Please turn in your Bibles with me to Exodus chapter 20. Exodus chapter 20. Last week I began a series of sermons on the Ten Commandments. Let's hear the commandments again in Exodus chapter 20. Follow along as I read. Exodus chapter 20. Then God spoke all these words, saying, I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. Here's the first commandment, verse three. You shall have no other gods before me. The second commandment is found in verses four to six. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above, or on the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and fourth generations of those who hate me. but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love me and keep my commandments. Then you have the third commandment in verse 7. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes his name in vain. The fourth commandment, verses 8 through 11. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy, Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant, or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. And here's the reason given. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. As we saw last week, those first four commandments we call the first table of the law, they pertain to our relationship to God. But then there is the second table of the law, which pertains to our relationship with others, beginning with the fifth commandment, which addresses the parent-child relationship. Verse 12, Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you. Verse 13 is the 6th commandment, you shall not murder. Then the 7th, you shall not commit adultery. The 8th, you shall not steal. The 9th, you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. And then the 10th commandment, verse 17, you shall not covet your neighbor's house, you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. These are the 10 commandments. The first four addressing our relationship to God, the last six, our relationship to others, In the first four commandments, again, we see that we're to worship God alone and we're to worship God aright. The last six commandments, we're commanded to rightly relate to others and love them as we should. And so the summary of the whole law, the first and second table, is the word love. Love God, love your neighbor. Now last week I explained that I need to lay some foundation stones before I begin preaching on each of the commandments specifically. And therefore I began by asking a basic and yet important question, what are these commandments called in scripture? The answer to that question teaches us some things about the commandments, which lay a foundation for their importance and necessity, and lay a foundation for our understanding and obedience. Therefore, last week we considered the designations of the Ten Commandments. That is, what are they called in Scripture? They are Ten Commandments, or the Ten Commandments. They're sometimes called the Ten Words, which you remember comes from the Hebrew, Aserah Devarim, which the Greek translates as Decalogus. You can hear in that, Decalogus, the word Decalogue in English. The Decalogue. The Ten Words, the Decalogue. They are commandments. treated as a whole, a unit, so to speak, given by God to be obeyed. And so we saw another designation of the Ten Commandments is the testimony. They're not individual testimonies, not the 10 testimonies, but again, seen as a unit, they are singular, the testimony. The commandments testify to the holy character of God and His moral will. And they testify against sinful human beings who, since the fall, are guilty sinners, those who have broken God's law. We are lawbreakers. And this law testifies against us. In the court of heaven, these commandments testify against us and demonstrate our guilt before a holy God. And so we see the legal nature of these Ten Commandments. Therefore, they're also called the law. The law of God, demonstrating that these are not the commandments of men, but the commandments of God himself. And because they are moral in nature, we categorize and speak of these 10 commandments as the moral law of God, perpetually binding upon all people at all times and all places. And we saw last week that these 10 words, these 10 commandments are a summary of the moral law of God. Therefore, as a summary, the 10 commandments are relatively short and simple. Yet at the same time, they are comprehensive and thorough. I say that they are comprehensive and thorough because when something is prohibited or forbidden by God, then all sins of the same kind are also prohibited and forbidden. And when something is prohibited or forbidden by God, then the opposite positive duties and responsibilities are also commanded. So in the words of the Westminster Catechism, where a duty is commanded, the contrary sin is forbidden. And where a sin is forbidden, the contrary duty is commanded. And under one sin or duty, all of the same kinds are forbidden. or commanded. Now we'll see this even more clearly when we get to the commandments themselves. That yes, they are short, they are a summation of the moral law of God, but yet they're comprehensive in their application. Now this morning, let's consider more specifically that the Ten Commandments are a summary of the moral law of God. As both the Westminster and Baptist catechisms ask and answer, Where is the moral law summarily comprehended? Where do we find the moral law of God in summary form and understood in that way? And the answer is this, the moral law is summarily comprehended in the Ten Commandments. Is there moral law? Which law in scripture are moral in nature? Are the Ten Commandments a summary of the moral law of God? And is the law of God found, which is found in the Ten Commandments, perpetually binding upon all people at all times and all places? We would affirm that the Decalogue is the law of God. No one disputes that. It is from God, clearly revealed from God, spoken by the voice of God. written by the finger of God on tablets of stone. The Decalogue is the law of God. There are no disputes about that. The question is, are they perpetually binding upon all people, in all places, at all times? Some say the whole law in the Old Testament is obsolete and abrogated. And those who would say that the whole law is abrogated and that believers are not bound to keep the law, the Ten Commandments, would point to verses like Romans 6, verse 14, that says this, For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law, but under grace. But what does that mean? We need to understand what being under law means in the context of Romans 6, and in the flow of the argument of the Apostle Paul in the book of Romans, in order to answer that question. Does it really mean we're not under any law, including the moral law of God, if we are under grace? And some will quote Romans 10, verse 4, for Christ is the end of the law. But then they don't finish it. the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. In other words, it's the end of the law as a means to justify ourselves before a holy God. There are those who are seeking to keep the law in order to be justified and reconciled to a holy God. But Christ is the end of the law for righteousness, to reconcile us to God for everyone who believes. And what about Matthew 5 verse 17 where Jesus said, do not think that I came to abolish the law or the prophets. I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. So is the law abolished or not? Is all of it abolished or none of it abolished? Is some of it abolished and some not abolished? How do we determine what is abolished and abrogated and what is not? More personally, how do you determine what is abolished and what is not? This isn't just a general question. When you're reading your Bible, and in particular reading in the Old Testament and reading various commands of God in the Old Testament and laws from God in the Old Testament, how do you determine what you are to obey today and what you're not to obey? These are important questions. These are very important foundation stones to understand before we get into the specific commandments themselves. Let me demonstrate why this is so important, to answer those questions rightly. When I was an associate pastor in South Carolina about 28 years ago, there was a relatively new Christian in the church that I was ministering to. And one day, he and I were meeting together for discipleship. We were talking about what we'd been reading in our Bibles that week and personal devotions, and he told me that he had learned something that he never knew before. He had been reading the Old Testament that week, and he declared to me that there were some things that he would never eat again. He'd been reading in the book of Leviticus, specifically Leviticus chapter 11, which talks about clean and unclean animals. In Leviticus chapter 11, Israel was commanded not to eat those animals that are declared there as unclean. And so this young man and young Christian, desiring to please God, determined that he would remove unclean animals from his diet. His motives were pure. He saw the law of God in Leviticus and he wanted to obey what God had commanded there. He sincerely wanted to please the Lord. How would you have responded to him? Would you have told him that it was sin for him to eat those unclean animals since the law of God said Israel was commanded not to eat those unclean animals? Or would you try to free his conscience and say, well, that's not for you. And what would you say to him? How would you answer him? And why would you do that? How would you explain it? Where would you go in the Bible to relieve his conscience in order that his conscience might be clear and free to eat what was once declared as unclean? How would you free his conscience from all the other dietary laws of the Old Testament? And what if he asked you how he was supposed to know what laws to obey and what laws were no longer applicable to him. How would you answer those questions? These are questions that every Christian needs to ask and needs to answer. How do you answer that? It's not good enough just to say, well, that just can't be applicable anymore, or I like pork, so I'm gonna eat it. You really need to be able to understand biblically and apply those things rightly to your life and to others. Now, part of what makes this difficult to answer is that when the Bible uses the word law, it doesn't always refer to the same thing. In studying the Bible and when we come to various commands from God, laws given by God, it's important to understand that they're not all the same. One way in which they're not all the same is to understand that some laws indeed are perpetually binding for all peoples, for all time. And some are given by God, but temporarily in particular situations, in a particular covenant, we might say. Some laws are perpetual. Some are temporary. That which is moral law is perpetual, not temporary. Moral law cannot be abolished or changed since God's character does not change. Yet not all laws given by God in Scripture are perpetually binding moral law. For the New Testament is clear that some laws given by God in the Old Testament were temporary. But how do you determine which laws are moral law and which are not? Well, I believe the answer lies in understanding that there are different types, or you might say different categories of laws in the Old Testament. One way that faithful saints who have gone before us have sought to understand these kinds of questions and understand these things is to recognize that there are different types of laws, some perpetually binding, some that were temporary. And those saints who have gone before us distinguish between three types of laws. This has historically been called the threefold division of the law, or to use even a term that might be less familiar to you, the tripartite division of the law. The threefold division of the law, the laws of the Old Testament fit into different categories. Now we usually use as the categories these terms, ceremonial law, civil law, and moral law. Ceremonial law, civil law, and moral law. The first two categories of the law of God, ceremonial and civil, were temporary for a particular time and purpose in redemptive history. But the last category of the law of God, moral law, is perpetual and perpetually binding. Now, some have objected to dividing the law of God in the Old Testament in this way. And one objection says this, but we don't see those three categories explicitly spoken in scripture. You won't find the word ceremonial law or civil law in the Old Testament. And so they object. Now, while it's true, the specific titles of these three categories of law, may not be designated in that specific manner in scripture. That doesn't mean the Bible doesn't differentiate between different types of laws. And it doesn't mean that we cannot rightly infer that there are different types and categories of the law of God in scripture and give them names to aid us in understanding this. It's also good to be reminded that most do not object to using other words, words not explicitly used in the Bible in order to describe what the Bible teaches about certain things. For example, you will not find the word Trinity in the Bible, but it is a term we use to describe what the Bible teaches about the being of God as one in essence, yet three in person. And what about the words hypostatic union? That phrase is not found in scripture, but it is a term that we use to describe what the Bible teaches about the two natures of Christ in one person. And what about the categories we call general revelation and special revelation? God revealing himself in creation, but also revealing himself more specifically in scripture. Those names, the categories I just used, general revelation and special revelation, are not explicitly used in the Bible. However, no one who holds to sound doctrine would deny that those two types of revelation from God that we categorize in that manner are found in the Bible. These are all words that we use to describe what is taught in the Bible, Trinity, hypostatic union, general revelation, special revelation. And it's the same when we speak of the threefold division of the law, ceremonial law, civil law, and moral law. So when we look in scripture, we find that some laws were perpetual and some were temporary. Some laws abide and remain throughout this age. Some that were specific to certain times in redemptive history pass away and are abolished. And while the specific words ceremonial, civil, and moral might not be found in Scripture, I believe it finds its root in Scripture. I believe it is scriptural to speak of the law in those ways. Ceremonial law. Some laws pertain to the prescribed worship of God in the tabernacle and temple, laws pertaining to sacrifices, priests, things pertaining to the temple. We call those laws generally ceremonial laws. Civil law. There are laws pertaining to the law courts, so to speak. That is, they were judicial laws for the governing of Israel as a nation. We call those civil laws. But then there is moral law. There are those laws from God which are inherently moral in nature. These are tied to the very character of God and binding upon all peoples of all times. The ceremonial and civil laws were temporary. Those laws were for a particular time, particular purpose, and redemptive history. But the moral law is perpetual. Now, there are three words that are important to remember in relationship to the moral law of God. The moral law of God is timeless, universal, and unchanging. Timeless. The moral law of God was before Sinai. It was before Exodus 20. It was from the beginning. It abides forever. It's perpetual. The moral law of God is universal. Not just for Israel, but for all people. And the moral law of God is unchanging. It's immutable. For it comes from the holy character of God, which is unchanging and immutable. Now, the question is, is there any such thing as the moral law of God, which is perpetually binding upon all people at all times in all places? Well, I think if I just ask you this question, Christian, do you believe in moral absolutes? I hope you said yes. If you believe in moral absolutes, then you believe in a perpetual moral law of God that's rooted in the very character of God a moral law that he places upon all his creatures, all human beings made in the image of God at all times in all places. Moral absolutism is the idea that there are universal moral principles, moral laws by which all people's actions may be judged. And as Christians, we believe that there are moral absolutes which have their source in God, the holy creator. There are moral absolutes which are timeless, universal and unchanging because there's a God who created us in His image as moral creatures who are accountable to Him and accountable to His law. So when you go to scripture, how do you distinguish between laws given by God? Those which are perpetual moral law and those which are temporary in nature. Let me give you some evidence and support for the three-fold division of the law of God from Scripture. Because that's what you're asking, right? Show me. Show me. There are books written, many books, multiple books, thick books, but in the little bit of time I have, let me show you this from scripture. First, just note that the Bible itself makes distinctions among the various laws and commands of God. This is not a man-made thing. No, God himself in his word makes distinctions between various laws and commands. Not all the laws found in the Old Testament are perpetually binding upon all people of all time. They're not all timeless, universal, and unchanging. Now, we're gonna turn to a number of passages. Some of them, if you have time, you know where it is, can find it quickly, go there. Some of them, I'll tell you, turn to this passage, because we're gonna look more specifically at those passages. Let's begin with 1 Corinthians 7. 1 Corinthians 7, verses 18 and 19. The Apostle Paul is addressing Corinthian believers who are asking some very good questions. I became a believer, but now I'm married to an unbeliever. What do I do? 1 Corinthians 7 answers that question. Or a Gentile who became a believer, he was uncircumcised, and now he's asking, should I be circumcised? Does that commandment pertain to me? Is that perpetually binding even upon me? And so 1 Corinthians 7, beginning in verse 18, Paul answers it this way. Was any man called when he was already circumcised? He is not to become uncircumcised. Has anyone been called in uncircumcision? He is not to be circumcised. But notice verse 19. Circumcision is nothing. And uncircumcision is nothing. But here's the contrast. What matters is keeping the commandments of God. Now, when you read that, you should say, but wasn't circumcision a commandment of God? And the answer is yes. Circumcision, a sign of the covenant made with Abraham in Genesis 17, was also a part of the Mosaic covenant and the Mosaic law. Circumcision was commanded by God in the Old Testament. And yet the apostle distinguishes between circumcision and keeping the commandments of God. He says in 1 Corinthians 7, verse 19, that circumcision is nothing, but what matters is keeping, obeying the commandments of God. So what's clear from that verse, just foundational, is the Apostle Paul does not lump all the commandments of the Old Testament together. He does make a distinction, and here he's making a distinction between a commandment, circumcision, and then what he says are the commandments of God. Clearly, circumcision, once commanded by God, was not perpetually binding upon all peoples of all time and all places. Now, was it disobedience for those to whom the commandment of circumcision was given to refuse to obey that command? Yes, of course it would have been disobedience. In that sense, the command to be circumcised was a moral issue for those to whom it was given to disobey any command of God, which is applicable to you, is a moral issue, and is sin. However, when we refer to the moral law of God, technically speaking, we are referring to those commandments which are perpetually binding upon all people of all times in all places. For the moral law of God is timeless, universal, and unchanging. So we see that just in that one verse, 1 Corinthians 7.19, that the Bible itself makes distinctions among the various laws and commands of God. So that now circumcision is not perpetually binding. It's not binding upon us in the new covenant. It was temporary. But there are the commandments of God that he says are still binding upon the people of God in the new covenant. Turn to the book of Hebrews. The book of Hebrews, specifically chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10. If you're familiar with the book of Hebrews, you know that these Jewish Christians of the first century to whom this was written were tempted to go back to various laws of the old covenant. And yet the writer to these Hebrews says certain laws of the old covenant were fulfilled by Christ. The writer to the Hebrews mainly addresses laws regarding the temple, the Levitical priesthood, the sacrifices, in other words, what we call ceremonial law. The book of Hebrews declares that those laws, those ceremonial laws, were a shadow of what was to come. And when the reality, the fulfillment of those shadows came, the one to whom they pointed, namely Jesus Christ, then the shadows and prophetic types would then be fulfilled and abrogated. Those laws, therefore, pertaining to the temple, the priesthood, the sacrifices, were far from perpetual. They were no longer applicable. Look at Hebrews 10 verse one. The writer says, for the law, so there it is. There's a use, the law. But what law? For the law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never by the same, now he begins to describe what law he's talking about, by the same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near. So the writer is referring to the law, but we have to ask which law? The law pertaining, he's saying here in the context, pertaining to sacrifices. Now notice that it is singular. The law. Those laws, For there were multiple laws regarding the temple sacrifices. Those laws pertaining to sacrifices are taken together as a unit. The law, what law? Singular. What law pertaining to a whole category, a bunch of individual laws, but he here calls it singular, the law. And again, laws relating to sacrifices, ceremonial law. Now that Christ has come and offered himself and shed his blood as the lamb of God who takes away sin, those ceremonial laws are no longer applicable. They are abrogated for they are fulfilled in the person and work of Christ. Look in verse 10, Hebrews 10, verse 10. By this will, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. This verse speaks of the offering. So again, there were sacrifices and offerings in the law of God in the Old Testament. These are things we categorize as ceremonial law. Those laws are abrogated for Christ offered himself once and for all time. The sacrifices and offerings were abolished because they were fulfilled in Christ. Now, turn back to chapter 9, Hebrews 9, verses 11 and 12. Hebrews 9, verses 11 and 12. But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, he entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation, and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through his own blood, he entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. So notice here, he's talking about a high priest, a tabernacle, the blood of goats and calves, And he says, Christ came as a high priest. He fulfilled those types and shadows. And he offered up himself, not in the tabernacle made with hands, but before God himself, who is in heaven, the true tabernacle. And it wasn't through the blood of these animals, goats and calves, but he did, he offered himself, he shed his own blood. And he did so once and for all time. So you see, there's a whole category of Old Testament laws, which ended when Christ completed what he came to do when he died on the cross. However, the book of Hebrews also speaks of other laws. Laws which were moral in nature. Laws which the writer to the Hebrews does not say are abrogated, but are perpetually binding. Turn to Hebrews chapter 13. Hebrews chapter 13. Verse one. Let love of the brethren continue. Now you remember last week, the moral law is summed up by what? Jesus himself said that the law, the 10 commandments are summed up by the word what? Love. Love God, love your neighbor. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Love your neighbor as yourself. Here in Hebrews 13 verse one, the command to let love of the brethren continue encapsulates the fifth through the 10 commandments, the second table of the law. That has not been abrogated. Look at verse two. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember the prisoners as though imprisoned with them, and those who are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the body. So this is an application of how to love one another, how to love other Christians, and therefore fulfill the law of love. But then look at verse four. Marriage is to be held in honor among all. And the marriage bed is to be undefiled for fornicators and adulterers God will judge. This is moral law. Which commandment in the 10 commandments is this referring to? Do you know? The seventh commandment. You shall not commit adultery. Adulterers and fornicators, God will judge. The marriage bed is to be held in honor among all. And what about verse five? Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have. For he himself said, I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you. What commandment does the love of money violate? The 10th commandment, you shall not covet. But the love of money actually violates more than the 10th commandment. It also violates the first and second commandments. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol. That's the first and second commandment we read in Exodus 20. And Jesus said, no one can serve two masters. He's referring to the second commandment. You shall not serve other gods or worship them. You can't serve two masters for either hate the one and love the other, or he'll be devoted to one and despise the other. Jesus said, you cannot serve God and money. Hebrews 13 verse five is clearly moral law, specifically the first, second, and tenth commandments. So you see the moral law is also found in the book of Hebrews. And those laws are not abrogated but perpetual. Clearly there is a distinction made in the Bible between various laws given by God in our Old Testaments. Now going back to the book of Exodus, We see a distinction even in how the law was given to Moses. A study of the structure of Exodus and the law given there demonstrates a difference and a distinction between the various laws given by God. In Exodus 20 that I read at the beginning, the Ten Commandments, that's moral law. We see it repeated. We see it the thread of the fabric, the commands of God. But then in Exodus chapters 21 through 23, we find civil law. In Exodus chapter 24, we see the ratification of the covenant made with God with Israel, but then in Exodus 25 and subsequent chapters, we find those laws that we categorize as ceremonial law. So there's even a, you see it in the structure of God giving the law to Moses, to Israel through Moses. Chapter 20 is moral law, then you have civil law in chapters 21, 22, and 23, and in Exodus 25 and following is ceremonial law. Now, of course, that doesn't mean that sometimes when we read our Old Testaments that moral, civil, and ceremonial are never mixed together in some way. Consider what would fall into the category of civil laws. For example, Deuteronomy 28, or excuse me, 22, verse eight, says, when you build a new house, you shall make a parapet, that's how you pronounce that, isn't it? if it's not, forgive me, a parapet for your roof so that you will not bring blood guilt on your house if anyone falls off. Now, a parapet is an upward extension of the roof to aid in preventing someone from falling off. Now, what commandment is that tied to? The sixth commandment, you shall not murder. Murder is sin because it is killing a human being made in the image of God. Those made in the image of God are of worth and value because human life is to be valued. Therefore, an application of the sixth commandment, the moral law of God stated there, is that we should make reasonable precautions to prevent harm or death of a human being. Therefore, we see that Yes, civil law often comes out of the moral law of God, but yet we make a distinction. This would fall under loving your neighbor. Even in our building codes, we have laws today that require railings if an entrance to a building, for example, has a certain number of steps. This is built on the presupposition that human life is valuable. and should be protected in various ways by our civil laws, even our building codes. They don't have those laws about railings there for skateboarders. It's not there for your cats. It's there for human beings made in the image of God. When we get to the commandment, you shall not murder, we'll see the basis of that is rooted in creation. Man is made in the image of God. And so civil laws, yes, flow from those moral laws, but there's still a distinction. There's not moral perpetual law today. We wouldn't say you have to have a railing, or you're sinning, or you have to have a parapet on your roof, or you're sinning. So you see, the Bible itself makes distinctions among the various laws and commands of God. But also note this, there is a law written on the hearts of all people. even before the promulgation of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20, that is the public declaration of the Ten Commandments at Sinai. What law is written on the hearts of men? There are passages of scripture that obviously refer to perpetual moral law and make a distinction between that which is moral and that which is not moral law. Let me show you this, Romans chapter one. Romans chapter one. You're familiar with Romans chapter one in verse 18, the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness and ungodliness of men who suppress the truth and unrighteousness. It goes on to talk about when they suppress the truth when they deny what they innately know, that there is a God, for it's revealed to them in creation, and it's revealed within them through conscience, that then God gives them over to various sins, and He begins to list all those various sins. But go to the last verse of Romans 1. And although they know the ordinance of God, he's talking about Gentiles. Not Jews in Romans 1, those who didn't have the written law revealed by God and given to them. But he says they know the ordinance of God. This word ordinance is translated in Luke 1 verse 6 as requirements of the Lord alongside of commandments. So they know the ordinance of God. He says that those who practice such things are worthy of death. But what do they do? They not only do the same, but they also give hearty approval to those who practice them. That sounds like today. We understand how people who don't even practice certain things themselves, they give hearty approval to those who do. They know the ordinance of God. They suppress the truth. As sinners, fallen sinners, we take the law of God and we twist it and distort it and ignore it. We sear our conscience. But it's there. Look in Romans 2. Again, I don't have time to go through the whole of these chapters, but Paul is establishing in Romans 1, 2, and 3 the guilt of all. All people. Jew who has the law revealed to them. Gentile who does not have the law revealed to them in the scriptures and don't have the law, the moralist, the religious person, the atheist, he's showing they're all guilty. Romans 2, verses 14 and 15. For when Gentiles who do not have the law, and he means have it in written form and scripturated like the Jews did, when they do instinctively the things of the law, these not having the law, or a law to themselves in that they show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness in their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them. So this is speaking of the guilt of those who do not have the law of God in written form. How did they know the law of God? It's written on their hearts. Here he says in verse 14, they do it instinctively or the ESV, they by nature do what the law requires or the legacy standard Bible. For when Gentiles who do not have the law naturally do the things of the law. What that demonstrates is the work of the law written on their hearts. Now, what do they naturally do? Ceremonial laws, dietary laws, No, the Apostle Paul is clearly talking here about perpetual moral law written on the heart from the beginning, from creation. The giving of the Ten Commandments at Sinai did not make those things listed there wrong. The moral law existed before the Ten Commandments were given at Sinai. It was written on Adam's heart. It was written on Cain's heart, Abel's heart. It was written on Abraham's heart. Before the giving of the 10 commandments in Exodus 20, it was always wrong to have a so-called God before the true and living God. It was always wrong to worship idols, always wrong to take his name in vain, always wrong to not set aside labor and set aside time for the worship of the true and living God. It's always wrong to dishonor father and mother. It was always wrong before Sinai to murder, to commit sexual sin, to steal, to bear false witness, to covet. The fact that there is a moral law and that all humanity, whether Jew or Gentile, are all guilty of breaking it, whether they have it in written form Scripture or written on the heart and on the conscience, is the Apostle Paul's argument for why all are guilty before God. Chapter 3, verse 19. We know that whatever the law says, whether it's received in Scripture in that form or it's the law written on the heart, it speaks to those who are under the law, Jew or Gentile. Why? So that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God. You see the universal nature of this moral law condemning fallen sinful man before a holy God. You see, passages of scripture like these require that we distinguish between types of laws given by God. I find the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession helpful in describing it in this way. In chapter 19 of the law of God, It says this, God gave to Adam a law of universal obedience written in his heart, that's moral law, and a particular precept of not eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Again, I don't have time to explain it, that's what we call positive law. God gives a law, it's not moral law, it's temporary. Not eating the tree of the fruit, the middle of the garden, That was positive law, it was given by God for a particular time. We don't have that law anymore. That tree's not there anymore. The fruit's not there. So there are these positive laws given by God that are temporary in nature. Yes, they're moral in the sense, generally speaking, we say that to those who it's given, if they don't obey it, then it's morally wrong, it's sin. But we're talking about moral law more technically, it's perpetually binding, a universal, a law of universal obedience written in the heart of man. It goes on to say, the same law that was first written in the heart of man continued to be a perfect rule of righteousness after the fall and was delivered by God upon Mount Sinai in the Ten Commandments and written in two tablets, the first four containing of our duties toward God, the other six our duty to man. In addition to this law, usually called the moral law, God was pleased to give the people of Israel ceremonial laws containing several typological or typological ordinances. And it goes on to describe those. And then in paragraph four to Israel, he also gave various judicial laws. We call them civil laws most often. which ceased at the time their nation ended. Those laws no longer obligate anyone as part of that institution. Only their general principles of justice continue to have moral value. That's what we call the general equity of the law. Another subject for another time. But then it says the moral law forever requires obedience of everyone. both those who are justified as well as others. This obligation arises not only because of its content, but also because of the authority of God, the creator who gave it. Nor does Christ in any way dissolve this obligation in the gospel, but instead greatly strengthens it. That's for another time. We're just laying this foundation stone for now. So I would argue we rightly divide the law of God. and speak of the threefold division of the law, ceremonial, civil, and moral. Ceremonial and civil, abrogated. Moral law of God, timeless, universal, changeless. Now where do the Ten Commandments fit? Are they moral law, perpetually binding? In the passages I've made reference to this week and last week, it should be clear the 10 commandments are moral law. That doesn't mean that there are not, this is very important, doesn't mean that there are not laws tied to those commandments, specifically and especially the fourth commandment, the Sabbath commandment, which are ceremonial and civil in nature and therefore temporary. For example, the day, that there's to be a Sabbath is not perpetual moral law. For the day commanded by God was the seventh day under the old covenant, our Saturday. However, in the new covenant, we observe a rest from work and the worship of God in the manner that he has commanded on the first day of the week. However, the observance of a Sabbath itself is moral law. The day is not perpetual moral law. It's what we call positive law. The day was commanded in the old covenant, the seventh day. Now it's the first day of the week. More on that in the future. So the Ten Commandments are a summary of the moral law of God. They're not like ceremonial and civil laws. They're distinguished. They're distinguished by the manner in which they're given, how they're delivered by God, and where they were to be stored and kept. The Ten Commandments were delivered in a unique way than the other laws given, and they were preserved in a unique location. As Sam Waldron said, the unique position and importance of the Ten Commandments is indicated by the fact that they alone were spoken by the voice of God. They alone were written by the finger of God. They alone were placed in the ark of God. and alone were accompanied by the terror of God on Mount Sinai, and they alone are inscribed in stone. The Ten Commandments are set apart by how they are given and where they were told to be placed in the Ark of the Covenant, in the most holy place, from the other laws that he gave. I like what Pastor Jim Dahm said. Pastor Dahm has preached here before. He said, the moral law was revealed in creation ruined in the law, or excuse me, ruined in the fall, reiterated at Sinai in some reform and restored in Christ. It was revealed in creation, written on the hearts of men, ruined in the fall, suppressed, conscience seared, rebellion against that law, reiterated at Sinai in some reform, restored in Christ. We'll refer to that in Hebrews 8 verses 10 to 12. Again, we're just laying foundation stones. I can't say it all in one sermon. We're gonna look at Hebrews 8, 10 to 12, next Lord's Day evening when we come to the table of the Lord and we'll see how this law is restored in Christ. But let me conclude in this way by reminding you we can't talk about the law of God. We can't talk about the law of God without talking about Jesus Christ. for the law and the gospel are bound together in Scripture. We are lawbreakers. We are unrighteous. We are sinners. And therefore, we all need a Savior. If we're to be saved from the guilt of the law, then we need a righteous and sinless Savior to take our place. We sang earlier in our service, guilty, vile, and helpless we Spotless Lamb of God was He. Full atonement can it be. Hallelujah, what a Savior. Lifted up was He to die. It is finished was His cry. Now in heaven, exalted high. Hallelujah, what a Savior. The words of 1 Peter 2. He committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth. And while being reviled, He did not revile in return. While suffering, He uttered no threats. but kept entrusting himself to him who judges righteously. And he bore our sins in his body on the cross. This is the good news. Yes, we've broken the law of God, but God the Father made God the Son who knew no sin, who kept the law perfectly. He made him to be sin on our behalf. so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Again, the Apostle Paul, just listen to the words. And showing the guilt of all, accountable to God. Then says this in Romans 3, beginning in verse 19. Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under law. That's everyone. It's written on the conscience, the heart. It's inscripturated. So that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God. Because by works of the law, trying to keep the law to be reconciled to God. By works of the law, no flesh will be justified in his sight. For through the law comes the knowledge of sin. That's next week. But now, apart from the law, that is apart from trying to keep the law, for righteousness. The righteousness which comes from God has been manifested and made known. How? Being witnessed by the law and the prophets. What righteousness is that? It says, even the righteousness of God, how is it obtained? How is it applied to the sinner? Through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe. For there is no distinction. Just like all our lawbreakers, salvation. is for all who are under the law, but yet will come broken by the law and come to Christ in faith. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Being justified, how? As a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. Yes, as we learn about this law, and we'll talk about it more specifically next week, and the uses of the law of God, the appropriate uses of the law, how is this law a benefit for us? It shows us our sin. It gives us a knowledge of sin. That then as sinners, broken, breakers of the law, we now come to Christ through faith. Come to Jesus. Look to Jesus. Place your faith in Jesus. Mercy flows through him alone. Let's bow our heads together in prayer. Father, we confess again what your word says, that the law is good and holy and righteous. Your moral law is a reflection of your holy, your righteous character, and all how it shows us our sin Father, I pray that as we understand your law, why it was given, your commands in the Old Testament, as we understand those ceremonial laws and those laws that were pertaining to the priesthood and to the temple and to the sacrifices that it pointed them and it points us to the Lord Jesus who came as our mediator, our high priest, who laid down his life and shed his blood for us. He fulfilled the law and abrogated those laws. But he came as the one who was completely righteous, who fulfilled the moral law, in whom there was no sin, no taint of sin in any way in thought, word, or deed, completely righteous, that as the spotless lamb, he might be our substitute. Father, I pray for those who are here today who have been convicted by the law, who know they're sinners before you. Maybe they've suppressed that, they've tried to ignore that, they've seared their consciences in various ways, but they know that they are guilty before you, a holy God. I pray they might come to the Savior, the Lord Jesus, and see that he is the only hope that their sins would be forgiven. that they would not go to Sinai to try to keep the law, to somehow have a righteousness of their own, but they would come that they might have imputed to their account the righteousness of Christ by faith. And for those of us who come to Christ, Lord, I thank you that you have given us by your spirit, the power, the ability, the strength to delight in your moral law, to be sanctified and to glorify you All these things are by your grace, and we thank you for your mercy in Lord Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.