The Law of God

Sadly, the law of God is no longer taught in many Baptist and evangelical churches. Too often God’s law is replaced with pragmatic “how to” sermons, self-help, human psychology, or subjective leadings of the Spirit, or it is reduced to use in evangelistic programs alone. More recently, the law of God has been replaced with vague ideas about “gospel living,” but there is no definite word from God about what such gospel living entails. Too often, it is the preacher who tells people how to live according to the gospel, rather than God speaking in His law. Christians need to recover a clear understanding of God’s law so that they can understand who God is and what He requires of them. Otherwise, God’s people will have a weak understanding of God, His Word, sin, Jesus Christ, justification, sanctification, judgment day, eternal condemnation, and eternal life. When God’s law is poorly understood, the gospel will also be poorly understood.

Any study of God’s law must begin with God Himself. So that is where we will begin. Then, we will look at God’s Old Testament law and its threefold division. Finally, we will consider the perpetuity of God’s moral law, summarized in the Ten Commandments, together with the threefold use of this moral law.

The God Who Is Righteous

To understand God’s law, we have to start with God Himself and with what is called “eternal law.” Eternal law is in God. According to Franciscus Junius, eternal law is “the immutable concept and form of reason existing before all time in God the founder of the universe.”27 God’s eternal being is the ground of His eternal law, which is revealed in nature and in Scripture. God’s eternal law revealed in nature is called natural law, which is seen in creation and in human consciences (Rom. 1–2). God’s eternal law revealed in Scripture is called moral law, which is summarized in the Ten Commandments. The Bible teaches that God’s natural and moral law are the revelation of His own perfect goodness. Psalm 25:8 says, “Good and upright is the Lord.” God’s law is His perfect standard of righteousness and justice because God Himself is righteous and just. Psalm 11:7 declares, “For the Lord is righteous; he loves righteous deeds.” God’s law is a law of perfect love (Matt. 22:36–40). God is love in Himself (1 John 4:8); thus, God’s eternal character of love is the substance and basis of His good law.

God’s holy law, therefore, is the transcript of His character. It reveals the manner in which His image bearers ought to relate to Him and to one another in order to be filled with His fullness and to manifest His likeness. Another way of putting it is that God’s natural law, revealed in creation and conscience, and His moral law, summarily revealed in the Ten Commandments, teach us what the true image of God looks like. God made human beings in His image, and His law directs them to the end for which they were created. It reveals the path on which human beings must walk to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Or we might say that God’s law is the blueprint of true human life, which involves communion in love to God and other human beings. So, in God’s law, He teaches us the nature of true humanity, and we see true humanity most perfectly in the Lord Jesus Christ, the supremely lawful one.

Consider that Christ’s perfect lawfulness reveals Him to be lovely and glorious. Our Lord stood opposed to the idolaters in the temple who oppressed God’s beloved people, and He honored and worshiped the one true God. He kept the Sabbath day perfectly, resting with His disciples, opening the Scriptures and preaching the gospel in the temple and the synagogues. Jesus never rebelled against His heavenly Father, but submitted to Him in everything, accomplishing our redemption according to the terms of the covenant of redemption. He never murdered anyone, but protected human life and even raised the dead, and gave up His life so that we could live forever. He never once sinfully took advantage of women, but always treated them with perfect respect and kindness. He never stole anything, but freely gave His life for sinners. Jesus refused to lie, but told the truth plainly to all, even at great cost to Himself. He never coveted what did not belong to Him, though He had no place to lay His head, but instead was content with the fullness of God, and He gave fullness of life to all who believe. Jesus loved God and loved men throughout His life, and His lawfulness in communion with God and men, according to His human nature, was His glory. Christ’s perfect fulfillment of the law of God qualified Him to be the perfect atoning sacrifice for those who have broken God’s law. Those who trust in Christ and His perfect atonement are immediately justified, freed from the curse of the law, and clothed with the perfect righteousness of Christ before God forever.

The Threefold Division of Old Testament Law

Christians often raise questions about God’s law. For example, does the fact that God’s law reflects His character mean that Christians should obey every law in the Bible? What about the Old Testament law that says not to eat shellfish (Lev. 11:9–12)? What about the law that forbids mixing fabrics (Deut. 22:11) or trimming the edges of our beards (Lev. 19:27)? How about those laws that are hard to understand, such as not boiling a goat in its mother’s milk (Ex. 23:19)? To answer such questions, we need to distinguish carefully.

The Difference Between Moral Law and Positive Law

To think rightly about God’s law in the Bible, first we have to grasp a basic twofold distinction of law and then a threefold division. First, the Bible recognizes a basic twofold distinction of (1) moral/natural law and (2) positive law.

Moral Law. Moral and natural law are both immutably grounded in God’s moral character, which human beings know by nature because God created them in His image.28 The law of nature and the moral law have the same basic content. God’s moral law commands our conformity to the moral aspects of His communicable attributes, which are summarized in the Ten Commandments, but are also revealed to human consciences and in the principles and basic structure of creation more generally. Romans 2:14–15 speaks of moral law imprinted upon human nature at creation:

For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them.

Paul says all people “by nature do what the law requires,” and “the work of the law is written on their hearts.” But what does Paul mean when he speaks of “the law” in this passage? The context shows that he is talking about the Ten Commandments, which are a summary of moral law. Romans 2:21–24 says,

You then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” (Emphasis added.)

These moral laws never change. False worship, murder, adultery, stealing, and lying are immutable and always wrong because they are grounded in God’s own moral nature. In other places of Scripture, this moral law is also called “the law of Christ” (1 Cor. 9:21; Gal 6:2), the “law of liberty” (James 1:25; 2:12), and the “royal law” (James 2:8).

Positive Law. In contrast to moral/natural law, God’s positive laws are those that He decrees, or posits, by way of kingly fiat. He often does this by issuing them within the various biblical covenants. But God also gives immediate direct commands outside of the covenants, such as the time he commanded Jonah to go to Nineveh, or when the angel of the Lord spoke to Philip in Acts 8:26 about going to Gaza.

It has been said that God commands moral law because it is right, but positive law is right because God commands it. That is a good way to put it. Unlike moral law, God’s positive laws are conditioned by His providential purposes and covenants, and they change either when His providential purposes change or when the covenants change. Positive laws are inherently managerial and circumstantial, bound to their particular place in redemptive history, especially with reference to whether they are before or after the coming of Christ. Since positive laws are given by way of divine fiat, human beings would never know to obey a positive law apart from God’s special revelation.

Examples of the Distinction between Moral
and Positive Law

Consider some of the biblical evidence for a distinction between moral and positive law. In Romans 2, Paul explicitly distinguishes between them. Romans 2:26 says, “So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision?” This is an important passage because it says a believing Gentile can keep “the law” without obeying the old covenant command to be circumcised. This proves the Bible does not view the Old Testament law as a simple unity. We have already seen that Paul speaks of “the law” in Romans 2 in terms of the Ten Commandments, which is moral law, and the work of that moral law is written on the hearts of all (Rom. 2:14–15). But circumcision was a command revealed in old covenant law. The Israelites would never have known to be circumcised had God not commanded it in the covenant of circumcision (Gen. 17). But the Israelites knew by nature not to murder, steal, lie, etc. Romans 2:26, therefore, shows that the command to be circumcised is positive law, distinct from the moral precepts of the law (i.e., the Ten Commandments). Paul makes the same point in 1 Corinthians 7:19: “For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God.”

To give some more biblical examples of this distinction, consider the laws given to Adam in the garden of Eden. Being made in God’s image, Adam knew by nature not to worship false gods, not to steal, and not to murder. That is why God never gave any special revelation of those moral commands in the garden of Eden, but He did reveal them to Adam’s conscience. Nevertheless, Adam would not have known to refrain from eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil without God’s positive command in the covenant of works (Gen. 2:17).

To provide a new covenant example, all Christians know they ought to love God and neighbor, observing the moral law of the Ten Commandments (Heb. 8:8–10). But Christians would never know to receive baptism, join a local church, take the Lord’s Supper, follow the leadership of pastors and deacons, practice church discipline, etc., if it were not for the new covenant, which issues those positive laws that govern the church. The positive laws of the new covenant are not written on the hearts of new covenant believers, but they are plainly revealed in the pages of the New Testament.

Since God’s moral law is grounded in God and revealed in creation and human consciences, it transcends all biblical covenants. Fallen human beings suppress their knowledge of natural and moral law, which is why they need Scripture to reassert and clarify it. Even unbelievers are not completely ignorant of God’s natural law. Positive law, on the other hand, is issued by divine fiat, and it must be specially revealed to be known at all. Since many, or most, of God’s positive laws are bound to the various biblical covenants, when God’s covenants change, positive laws also change (Heb. 7:12), but moral or natural law never changes (Matt. 5:18–19).

The Threefold Division of Old Testament Law: Moral, Ceremonial, and Judicial

We need to make one more distinction among God’s laws. So far, we’ve seen the basic twofold distinction between moral and positive law. In the Old Testament, positive law breaks down into two kinds: ceremonial law and judicial law. Thus, Old Testament law has a threefold division: moral law, which is the basis of all law; ceremonial law, which is positive law about worship; and judicial law, which is positive law given to govern old covenant people for life in the land. In theology, these distinctions are sometimes called the tripartite division of Old Testament law.29

Consider the nature of the ceremonial and judicial laws of old covenant Israel. Israel’s ceremonial laws were an application of the first table of the Ten Commandments (the first through fourth commandments), which are about the worship of God. Old covenant ceremonial law revealed Israel’s duties of worship, including the layout of the temple along with all the articles of worship, the system and function of the priesthood, and the sacrificial system.

While the ceremonial law was about Israelite worship, the judicial law was about the government of Israelite society. It also distinguished old covenant Israel from the nations around them. Judicial law is a covenantal application of the second table of the Ten Commandments (the fifth through tenth commandments). These laws provided a system of government peculiar to the nation of Israel, according to her unique and holy purpose in the history of redemption. They were given to a particular nation in a particular time for a particular reason. But with the fulfillment and abrogation of the old covenant in Christ (Heb. 8:13), both kinds of old covenant positive law have now expired (Heb. 7:12; 10:9), and only the moral aspects that derive from the Ten Commandments remain in effect for the new covenant people of God. This is the law God writes on the hearts of all new covenant believers (Jer. 31:31–34; Heb. 8:8–10).

Second London Confession 19.2–4 speaks of this threefold division of old covenant law:

Moral law

Paragraph 2. The same law that was first written in the heart of man continued to be a perfect rule of righteousness after the fall, and was delivered by God upon Mount Sinai, in ten commandments, and written in two tables, the four first containing our duty towards God, and the other six, our duty to man.

Ceremonial law

Paragraph 3. Besides this law, commonly called moral, God was pleased to give to the people of Israel ceremonial laws, containing several typical ordinances, partly of worship, prefiguring Christ, his graces, actions, sufferings, and benefits; and partly holding forth divers instructions of moral duties, all which ceremonial laws being appointed only to the time of reformation, are, by Jesus Christ the true Messiah and only law-giver, who was furnished with power from the Father for that end abrogated and taken away.

Judicial law

Paragraph 4. To them also he gave sundry judicial laws, which expired together with the state of that people, not obliging any now by virtue of that institution; their general equity only being of moral use.

It is important to see that when the Reformed confessions speak of the threefold division of Old Testament law, they do not intend to imply that any given law, or verse, of the Old Testament can always be neatly slotted into one of the three categories. Rather, any given Old Testament law could involve all three aspects of law, or it might involve only one or two. The point is not to identify which biblical law fits into which category, but to recognize the distinction between the moral, civil, and judicial aspects of Old Testament law so that we can understand what those laws are doing, which aspects are abiding and perpetual for the believer, and which aspects serve a unique purpose in the old covenant.

This way of thinking about the Old Testament law is consistent with what ancient mainstream Christianity taught. For example, Irenaeus (130–202), an early church father, held to this division of Old Testament law. He wrote, “The words of the Decalogue . . . remain permanently with us, receiving by means of his advent in the flesh, extension and increase, but not abrogation.”30 Irenaeus also wrote about the positive laws of the old covenant: “The laws of bondage, however, were one by one promulgated to the people by Moses, suited for their own instruction or for their punishment . . . for bondage, and for a sign to them, He cancelled by the new covenant of liberty.”31

The Biblical Basis for the Threefold Division
of Old Testament Law

Some claim that the Old Testament treats its law as a pure unity and that there is no Old Testament basis for any division of its law. But that is not true. For example, Deuteronomy 4:13–14 says, “And he declared to you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, that is, the Ten Commandments, and he wrote them on two tablets of stone. And the Lord commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and rules, that you might do them in the land you are going to possess” (emphasis added). Here, the Ten Commandments are distinct from other designations of Old Testament law: “statutes” and “rules.” This text teaches a basic distinction between the Ten Commandments and the other positive laws of the old covenant.

Similarly, Moses writes, “Now this is the commandment—the statutes and the rules—that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it” (Deut. 6:1). These three kinds of laws—commandments, statutes, and rules—overlap in their semantic range, but they are not identical. “Commandments” (mitsvah) are codes of law; “statutes” (hoq) are ordinances; “rules” (mishpat) are case laws. Therefore, it is not correct to say the Old Testament does not divide its laws into categories.

The order in which God revealed the law in the book of Exodus strongly implies the classic threefold division of law. First, God gave the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20. Then, in Exodus 21–23, God issued the judicial laws. And then beginning in Exodus 25, God provided the ceremonial laws about the tabernacle. Thus, in the book of Exodus, the Ten Commandments stand out as distinct and primary law, while all other laws of the old covenant are subsequent and subordinate to them. The ceremonial laws correspond to the first table of the Ten Commandments, while the judicial laws correspond to the second table.

Moral Law: Ten Commandments Higher
than Other Old Testament Law

Other places in the Old Testament teach that the moral law summarized in the Ten Commandments is higher than all other law. It would be incorrect to think of the Ten Commandments as a random set of the 613 commandments of the Old Testament. The Ten Commandments are not the same as other Old Testament law, and here are four reasons.

First, God revealed the Ten Commandments in a unique way. Unlike any other laws, God gave the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai with sounds of thunder, flashes of lightning, a thick cloud, and a “very loud trumpet blast” (Ex. 19:16). No other laws were revealed this way. It was a striking and emotional experience for those who were there. God wanted it to be memorable. He intended the Ten Commandments to stand out in the minds of His people above all other laws. He wanted to impact their senses so that they would never forget the distinctive importance of these ten words. Furthermore, only the Ten Commandments were spoken by God to the whole congregation (Deut. 4:12–13). The other commands were spoken through Moses.

Second, God wrote the Ten Commandments with His own finger. The Lord gave Moses “tablets of stone, written with the finger of God” (Ex. 31:18; see 24:12; 32:16; 34:1). Deuteronomy 9:10 also speaks of “the two tablets of stone written with the finger of God.” God wants us to know that these Ten Commandments are closer to Him and His immutable character than the other laws. The other laws of the Old Testament were divinely inspired and written with the stylus of Moses on papyrus. But God engraved the Ten Commandments on “stone” to communicate that they are fixed and permanent.

Third, God required the Ten Commandments to be put inside the ark of the covenant. But He said to put the other laws beside the ark: “Take this Book of the Law and put it by the side of the ark of the covenant” (Deut. 31:24–26). This was to show that the Ten Commandments are at the heart of all the other Old Testament commandments. The ceremonial and judicial laws were only to be kept in the land of Canaan (Deut. 5:30–33), but the Ten Commandments were written on the hearts of Old Testament believers, and were kept wherever the people went (Ps. 37:31; 40:8; Isa. 51:7).

Fourth, the Ten Commandments were recognized and obeyed in the Old Testament before God gave the Ten Commandments of the Sinai covenant. Tertullian (155–230) wrote, “Before the Law of Moses, written in stone-tables, I contend that there was a law unwritten, which was habitually understood naturally and by the fathers was habitually kept.”32 The Decalogue was not unique to the Old Covenant, but is trans-covenantal.

In light of the preceding biblical evidence, it is clear that the Ten Commandments are unique among God’s Old Testament law. That is because the Ten Commandments are a summary of God’s moral law (Rom. 2:14, 21–24) and are not limited to the old covenant but precede it and, as we will see, continue after it. In addition, God judged the pagan nations not by His positive law, but according to the moral law of the Ten Commandments (Jer. 46–51; Ezek. 25–32; Amos 1–2; Obadiah; Jonah; Nahum; Hab. 2, a taunt song against the Babylonians; Zeph. 2).

The Nature of God’s Moral Law

The nature of God’s moral law has various facets. These include the fact that the moral law commands our obedience. It is given in both the old and new covenants. It is also a gift of God’s kindness, and it teaches us what sin is so we are not left guessing about it. While the moral law can be viewed in terms of particular commandments, ultimately the moral law is one because God is one. Here are five important facets of the nature of God’s moral law.

First, God’s moral law is imperative instruction that tells us how to live unto Him. That is, it commands us in what is right and godly. Psalm 119:1 says, “Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord!” Psalm 119:29 says, “Put false ways far from me and graciously teach me your law!” Psalm 119:34–35 says, “Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart. Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it.” Psalm 119:97 says, “Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day.” In those passages, the word “law” often refers to the whole Torah, or the Old Testament, but it includes God’s good commandments or laws.

Second, God’s moral law transcends all the biblical covenants. We have seen that the Old Testament required people to obey God’s moral law, but the New Testament affirms it as well. Romans 7:12 says, “The law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.” Romans 3:31 says that the law is not overthrown by the gospel: “Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.”

Third, God’s moral law is God’s kind gift. Consider God’s kindness in revealing His law so His people are not left to wonder about the definition of sin. Without God’s law there would be no way to define sin with any degree of certainty. Some want to define sin as acting in unloving ways, or disobeying the Holy Spirit, or not glorifying God. But those measures fail to provide a clear standard by which to define sin. Saying that sin is defined by love, the Holy Spirit, and the glory of God all leave us wondering whether we have sinned or not. Was that a truly loving act? Did I really glorify God? Did the Spirit move me to do that, or was it my own desire? Sadly, such subjective standards can lead people to justify immoral behavior. Some claim they have done wicked things in love (e.g., sexual immorality) or by the Spirit’s guidance (e.g., abortion).

According to Scripture, we can only know the definition of sin by reference to God’s good law. Romans 3:20 says, “Through the law comes knowledge of sin.” Romans 4:15 says, “Where there is no law there is no transgression,” and Romans 5:13 says, “Sin is not counted where there is no law.” First John 3:4 plainly states, “Sin is lawlessness.” The children’s catechism correctly declares, “Sin is any transgression of the law of God.” It is vital to understand that God’s law is more than a list of things we should not do. Sin is not only doing what God forbids, but also neglecting what God requires. God’s law requires us to do something. So if it forbids stealing, for example (Ex. 20:15), that same command also requires hard work and giving to those in need (Eph. 4:28).

Fourth, God’s moral law commands everything about us, including our internal thoughts and feelings as well as our outward behaviors. The moral law teaches us what we should be and how we should live. I have met some who seem to think that God’s moral law merely issues external commands that require behavioral modification. But according to the Bible, God’s law is spiritual (Rom. 7:14), which means it not only commands our outward behaviors, but it also commands our inward state of mind and heart. For example, when the law forbids murder, it also forbids murderous and hateful thoughts, intentions, and words (Matt. 5:21–22; 1 John 3:15).

Properly understood, the law of God is the very definition of love. It begins in the heart, leading to acts of service toward others. To “love” is to delight in what is good in others and to sincerely desire what is best for them. The Lord Jesus Christ tells us that the law of God teaches us how to love God and our fellow human beings (Matt. 22:36–40). The moral law of God also includes and implies every Christian virtue (2 Peter 1:5–7), including the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22–23) as well as the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love, and the cardinal virtues of wisdom, justice, fortitude, and temperance. Thus, God’s law is comprehensive, directing every part of the human being toward its true end, which is to be God’s very image for His great glory.

Fifth, God’s moral law is a perfect unity. The various commandments of God’s moral law are particular manifestations of its oneness. James 2:10–11 says, “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. For he who said, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ also said, ‘Do not murder.’ If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.” Ultimately, each commandment of the law relates to the higher law of love and justice toward others. In this way, we can say that to murder is to act without love and to commit adultery is also to act without love and so forth. Thus, the law of God is one.

But it is also true that each of the Ten Commandments often involves the others. As an example of the unity of God’s law, consider a man who commits adultery with a woman. He has not only broken the seventh commandment, which explicitly forbids adultery, but he has also rebelled against God, breaking the first commandment. Moreover, he is lying to the woman, breaking the ninth commandment. Sex is a sign of marital love, a word that declares, “I give myself to you in all sincerity and love.” The man who commits adultery is coveting and stealing what God has not given him. He has murdered the woman, treating her like she is nothing more than an object for his gratification. His self-centered lust is a false god, and he is misusing another image bearer, leading her into false worship with him. To break one of the commandments is to break the whole law of God (James 2:10–11).

The Perpetuity of the Moral Law

The moral law of God, summarized in the Ten Commandments, continues into the new covenant. Consider some of the biblical grounds for this doctrine.

First, Jesus taught that the Ten Commandments will never be abolished (Matt. 5:17–48). He said, “For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law” (Matt. 5:18). What law is Christ speaking about? Our Lord goes on to list various laws from the Ten Commandments: do not murder (Matt. 5:21–26), do not commit adultery (Matt. 5:27–32), do not lie (Matt. 5:33–37), etc. In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ expounds the ethic of God’s true people, which is none other than the ethic of the Ten Commandments.

Second, the Lord Jesus said that the two tables of the Ten Commandments summarize God’s law. In Matthew 22:36–40, a Pharisee asks Jesus, “‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?’ And he said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.’” In these two exhortations to love, Jesus refers to the first and second tables of the Ten Commandments. The first four of the Ten Commandments summarize our duties of love to God, while the last six summarize our duties of love to men. Jesus Himself practiced these commandments, and we are commanded to follow His example (1 John 2:6).

Third, Paul said that all who exercise true love sincerely keep the Ten Commandments toward others. In Romans 13:8–10, he writes:

Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

In other words, it is impossible to love your neighbor if you break any of the commandments against him. Notice that while Paul is listing some of the commandments in Romans 13, he then says “any other commandment,” implying that the other laws of the Ten Commandments are included as well.

Fourth, Paul taught that Christ died in order to rescue His people from lawlessness. Titus 2:14 says that Jesus “gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” That is, Christ not only died to forgive our sins but also to give us the Holy Spirit, who makes us more and more lawful, and eager to do good works as defined by the law.

Fifth, in the new covenant, the law is written on our hearts. God blesses His new covenant people by quoting from Jeremiah 31: “I will put my laws into their minds and write them on their hearts” (Heb. 8:10). Literally, “write them” means “carve them,” calling to mind how God carved the Ten Commandments into tablets of stone. While the whole old covenant has been abrogated in Christ (Heb. 8:13), the moral law of the old covenant is written on the hearts of believers (2 Cor. 3:3).

Sixth, on judgment day God will judge His people according to the law of liberty, which is summarized in the Ten Commandments. James 2:11–12 says, “For he who said, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ also said, ‘Do not murder.’ If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty.”

The Christian Sabbath

God’s wonderful Sabbath commandment about rest and worship has fallen into disfavor, which makes it necessary to teach again what the Bible says about it. How strange that this commandment is so often derided as legalistic, when it does nothing other than say that our God is not a slave driver, that He does not require His people to work without rest but graciously gives them a full day of rest from their ordinary labors and in the gospel of His Son with His people.

The Sabbath commandment occupies an important place in the Decalogue. The first commandment teaches that God alone is the proper object of worship. The second commandment teaches the manner in which God is to be worshiped. The third commandment teaches the heart and speech required in worship. But the fourth commandment, the Sabbath, provides God’s people with time to gather for public worship. If we lose the doctrine of the Sabbath, then we also lose the time to cease from our ordinary labors for the sake of worshiping God.

Second London Confession 22.1 says this about the Sabbath:

The light of nature shows that there is a God, who has lordship and sovereignty over all; is just, good and does good to all; and is therefore to be feared, loved, praised, called upon, trusted in, and served, with all the heart and all the soul, and with all the might. But the acceptable way of worshipping the true God, is instituted by himself, and so limited by his own revealed will, that he may not be worshipped according to the imagination and devices of men, nor the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representations, or any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scriptures.

Consider the following scriptural truths that establish the perpetuity of the Sabbath commandment for Christians.33

First, the Sabbath day is a creation ordinance. Just as God instituted marriage and work in the garden of Eden, so He also instituted Sabbath observance at creation. God set one day in seven aside for rest and worship at the very beginning of the Bible’s story. Genesis 2:3 says that “God blessed the seventh day and made it holy.” When God rested on the seventh day, He provided an example of rest for His creatures. When He “made it holy,” or “sanctified it,” He instituted that day as a day of public worship. The Hebrew word “holy” when used in reference to days in the Old Testament always refers to corporate worship.

Just as we continue to observe the pattern of marriage found in Genesis 2, we should continue to observe the pattern of Sabbath observance found in Genesis 2. Thus, the pattern of the Sabbath ordinance is prescriptive, just as marriage is prescriptive. To neglect the Sabbath is to neglect God’s very creational design and something vital to human nature. We are not created to work with no rest, and we need one day every week to rest from our work in the common mode of Christ’s kingdom. We also need one holy day in the redemptive mode of Christ’s kingdom on which to formally worship the one true God.34

Second, God grounded the Sabbath in both creation and redemption. Exodus 20:8–11 grounds the Sabbath in creation: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. . . . For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” Note the preposition “for.” It means God gave the Sabbath command on the basis of creation. Here we also see the day has a twofold purpose. The fact that it is called the Sabbath day means it is a day of rest from ordinary labors. The fact that it is called a holy day means that it is a day of formal corporate worship.

In Deuteronomy 5:15, God grounds this same command in redemption: “You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.” The redemption of God’s old covenant people is typological of Christ’s redemption of His people in the covenant of grace.

Third, our Lord Jesus taught the abiding nature of the Sabbath commandment. I have heard it said that the Sabbath command is never given in the New Testament. But that is false. In Mark 2:27, Jesus says, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” Jesus is speaking to Jews in that passage, but He doesn’t say, “The Sabbath was made for the Jews.” Instead, He says, “The Sabbath was made for man.” Literally it means, “The sabbath was made for the man,” which indicates God made the Sabbath for Adam, the first man.

Jesus further explains that God did not make human beings to be slaves on the Sabbath day to hurt or burden them. He says, instead, that mankind was not made “for the Sabbath,” showing that the slavish Jewish traditions added by the Pharisees are contrary to the fourth commandment. Jesus is saying that from the beginning God gave mankind one holy day in seven on which to rest and worship God for their good. Christ’s words show that the Sabbath continues into the New Testament.

Then, in Mark 2:28, He says, “The Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.” Just as Christ is Lord of the church, Lord of the family, and Lord of all creation, He is also Lord of the Sabbath. Many of Christ’s controversies with religious leaders had to do with the Sabbath, and He spent a great deal of time defending the true nature of the Sabbath—which makes no sense if He was going to abolish the law entirely.

Fourth, Jesus taught that Sabbath will continue in the new covenant. Speaking to His disciples, Jesus says in Matthew 24:20, “Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath.” This text warns about the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. It seems to imply that there will still be a Sabbath day during the time of the new covenant, even though the old system will perish. Thus, it would not be fitting to the purpose of that day to flee, even if it is permissible.

Fifth, in the new covenant, the Sabbath is transferred from Saturday to Sunday. The Sabbath commandment contains a moral element and a positive element. The moral element, which is grounded in creation, is that God requires our rest and worship one day out of every seven. But the positive element of the Sabbath commandment is conditioned by God’s covenants, assigning the Sabbath to a particular day of the week.

Under the old covenant, the Sabbath was observed on Saturday, but under the new covenant, the day is transferred to Sunday. The Old Testament anticipated the transfer of the Saturday Sabbath to the Sunday Sabbath, particularly in eighth-day Sabbath observances, such as Pentecost. Leviticus 23:3–8 teaches that Passover involves an eighth-day Sabbath, or a Sunday Sabbath, prefiguring Christ and foreshadowing the change of day. Isaiah 56:1–8 anticipates a new covenant observance of the Sabbath day, even while Hosea 2:11 foretells the cessation of Israel’s covenantal sabbaths.

Sixth, in the new covenant, Christ and His apostles observed the transfer of the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday. He established a pattern of Sunday worship when He appeared to His disciples on Sunday in John 20:1, and then again on the next Sunday in John 20:19. The book of Acts teaches that the church observed the Sabbath on Sunday, the first day of the week, to celebrate Christ’s glorious resurrection. Acts 20:6–7 says,

But we sailed away from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and in five days we came to them at Troas, where we stayed for seven days. On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight. (Emphasis added)

Notice that they were in Troas for seven days, so they could have chosen to meet on Saturday. But instead, they met “on the first day of the week,” where they received the Lord’s Supper and heard a sermon from Paul. Paul confirms this transfer of Sabbath observance from the last day of the week to Sunday in saying that the church met “on the first day of every week” (1 Cor. 16:2). Revelation 1:10 speaks of the “Lord’s Day,” which refers to a day of the week that uniquely belongs to the Lord Jesus, just as the Lord’s Supper refers to a meal that uniquely belongs to the Lord.

Seventh, the book of Hebrews establishes the transfer of the Sabbath to Sunday. Hebrews 4:9–10 says, “So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.” But the passage could be translated to read: “So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has Himself also rested from His works [in the resurrection], as God did from His [at creation].” This passage, thus, speaks of God’s rest at creation and Christ’s rest in His resurrection on the first day of the week. The Sabbath rest that remains for God’s people is, therefore, a Sunday Sabbath.

Reasons to Work or Be Absent from Worship on Sunday

Though God commands us to rest and worship on the Sabbath day, the Bible also tells us that there are times when we may have to work or miss corporate worship for other reasons. In Matthew 12:1–14, Jesus gives three categories of activity that require work on the Sabbath.

The first is necessity. When there are real emergencies or practical needs that cannot wait for another day, then Christ commands us to do those things on the Sabbath day (Matt. 12:1). Obviously, Christians should plan ahead so that there are no emergencies. But sometimes, unexpected circumstances arise, and it is keeping the Sabbath to tend to such needs on the Lord’s Day.

The second is piety. Pastors have to work on Sunday in order to serve God’s people. But church members also have to work. They have to get up to be at church on time. They have to work to listen to the sermon, to pray, to fellowship with the church. Corporate worship is not inactivity, but it requires a kind of holy work unto the Lord. Christ teaches that this kind of work on Sunday is right and good (Matt. 12:5).

The third is mercy. When people need help on Sunday, the Sabbath command requires us to help them. To refuse to tend to people’s physical health on the Lord’s Day would be breaking the sixth commandment, which says, “Do not murder.” Various passage teach that God desires mercy, which demands moral obedience, even over sacrifice or ceremonial observance (Matt. 12:7; Hos. 6:6; Mic. 6:6–8).

Second Worship Service on the Sabbath

In light of the fact that God commands one full day of rest from our ordinary labors in the common kingdom and gathering with God’s people in corporate worship, Reformed churches have generally held to the importance of two worship services on Sunday. One service begins the day in worship. The second service closes the day in worship. God has given us a day for worship, not just a couple of hours. When churches only gather to worship for a short time in the mid-morning on Sundays, they are neglecting God’s gracious provision for resting in Christ and observing the means of grace throughout the day.

In the Old Testament, there were to be morning and evening sacrifices (Ex. 29:38–43). Ezra 3:3 says that “they offered burnt offerings on it to the Lord, burnt offerings morning and evening.” Similarly, 1 Chronicles 16:40 says they gathered “to offer burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar of burnt offering regularly morning and evening, to do all that is written in the Law of the Lord that he commanded Israel.”

Psalm 92:1–3 is expressly called a Sabbath psalm and is an important passage about the first and second services in the temple on the Sabbath day. It says, “It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night, to the music of the lute and the harp, to the melody of the lyre.” Psalm 134:1 pronounces a blessing on those who worship in the evening with God’s people: “Come, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, who stand by night in the house of the Lord.” (Emphasis added)

I am convinced that the reason so many churches no longer have a second service on Sunday is that they have lost the biblical doctrine of the Sabbath and the ordinary means of grace. Too many churches today offer services to suit individual preferences. Some churches have services on Thursday or Friday evenings. Many only hold one fairly brief service on Sunday morning. Very few observe a full day of worship unto the Lord. But that is how the Bible teaches us to worship.

Biblical Objections to the Sabbath

Having briefly sketched the Bible’s doctrine of the Sabbath day, we now turn to several biblical objections. Those who say Christians are not obligated to observe the Sabbath day often point to three key New Testament passages to make their case: Romans 14:1–9, Galatians 4:10–11, and Colossians 2:16. Though I won’t provide extensive exegesis here, we will briefly consider these one at a time.

Romans 14:1–9 says, “One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. . . . One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike.” These verses teach that Christians have liberty to observe Jewish feast days or not. Paul speaks of “foods” and “days” together, which means the subject of the passage pertains to the feast days (festivals) of the old covenant, not the moral law of the Sabbath. Also, if the anti-
sabbatarians are correct that this passage teaches that absolutely every day is alike in Christ, then it seems to prove too much. I know of no anti-sabbatarian who teaches that Sunday, the Lord’s Day, should simply be treated as any other day of the week, and that Christians have no obligations on that day.

Galatians 4:10–11 says, “You observe days and months and seasons and years! I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain.” This passage does not seem to be dealing with Sabbath observance within the sphere of Christian sanctification. Rather, Paul is teaching, contra the Judaizers, that justification and adoption do not come by the observance of “days and months and seasons and years.” Paul’s argument is that justification and adoption are by faith alone (Gal. 2:15–16; 4:1–9), so he isn’t dealing with God’s law as a rule of sanctification. He is confronting the legalistic error of justification by works.

Colossians 2:16 says, “Let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath.” Here Paul addresses a serious heresy in the church of Colossae that involved the worship of angels, the reception of visions from angels, and the practice of asceticism on Jewish feast days and Sabbaths not associated with the moral law (Col. 2:18–23). In these verses, Paul rejects this system of Jewish-Gnostic heresy, not the moral law of the Sabbath day. The terms “festivals, sabbath, and new moon” often appear as a “package” in the Old Testament. Contextually, therefore, Paul is not referring to the moral Sabbath in Colossians 2:16, but only to the Old Testament ceremonial Sabbaths.35 When Paul says to “let no one pass judgment on you,” he means that the false teachers in Colossae have no right to judge the salvation of the Colossians for refusing to enter into pagan practices or for refusing to observe Old Testament ceremonial laws.

Practical Application of the Sabbath

Believers should ask themselves questions about their Sunday observance. Am I observing the Sabbath day? Am I observing a whole day unto the Lord with God’s people, attending all of His commanded means of grace? The Sabbath is a whole day of rest and worship, not just a few hours. Am I preparing during the week for Sabbath observance? Do I get my work done on six days of the week so I can rest spiritually and worship on the seventh with God’s people? Do I structure my whole life around God’s design for six days of work (at home, at work, in the community) and one day of rest and worship (with the church), unless providentially hindered?

Do I allow God’s creational rhythm to organize my time and existence in God’s world? Or do I believe that I am lord of my own time? Am I willing to sacrifice regular weekend getaways, sports, and entertainment for the church’s assembly on the Lord’s Day? There is nothing wrong with occasional weekend getaways. But do I allow such things to interfere with God’s appointment of one day in seven for physical and spiritual rest and worship? When I need to work or miss church on Sunday, is it because of a real emergency, health reasons, or another necessary providential hindrance? Do I delight in the Lord’s Day, faithfully seeking to draw near to God in faith, to worship Him in spirit and truth by the means of grace, and to fellowship with His beloved people for our mutual benefit and His glory? Do I look forward to the Sabbath as the best of all days, the “market day” of the soul, a day to hear the Word of Christ and to serve others in His name?

The Three Uses of Moral Law

Having established that the moral law of God is perpetual and transcends all covenants, now we need to see that there is a threefold use of the moral law: civil, pedagogical, and normative.

The Civil Use of Moral Law

The moral law’s civil use is to restrain the evil of sinners and promote the common good. Scripture teaches that the moral law ought to guide civil government in rewarding good and punishing evil for the well-being of human society (Rom. 13:3–4; 1 Tim 2:1–2). John Calvin wrote that “function of the law is this: at least by fear of punishment to restrain certain men who are untouched by any care for what is just and right unless compelled by hearing the dire threats of the law.”36

While under the old covenant the civil government of national Israel was to enforce public religion and punish false worship (Deut. 13:12–18), God does not give Gentile governments that responsibility (John 18:37), but instead He requires them to uphold religious liberty according to the first table of the Ten Commandments (Matt. 13:24–30) and enforce public justice according to the second table (Rom. 13:1–5).

This first use of the law is also related to natural law. When God created the world, He built penalties into nature for those who would break the moral law. These penalties threaten the wicked and keep them chastened somewhat (though there are cycles of foolishness). The wisdom literature of the Bible teaches this natural law principle (see Proverbs and Ecclesiastes). While the civil use of the law is most plainly seen in relation to the civil government, it is also used in home government (e.g., the discipline of children) and church government (e.g., church discipline), since every human society must enforce external standards for the sake of the group as a whole. The external application of God’s law cannot change the heart. Only the gospel does that. But the civil or external use of God’s law does restrain evil for the temporal well-being of the individual and the group. It also can help to protect the group as a whole from the temptations that come from unrestrained external evils.

The Pedagogical Use of Moral Law

The moral law is a child instructor, or pedagogue, when by the Holy Spirit it convinces sinners of their sin and drives them to trust in Christ alone (Rom. 7:7–11; Gal. 3:10, 24). In his commentary on Galatians 2:17, Martin Luther (1483–1546) wrote,

The proper use and aim of the Law is to make guilty those who are smug and at peace, so that they may see that they are in danger of sin, wrath, and death, so that they may be terrified and despairing, blanching and quaking at the rustling of a leaf. . . . If the law is a ministry of sin, it follows that it is also a ministry of wrath and death. For just as the law reveals sin, so it strikes the wrath of God into a man and threatens him with death.37

Calvin similarly wrote,

The law warns, informs, convicts, and lastly condemns, every man of his own righteousness . . . After he is compelled to weigh his life in the scales of the law, laying aside all that presumption of fictitious righteousness, he discovers that he is a long way from holiness, and is in fact teeming with a multitude of vices, with which he previously thought himself undefiled. . . . The law is like a mirror. In it we contemplate our weakness, then the inequity arising from this, and finally the curse coming from both—just as a mirror shows us the spots on our face.38

At the right time, the Holy Spirit opens the eyes of the elect to their unlawfulness through the preaching of God’s law and leads them to the gospel of Jesus Christ, His cross and resurrection, so that they see and delight in the goodness and holiness of God and agree with the law’s judgment upon them, such that they cast themselves upon Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and the salvation of their souls. This second use of the law of God shuts the sinner out of any hope of salvation by his own works so that he has no way to be right with God and eternally saved but through Jesus Christ.

God uses this twofold preaching of law and gospel to convert sinners, such that they live the rest of their lives in obedient joy and thanksgiving for the great grace of God in Jesus Christ. Paul’s words in 1 Timothy 2:1–2 teach us to pray for the civil government to bring order so we may live a quiet life in all godliness and dignity. God’s law restrains evil and provides religious liberty so that Christ’s churches may worship Him as He commands. Paul does not say that we should pray to overcome the government and establish a Christian government so that we may live freely (1 Peter 2:13–17; 1 Thess. 4:11–12).

The Normative Use of Moral Law

The third use of the moral law is its normative or instructive (didactic) use, which serves as a rule of life, guide, or standard of conduct for believers, authoritatively directing them in the manner of life that is pleasing to God. In His great kindness, God does not leave believers to wonder about what He expects of them as Christians. Rather, He clearly tells us what He requires of us. And His requirements fit the pattern of His redemption. The normative use of the law makes sense when we consider the fact that our sins against God’s moral law broke our relationship with God. That is why Jesus, the Savior, had to offer Himself as an atoning sacrifice for us. But Christ’s atonement for our sins against the moral law implies that the same moral law, summarized in the Ten Commandments, is our standard of faithful living toward God and others. We know how we ought to live for God because we know what sins sent Jesus to the cross.39

In the book of Romans, Paul says that believers willingly submit to God’s law as their rule of life and conduct. In Romans 7, Paul speaks of his personal fight with indwelling sin as a believer, and in verse 16 he says, “I agree with the law, that it is good.” In Romans 7:22, he says, “I delight in the law of God in my inner being.” In verse 25, he says, “I serve the law of God.” Paul goes on to explain that Christ died for our sins, “in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (Rom. 8:4). Notice that he does not say that the righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled for us, but in us. In other words, by the Spirit, believers learn to keep God’s law faithfully. In Romans 8:7, Paul explains that only unbelievers refuse to submit to God’s law: “The mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.” Whoever refuses to submit to God’s law proves that he is an unbeliever. Thus, it is clear that the moral law authoritatively binds the consciences of believers, who never look to the law for their justification, but only as an instrument and authoritative rule in sanctification.

When Paul begins to apply the gospel to the church of Ephesus in chapter 4, he teaches that those under grace in Christ should keep the Ten Commandments as the expression of their faith in Christ. True believers should “put away falsehood,” the ninth commandment (Eph. 4:25); “be angry and do not sin,” the sixth commandment (Eph. 4:26); “no longer steal,” the eighth commandment (Eph 4:28); abstain from “sexual immorality,” the seventh commandment (Eph. 5:3); refrain from “covetousness,” the tenth commandment (Eph. 5:3). A true believer is not to be an “idolater,” which generally refers to the first through third commandments (Eph. 5:5). A believer is to “honor your father and mother,” the fifth commandment (Eph. 6:2). Clearly Paul is thinking through the Ten Commandments when he teaches the Ephesian church how they should live as Christians.

Martin Luther affirmed the third use of the law in his catechism, which expounded the Ten Commandments for the believer. Calvin affirmed it as well in the Genevan Catechism, where he wrote, “[The law] shows the mark at which we ought to aim, the goal towards which we ought to press, that each of us, according to the measure of grace bestowed upon him, may endeavor to frame his life according to the highest rectitude, and, by constant study, continually advance more and more” (Q 229).

The Second London Confession says the following in 19.6:

Although true believers be not under the law as a covenant of works, to be thereby justified or condemned, yet it is of great use to them as well as to others, in that as a rule of life, informing them of the will of God and their duty, it directs and binds them to walk accordingly; discovering also the sinful pollutions of their natures, hearts, and lives, so as examining themselves thereby, they may come to further conviction of, humiliation for, and hatred against, sin; together with a clearer sight of the need they have of Christ and the perfection of his obedience; it is likewise of use to the regenerate to restrain their corruptions, in that it forbids sin; and the threatenings of it serve to shew what even their sins deserve, and what afflictions in this life they may expect for them, although freed from the curse and unallayed rigor thereof. The promises of it likewise shew them God’s approbation of obedience, and what blessings they may expect upon the performance thereof, though not as due to them by the law as a covenant of works; so as man’s doing good and refraining from evil, because the law encourages to the one and deters from the other, is no evidence of his being under the law and not under grace.

The key distinction in this section of the confession is between the law as a covenant of works and the law as a rule of life for the believer who is in Christ and under the covenant of grace. The second use of the law refers to the law as a covenant of works. It says, “Do this and live.” And if you do not do this, you will die. You need Jesus. But the third use of the law issues no threat of condemnation, no curse, and no promise of the right and title to eternal life. The normative use of the law is the naked commandment. It says, “Do this because life is already yours.” The law comes with all sorts of motives and promises to the believer, but every motive of obedience to God’s law is grounded in the gracious gospel promises of Christ’s death and resurrection, justification, adoption, communion with Him, knowledge of Him, joy in Him, and blessings in Him.

Second London Confession 19.7 says, “Neither are the aforementioned uses of the law contrary to the grace of the Gospel, but do sweetly comply with it, the Spirit of Christ subduing and enabling the will of man to do that freely and cheerfully which the will of God, revealed in the law, requireth to be done.”

How do the law and the gospel “sweetly comply”? The gospel not only promises our justification by faith, but it also promises our sanctification by faith through the instrumentality of the law. The gospel is not only the promise of Christ for us, but also of Christ in us.

God graciously accepts our attempts to obey the law by His Spirit, while clothed in the righteousness of Christ. Second London Confession 16.6 says,

Yet notwithstanding the persons of believers being accepted through Christ, their good works also are accepted in him; not as though they were in this life wholly unblamable and unreprovable in God’s sight, but that he, looking upon them in his Son, is pleased to accept and reward that which is sincere, although accompanied with many weaknesses and imperfections.

Conclusion

In this chapter, we have seen that God’s law reveals God. It further reveals the nature of a true image of God. God’s moral law is the blueprint of a true human being, and therefore is the transcript of Christ’s character. It is the standard to which every Christian should be growing in their sanctification.

We have also seen that God’s Old Testament law has a threefold division: moral, ceremonial, and judicial. God’s moral law transcends every biblical covenant and is revealed in nature and summarized in the Ten Commandments. The ceremonial and judicial laws of the Old Testament had moral elements, but they are unique to the old covenant and the people of Israel. Therefore, Israel’s ceremonial and judicial laws expired when the old covenant was fulfilled and abrogated at the death of Christ.

Finally, we saw that God’s moral law—summarized in the Ten Commandments, revealed in nature, and fully revealed in Jesus Christ—is perpetual and eternal, transcending every biblical covenant. This moral law of God has a threefold use. First, it restrains the wickedness of men in every station of human society. Second, it convicts sinners of sin and points them to Jesus for salvation. Third, it serves as the rule of life and conduct for believers, teaching them how to express love to God and love to men. Thus we see the necessity of preaching the law’s condemnation to unbelievers and pointing them to the gospel of Christ, as well as preaching obedience to the law under grace to facilitate the sanctification of those who seek to be conformed to the image of Christ. In the next chapter, we turn to the doctrine of the Bible’s overarching covenants, which have the law of God at their center.

  1. 27. Franciscus Junius, The Mosaic Polity (Grand Rapids: Acton, 2015), 42.

  2. 28. For an excellent treatment of “moral law,” see Ernest F. Kevan, Moral Law (Escondido: den Dulk, 1991). For a full treatment of the Puritan understanding of the law of God, see Ernest F. Kevan, The Grace of Law: A Study in Puritan Theology (Morgan: Soli Deo Gloria, 1999).

  3. 29. For a comprehensive discussion of the tripartite division of Old Testament law, see Philip S. Ross, From the Finger of God: The Biblical and Theological Basis for the Threefold Division of Law (Ross-shire: Mentor, 2010). For a classic treatment of the law of God, see Patrick Fairbairn, The Revelation of Law in Scripture (Phillipsburg: P&R, 1996).

  4. 30. Irenaeus, “Against Heresies,” vol. 1, ch. 16.4, Anti-Nicene Fathers, trans. Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson, ed. Arthur Cleveland Coxe (Edinburg: T&T Clark, 1885), 482.

  5. 31. Irenaeus, “Against Heresies,” ch. 16.5, 482.

  6. 32. Tertullian, Ante-Nicene Fathers (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1996), vol 3, ch 2, 153.

  7. 33. For a robust defense of the Sabbath commandment, which helpfully engages many arguments to the contrary, see Richard C. Barcellos, Getting the Garden Right: Adam’s Work and God’s Rest in Light of Christ (Cape Coral: Founders, 2017). For a briefer but classic defense of the perpetuity of the Sabbath commandment, see Robert Haldane, Sanctification of the Sabbath: The Permanent Obligation to Observe the Sabbath or Lord’s Day (Grand Rapids: Reformation Heritage, 2022).

  8. 34. See Jon English Lee, There Remains a Sabbath Rest for the People of God: A Biblical, Theological, & Historical Defense of Sabbath Rest as a Creation Ordinance (Cape Coral: Founders, 2024).

  9. 35. See 1 Chron. 23:31; 2 Chron. 2:4; 31:3; Neh. 10:33; Isa. 1:13–14 (cf. Isa. 58:13–14); Hos. 2:11; Ezek. 45:17.

  10. 36. John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, ed. John T. McNeill, trans. Ford Lewis Battles, vol 2 (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1960), 2.7.10.

  11. 37. Martin Luther, Commentary on Galatians (Grand Rapids: Revell, 1988), 101.

  12. 38. Calvin, Instit. 2.7.6–7.

  13. 39. For a marvelous classic exposition of the Ten Commandments as the rule of life for the believer, see Thomas Watson, The Ten Commandments (Carlisle: Banner, 1995).