By Charlie Wallace @ http://fromthepulpit.blogspot.com/
"But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully," (1 Tim. 1:8)
Paul is stating here that the law is good if used correctly. In other words, the God's law is beneficial for our lives when it is used for its purpose. Romans 7:12 says, "Therefore, the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good."
How is that? Well, since God created us, He knows exactly what we were created to do, which is to glorify Him. God's law, which is written on our hearts, in addition to being found in His Word, is there to protect us. It's interesting to really think about what the 10 Commandments are all about:
1) "No other Gods before Him." God says to make no other gods before him because he knows that we will be prone to do just that. Any Christian will tell you that we all struggle with putting other things in our lives ahead of God and when we do our lives start to spin out of control because we were created to put God first in our lives.
2) "No Idols" - Like the first commandment, we are guilty of serving the created things rather then the Creator himself. (Rom. 1:25) God knows that this also is a path that leads to unfulfillment because we were created to only serve the Lord.
3) "No taking the Lord's name in vain" - By bringing disripute on God's name we are slandering ourselves since we are made in our creator's image. Most importantly, we are cursing our loving lifeline.
4) "Remember the Sabbath" - God knows that we cannot work 7-days-a-week without getting rundown. We need a day of rest to re-charge our batteries and to, most importantly, thank God for all of the good things He has given us in our lives.
5) Honor Your Father/Mother" - At this commandment, God's law switches to our horizontal relationships, or our relationships with mankind. Previously, the first four commandments focused on our vertical relationship with God Himself. God gives us a special blessing if we honor the God-ordained people that he has put in our life to watch over us. Even if they have been horrible parents, we are still to honor them because that brings glory to God and he has made us with a natural love towards our parents that when we suppress harbor unforgiving thoughts that are disastrous for our lives.
6) "You shall not murder" - To kill is to kill God's creation which is to kill's part of God's image.
7) "You shall not commit adultery" - God has created sex and marriage to be between a man and a woman. He has chosen this relationship to be the foundation that a family is laid upon and society is birthed from. When we get out of line in these type of relationships we are living outside of God's revealed will of what is best for our lives.
8) You shall not steal" - Stealing is taking what is not our own and hurts other people deeply.
9) "You shall not bear false witness" - Decieving people and being untruthful is the opposite of who God is: Truth Himself.
10) "You shall not covet" - To covet is to tell God, "I am not satisfied with what you have given me and I want more." To covet makes us forget God's blessings and make us think that we deserve more then what we have when He has given us all that we need.
What's important to note is that these commandments were given because we are all prone to do the opposite. God knew this so he gave us a standard to live by to protect us and bring glory to Him. Therefore, to the law is good if used correctly.
No comments:
Post a Comment