READ: Ex. 20:1–17: … I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage …
God reveals Himself as the faithful and mighty God of the covenant, who delivers His people from oppression and domination. This law forms the constitution of His kingdom on earth and outlines God’s will for covenant life with Him, for relationships among His covenant children, and for interaction with those outside the covenant.
As a covenant child, one also shows one’s connection with the God of the covenant to those who do not believe (cf. Matt. 5:13–16).
This covenant law is a law of the covenant of grace, which does not require salvation to be earned. It is God’s requirement for His children, who may receive His promises without merit. Transgressions are forgiven, upon confession of guilt, on the basis of the sacrifice that Christ would later bring (Rom. 3:25).
The coming of Jesus Christ did not abolish the covenant law. Jesus Himself declared on earth: “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.”
Jesus deepened the keeping of the law, both through His teaching and through His example. The apostles also emphasize its importance (Rom. 7:7; Eph. 6:2). Observance of the law must never be merely external (see Ps. 1:2; 37:31; 40:9; 86:11–12; Ps. 119). It ought to be an expression of our responsive love to God, who first loved us, as Israel could already know from the introductory words of the Ten Commandments.
After the atoning work of Christ and His ascension, He poured out His Spirit to write God’s covenant law in our hearts (Heb. 8:10; 10:16). Our obedience to the law is therefore the work of the Spirit, yet it is also our responsibility (Gal. 5:13–26).
Can you say of yourself that God’s law is written in your heart?
Sing: Ps. 119:1–2