Olsen Park Church of Christ

The Law of God

Introduction. For Bible believing Christians the central problem of the human condition is sin (Romans 6:23).� Sin is of such a consequence that it separates man from God (Isaiah 59:1-2).� If a person goes through life to the grave with sin on his or her account in the judgment he or she will be eternally separated from God in hell (Matthew 7:21-23).

����������� Note: In Matthew 7:23 �lawlessness� (1 John 3:4) Sin is lawlessness.� It is the violation of law. �This can be active or passive (James 4:17).� The question is how can we know the law that God holds man accountable to uphold?

����������� This morning I would like for us to study the subject of the law of God.� We are going to look at three periods of human history and the three bodies of divine law that governed man�s accountability to God.

I.� The Patriarchal Age (Romans 5:13-14).� Christians and non-Christians alike, because of Hollywood portrays such as Charlton Heston�s The Ten Commandments, know that the first written law that God gave to man was given to Moses.� That doesn�t mean that this was the first law.� How could there be sin if there was no law? There was law�not written law.

    1. Adamic Law (Gen. 2:16-17).� This was an oral law.
    2. Post-Eden Law (Gen. 4:7).� Note: �sin lies at the door��no sin without law.
      1. Sacrifice (Gen. 4:3-5; Rom. 10:17).� Possibly firstfruits vs. a late harvest offering. 1 John 3:12 Cain�s works were �evil� and Abel�s were �righteous.�� Hebrews 11:4� Abel acted by faith.

����������������� God had told man what He wanted in worship to Him.� Abel obeyed Cain did not.� Some of the earliest written codes (Code of Ur-Nammu and Code of Hammurabi claim divine instruction.� I don�t believe that their were, but it does reflect a concept that God had spoken to man).

      1. Morality.
        • Dinah and Shechem (Gen.� 34:7). There is a concept of right and wrong.
        • Joseph to Potiphar�s wife (Gen. 39:7-9).� He understood that this would be sin against God.

II.� The Mosaical Age (Deut.� 5:1-5, 22).� While the Law of Moses was not the first law it was the first divine written law that the Bible records.� It was not given to all mankind but to the Jews (i.e. the descendants of Jacob, or those who became proselytes).

    1. Worship (Exod. 20:22-26).
    2. Morality (Lev. 18:1-9).
    3. Another Moses-Like Prophet (Deut. 18:15-18).
      1. New Covenant� (Jer. 31:31-34).

III.� The Age of Christ (Rom. 1:18-28; 2:12-16).� It is clear that during the time of the Law of Moses Gentiles were still accountable to God. Rom. 1:20-21 says God had �shown it to them��Roman 1:28 �they knew God��Romans 2:12-16 �did not retain God� but there was still law and there was still sin.

����������� The coming of Christ changed this situation. Note: what it accomplished.

  • It made onne standard of accountability (Eph. 2:11-18).
  • It brought the mosaic law to an end� (Romans 10:4).
  • It issued the new standard of judgment (John 12:47-48).
    1. Names of New Standard.
      1. New Covenant (Mt. 26:26-27).
      2. Gospel (Rom. 1:16-17).
      3. Faith (Gal. 3:23-25).
      4. Grace (Rom. 6:13-14).
      5. Law of Christ (Gal. 6:2).
    2.      Scope of Jurisdiction.
      1. All men, everywhere (1 Cor. 9:21; Acts 17:29-31.
      2. Punishment to those who do not obey (2 Thes. 1:9).

Kyle Pope 2010

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