IN THE ABSENCE OF LAW
Our world is held together with laws that complement a lawmaker as they are orderly, intelligently designed, and sustain us. Just to name a few we have the laws of physics, mathematics, logic, and morality. I want to speak on the law of morality. The American founding fathers called them the laws of nature. This is why not too long ago we had crimes against nature. Or against the natural order of design.
“the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God” - Declaration of Independence
The Bible has at least 7 areas where laws or regulations have been given. These are moral, ceremonial, judicial, individual, family, church, and government.
Matthew 5:17-18 New International Version
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
Jesus Christ fulfilled the ceremonial and judicial laws of the Mosaic law. He reinforced the moral laws and the family unit in the New Testament. He also laid the foundation for the operation of the Church. Moral laws are transcending and not limited to space or time.
1 Timothy 1:8-10 New International Version
8 We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. 9 We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, 10 for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine
Psalm 19:7-9 New International Version
7 The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. 8 The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. 9 The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous.
Romans 7:12 New International Version
12 So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.
From 1 Timothy 1:8-10, Psalm 19:7-9, and Romans 7:12 we see that the law is holy, good, perfect, refreshing, trustworthy, wise, right, joyful, radiant, firm, and righteous. This is why we look to the Words and commands of God given in the Bible. They are holy and perfect. If we as humans were perfect, then the law wouldn’t have been necessary. Or as James Madison once said, “If men were angels, no government would be necessary.”
Good government should look to these laws for guidance. Righteous justice on Earth can only come from adhering to the laws of God. This is where for example, Old Testament judicial laws are fulfilled as now we do not have the death penalty for working on the Sabbath or the ceremonial law of keeping the Sabbath. We instead look to the lessons of the law and God's Word that tells us the God of the Sabbath now lives in us, has set our bodies as His temple, and we are to treat each day as holy. (Matthew 12:8, 1 Corinthians 3:16, Hebrews 4:1-11)
Romans 3:20 New International Version
20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.
In 1 Timothy 1:8-10 we also see that the law is created for the lawbreakers which spiritually is all of us but physically in the realm of government, it is those who break the laws of the land. It is the law that gives us the consciousness of sin. Our consciousness is the moral law working within.
Romans 2:14-15 New International Version
14 (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.)
It is only when the law is simple and seen as good do we have a governmental society that prospers. Instead, today we have 1000s of laws and bills 100s of pages long.
"The Foundations of American Law and Government display contains documents that played a significant role in the foundation of our system of law and government. The display contains (1) the Mayflower Compact; (2) the Ten Commandments; (3) the Declaration of Independence: (4) Magna Carta; (5) "The Star-Spangled Banner"; (6) the national motto of the United States of America; (7) the Preamble to the Georgia Constitution; (8) the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution; and (9) a picture of Lady Justice.
The Ten Commandments:
The Ten Commandments have profoundly influenced the formation of Western legal thought and the formation of our country. That influence is clearly seen in the Declaration of Independence, which declared that "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." The Ten Commandments provide the moral background of the Declaration of Independence and the foundation of our legal tradition."
—2010 Georgia Code
TITLE 45 - PUBLIC OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES
CHAPTER 13 - SECRETARY OF STATE
ARTICLE 3 - DIVISION OF ARCHIVES AND HISTORY
§ 45-13-51 - Study of historical documents; public displays of The Foundations of American Law and Government
O.C.G.A. 45-13-51 (2010)
As seen above my home state of Georgia acknowledges the ten commandments as foundational in American law. Unfortunately due to man's wickedness, we went from 10 laws to 1000s.
Just as gravity is directed by law, so are humans even if we do not contain a written or spoken law.
Galatians 2:16 New International Version
16 know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.
Our relationship to such a holy and perfect law is to number 1, show us our sins, bring us to repentance, and put our faith in Jesus Christ. Who was the holy and perfect sacrifice in order to pay the debt of sin we all obtain. By Jesus’s blood a new covenant had been formed to take away the sins of the world and to graft in all who would believe in Him. (Hebrews 9:24-28, John 3:16)
2 Timothy 3:16 New International Version
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
A proper relationship with God’s laws both the still standing and one's fulfilled is to be viewed as teachable, preventing evil, correcting, and training in righteousness. To bring sin into conscience. To bring us to our need for Jesus. To guide us in our society. To know where in this world shall we draw the line between good and evil. To guide us in wisdom as we make everyday judgments. To guide us in the operation of the Church. To guide us in the operation of our families. And finally, the fruit of the individual, the family, and the church will penetrate our government at all levels of society.
“Wherever law ends, tyranny begins” - John Locke
Wherever mankind decides God’s law is not vitally important to be governed by, we will eventually see injustice, oppression, and the abuse of power. We see why as a nation we once without question made our judges, legislators, presidents, state and local officials swear an oath on the Bible.
For example,
Supreme Court justices have taken a combined version of two oaths, which reads:
“I, _________, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will administer justice without respect to persons, and do equal right to the poor and to the rich, and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent upon me as _________ under the Constitution and laws of the United States; and that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.”
— https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/oath/oathsofoffice.aspx
So help me God, not just any God but THE God. The High Supreme court where God Almighty reigns. The giver of wisdom and truth. The God of all creation.
Genesis 18:25 New International Version
25 Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?”
To be absent of God's law is to reject God. Let us not be absent of God's law. Amen!
Our world is held together with laws that complement a lawmaker as they are orderly, intelligently designed, and sustain us. Just to name a few we have the laws of physics, mathematics, logic, and morality. I want to speak on the law of morality. The American founding fathers called them the laws of nature. This is why not too long ago we had crimes against nature. Or against the natural order of design.
“the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God” - Declaration of Independence
The Bible has at least 7 areas where laws or regulations have been given. These are moral, ceremonial, judicial, individual, family, church, and government.
Matthew 5:17-18 New International Version
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
Jesus Christ fulfilled the ceremonial and judicial laws of the Mosaic law. He reinforced the moral laws and the family unit in the New Testament. He also laid the foundation for the operation of the Church. Moral laws are transcending and not limited to space or time.
1 Timothy 1:8-10 New International Version
8 We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. 9 We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, 10 for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine
Psalm 19:7-9 New International Version
7 The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. 8 The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. 9 The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous.
Romans 7:12 New International Version
12 So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.
From 1 Timothy 1:8-10, Psalm 19:7-9, and Romans 7:12 we see that the law is holy, good, perfect, refreshing, trustworthy, wise, right, joyful, radiant, firm, and righteous. This is why we look to the Words and commands of God given in the Bible. They are holy and perfect. If we as humans were perfect, then the law wouldn’t have been necessary. Or as James Madison once said, “If men were angels, no government would be necessary.”
Good government should look to these laws for guidance. Righteous justice on Earth can only come from adhering to the laws of God. This is where for example, Old Testament judicial laws are fulfilled as now we do not have the death penalty for working on the Sabbath or the ceremonial law of keeping the Sabbath. We instead look to the lessons of the law and God's Word that tells us the God of the Sabbath now lives in us, has set our bodies as His temple, and we are to treat each day as holy. (Matthew 12:8, 1 Corinthians 3:16, Hebrews 4:1-11)
Romans 3:20 New International Version
20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.
In 1 Timothy 1:8-10 we also see that the law is created for the lawbreakers which spiritually is all of us but physically in the realm of government, it is those who break the laws of the land. It is the law that gives us the consciousness of sin. Our consciousness is the moral law working within.
Romans 2:14-15 New International Version
14 (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.)
It is only when the law is simple and seen as good do we have a governmental society that prospers. Instead, today we have 1000s of laws and bills 100s of pages long.
"The Foundations of American Law and Government display contains documents that played a significant role in the foundation of our system of law and government. The display contains (1) the Mayflower Compact; (2) the Ten Commandments; (3) the Declaration of Independence: (4) Magna Carta; (5) "The Star-Spangled Banner"; (6) the national motto of the United States of America; (7) the Preamble to the Georgia Constitution; (8) the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution; and (9) a picture of Lady Justice.
The Ten Commandments:
The Ten Commandments have profoundly influenced the formation of Western legal thought and the formation of our country. That influence is clearly seen in the Declaration of Independence, which declared that "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." The Ten Commandments provide the moral background of the Declaration of Independence and the foundation of our legal tradition."
—2010 Georgia Code
TITLE 45 - PUBLIC OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES
CHAPTER 13 - SECRETARY OF STATE
ARTICLE 3 - DIVISION OF ARCHIVES AND HISTORY
§ 45-13-51 - Study of historical documents; public displays of The Foundations of American Law and Government
O.C.G.A. 45-13-51 (2010)
As seen above my home state of Georgia acknowledges the ten commandments as foundational in American law. Unfortunately due to man's wickedness, we went from 10 laws to 1000s.
Just as gravity is directed by law, so are humans even if we do not contain a written or spoken law.
Galatians 2:16 New International Version
16 know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.
Our relationship to such a holy and perfect law is to number 1, show us our sins, bring us to repentance, and put our faith in Jesus Christ. Who was the holy and perfect sacrifice in order to pay the debt of sin we all obtain. By Jesus’s blood a new covenant had been formed to take away the sins of the world and to graft in all who would believe in Him. (Hebrews 9:24-28, John 3:16)
2 Timothy 3:16 New International Version
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
A proper relationship with God’s laws both the still standing and one's fulfilled is to be viewed as teachable, preventing evil, correcting, and training in righteousness. To bring sin into conscience. To bring us to our need for Jesus. To guide us in our society. To know where in this world shall we draw the line between good and evil. To guide us in wisdom as we make everyday judgments. To guide us in the operation of the Church. To guide us in the operation of our families. And finally, the fruit of the individual, the family, and the church will penetrate our government at all levels of society.
“Wherever law ends, tyranny begins” - John Locke
Wherever mankind decides God’s law is not vitally important to be governed by, we will eventually see injustice, oppression, and the abuse of power. We see why as a nation we once without question made our judges, legislators, presidents, state and local officials swear an oath on the Bible.
For example,
Supreme Court justices have taken a combined version of two oaths, which reads:
“I, _________, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will administer justice without respect to persons, and do equal right to the poor and to the rich, and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent upon me as _________ under the Constitution and laws of the United States; and that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.”
— https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/oath/oathsofoffice.aspx
So help me God, not just any God but THE God. The High Supreme court where God Almighty reigns. The giver of wisdom and truth. The God of all creation.
Genesis 18:25 New International Version
25 Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?”
To be absent of God's law is to reject God. Let us not be absent of God's law. Amen!
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