Law or Grace? Exodus 20:1-23

Exodus 20:1‑23  •  3 min. read  •  grade level: 6
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God then gave the law, known as the Ten Commandments. This gives us what God required of man on the earth. If the children of Israel could have kept God’s holy law, then they could have earned the earthly blessing He had in store for them through their own obedience. But they could not keep it. They had broken the first commandment, as well as some of the others, before Moses ever came down from the mountain. They had made a golden calf and started to worship it. How hopeless was their case unless God intervened in grace! But God did intervene, for if they had been under pure law, it would have brought certain condemnation; and so He put them under a mixture of law and grace by instituting the sacrifices.
The dispensation, or period, during which man was under law lasted about fifteen hundred years. Man was given a long test, but it only proved beyond question that he was utterly helpless to keep God’s holy law. We are not only sinners but helpless sinners. We could never obtain blessing through law-keeping. The law could not justify the guilty, but could only condemn him; and since all are guilty, since all are law-breakers, the law must pronounce every man “guilty before God” (Rom. 3:1919Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. (Romans 3:19)).
How good to be able to turn from such a sad picture to the cross of Christ. There all God’s holy claims against sin were fully met, and now God can come out in the fullness of grace. Instead of condemning the sinner who believes, He justifies him from all things (Acts 13:3939And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. (Acts 13:39)). What matchless grace! Dear reader, are you justified?
The Law Today
Perhaps we should remark here that the law has its place even today. It cannot give life to a dead sinner (Galatians 3:2121Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. (Galatians 3:21)), nor is it the rule of life for a Christian (Romans 6:1414For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. (Romans 6:14)). It is like God’s looking-glass and it often convinces men of their guilt. It showed Paul his guiltiness, for he says, “I had not known sin but by the law” (Rom. 7:77What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. (Romans 7:7)). When Paul read, “Thou shalt not covet,” (ch. 20:17) he saw that he was not only a sinner but a helpless sinner. He could not stop coveting, for it was his nature to do so. He needed life which the law could not give, but he found life — new life — in Christ. Christ bore the curse of the broken law and has brought us out of that place of condemnation altogether. We are dead to the law by the body of Christ, and the law has no claim upon a dead man (Romans 7:1-41Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? 2For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. 3So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man. 4Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. (Romans 7:1‑4)). We are now “in Christ” in a position of liberty where we serve in love (Galatians 5:66For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love. (Galatians 5:6)). “We love Him, because He first loved us” (1 John 4:1919We love him, because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19)).
There is then, as we remarked, a valid use of the law even today (1 Timothy 1:8-138But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; 9Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, 10For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine; 11According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust. 12And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; 13Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. (1 Timothy 1:8‑13)), and we may use it freely to show a sinner his guilt before God. But let us be careful not to tell him to keep it for salvation, for he cannot. “They that are in the flesh cannot please God” (Rom. 8:88So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. (Romans 8:8)). Nor let us give it to Christians as a rule of life, for our “rule” is much higher than the Ten Commandments. Our rule is a person — it is Christ. He is the Object and Rule of the Christian’s life, and in Him we have life, motive, strength, and everything we need. He is our all in all and the nearer we are to Him the more we feel the constraint of His love.
Further Meditation
1. How can the law be properly used today?
2. The Lord Jesus and the Pharisees both referred to the law when they spoke. However, they used it very differently. Can you describe the use that each of them made of it?
3. If you want to dig deeper into this essential subject, you might want to read Jewish Bondage and Christian Freedom by J. L. Harris. It isn’t particularly easy reading, but it does provide excellent and needed truth.