SS - Government and the Christian Life, Class 5: What is God's Law

Lesson Outline:

What is God's Law?
Question: What do you think of when you hear the phrase, “the law of God”?

A. Conceptions of God’s “Old Testament” Law

    1. The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20)

    2. The book of the covenant (Exodus 21-23; 24:8)

    3. The book of Deuteronomy (Deut. 31:24)

    4. All the commandments Moses wrote (Rom. 10:5-6; Lev. 18:5)

    5. All the words that Moses wrote (Luke 24:44)

    6. The word of God in general (Psalm 119)

B. Conceptions of the law in the NT

    In addition to OT conceptions:

    1. The Law of Moses (Luke 24:44)

    2. The requirements of the law (Rom. 2:26; 8:4)

    3. The Law of Christ (Gal. 6:2; 1 Cor. 9:21)

    4. The whole law in essence (Rom 13:8-10)

    5. The “things of the law” (Rom 2:14)

C. Key New Testament Statements about the Law

    1. Believers are not under the law, but led by the Spirit Galatians 5:18; Rom 8:14)

    2. Believers can (in one sense) fulfill God’s law (Rom. 8:4; 13:9; Gal 6:2)

    3. Jesus did not come to destroy the Law but to fulfill (Matthew 5:17-18)

    4. The Law is good, but it is not enough (Rom 7:12)

D. The Fundamental Elements of the Law

    1. Two main commands: (Matthew 22:34-40)

        a. Love God

        b. Love your neighbor as yourself

    2. What it means for people outside Israel to follow this:

        a. Moral interpersonal interactions (Rom. 13:9; Eph. 6:2-3)

        b. Relating to God (Rom. 1:18-23; Acts 17:16, 23-31)

E. What does God require of the nations (Gentiles)?

    1. He requires all individual people to obey the two great commandments to love their Creator and to do right toward other people.

    2. He expects rulers, in their ruling, to promote things that align with these two things, and to personally carry them out as well.

    3. He does not require them to follow the specific laws of Israel’s covenant that applied the two great commandments in their national and covenantal context.

F. What does God require Christians to do about this?