A Law of Love
Human laws and human justice are flawed at best and are too often oppressive and downright evil. The injustice of our age is part of the cycle of evil that is leading our world to the brink of self-destruction. But as we saw in the last lesson, Jesus Christ promised to return to save us from ourselves!
Will Jesus Christ return as Judge and Lawgiver as well as King?
Isaiah 33:22
(For the Lord is our Judge, the Lord is our Lawgiver, the Lord is our King; He will save us)...
In human governments, a system of checks and balances is necessary to prevent abuses. But as we saw in the last lesson, Jesus Christ will rule perfectly, always with the ultimate best interest of everyone in mind. He is worthy and capable of serving in all three roles—executive, legislative and judicial—in the best and most efficient government the world has ever seen.
What is God's law?
Romans 13:8-10
Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall 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.
1 John 5:3
For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.
God's law defines how to love God the way He wants to be loved and to love others in the way that is pleasing to God. Contrary to popular belief, God's commandments are not a burden.
What are some of the benefits of God's law?
Deuteronomy 10:13
"...and to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I command you today for your good?"
Psalm 119:98, 165
You, through Your commandments, make me wiser than my enemies; for they are ever with me...
Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble.
James 2:8-12
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. 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.
God's laws were given for our good! The royal law of the King is a law of liberty, not bondage as so many describe it.
What will be changed to make the Millennium under the New Covenant different from the Old Covenant in ancient Israel?
Hebrews 8:7-10
For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. Because finding fault with them, He says: "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 that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people."
The fault was not with the good laws God gave, but with people (verse 8). Our human hearts have been infected with Satan's attitudes and are deceptive (Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 8:7; Revelation 12:9). The change is to write God's laws in our minds and hearts. This occurs through repentance, baptism (to symbolize the death of our old self) and the transforming power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38; Romans 6:1-4; 12:1-2; our booklet Transforming Your Life: The Process of Conversion covers this in more detail.)
Will everyone learn God's laws and way of life?
Isaiah 30:20-21
And though the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your teachers will not be moved into a corner anymore, but your eyes shall see your teachers. Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, "This is the way, walk in it," whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left.
Isaiah 2:3
Many people shall come and say, "Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths." For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
Isaiah 11:9
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
This priceless knowledge, long rejected, disbelieved or hidden, will be valued and universally available at last.
As a result, will all be able to know God—have a relationship with Him based on understanding His ways?
Hebrews 8:11
"None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them."
We can have the priceless privilege of understanding and having this relationship now!
What will be the result of everyone keeping God's law?
James 3:18
Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
Deuteronomy 28:1-14
"Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God:
"Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country.
"Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.
"Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.
"Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
"The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.
"The Lord will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
"The Lord will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways. Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you. And the Lord will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you.
"The Lord will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them. So you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right or the left, to go after other gods to serve them."
God's laws are living laws, designed to automatically bring blessings to those who follow them. They are the instructions in our Creator's manual to show us how to make life work in the best possible way.
How will the laws be applied? What will Christ's judicial system be like?
Isaiah 11:3-4
His delight is in the fear of the Lord, and He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, nor decide by the hearing of His ears; but with righteousness He shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.
Jesus Christ will show no partiality (Romans 2:11), but He will show mercy to those who repent. This mercy is made possible by His incredible sacrifice to pay our penalty for us (Romans 5:8; Isaiah 55:7).
How will God's system of law and justice improve relationships between nations?
Isaiah 2:4
He shall judge between the nations, and rebuke many people; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.
After thousands of years of war and destruction, what a wonderful future to look forward to! Nations will no longer need to fear other nations and will be able to devote all their resources to making the lives of their citizens better. Pray that God will speed that day!
Apply what you've learned
Today, take the time to write down the first four of the Ten Commandments from Exodus 20:3-11. These four commandments deal with our relationship with God and reveal to us how He wants us to treat Him. We could not deduce these laws through our human reasoning alone. We would not know His will unless He told us, but thankfully He has revealed this to us.
After writing down these four commandments, take time to reread them and to think about how to apply them every day this week. You will find a chapter about each of these commandments in the booklet The Ten Commandments, which you will find very helpful in your study of this subject.
Reprinted with permission. Published by United Church of God, an International Association, P.O. Box 541027, Cincinnati, OH 45254-1027. © 2014 United Church of God.
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