not about affirmation—it’s about the joy of growing together in Christ.