God’s law
Knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate. 1 Timothy 1:9
The laws of the land. Thankfully we have them. Our country’s laws were established on many of the biblical laws of the Old Testament. In fact, most of us know that the Ten Commandments used to be inscribed on the walls of every public school in the country. The law is good. It sets a standard to live by, and we have law enforcement to see that the laws of the land are followed. In the next chapter of Timothy, it says that we have authorities so we can live a quiet and peaceable life in godliness and honesty, and that is a very good thing.
In today’s verse, it says that the laws are made for lawless and insubordinate people, not for the righteous. I’m so glad it is true. This is how we live in peace and safety. Although, we know there is evil out there in the world, we don’t live in fear of that evil because we have laws that will be enforced if broken. If you think about it, there are very few out there that hide out never to be found, because the law is there to bring them in to ensure punishment, rehabilitation and in many cases release them back into society to live within the laws.
In contrast, we as believers have God’s laws written on our hearts. Hebrews 10:16 says: “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them.” As God’s people, we know what honors God and what doesn’t. If we follow the conscience that He has put within us at the point of salvation, we will instinctively follow the laws of goodness and peace. We get into trouble when we begin to take on a selfish attitude of, not what is best for me, but what I want at this moment. Becoming so determined to get something that doesn’t belong to you results in behavior that is guaranteed to hurt someone else.
Paul makes a list of these activities and although some of them are not against our natural laws, they are against God’s law. They are:
- unholy and profane – God’s law
- murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers – God’s and man’s law
- manslayers – God’s and man’s law
- fornicators – God’s law
- sodomites – God’s law
- kidnappers – God’s and man’s law
- liars – God’s law
- perjurers – God’s and man’s law
In this list you can see that the things that are only God’s laws are still evil and selfish acts that are done because of an evil desire within a person. The things against God’s law hurt other people and eventually even the person doing the evil.
Today I want to encourage you to consider God’s law of goodness and love written on your heart. Then consider if there are any areas on this list that try to infect your life. Hopefully not, but even telling a little lie can be a “go to” in a tight spot. Let God’s consciousness guide you in your days activities and then you will have no need to worry about breaking His laws.
Today’s scripture reading: 1 Timothy 1:7-11
The Daily Dose 