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The First Use of the Law
By Pastor Fred Greco | December 9, 2006
Last week we took a first look at why God gave His Law. I mentioned briefly that normally theologians talk about three “uses” of the Law. By “uses” we mean that there are three broad categories of ways in which the Law of God helps people. They can be summarized as:
|
Use
|
Name | Description | Who is it for? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Civil Use | Society as a whole experiences the benefits of the restraining influence of the Law, both in the preaching of it, and in its use in political statutes (e.g. laws against murder) | All people, but especially those who are rulers in their nation |
| 2nd | Evangelical Use | The Law of God shows the unbeliever how far short of God’s standard he falls, and how much in need of a Savior he is. | Unbelievers |
| 3rd | Guiding Use | The Law of God serves as a guide to the believer, to show the believer what duty God requires of him. The believer obeys God’s Law as evidence that he is a child of God (James 1:23); no one can earn God’s favor or merit by obeying the Law (Gal. 2:16) | Believers |
The first use of the Law is something that we all take for granted, but should be something for which we are daily thankful to the Lord. None of us would want to live in a world where others would lie to us, steal from us, or hurt our families with no protection from our government. We know that the world is not perfect, and we also know that sinful men and women are not above harming others. We also must recognize that for unbelievers, it is often the threat of punishment that keeps them from committing crimes, rather than altruism. Because their actions are not foremost for the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31), they are continually doing a cost/benefit analysis - weighing the costs of being caught against the perceived gain. Calvin describes the first use of the Law in restraining sin this way:
“Such persons are curbed not because their mind is inwardly moved and affected, but because, as if a bridle were laid upon them, they refrain their hands from external acts, and internally check the depravity which would otherwise petulantly burst forth. It is true, they are not on this account either better or more righteous in the sight of God.” (Calvin, Institutes II.7.10)
So we see that this use of the Law does not make mean righteous before God, or cause them to earn His favor. But it certainly does make the world a much more pleasant place to live in than would otherwise be the case. This is what we call the “common grace” of God (see also Berkhof’s comments). We are instinctively struck by the horror and evil of a place where the Law of God is ignored. In fact, we often compare such a place to the place where God’s Law is despised: hell. Think about Rwanda in the late 1980s. There was no order, no reason, no protection for the innocent, no punishment of evil doers. Just chaos and death. (As an aside, if you ever want to see just how evil man is outside Christ, see either the movie Hotel Rwanda or the documentary Ghosts of Rwanda, and see what happens to “ordinary” people swept up in the chaos). It should not surprise us that one of the greatest blessings that the Lord has given to us here in the United States is that we live in a land where the “rule of law” is upheld, and that our country was founded on the principle that God exists and that He has created man in His own image with dignity and worth. Let us think about that the next time we are rerady to complain bitterly about the country we live in.
The Coming Lord’s Day
At the same time that we are thankful for the Lord’s provision in His Law to us while we “conduct [ourselves] with fear throughout the time of [our] exile” (1 Peter 1:17), we cannot help but long for the return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We are especially reminded of that at this time of year, when we have the opportunity to sing such great hymns as “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus”:
Come, thou long-expected Jesus,
Born to set thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us;
Let us find our rest in thee.
Israel’s strength and consolation,
Hope of all the earth thou art;
Dear Desire of ev’ry nation,
Joy of every longing heart.Born thy people to deliver,
Born a child, and yet a King,
Born to reign in us for ever,
Now thy gracious kingdom bring.
By thine own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By thine all-sufficient merit
Raise us to thy glorious throne.
The bulletin for this week can be found here. This week we will continue to look at the Law of God, as we think about the question: Why Did God Give the Law? (Part 2). The passage that we will look at will be Galatians 3:22-25, one that is relatively well known to many of us. May the Lord bless us with a greater knowledge of His Law, His love and His Christ this coming Lord’s Day!!
Topics: Coming Lord's Day, Law |