Transcript The Purpose of God’s Law and Obedience to It”

The Purpose of
God’s Law and
Obedience to It
Roy E. Gane
SDA Theological Seminary
Andrews University
Roy E. Gane
Westpoint Presentations
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The Purpose of God’s Law and Obedience
to It
Law, Legalism, and “Righteousness by
Faith”
Guidelines for Applying Biblical Laws to
Modern Life
How to Identify and Apply Timeless
Principles in Biblical Laws
Application of Biblical Laws Regarding
Divorce and Homosexual Practice
Roy E. Gane
Westpoint Presentations
1.
THE PURPOSE OF GOD’S LAW
AND OBEDIENCE TO IT
2.
Law, Legalism, and “Righteousness by
Faith”
Guidelines for Applying Biblical Laws to
Modern Life
How to Identify and Apply Timeless
Principles in Biblical Laws
Application of Biblical Laws Regarding
Divorce and Homosexual Practice
3.
4.
5.
Reaction of Many to God’s Law
FEAR
Teaching of Love
Torah
= teaching/instruction
Whole Bible: Torah, Torah, Torah + Torah
Teaching about God’s character and ways
God’s character is UNSELFISH LOVE
(1
John 4:8—“God is love”)
Whole Bible is teaching about love (Matt
22:37-40)
Teaching of Love
Saving
personal knowledge of God comes
from all kinds of biblical teaching
Prescriptive “law” is one kind of teaching
Accountable for all teaching because we are
saved through relationship with Christ (1
John 5:11-13)
Emulate God’s holy/loving character (Lev
11:44-45; 19:2, 18; 1 Pet 1:15-16)
Teaching of Love
God’s love is our guide to living:
Ps 143:8—“Let me hear of your steadfast
love in the morning, for in you I put my trust.
Teach me the way I should go, for to you I lift
up my soul.”
 God’s law, like other teaching, is based on
love (Matt 22:37-40; Rom 13:10)
 Love through three Creation institutions
generates 10 Commandments

Teaching of Love
“Why is love so important? Because real,
unselfish love is the only basis on which
intelligent beings with free choice can live in
harmony and not destroy each other. Love is as
essential to the long-term survival of the human
race as food and water are to our short-term
survival. Ultimately we cannot live without
love”—Roy Gane, Altar Call, p. 88.
What is “Law”?
The
order of justice and right to which people
should conform and which judicial authority
should enforce
Rules play some role in this order
Also principles and values belonging to the
community’s collective conscience
Explicit rules—laws—are only the tip of the
iceberg of “Law”—Dale Patrick, Old
Testament Law, p. 4.
Authority Behind Biblical Law

Source and authority: God of Israel
 Conveyed through Moses and other prophets
 Not “J, E, D, P”!
 Our ethical/moral standard: self-revealed
character of God, which is love
 Need for absolute standards
 Love = justice + mercy (Exod 34:6-7)
Purpose of God’s Law
Reveals God’s character of love
 Benefits us (Deut 10:13—“for your good”) by
guiding us to live in harmony with God’s
principles of cause and effect
 “God’s law—the wall that He has placed
around His chosen ones for their protection,
and obedience to whose precepts of justice,
truth, and purity is to be their perpetual
safeguard.”—Ellen G. White, Prophets and
Kings, p. 678.

Purpose of God’s Law

Divine guide to excellence of model
community for evangelistic purpose (Deut
4:6-8)
 God wants to lavish blessings on His people
to lead others to Him (Gen 12:3; Deut 28;
Dan 1)
 Law reveals sin (departure from love) to show
need for mercy and restoration (Rom 3:20;
7:7; James 1:23-25)
Covenant Framework
God’s cumulative covenant phases structure
the whole Bible
 Law functions within covenant framework
 See blessings and curses: Lev 26; Deut 28
 Compare ancient Near Eastern treaties
 Law contributes to purpose of covenant: to
reveal and express God’s character
 Compare prologue to Hammurabi’s law
code: laws exemplified king’s justice

Covenant Framework

God inaugurated covenants and gave laws to
people whom He had already delivered
 Noah already saved from Flood (Gen 7-9)
 Abraham already spared from danger while
rescuing Lot (Gen 14-15)
 Israelites already delivered from Egypt
(Exod 19-24)
 Laws function within covenant framework of
grace
 Law-keeping doesn’t save anyone
Obedience and Salvation

Laws benefit those who keep them (Lev
18:5)
 Laws can’t help those who break them (Gal
3:10-12).
 Only God’s mercy through Christ can
remedy failure (Gal 3:13-14)
 We can’t obey on our own (Rom 7)
 Obedience (living by love) is a gift of grace
received by faith through God’s Spirit (Rom
5:5; Gal 5:6)
Love, Spirit, and “Latter Rain”

End-time law of love and Elijah message of
relational reconciliation (Mal 4:4-6)
 End-time law of love and faith of Jesus (Rev
14:12)
 End-time “latter rain” outpouring of God’s
Spirit (Joel 2)
 Therefore, love from the Holy Spirit is the
power of the “latter rain”!
Benefits of Biblical Law
Character
of God and theodicy
Deliverance and social justice
Communal ethics
Marriage and sexual morality
Beneficial lifestyle
Sabbath and sanctification (Exod 31:13)
Benefits of Biblical Law
Illuminating other
parts of the Bible
Lev 11:36; 15:25-30; Num 15:37-41 as
background to Luke 8:43-48
Num 5:11-31 background to Luke 7:36-50
Lev 1 background to John 20:17