155
T HE K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
B e tte r Than R eading th e Law. An old Scotch elder said to th e m in ister th a t he was going to tak e a trip to th e Holy Land, “ and when I get th e re ” said th e old man enthusiastic ally, “ I m ean to LESSON climb Mount Sinai ILLUSTRATIONS and read th e Ten W. H . P ik e C o m m a n d ments from th e top of it.” “ I can tell you something b etter th an th a t to do,” said th e Minister. “W hat is th a t? ” asked th e elder. “Weel, Sandy,” replied th e m inister, “ if I were you I would bide a t hame and keep th em .” “ In keeping of them th e re is g reat rew ard.” Psa. 19:11. B e tte r Than th e Law. This con trast of law and grace is tak en from a verse in an old hymn hook: “ Run, John, and live, th e law com mands, But gives me n eith er legs nor hands; Yet b etter news th e Gospel brings, It bids me fly, and gives m e'w ings.” In early B ritish days the ceremony of freeing slaves was very striking. They were usually set free before th e a lta r or in th e church porch, and th e Gospel book bore w ritten in its margins th e records of th e ir emancipation. Sometimes his lord placed him a t the spot w here four roads met, and hade him go w h ither he would. So th e Gos pel gives us life and bids us go where He would have us. Life is th rough C h rist’s work on Calvary, b u t we are in stru cted in th e law afterw ards. The Law God Given. Said a lawyer of eminence, who was led to renounce his infidelity by a study of the Decalogue, “ I have been looking into th e n atu re of th e law; I have been try ing to see w hether I could add any th ing to it; or tak e anything from it, so as to make it b etter. Sir, I cannot; it is p erfect.” And then, having shown th is to he so, he concluded, “ I have been thinking, where did Moses get the
upon th e cross and resurrection from th e grave. By th e commandments we are judged guilty and subject to th e penalty of death ; b u t by faith in th e shed blood of Christ, we are free from th e demands of th e law. “The law of th e sp irit of life in Christ Jesus h as made us free from th e law of sin and death (operat ing in our sinful n a tu re ).” “F o r w hat th e law (th e Ten Commandments), could not do, in th a t it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin condemned sin in th e flesh, th a t th e righteousness of the law m ight be fulfilled in us.” Grace provided a way for Israel, and grace has provided a way for us. The holiness and rig h t eousness of God and H is holy demands, are all m et for us in Christ, and we bow a t His feet and call H im Saviour and Lord. (1) The Ten Commandments were given to a redeemed people. (2) These precepts are th e funda m ental principles of a holy life. (3 ) The sp iritu a l significance of the “Ten W ords” are given by thei Lord Jesus. (4) The Law lays h are th e h ea rt of . man. (5 ) The law demands perfection of character; Christ’s perfect char acter satisfies th e demands of the law. (6 ) “O, w retched man th a t I am, who shall deliver me from th e body of th is d ea th ?” ' (7 ) “F ree from th e law, 0 , happy condition: Jesu s has died, and th ere is rem is sion. Cursed by th e law, and bruised by th e fall, Christ h ath redeemed us, once for all.” PRACTICAL POINTS
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker