Deuteronomy 30:15–20 Psalm 119:1–8 1 Corinthians 3:1–9 Matthew 5:21–37

The great ‘promise’ of the Law is ‘if…, then…’. “Blessed are those whose way is blameless, / who walk in the Law of the Lord!” “Blessed are those” who are “blameless”, “who keep His testimonies”, “who seek Him with their whole heart”, “who … do no wrong”, and who “walk in His ways”. But what are His testimonies? The Jews contend that there are six hundred and thirteen mitzvot — commandments — in the Torah, but let us not concern ourselves with such enumerations, for God Himself provides us a full statement of His Law in the Ten Commandments.

Thou shalt have no other gods. Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord, thy God, in vain. Thou shalt sanctify the hold day. Thou shalt honor thy father and thy mother. Thou shalt not murder. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house. Thou shalt not cover thy neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his cattle, nor anything that is his.

You may be thinking ‘So far, so good. I have neither murdered, committed adultery, nor borne false witness against my neighbor.’ Surely blessing and abundance will be ours for our great obedience! But wait. Does not Christ speak of these commandments?

Matthew 5:21–22 (ESV): ““You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.”

How fares your obedience to the Fifth Commandment?

Matthew 5:27–28 (ESV): “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

How fares your obedience to the Sixth Commandment? Have you divorced or married a spouse who was divorced?

Matthew 5:31–32 (ESV): “It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

How fares your obedience to the Sixth Commandment?

Matthew 5:33–37 (ESV): “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.

Have you ever failed to keep your promises? Have you ‘merely’ failed to do what you said you would do? perhaps even failed to do what you told God you would do? How fares your obedience to the Eighth Commandment? Perhaps you yet believe that you have kept one of the other commandments. But what does Christ command? ‘Be perfect, as your Father in Heaven is perfect.’ The law demands perfect obedience. The ‘promise’ of ‘if…, then…’ is no promise at all, for the “if” is “if you are perfect”, but ‘all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God’ and ‘none is righteous, no not one’. Therefore, the cry of the psalmist is practically a lament, a cry for mercy:

Psalm 119:8 (ESV): I will keep your statutes; do not utterly forsake me!

The Law always kills. You will find neither peace in nor comfort under the Law.

Romans 2:12 (ESV): For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law.

Romans 3:20 (ESV):