Romans chapter 13, and I'll be reading verses 8 through 10. Romans 13, 8 through 10. O no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, you should not commit adultery, you should not murder, you should not steal, You shall not bear false witness. You shall not covet. And if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying. Namely, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever. You may be seated. Let's pray as we come to the preaching of the word of God. Let's pray. Our Father, help us. We pray that you would help all of us to be hearers, but not just hearers, also doers of your word. We pray that you would give my brothers and sisters in Christ a hunger and thirst for your word and a desire to hear and to heed what you are going to say through your infallible word. And so we pray that you would help me to preach and demonstration of the spirit and of power. Help me to communicate clearly and faithfully your word, that we might have a greater love for your law, which is good and right. And so we pray for your blessing on this time. Fill me by your spirit and help all of us to hear and to heed your word. And we pray all this in Jesus' name, amen. So I just finished a series going through the doctrines of grace, how God saves us from our sin. That's what the doctrines of grace seek to focus on, how God saves sinners. Those who were totally depraved and lost and would never come to God on our own. And so He chose us before time began and His Son died so that we would be redeemed. And His Holy Spirit irresistibly draws us to repent and believe in Jesus. And all those who are in Jesus by faith, by the grace of God, will persevere to the end. And so we saw that. And then, as I was thinking what I wanted to do next, this is a great book that I love. I really enjoy this book. It's edited by a pastor friend of mine, Rob Ventura, and it's called Going Beyond the Five Points. I love the five points. That's the doctrines of grace, the five points of Calvinism, it's sometimes called. I think they're great. They are so, so thankful to believe them. I didn't grow up believing them, so thankful that I came to them because they're in the word of God. and their great doctrines. But what this book seeks to show is that when we say we are reformed or we want to hold a reformed theology, there's more to it than merely the doctrines of grace. The doctrines of grace are foundational. The doctrines of grace are essential in Reformed theology. But there is more to it when a person says they are Reformed in their theology, there's more to it than merely confessing total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, and the perseverance of the saints. And so my friend, Rob Ventura, put together this book with different authors seeking to show people and convince people that they should go deeper in their understanding of reform theology than merely the doctrines of grace. And I think it would be helpful to read his little preface to this volume. It's pretty short, but I'm going to read it. This is what Pastor Ventura says. Quote, have you ever encountered a teaching from scripture that completely changed your understanding of God and the Bible in a profoundly positive way? Perhaps this is what happened when you first came to embrace the doctrines of grace, also known as the five points of Calvinism. At one time, your views of salvation were somewhat shallow. But then God graciously opened your eyes. You came to a deeper understanding of the Bible's teaching on how a sinner truly becomes saved, and you told others about it. You came to see that salvation is of the Lord, Jonah 2.9, and you greatly rejoiced. Today, we are seeing a wonderful resurgence of this understanding of salvation. Many who at one time had a man-centered view of salvation now believe the biblical and historical perspective concerning this most precious and important theme. Yet, when we think of the five points of Calvinism, it is important to understand that this system of theology is not the whole of Reformed theology, but only a part. As a doctrine, these five points specifically focus on soteriology, that is to say, the doctrine of salvation. To be precise then, Calvinism is only the first rung of the theological ladder of the Reformed faith, a ladder which, if we are to be thoroughly biblical in all things, we must continue to climb. I have compiled and edited this work for the purpose of encouraging those who have taken the first step on this ladder to keep climbing. This book was written to motivate reforming Christians to keep on the journey of grace to which God has brought them. Its aim is to help them continue to walk in the old paths where the good way is. Jeremiah 6, 16a. For this anthology, I reached out to four friends who have already written on the selected topics found in this book. I chose these topics because they have historically characterized Reformed Christianity, and I believe that if embraced, they will lead the reader to a fuller Reformed perspective on the Christian life and the church. While some might argue for the inclusion of other topics, I pick subjects that are especially important in this season of church history. The Ten Commandments in the Christian, the Regulative Principle of Worship, Covenant Theology, the Church, and the Legitimacy and Use of Confessions of Faith. My prayer is that the labors of all who were involved in this project will prove to be a great help to many, and that in all things the great name of our God will be praised. I'm very thankful for all the men who contributed to this compilation. Each is known for expertise in his assigned topic and willingly accepted my request to help in this important endeavor. I also want to thank several men who read drafts of this volume and made useful comments. He named some people. And then says, brothers, thank you for the time you spent with this material. Your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15, 58. And that was written, end quote, that was written by Rob Ventura. So that gives you a summary of why he wanted to write this book, to show that there is more to being reformed than the doctrines of grace. And again, those things that this book emphasizes is the Ten Commandments, the Regulative Principle, Covenant Theology, the Church, and the Legitimacy and Use of Confessions of Faith. So my goal over these next weeks is to spend time on those subjects, helping us to be better acquainted with these subjects as they relate to being reformed, as they relate to reformed theology. And so this one, the first one, is on the Ten Commandments. This is a very important subject because we know in the world, there is much confusion about what's right and wrong. There's much confusion about, is there a moral standard by which everyone is to be governed by? And I would say, broadly speaking, if you talk to most people in the world today, of course, this is a generalization, but if pressed, they would say there's no such thing as an absolute standard for everyone. They might say, yes, it's wrong to murder, but inconsistently, because if they're really pressed, we'll say there's no such thing as an absolute standard for every single person in every place of the world. And so there is much confusion in the world about are there actually moral absolutes. I remember I was talking to someone at the Y after finishing up playing pickleball, and I was talking to him, and he was actually kind of mocking the Christian faith. And it was tough for me not to jump in because when a dog barks or when someone attacks its master, it's hard for the dog not to bark. And so I felt like my lord was being mocked and I felt like I had to say something and I was challenging this man and pressed him to basically show him and he admitted to it. Yeah, there he basically agreed with me. He had trouble with the reality of it, but that there was no such thing as absolute morality. I got him to agree. If God doesn't exist, there's no such thing as absolute morality. If he was saying God doesn't exist, I religion is silly and and so and the reason why I came up is a guy was asked me about me being a pastor and then he was mocking about religion. But he came to realize when he was pressed, when I challenged him, if God doesn't exist, like you say, there's no such thing as right or wrong. There's no such thing as good or evil. There's no such thing as anything worse than another. It's just your preferences. If God doesn't exist, wrong doesn't exist. It's just your preferences. And I got him, he came to acknowledge that because he realized there's no way to get around the fact that if God does not exist, there's no such thing as right and wrong. And because many people, at least in our culture, are functionally living as atheists, even if they would acknowledge on paper, well, I believe there is some type of God out there, many people would say if pressed, yeah, there's no such thing as right and wrong. They don't want to go there because they know it's absurdity, because then you just say something that's very horrendous, was that wrong? And if they're consistent, they say, well, I can't say it's wrong, and most people don't want to go there. But this is the cultural ethic of our society, that many people have come to see that there is no such thing as objective morality, objective ethics. But sadly, you would think in the church, we would have it even better. And by God's grace, there is generally, of course, Christians will acknowledge that this is an absolute standard of right and wrong. The problem is many Christians can be confused on what that standard is. Is there a standard whether you live before Christ? I could say before Mount Sinai, was there a standard of ethics? After Mount Sinai, when the law was given? After Christ, is there an objective standard that applies to all people at all times and never changes? And that, for Christians, if pressed, can sometimes be confused because many Christians, sadly, or I should really say some, have denied the Ten Commandments as that standard. And then when pressed, it becomes difficult for them to know whether there is an objective standard for all times. They would say there is absolute right and wrong. We're thankful for that. Christians do affirm that. But what is that is the next question. And so a sermon like this is very important. One, because as Christians, we want to be able to speak to the world and say, it is absurd to say there's no such thing as right and wrong. And you don't even live like that. And therefore you live like you say there's no such thing as right and wrong. But if someone stole your wallet, you would be upset about it and say they did something wrong. And so you don't live consistently. But we also wanna help ourselves and our brothers and sisters in Christ and us collectively to say, God has given us a standard so that we can know whatever time we live in, what is right and what is wrong. And so this is so important that we understand this. So if the doctrines of grace are about salvation, this sermon is about Christian ethics, or I could say ethics in general. Ethics being, how do we know what is right and what is wrong? And so this is very important. This sermon and this topic is crucial, again, to speak to the world and to even help our brothers and sisters in Christ so that they can sure up the standard that God has given. And so the main point of this sermon is, it's kind of a long one, but The Ten Commandments are the standard of ethics reflecting the perfect character of God for the sinner and the saint to show us our need of Christ, to restrain our sin, and to show us how to please God. So my first point, the Ten Commandments are the standard of ethics for the sinner and the saint because they reflect the perfect character of God. My second point, the Ten Commandments are the standard of ethics because they reflect the perfect character of God to show us our need for Christ, to restrain our sin, and to show us how to please God. Now my first point, the Ten Commandments are the standard of ethics for the sinner and the saint because they reflect the perfect character of God. So again, like I said before, we live in a world of much moral relativism. Moral relativism is the view that there's no such thing as objective right or wrong. It's subjective depending on what you think. And this is why it's so important for the Christian to embrace that we don't live in a moral relative universe because the God who made us is morally perfect. And therefore we are to reflect his character. And why are the 10 commandments so important? Foundationally is because they reflect the perfect character of God. God is not an idolatry. He does not worship other gods because He alone is God. And therefore, it's wrong for us to worship any other god and not to worship Him as He desires on His day for His glory. Because God doesn't believe in any other gods and knows that there's only one true God. For us to not worship Him as He desires in a spirit of reverence on His day is contrary to God's character. God is also the perfect authority, and therefore authority is derived from him as the ultimate authority. God is not a murderer, so we don't murder. God is perfectly faithful, so we must be perfectly faithful to our spouses. God never takes from anyone, because he owns everything, and God would never take or steal, and so we should not steal. God can't lie, and therefore we should never lie. And God never covets, because he is perfectly and eternally blessed within himself. And so the reason why these commandments are right is because they reflect God's character. And my beloved brethren, let me, I really want you to hear this. This is very important. The reason why the ethics given in the Ten Commandments don't change is because God doesn't change. Because God doesn't change, the ethics reflected in the Ten Commandments that shine forth his perfect character can never change either. Well, we'll see later, but we even have a phrase in English coming from the commandments. You know what that phrase is? It's this. We'll tell people it's written in stone. What do we mean by that? We mean it's permanent. That's what we're getting by saying it. It's written in stone. Where do we get that from? The Ten Commandments. What are we saying when something's written in stone? It's permanent, it's not changing. And we get that from the language of God writing the commandments with his own finger in stone tablets, written in stone. And so because God doesn't change, and he is perfectly holy, holy, holy, ethics will never change. I might be jumping the gun, but let me just say this. It's always been wrong to worship other gods. It's always been wrong to worship however we want. It's always been wrong to worship as we desire. We always have been obligated to give ourselves to worshiping the true God. It's always been wrong to be lazy and not work and not give time for rest and worship. It's always been wrong to dishonor our parents. It's always been wrong to murder. It's always been wrong to commit adultery. It's always been wrong to steal from people. It's always been wrong to lie. And it's always been wrong to covet. Those things don't change. And therefore, as they reflect the character of God, they don't change because God doesn't change. And I said in this main point, this is the standard of ethics for sinners and for saints, for unbelievers and for believers, for the godly and for the wicked. Because everyone, someone cannot say, I'm not a Christian, so I'm not under your ethical code. And that's how some people can think. Don't press your religious code upon me, is how people can think. Don't shove your religion down my throat. Don't tell me what I ought to do. What we should say humbly to them is you're a creature just like I am. And whether you're a Christian or not, you are created by God under his authority. And these laws are for you, are for you just like they are for me, regardless of whether you're a Christian or not. Regardless whether you believe in the God of the Bible or not, the law of God written on stone tablets are for you as well. And so this law, because everyone is made in the image of God, as I'll show, everyone is to keep the commandments of God. Everyone is guilty of breaking them because they're obligated to keep them. We see this in the pagan nation, in the heathen pagan nations. They were judged by God. Why did God judge the pagan or heathen nations? It would make no sense unless they were also, just like the Israelites, under the law of God. They were judged for things like idolatry and false worship, sacrificing their children, all these different things. And they were guilty because they were, just like the Israelites, obligated to obey the law of God. And so a few reasons why the Ten Commandments to talk about this more. Why are the Ten Commandments? the standard for saints and sinners, for believers and unbelievers. First, because the Ten Commandments are written on the heart of every image bearer of God. The Ten Commandments are the standard of right and wrong for everyone because everyone made in the image of God has that law written on their hearts. Second, because the Ten Commandments, unlike the other laws given under Moses, were uniquely written by the finger of God, which is not an accident, but it's purposeful. Third, because the Ten Commandments were prophesied to be savingly written on the heart of every new covenant member. The Ten Commandments were prophesied to be savingly written on the heart of every new covenant member. And lastly, because the Ten Commandments are seen to be the abiding moral standard, even in the new covenant era. I want to prove all those things to you from the Word of God, that we will see these realities. So let's go first to think that the Ten Commandments are written on the heart of every person, every image bearer. Turn to Romans chapter two. Romans chapter two. I was considering going through our confession. I might later, but I think I'm gonna just go directly to the Bible. Romans 2, 12 through 16. Romans 2, 12 through 16. To think about, okay, so again, we're looking in this text to see that the Ten Commandments, the moral law, as it's been historically called, is written on every single person's hearts. every image-bearer. So Romans 2 verse 12. For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, who show the work of the law written in their hearts." their conscience also bearing witness and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel." Paul by the Holy Spirit says here that Gentiles who do not have the law, what does he mean by that? The Gentiles, he's talking about people who did not have the written revelation. They did not have it like the Israelites. They did not have special revelation from God. But they did have revelation from God in a sense because they had the law that was revealed to Old Covenant Israel written in their hearts from the beginning. Every single person, whether they had that law formally or not, that law, because they were an image bearer of God, whether they were a Jew or Gentile, that law was written in their hearts. Verse 15, who showed the work of the law written in their hearts. Their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them. So that law is written on their hearts. by nature, whether they are Jew or Gentile. Gentiles who don't have the special revelation of the written law of God, which was a unique privilege given to Old Covenant Israel, still had that law written on their heart and their conscience bore witness to that law. And then it says in verse 16, in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ. So what law will condemn both Jews and Gentiles? Well, the Ten Commandments, the law that was written on their heart. Gentiles will be judged on the last day, not for not being circumcised or not keeping certain of the Old Testament feast days because those were not connected with God's law written on their heart, but they will be condemned. for breaking the Ten Commandments, for worshiping other gods, for blaspheming God, for murdering, for stealing, for adultery, for coveting. These sins they will be condemned for in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ. If the Ten Commandments are not the standard, what will God use to judge the wicked on the last day? What will they be condemned by? What will be the standard that will condemn them? But we see again here the reason why Gentiles just like Jews are guilty before God is because the work of law is written in their hearts and therefore they have a sense of right and wrong because they have the law of God written on them. their hearts. And so we, we see that reality. If you go turn with me in your hymn book, I will refer to a section in our confession to see this summarized. If you look at page 680 in the hymn book, page 680 in the hymn book, and we'll look at paragraph one, this is under the law of God. So not hymn 680, but page 680. And this is under of the law of God. showing that reality of that law be written in the heart. So I'm going to read paragraph one and two of our confession, page 680, to show you that our confession summarizes what I'm saying here helpfully. Paragraph one says of page 680 of the law of God, quote, God gave to Adam a law of universal obedience written in his heart and a particular precept of not eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, by which he bound him in all his posterity to personal, entire, exact, and perpetual obedience, promised life upon the fulfilling and threatened death upon the breach of it So we see that not only did Adam have the command not to eat of the fruit, he also had the law written on his heart as an image-bearer of God. And then paragraph 2 says, Quote, 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 ten commandments and written in two tables, the four first containing our duty towards God and the other six our duty to man. So that law that was written in Adam's heart is also written in every other image bearer because every other person is accountable to that perfect law that was originally written in Adam's hearts. And as we see in Romans 2, even the Gentiles who don't have the law have the work of the law written in their hearts. But now I want to show you that the Ten Commandments were uniquely written with the finger of God. If you turn to Exodus 31, Exodus 31, as I seek to show in this text, it explicitly says it, that God wants to show us that these Ten Commandments are unique. And one key way that they are unique is they are written in stone. with the finger of God." Exodus 31 and verse 18. It says this, and when he had made an end of speaking with them on Mount Sinai, he gave Moses two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God. And so we see here explicitly God tells the people and tells us through Moses that the Ten Commandments, unlike the other commandments, were written with his finger. Of course, God doesn't have a finger, it's using metaphorical language, but it's emphasizing the fact that God uniquely wrote these commandments. All the things that God gave to Moses were from God, but only the Ten Commandments uniquely are described as written with his finger. If you turn to Deuteronomy chapter 10, Deuteronomy chapter 10 and verse 4, Deuteronomy 10 and verse 4. Again, to see the reality, these commandments were uniquely written by the Lord. Deuteronomy 10 and verse 4, it says, And he wrote on the tablets, according to the first writing, the Ten Commandments, which the Lord had spoken to you in the mountain from the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly. And the Lord gave them to me. And so again, he, the Lord, wrote on the tablets according to the first writing. This is after they were broken by Moses because of the people's sin and rebellion. And so they are uniquely written by God with his finger, showing a uniqueness of the Ten Commandments that was different to all the other commandments. And then if you look now to my third reason for why this is the standard of ethics is because the Ten Commandments were prophesied to be savingly written on the heart of every new covenant member. You first start by looking at Jeremiah chapter six. Jeremiah chapter six. because I wanna show you here, I wanna go through verses, Jeremiah 6, verse 19, because we're gonna see in Jeremiah 31 the language of my law. But I wanna show you from these different verses in the book of Jeremiah that this law was already known to the people. So it's not gonna be something brand new as we'll see in Jeremiah 31. So Jeremiah 6, verse 19, here, O earth, Behold, I will certainly bring calamity on this people, the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not heeded my words, nor my law, but rejected it. So we see here, God is bringing judgment upon the people, or he's talking about the reality that calamity will come upon them. Why? Because they did not heed his words or his law, but they rejected it. If you go to chapter nine and verse 13, chapter nine, verse 13, we see here the reality of the language of my law again, too. I'm gonna start my reading at verse 12. Who is the wise man who may understand this? And who is he to whom the mouth of the Lord has spoken, that he may declare it? Why does the land perish and burn up like a wilderness, so that no one can pass through? And the Lord said, because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, nor walked according to it. But they have walked according to the dictates of their own hearts, and after the bales, which their fathers taught them. Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, behold, I will feed them, this people with wormwood and give them water of gall to drink. So we see here God is saying to the people here in Jeremiah's day, they have forsaken my law, the law, which I said before them, they forsook it. They have not kept it. They've instead gone after bales. They've gone after their own dictates of heart. and gone after the bales. Let me just pause because I really want you to understand why I'm bringing these verses up. Because sometimes when you go to Jeremiah 31, which we'll get to, people will say this language of my law is something completely brand new and not something that would have been known to the people in Jeremiah's day. But we see from these verses in Jeremiah, he is using the language my law to reference things that the people in his day would have known and understood and things that they could have rejected and disobeyed. and not followed. And so whatever Jeremiah is going to say by my law, it must be understood as something that they knew in their day and something that they broke and something that they rebelled against. Now, if you look at Jeremiah 16 and verse 11. Jeremiah 16 and verse 11. I'll start my reading at verse 9. Jeremiah 16 and verse 9. It says there, for thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, behold, I will calls to cease from this place before your eyes and in your days, the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride. And it shall be when you show this people all these words and they say to you, why has the Lord pronounced all this great disaster against us? Or what is our iniquity? Or what is our sin that we have committed against the Lord our God? Then you shall say to them, because your fathers have forsaken me, says the Lord, they have walked after other gods and have served them and worship them and have forsaken me and have and not kept my law. So we see their idolatry. What was it connected with? They haven't kept my law. They have gone after and served and worshiped other gods, not me. because they have forsaken me and not kept my law. If you look at Jeremiah 26, Jeremiah 26 and verse four, I'll read four through six. Jeremiah 26, verses four through six. Again, it's similar reference to my law. Jeremiah 26 verse 4 says, all the nations of the earth." So again, he tells them, if you will not listen to me and walk in my law, something they knew, something they understood, something that they were to keep and not reject and not forsake. And then last one of this book that uses similar language, Jeremiah 44 and verse 10, Jeremiah 44 and verse 10. Jeremiah 44 in verse 10, it says there, they have not been humbled to this day, nor have they feared. They have not walked in my law or in my statutes that I set before you and your fathers. So again, I'm showing you all these verses to show that when Jeremiah says, my law, and we'll see in Jeremiah 31, the law he had in mind was the same law that he had been talking about throughout this book, the law that they had been breaking, the law that they had been disobeying, and the law that they were commanded to keep. And so in Jeremiah 31, let's look there now. This is the key text people will look at, but I thought it was helpful. And in the chapter on the Ten Commandments in this book, he brings up those verses, or at least references them, as ways that Jeremiah uses my law to understand what he had in mind. So Jeremiah 31, 31. Jeremiah 31, 31, reading down to verse 34. Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not according to the covenant I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by their hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant which they broke, though I was a husband of them, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will put my law their minds and write it on their hearts and I will be their God and they shall be my people no more shall every man teach his neighbor and every man his brother saying know the Lord for they shall all know me from the least of them to the greatest of them says the Lord for I will forgive their iniquity and their sin I will remember no more So, the Old Covenant, it's contrasting the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. And under this New Covenant, God promises for everyone who is a member of this New Covenant, they will have His law in their minds and written on their hearts. Well, the question is, again, like I've been saying, this law was understood in Jeremiah's day. It wasn't something brand new. It was something known to them, understood by them, and according to this verse, it's something that God writes Specifically, on their hearts. What law did God already write on tablets of stone? He wrote the Ten Commandments. And he's gonna take that law that in itself could not make them love it or keep it, he is going to, for new covenant members, savingly write it on their hearts so that they love it, desire it, and want to keep it. There were some people in the old covenant era that had it on their hearts, who loved the law, because they were believers. But there were many amongst Israel who hated the law and rejected it and spurned it like Jeremiah was talking about. But God says under the new covenant, I will write my law in their minds and on their hearts. I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. So we see from this that the new covenant prophesies that there will be the law of God written on the hearts of his people. And now if you look with me to the last thing of why these are the standard of ethics is because they are seen even in the New Testament as the abiding moral standard in the New Covenant. Turn to Romans chapter 3. Romans chapter 3 and verse 31. In this context, the Apostle Paul, by the Holy Spirit, in this chapter, has been showing that by the law of God, every single person is condemned. That's particularly in this chapter from verses 1 to 20. That the law of God condemns all of us. Jews, Gentiles, all of us are condemned by the law. The law can't justify. The law shows us our sin. The law shows us how wretched we are. The law shows us our vileness before God because in ourselves there's no one righteous, no not one. That's what Romans 3, particularly from 1 to 8, is really stressing. No one can be justified by the law because the law shows us our sin. But then he goes into 21 to verse 30, emphasizing that even though the law condemns us and cannot justify us, Christ, through his perfect life, death, resurrection, all the things that Christ has accomplished, particularly through his death, we are able to be justified by God. Verse 24, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. So we are justified, not based on law, because the law condemns us. We're justified because of God's grace in Jesus. through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. So that's what he's trying to argue. I'm trying to give you the context of this chapter. But then in verse 31, because someone could then say, Paul, but if the law condemns us, if the law doesn't justify us, and now we're justified because of Jesus, not because of the law, can't we just get rid of the law and be done with it? Because then they condemn us. And then he has to answer that question. Verse 31. Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we established the law. What is being said here? Again, someone might bring the objection that he has to answer. Can't we just get rid of the law now, now that we're justified in Jesus? He says, certainly not. We as justified believers in Jesus Christ actually established the law because we as God's people are justified because of Christ's law keeping and because he has justified us by grace, we now want to keep the law and do the law as active obedience to him. Not active obedience like his, but active obedience like our desire to keep it. Because active obedience has a technical, theological meaning, so I wanted to make sure that was understood. Active obedience in the technical way is his perfect law keeping on our behalf. How I'm using it in that sense is we now desire to keep it from the hearts. Not get rid of it, but establish it. And so we see that there. Romans 13, if you go back there, of course, I read that at the beginning, which is a very, very important text about the Ten Commandments in the Christian life. Paul, by the Holy Spirit there, is exhorting or explaining that we should owe no one to anything, but we are to love one another, because he who loves has fulfilled the law. And so no one is confused at all what Paul means by law here. He gets very specific. Because he says, if you want to love someone, or love is to fulfill the law. He who loves another has fulfilled the law. But then someone might be saying, but what do you mean by law? And then he says, for the commandments. You should not commit adultery, you should not murder, you should not steal, you should not bear false witness, you should not covet. You know what, he only missed one of the second table. But he tells you, just in case, and if there's any other commandments, are all summed up in this saying, namely, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. The only commandment he doesn't explicitly say there is the commandment, honor your father and mother. But of course it's implied because he's expressing the second table of the law. And that's why Christians can say rightly, if you wanna know what it means to love your neighbor as yourself, is to keep the second table of the law. Because Paul explicitly says here, to keep the second table of the law is summarized in the phrase, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Because then he goes on to say, love does no harm to a neighbor, therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. If it wasn't for the law, we wouldn't know what love is. Love and law are not at odds. People sometimes can say things, sadly, in a foolish way, but they can say things like, I just wanna love people, I don't want the law. I just wanna love, I don't want law. I'm about loving people, not about all this law stuff. Paul would say to them, you can't understand love if you don't have law. I'm glad you want to love people, but the law defines what love, not what love is to your neighbor, not you. And so if you say you love your neighbor, but you're stealing from them, lying to them, covering what they have, you're not actually loving them because the law defines what love is. Love is the fulfillment of the law. And so he explicitly says here, if we want to love our neighbor, we must have the commandments because the commandments summarize for us what love is. And so we see explicitly here, that even in the New Testament, the Apostles, here the Apostle Paul goes to the Ten Commandments as the standard of ethics for our life. He doesn't say, they're old news, we need something different. He says, no, the commandments are still good for us today, and they still show us what it means to love our neighbor as ourself. Now if you turn to 2 Corinthians chapter three, 2 Corinthians chapter three, and if you look at verses one through three, 2 Corinthians chapter 3, verses 1 through 3. This is a very important text about the abiding validity and even the fulfillment of what Jeremiah prophesied in Jeremiah 31 about the new covenant. So 2 Corinthians chapter 3, verse 1. And I'll read down to verse 3. Do we begin again to commend ourselves, or do we need, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you? You are our epistle, written in our hearts, known and read by all men. Clearly, you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink, but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the hearts." We see explicitly here, he says that Christ, by his Holy Spirit, has written on you. But he hasn't written on you, he hasn't written on tablets of stone. What do you automatically think about the Ten Commandments? He hasn't written on tablets of stone. He's written what he wrote on tablets of stone on your flesh. That is on your hearts. Is that not what Jeremiah explicitly said was going to happen in the New Covenant? that God was going to, under the New Covenant, to all His people, write His law on their minds and on their hearts. And Paul says, by the Spirit, to you Corinthians, it's happened. And of course, by implication, every other believer living on the New Covenant. You are an epistle of Christ. The Spirit of the living God is written on your hearts, what was originally written on tablets of stone. Why? Because that law hasn't passed away. That law is just as valid today. It just now is on your heart, not merely external like it was to many of the old covenant people of Israel, but now it's on your heart so you can say like the Apostle Paul, I delight in the law of God according to my inward man. Because it's now written on our hearts. We love it, we keep it, we desire it. And so we see that fulfillment. Then if you look to James chapter two, James chapter two. And verses eight through 13. James 2, right after the book of Hebrews. James 2, eight through 13. James 2, eight through 13. It says there, if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, you shall love your neighbor as yourself, you do well. But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. Verse 10. For whoever shall keep the whole law and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. For he who said, do not commit adultery, also said, do not murder. Now, if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak, and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgments." So we see in this text, 8 through 13, we see again that language, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. And if we do that, we do well. We already know what loving our neighbor as ourself is, is to keep the second table of the law. And then if we were confused by what James meant, he explicitly talks about adultery and murder. And so we, as God's people, are to be impartial in our keeping of the law and to keep all of it, knowing that when we do those things, we are keeping the law of liberty. This law is not bondage. It's actually freedom. To keep the Ten Commandments is a way to find freedom, not bondage. And so in all these ways, we see from it being written in the heart of man, being uniquely written by the finger of God, it being prophesied that it would be written in the heart of every New Covenant member, and the reality that when we go to the New Testament, we see the 10 commandments are seen as the standard of Christian ethics, even on the New Covenant, that they are what it means to love. We don't make them void, we establish them. It's been written on our hearts by the Spirit, as Jeremiah prophesied, and it is called the law of liberty for Christians. And so for all those reasons, we see that this law, the Ten Commandments, are for us. And it's the standard of ethics for all people at all times, whether believers, or unbelievers. But now my second point. The Ten Commandments are the standard of ethics to show us our need for Christ, to restrain our sin, and to show us how to please God. So these are the three key purposes of why God gave us the Ten Commandments. So the Ten Commandments are the moral framework of the world. That to love God and to love neighbor is to keep the Ten Commandments. They were given as they reflect the perfect character of God for three primary reasons. First reason was to show us how much we need Christ. That's the first reason why they were given. The law was never given so you would keep it like a ladder to try to get to heaven by your law keeping. They were given to show you your sinfulness before God, your depravity before him, and show you that if it was left on you, if it was based on you, you would never save yourself and you would be condemned. The Word of God says, now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law that every mountain may be stopped and the whole world may be guilty before God. Therefore, by the deeds of the law, no flesh will be justified in sight, since by the law is the knowledge of sin. So the law of God is meant, first and foremost, if it's done its work in your heart, is to drive you out of yourself to repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And all of us should be thankful, if we're Christians, for the law's purpose in that. Because in one way or the other, some more, some less, all of us, before we came to faith in Christ, felt the convicting power of the law to show us that we could not save ourselves. That we could not do it. The law is not meant, again, my beloved brethren, for us to say, how can we earn our salvation? It was first and foremost so we would be saved by trusting in Jesus who kept this law perfectly, who never had false gods, who never worshiped God wrongly, who never blasphemed, always remembered the Sabbath, honored his parents, never murdered, never committed adultery, never stole, never bore false witness, and never coveted. Jesus kept it for us so that we would have his impeccable righteousness and not trust in ourselves. So sometimes people can wrongly think the Ten Commandments were written or given so that we would have a standard of earning our salvation. Nothing could be further from the truth. They were given so we would see that only Jesus, our blessed Lord and Redeemer, can redeem us from our sin. And so the commandments point us to Christ. Because it was based on you, you would never be saved by commandments. I mean, think about times when you've worshipped false gods, whether yourself or other things. When you've worshipped God wrongly, or you've blasphemed his name by the way you live or act, ways you've dishonored his holy day, ways you dishonored your parents, ways you have even had sinful anger, even if it wasn't full-blown murder, sinful anger, or times of sexual lust, or times where you have not used your money as God desired and took from other people, times when you have borne false witness and lied, to people for your own sake or for the good of yourself or ways you have desired and been jealous over what other people have that you don't have. And so if it was based on the commandments, all of us are condemned. But the commandments show us our need for Jesus Christ. And so I hope everyone hears this sermon knowing that you have not used the commandments rightly if the commandments have not first shown you, and even as Christians, continually show you that you cannot save yourself. Because even as Christians, we need to be reminded that we cannot save ourselves. And we continually go to Christ as our Savior and Redeemer. Second purpose of the law that reflects God's perfect character is to restrain sin. For time's sake, I'm not gonna go to it, but in 1 Timothy 1, we see that Paul, by the Holy Spirit, talks about how the law was not given for the righteous, but for the ungodly and sinners, for the holy and profane, et cetera. He names off sins. What he's saying there is not that the law was not given for believers, the righteous, but what he's saying is the sense that he means there, it wasn't given for them because the law is for the ungodly a means to restrain them from their ungodliness. The law of God, as the person has it on their hearts, and as it's explained to them through preaching or by hearing about it, it curbs their desire. It keeps their wickedness in bounds as we sing. And so the law of God, when a person knows that they will be condemned for their sin, know that there's punishment for it, that it restrains their sin. That's why if you have a good civil magistrate, what's their role? To punish evildoers and to reward those who do good. Why is this a civil magistrate's job to punish evildoers? Because if they don't, people will be more desirous to do evil. And so when a civil magistrate punishes evil as God commands, it is a restraint for people murdering. You know how much more murder we would have in our society if murder wasn't illegal for people outside the womb? We want it legal for both and we pray for that end and we seek for that end. But right now, praise God, it's illegal for someone to murder you. And we should be thankful for that because there would be many, many, many more murders in our society. It still happens, but there'll be much more if people knew there was no consequences in this life or in the life to come. And so the law of God written on the heart and even executed by the civil magistrate is a means of restraining evil. I want you, I will turn to this text, turn to Ecclesiastes, Ecclesiastes, Ecclesiastes chapter eight. Ecclesiastes 8 and verse 11, showing that if a person is not quickly condemned and for it, there can be more willingness to do evil and the importance of the civil government punishing evil and it being condemned and seen as condemned. Ecclesiastes 8 verse 11, because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily. Therefore, the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. So we see there when When the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, when there is not punishment for it, in this context, particularly as it relates to the civil magistrate, the sons of men are more desirous to do evil. But we see that the law is meant, one of its purposes is to restrain evil in ungodly people. And even for Christians, as we know, even the temporal judgments, not eternal judgments, but the temporal judgments we can receive from our Heavenly Father, and the reality of the severity of sin, it even can restrain us. So it's not just for the ungodly, but there is a sense, even this purpose, that's not what Paul is emphasizing in 1 Timothy 1, but there isn't a purpose that even this does for us, showing us the temporal judgments that we can experience for our sin. David, of course, wasn't eternally condemned for his sin, but there were temporal judgments upon David because of his adultery and murder. And so we see that reality. The law of God is meant not only to drive us to the Lord Jesus Christ, but also to restrain evil. And then third, it shows us how to please God. As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, as those who've been redeemed from our sin, We are not left to determine what is good and bad for ourselves. God has given us a roadmap through his law so that we know exactly what it means to please God. It would be very, I'm trying to think of the word to use because I don't want to say it too strongly, but it would be, I would say it'd be very disheartening if we knew as Christians we were obligated to please God, but we didn't know how. We knew that it was our responsibility to obey Him, keep His commandments, do His will, please Him, love Him, obey Him, etc. But we didn't know what that meant. If we were just left in the dark to make it up for ourselves, we would be very distraught and disheartened because we might, as believers with new hearts, want to obey God, want to love Him, want to do His commandments, but we wouldn't know. And thankfully, God has not left us that way. God has given us his word and his law is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path so that we as his people can know what it means to please him. And so if you want to know what it means to please God, it means you worship him and you worship him alone. and you reject any idols. It means you seek to worship him as he desires. You seek to reverence his name and not take it in vain. It means that you seek to remember his day and keep it holy, to honor the Lord's day, the day of Christ's resurrection. It means you seek to honor your parents. whether in their home or outside their home, honoring them. It means to not murder even in our thoughts or our words. It means we keep ourselves sexually pure in thought or in deed. It means we don't take from people. It means we don't lie or bear false witness or slander people. And it means we don't covet what belongs to others in jealous envy. That's what it means to please God. By keeping those things, that's what it looks like to please God. The law of God is a perfect summary. of what it means to love God. And if anybody wants more of that, the best one of, if not the best resource that you can go to, is the Westminster Larger Catechism, which has an exposition of all Ten Commandments, very thorough, excellent exposition. If you want more, if you're looking for more to say, okay, I want to know what it means to obey the Ten Commandments, that exposition is fantastic. And so the Ten Commandments, not only again, show us that we need the Lord Jesus Christ, not only restrain sin, but they show us how to please God. They show us how to please God. And we should remember that the law and the gospel are never at odds with each other. Sometimes people can think and quote verses like, I'm not under law, I'm under grace, as if the gospel cancels the law. That's how some people can quote that verse. I'm not under law, I'm under grace. But if you read the whole verse, it says, for sin shall not have dominion over you if you're not under law but under grace. Meaning if you're a believer, the law doesn't condemn you, but it doesn't mean you can do whatever you want because you're not to live in sin. And what is sin? Sin is the transgression of the law, as 1 John tells us, or it's lawlessness, depending on the translation. And so the law of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ are not at odds. Let me show you why they're not at odds. The law of God, rightly understood, drives us to Jesus Christ. To believe upon him, to have his perfect righteousness, be delivered from our sin, to have everlasting life. And then Jesus gives us His Holy Spirit and takes us to the law to know what it means to please Him, now empowered by the Holy Spirit. So the law takes us to Jesus, and then Jesus, empowered by His Spirit, takes us back to the law to obey His commandments. So they're not at odds, they work perfectly together. The law of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ work perfectly together. And so, rightly understood, the commandments are for our good. They are for our blessing, they're for our well-being, they're for our help, so that we might know what God desires of us and that we might, by His grace, keep His commandments. Every commandment that God gives you is for your good. It's never to take something from you, it's never to harm you, it's always to bless you and for your benefits. And so these commandments are not to be seen as burdens, but as blessings. Because this is the love of God that we keep his commandments and his commandments are not. Burdensome. Are not burdensome. They're for our good. And so if you want to know what it means to be happy in the Lord, keep the commandments. If you want to know what it means to love God, keep the commandments. If you want to know what it means to have a full and fulfilled life, keep the commandments. If you want to know what it means to have life and have it abundantly, it's to be in Jesus and to keep his commandments. And so the commandments are for our good. If you're here, though, without Christ, if you're not saved, if a person is lost in their sin, The commandments must first drive you to Jesus Christ. They must take you out of yourself into Christ. Because if you try to keep the commandments to save yourselves, you'll be condemned. The commandments drive you to Jesus Christ, who alone can save you. And again, as believers, the commandments are showing us the perfection of God so that we might be driven to Christ ourselves. Even as believers, we need to be consistently reminded that we cannot save ourselves. And then they also show us how we, as the redeemed of the Lord, can please our Heavenly Father. The commandments are for our good, they're for our blessing. And so may God help us to love them and to say with the psalmist, how I love your law. It is my meditation all the day. Amen. Our Father, we do thank you for your word, and we pray that you would teach us, and you would help us to love it. Thank you that you've given us your commandments for our good and for your glory. Thank you that they show us Christ and our need for him. Thank you that they restrain sin, and thank you that they show us how to please you. Help us in these ways. In Jesus' name, amen.