The Three-Fold purpose of God’s Law

A Word of Truth #106  

God’s Law serves us as a curb, a mirror, and a guide.

God’s law works as a curb because the threat of punishment keeps evil in check. Imagine a world with no law at all! When we slow down so that we don’t get caught breaking the speed limit, that is God’s Law working as a curb.

When use God’s Law to evaluate our lives, we find that they simply do not measure up to God’s expectations. The more we compare our lives to God’s Law, the more we see ourselves as sinners from top to bottom. When you hear God’s Word and feel the guilt of sin, you have learned that from God’s mirror.

A forgiven sinner desires to show his gratitude by doing what is pleasing to God. God’s Law serves as a guide to show you how you can thank your Savior. When you are met with a decision and first ask yourself, “What is God’s will in this matter?” you are using God’s Law as a guide.

God’s Expectations in the First Commandment

A Word of Truth #107  

“You shall have no other gods” is the 1^st Commandment. What does this mean? Martin Luther wrote by way of explanation—“We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things.” We fear God when we give all glory to Him and respect Him above all others. We love God when He is more precious to us than any thing or person in our lives. Love is that spirit with which we give all glory to God. We trust in God above everything else when we rely on Him alone and put our entire confidence in Him. This, then, is what it means to have no other gods. Unfortunately, we must admit that we do not always fear, love, and trust in God as we should. Thankfully Jesus did do so for us, so that we might be forgiven our failures and in view of His love inspired to strive to keep this most important commandment.