THREEFOLD USE OF LAW

Transcript:

0:00 Intro 

Not only must we keep the law of God in order to please him, that's what we desire to do. 

Today's video is on the Three-fold use of God's Law. Looking for some answers, Kyle and I went to Trinity Reformed Church to get Pastor van Eyk's thoughts on the subject. This is Faith to Film. 

So, when we speak about the law of God we often think of it in terms of its three-fold uses. So, the law of God shows us our sin, the law of God restrains sin, and the law of God teaches us how to please God. 

0:36 How is the law a mirror? 

Imagine looking at yourself in a mirror and seeing some growth on your face. What do you do? Well, you then make an appointment with a doctor so that he can remove it or somehow remedy the situation. Well, similarly when we look into the law of God which is a reflection of His character we recognize that our lives are horribly disfigured because of our sin and disobedience and that leads us to run to the Lord Jesus Christ the great physician of our souls with alarm and ask him to remedy us and to cure us of our sin disease. 

1:16 How does the law restrain sin? 

Imagine you're driving on the road and you want to speed and you're about to do so and then you see a police cruiser. The police cruiser of course represents the law. When you see the police cruiser you immediately lighten your foot on the gas pedal. So though you want to speed and you would speed if he weren't there, because you see the vehicle, that restrains your inclination to disobey. And that's how the law works in society. The law of God is there and because of its threats of punishment for disobedience it keeps people restrained from sin. And that allows humans to live together in relative harmony and particularly it enables the church to live in peace. And you know that where there is lawlessness, there is disaster for the church. So you can see in situations where the law of God holds sway in its restraining power, it is of massive benefit to all humanity and in particular to Christians. 

2:27 How does the law reveal what pleases God? 

If you wanted to give me a gift and you thought what could I give him? And came upon the idea of giving me a cat, you would horribly disappoint me because I'm allergic to cats and really want nothing to do with them. And so if you really wanted to honor me you would want to find out what would be a gift that I would delight in. And similarly with the law of God, we want to please God. Well how do we know what pleases God? Well that's where the law comes in as a rule for our life. He declares what it is that pleases Him in the commandments that He gives to us. And so the law directs our desire to honor the Lord. 

3:14 Why is it important to keep God's law? 

It's important for us to keep God's law because, I mean, God is the creator and the law giver but also because He's our redeemer and when we are changed by the Spirit of God and brought into union with Christ, we are not freed from the obligation to obey God's commandments. They are still a duty that is imposed upon us by our sovereign. But what changes is that because we are renewed by the Spirit of God, because we are enamored with the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and because we relish the love of God the Father, that duty becomes a joyful duty. So that not only must we keep the law of God in order to please Him, that's what we desire to do because of who He is and because of what He has done for us in the gospel.