East-coast Missions Project

September 2006

THE LAW – HOW WILL YOU PLEAD?

Part 1 – MOVING VIOLATIONS

This past summer my family and I traveled up to Delaware for family visitation and a camping vacation. During this trip I carefully set the speed control on our minivan so as not to exceed the posted speed limit by more than 5 mph. My wife praised me for this accomplishment as I have a tendency to exceed the speed limit in an effort to reach our destination quicker.

It was interesting to watch as numerous vehicles blatantly exceeding the speed limit rushed past us. It was as if each speeder said to himself that the law has forgotten to patrol this part of the freeway. That they justified their actions by saying – I’m only transgressing the law by 15 mph - and besides, I’m not the only one doing it.

It was even more fascinating to watch the red brake lights light up as those same speeding motorists tried to rapidly slow down whenever a state trooper appeared on the highway or as a speed trap along its side. Suddenly, the speeder was no longer secure in the fact other motorists were also speeding. They each realized that they were as guilty as the next guy and could be the one the law pulled over. The mere 15 mph over the speed limit didn’t seem like such a small thing after all; it seemed to abound.

What a wonderful illustration of human nature this shows us. Look at the freeway of sin. The whole world naturally goes with the flow. Think about this – who in today’s society doesn’t tell the occasional “white” lie? Who doesn’t take something that belongs to someone else, even if it’s just a little “white-collar” crime? Who hasn’t had an “affair” (or desired to) at one time or another? People know they are doing wrong, but their security is in the fact that so many others are just as guilty, if not more so. It seems to them that God has forgotten all about sin and the Ten Commandments. When the state trooper appears those speeding motorists know what they are doing is wrong. Their violation of the law not only becomes personal, it seems to abound. This is evident by their slowing down to be within the speed limit when the law is present. However, when there is no law around people feel that the law no longer applies to them personally and they are free to do as they choose.

In recent years there has become an even stronger push by some to remove the Law (or even any mention of God) from public life. I’m not speaking of the civil law of the land, but of God’s Law – the Ten Commandments. The people who wish to do this are like the speeding motorists that know as long as the law is present they will be held accountable for their actions. They know in their conscience that the things they wish to do are wrong. Understand, if these people are successful in removing the law they will then feel free to do as they please. They will become a law unto themselves. If these people are successful then all of society will suffer. One needs to look no further then New Orleans in the aftermath of Katrina to see actual proof that when the law is removed lawlessness will abound.

The apostle Paul said in Romans chapter 7 verse 7 that he never would have known what sin was had it not been for the law. Imagine today an entire generation growing up without knowing the law. Earlier in Romans chapter 5 verse 20 Paul says that the law entered that the transgression might increase. Meaning that the law exposes the human condition and that man’s sinful nature becomes very obvious in the light of the law. And in Galatians chapter 3 verse 24 Paul tells us the fulfilling purpose of the law is to act as a schoolmaster to bring us to the cross.

The law is the first step in God’s salvation plan for mankind. You see, the law does not help us, it just leaves us helpless. The law does not justify us, it just leaves us guilty. It shows us our true state before God. The fact that it works as a schoolmaster bringing us to the foot of the cross, but no further, shows us our guilt, helplessness and need for a redeemer. It is only when man realizes his personal transgression of God’s law that he can truly repent and ask to be forgiven.

“’I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived’ (Romans7:9). So it is with the work-righteous and the proud unbelievers. Because they do not know the Law of God, which is directed against them, it is impossible for them to know their sin. Therefore also they are not amenable to instruction.If they would know the Law, they would know their sin; and sin to which they are now dead would become alive in them.”

Martin Luther