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Bibles to Proverbs chapter 29. Proverbs chapter 29. I had told 
the brothers and sisters at the Bible study, at the theology 
study yesterday, that much of that material was going to be 
spoken on this evening. We're going to look at the joy 
of keeping God's law. And in Proverbs 29 at verse 18, 
we read, where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint, 
but happy is he who keeps the law. And if you turn back to 
chapter 28, Chapter 28, in Proverbs at verse 4, those who forsake 
the law praise the wicked, but such as keep the law contend 
with them. And then again in Proverbs 28 
at verse 9, one who turns away his ear from hearing the law, 
even his prayer is an abomination. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our 
Father in heaven, we thank you for the written word of God. 
We thank you that it is God breathed, that it is authoritative, that 
it's infallible and inerrant. And we trust, Lord God, that 
you will grant us the grace to receive with thanksgiving that 
word tonight. We pray that your Holy Spirit 
would be at work in our minds and hearts. We pray that He would 
indeed take these things and illumine them for us and cause 
us to receive great encouragement from the Scriptures. Again, forgive 
us for our sins and for our transgressions, and may we see and may we appreciate 
what Solomon says here, happy is he who keeps the law. We know, 
Father, it's not a keeping of the law unto salvation, but it's 
a keeping of the law because you have saved us by grace alone, 
through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. And we rejoice 
in this and we pray now in his most blessed name. Amen. Well, 
as we look at Proverbs 29 at verse 18, I would suggest that 
we see here the usefulness of God's law, first for the unbeliever 
and then, secondly, for the believer. So in the first part of the verse, 
chapter 29, verse 18, 18a, where there is no revelation, 
the people cast off restraint. That is the use of the law for 
the lawless. And then in 18b, but happy is 
he who keeps the law. That is the use of the law for 
the lawful. So let's look first at the use 
of the law for the lawless and the teaching of the text. Notice 
the statement at the beginning of verse 18, where there is no 
revelation. Now, in this particular context, 
it means the divine word of the living and true God. One commentator, 
or rather one dictionary, defines it this way, divine communication 
in a vision, oracle, or prophecy. So, revelation is a good interpretation, 
a good translation of this particular passage. Where there is no revelation, 
where there is no abiding word of God, where there is no divine 
word, the people cast off restraint. Now, we might ask the question, 
why might there not be revelation? Well, there are several answers 
that the Old Testament and the New give us. In the first place, 
the absence of revelation is a sign of God's judgment upon 
a people. You can turn to the prophet Amos 
in Amos chapter 8. Amos chapter 8 highlights that 
the absence of the Word of God is a judgment from God Most High. Amos 8, verse 11, behold, the 
days are coming, says the Lord God, that I will send a famine 
on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, 
but of hearing the words of the Lord. And they shall wander from 
sea to sea, and from north to east, they shall run to and fro, 
seeking the word of the Lord, but shall not find it. So there 
are those instances that mark Israel's history, where as a 
result of divine judgment, God withdrew from them the word of 
the Lord. In the New Testament, you can 
turn to the book of Romans, in Romans chapter 10. The absence 
of revelation may be due in part to the fault of the church. Now, 
that's not what Paul is saying in Romans 10, but I think it 
illustrates a point. Notice in Romans 10, 14. He says, 
how then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? 
And how shall they believe him whom they have not heard? And 
how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless 
they are sent? As it is written, how beautiful 
are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring 
glad tidings of good things. but they have not all obeyed 
the gospel. For Isaiah says, Lord who has 
believed don't report. So then faith comes by hearing 
and hearing by the word of God. So obviously the accent or the 
emphasis falls on the necessity of hearing the word of God as 
that means by which sinners come out of darkness into marvelous 
light. But going back in Paul's argument 
at verse 14, how then shall they call on him in whom they have 
not believed and how shall they believe him whom they have not 
heard? Now, if the church does not see 
as its primary task to educate people in the things concerning 
God, if the church does not see the emphasis in 2 Timothy chapter 
4, they're going to be negligent, they're going to be a means by 
which there is no revelation, there is no divine word, there 
is no communication from God. When churches are more caught 
up with entertainment, or churches are more caught up with sort 
of social interaction, or churches are more caught up with therapy 
and some other form of moralism, they are not going to be the 
conduit by which that revelation of God comes to mankind. And 
so if the church is deficient, if the church is negligent, if 
the church is lazy, they will contribute to a situation where 
there is no revelation and the people cast off restraint. But 
as well, the absence of revelation as a failure on the part of the 
individual. In other words, there are those 
who reject, those who resist, those who ignore the very word 
of the living God. So going back to Proverbs chapter 
29, when that situation occurs, when it is the case that there 
is no revelation, the text goes on to tell us that the people 
cast off restraint. The old King James has it, where 
there is no revelation, the people perish. Now, it's a section or 
a bit of scripture that has a wide array of meanings, and I think 
that the New King James is probably on the right track. The people 
cast off restraint. The Christian standard Bible 
glosses it this way, and it's quite accurate. It may not sound 
literal, but it really is a literal interpretation. It says, without 
revelation, people run wild. Without revelation, people run 
wild. Waltke says without revelation, 
people fall into anarchy. Matthew Henry offers several 
glosses on the passage. He says without revelation, the 
people are made naked, the people rebel, the people are idle or 
they play. The people are scattered as sheep 
having no shepherd. The people perish. They are destroyed 
for lack of knowledge. And there he cites Hosea 4.6, 
my people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge. So the idea or 
the emphasis of the text is that where there is no revelation, 
where the word of God is absent, there is a prevalency of lawlessness 
and wickedness. In other words, the particular 
use of the law that's in view here is what we would call the 
civil or the political use of the law. It's a similar situation 
to the time in the book of Judges where twice we read, there was 
no king in Israel and everyone did what was right in his own 
eyes. There is a blessed effect of having a king. There is a 
blessed effect of having revelation. There is a blessed effect of 
having God's law in that political or civil use because it restrains 
the wickedness and the abject godlessness of mankind. You know it very well in your 
own home. You make rules for your kids. and they have to tow a particular 
line, and those rules help facilitate an environment that is conducive 
to lawfulness. Without those rules, if everybody's 
allowed to do whatever is right in their own eyes, it would be 
mayhem. If that's how your house is, 
please never invite me over, because I want nothing to do 
with that kind of anarchy. I'm just kidding, you can invite 
me over still, but I might encourage you to bring the rod and reproof 
to those little ones because that's what they desperately 
need. So the use of the law in view here in Proverbs 29, 18a, 
where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint, 
is what is called the civil or the political use of the law. 
Richard Muller defines it this way. He says, it is according 
to which the law serves the commonwealth or body politic as a force for 
the restraint of sin. And then he mentions a text that 
we'll look at in just a moment. Carl F. A. Chenry, I actually 
quoted this in a proverb sermon not very long ago. He says, even 
where there is no saving faith, the law serves to restrain sin 
and to preserve the order of creation by proclaiming the will 
of God. By its judgments and its threats 
of condemnation and punishment, the written law, along with the 
law of conscience, hinders sin among the unregenerate. It has 
the role of a magistrate who is a terror to evildoers. It 
fulfills a political function, therefore, by its constraining 
influence in the unregenerate world. It is a means of grace, 
common grace, by God imposed upon man to restrain man from 
being as vile and as wretched and as wicked as he can possibly 
be. We ought to be very thankful 
for this civil or political use because it keeps man from making 
hell on earth. It does provide parameters, it 
provides boundaries, and it hedges man in from fulfilling all of 
their godless lusts at once. Turn to 1 Timothy 1.9 as an illustration 
of this civil or political use of God's law. In 1 Timothy chapter 
1, specifically at verse 8, Paul says, we know that the law is 
good if one uses it lawfully. It's the subject of our study 
tonight, the lawful use of God's law. And then he goes on to say, 
knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous person. 
but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, 
for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers 
of mothers, for manslayers, for fornicators, for sodomites, for 
kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing 
that is contrary to sound doctrine, according to the glorious gospel 
of the blessed God which was committed to my trust. Now, Paul 
says specifically, knowing this, that the law is not made for 
a righteous person. There are other contexts wherein 
we find that the law is, in fact, made for a righteous person, 
but not in this use of the law. The third use of the law, which 
we're going to look at in a few moments, is what's called the 
normative use of the law, and that does have a place in the 
lives of God's people. When Paul wants the people in 
Rome, the believers in Rome, to love one another, he defines 
love as obedience in terms of God's law. We love one another 
in this church when we don't murder each other. We love one 
another in this church when we don't steal from one another. 
We love one another in this church when we don't commit adultery 
with one another's spouses. There is objective obedience 
to the law of God as an expression of our love for God and our love 
for one another. That's the normative use. But 
here in 1 Timothy 1 verse 9, it is the political or civil 
use. So when Paul says that the law 
was not made for the righteous, the way I explained it yesterday 
was counterfeiting laws. Most of us don't counterfeit. Most of us, well, I'd like to 
say all of us don't counterfeit. We don't have labs in our basements 
where we go down and we print off 20s and put Prime Minister's 
faces on them and go up to Walmart and pass that phony money. We're 
not subject to that law because it has no sort of connection 
to us. And that's the point with reference 
to the civil or the political use. It's made for the unrighteous. It's made to restrain them. It's 
made to keep them from engaging in counterfeiting. It's made 
to keep them from engaging in the lawlessness that is outlined 
here by Paul, which is really just a rehearsal of the Ten Commandments. When you look at this list of 
vices that Paul speaks of in verses 9 and following, he is 
telling us that these are the Ten Commandments. So in terms 
of the civil or the political use of God's law, it isn't for 
the righteous because the righteous are already in compliance with 
it. They're not engaged in murder. They're not engaged in adultery. 
They're not engaged in theft. They're not engaged in lies and 
covetousness. This is made specifically for 
the unrighteous to hedge them in, to restrain them, and to 
keep them from going hog wild or from running wild. But as 
well, if we look back at Proverbs chapter 29 and verse 18, there's 
another use of the law that obtains for the unbeliever, and that's 
the pedagogical use. That's the second use of the 
law, where the law functions as a tutor. The law functions 
as a schoolmaster. The law functions to show us 
our need for the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord. So if we look 
at verse 18, where there is no revelation, the people cast off 
restraint. Where there is no divine communication, 
the people don't look for Jesus Christ. Where there is no condemnation 
for their sin and lawlessness, they will never search out the 
remedy for their sin and lawlessness. So you've got the civil or political 
use that avails for the unbeliever, but you also have this pedagogical 
use that avails for the unbeliever as well. Again, Muller defines 
it this way, the use of the law for the confrontation and refutation 
of sin and for the purpose of pointing the way to Christ. It's 
precisely one of the uses of God's law. We preach to sinners 
their sinfulness, their violation of God's law, not because we're 
better than them, not because we want to make them feel bad, 
not because we want to celebrate how great we are, but we tell 
them those things so that they will understand the malady and 
then seek out the remedy. If they don't know what the problem 
is, they will never be looking for the answer of our Lord Jesus 
Christ. Now a particular passage that 
is illustrative here is Romans chapter 3 and verse 20. Romans 
chapter 3 and verse 20. You can turn there. Romans 3.20 is a transition verse. It summarizes the preceding argument 
concerning the universal reign of sin. It confirms the certainty 
of verse 19, and it moves the argument toward the specific 
goal. Verses 21 and following, where Paul says, sinners ought 
to go because they are sinners. Notice in verse 19 of Romans 
3, now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those 
who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped and all 
the world may become guilty before God. Therefore, notice, by the 
deeds of the law, no flesh will be justified in his sight. You 
can never obey God perfectly, entirely, exactly, and perpetually 
in order to be received by God. Remember, we're dead in Adam. We are sinners. We are rebels. 
We, like sheep, have gone astray. So Paul says very clearly, by 
the deeds of the law, no flesh will be justified in his sight. 
You may be justified in other people's sight. You may look 
good to your neighbors. You may look good to your spouse. 
You may look good to your kids. You may look good to your parents. 
But in terms of justification, the apostle is dealing with in 
his sight. But then notice this use of the 
law that he goes on to highlight. For by the law is what? It's 
the knowledge of sin. So where there is no revelation, 
where there is no communication of divine law, the people cast 
off restraint in terms of they'll never seek after the Lord Jesus 
Christ. See, the law of God is absolutely 
crucial. It is necessary to preach. Churches that don't preach the 
law of God are not doing their job. They are negligent. They 
are contributing to a problem that is huge. It is the reality 
that sinners must know the problem before they'll ever cry out for 
the Lord Jesus to save them. Christ said, I didn't come to 
call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. And that is precisely 
what we find with reference to the law. It does that. Turn back to Matthew chapter 
19 to see Jesus employ this use of the law in his own earthly 
ministry. Jesus employs this use of the 
law in his own earthly ministry. Matthew chapter 19 at verse 16. Now behold, one came and said 
to him, good teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have 
eternal life? So he said to him, why do you 
call me good? No one is good but one, that 
is God. But if you want to enter into 
life, keep the commandments. He said to him, which ones? Jesus 
said, you shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you 
shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, honor your 
father and your mother, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself. 
The young man said to him, all these things I have kept from 
my youth, what do I still lack? Jesus said to him, if you want 
to be perfect, go sell what you have and give to the poor, and 
you will have treasure in heaven and come follow me. Now, Jesus 
understands the absolute necessity of perfect obedience to the Father 
for acceptance by the Father. Jesus is not suggesting that 
this young man can actually attain that. Jesus is not suggesting 
that this young man is close, and if he just takes this further 
step, then he will demonstrate the fact that he is perfect. 
It is arguable whether he did, in fact, keep all these things 
from his youth. So Jesus takes the 10th commandment 
and he applies it to his conscience and to his heart. When he says, 
if you want to be perfect, go sell what you have and give to 
the poor and you will have treasure in heaven and come follow me. 
He's preaching the law to him. He's preaching the 10th word 
to him. And we see that based on the response. Verse 22, but 
when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful 
for he had, what he had great possessions. There's this reality 
that in his boastfulness, that all these things I've kept from 
my youth, he didn't keep that 10th commandment. He was a lover 
of money. He was a lover of stuff. And 
when Christ brings that law to bear upon him, he would rather 
go away sorrowful than actually deal with Christ and the gospel. So these two uses of the law, 
I think, spring from Proverbs chapter 29 at verse 18. I don't 
think they spring from there. I think they're consistent with 
the entirety of the Scripture, but we see that in this passage. 
Now, in terms of some practical forms of wickedness, when there 
is no revelation, the people cast off restraint. So, when 
they cast off restraint, or when they run wild, or when they fall 
into anarchy, what sorts of things do we see as a result? Well, 
the violation of the Ten Commandments. We see rampant idolatry. We see 
rampant blasphemy. We see rampant Sabbath-breaking 
and insubordination to authority. We see murder. We see adultery. 
We see theft and lies and covetousness. You see that, and it affects 
those persons as individuals. It affects their families. It 
affects society as a whole. But in terms of Solomon's school 
of wisdom in Proverbs chapter 28, notice what happens. They 
praise the wicked. Verse 4 of Proverbs 28, those 
who forsake the law praise the wicked. It's a terrible place 
to be when you're siding with the wicked, when you're shouting 
your abortion, when you're praising godlessness and lawlessness and 
wretchedness. If you are on that side of the 
debate, you have taken the wrong turn somewhere along the way. 
This is equivalent to what we find in Romans chapter 1. Remember 
what Paul does in Romans chapter 1. He highlights the guilt of 
the Gentiles. He highlights the wickedness 
of the heathen. divine oracles, those who had no word of God. Perfect example of what happens 
when men cast off restraint. Well, in chapter 1 at verse 32, 
he says, "...who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that 
those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only 
do the same, but also they approve of those who practice them." 
So they not only engage in lawlessness, but they want to see others damned 
alongside of them. They not only shout their abortion, 
but they want everybody to shout their abortion. They not only 
parade their perversity, but they want everybody to do it. 
And then lo and behold, at least in our society, they not only 
want to do that and revel in it amongst others, but they want 
to force it down our throats and make us not only see it as 
something that they do, but to accept it and embrace it. They're 
trying to force us to love Big Brother in terms of the ethical 
perversion that is rampant in this day and age. Brethren, never 
make the mistake of not seeing what is at stake in this whole 
approach to God's holy law. And then notice as well in Proverbs 
28, 9. The ruination of the religious life. Notice in Proverbs 28.9, 
one who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer 
is an abomination. Even his prayer is an abomination. 
We might ask the question, why would an antinomian or a lawless 
individual even pray? Because they're hypocrites. Why 
do they do that? Because they have a form of godliness, 
but they deny its power. 2 Timothy chapter 3. They're 
the sorts of people that Jesus pictures for us in Matthew chapter 
6. They stand on the street corner, 
or rather when they give a charitable, or they engage in a charitable 
deed, they make sure everybody sees it. When they pray, they 
stand on the street corners and they pray so that everybody can 
see them. When they fast, they do it in 
such a way that everybody around them knows that they're fasting. Jesus condemns that approach, 
that hypocrisy. But just because someone is lawless, 
just because someone is wretched, doesn't mean they don't have 
an inkling of religion. And in Proverbs 28.9, he says, 
one who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer 
is an abomination. Bridges, I think, wisely comments 
here. He says, this does not mark the 
frailty, infirmity, or temptation that too often interrupts the 
hearing of the law and damps the attentive interest. In other 
words, if you're a sensitive soul that perhaps started to 
think about burritos and about the fourth section of a sermon 
and your mind wandered for a little bit, that's not you, is what 
he's saying. He goes on to say, or even the 
occasional rebellion against the divine commands. We have 
to all admit, we all have occasional rebellion against the divine 
commands. Yes. You don't actually have 
to answer. I know the answer on that one. 
We all have that. That's not what this text refers 
to. He says, the case described is 
that habitual and obstinate rejection of God that despises His ordinances 
and refuses the instruction of His ministry. That's the problem 
in verse 9. One who turns away his ear from 
hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination. Turn back 
to Proverbs 15 for just a moment. We see this emphasized, not with 
reference to just prayer or lawlessness, but you see this sort of a theme 
in Proverbs 15. Notice in 15.8, the sacrifice 
of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord. But the prayer of 
the upright is his delight. Verse 9, the way of the wicked 
is an abomination to the Lord, but he loves him who follows 
righteousness. And then in verse 26, the thoughts 
of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord, but the words of 
the pure are pleasant. So the idea is, is those who 
reject God. Those who cast off revelation, 
they are also casting off restraint. They are running wild. They are 
running headlong into sin. They are living as anarchists, 
ethical anarchists. They are engaged in rebellion 
against God so that when they go to their knees to pray, even 
that prayer is an abomination to Yahweh. Now, let's look at 
the use of the law for the lawful in 18b. Because he not only says, 
where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint. 
He says, but happy is he who keeps the law. Now, you ought 
to observe in the first place, it's not just having the law 
that promotes happiness. It's the keeping of the law that 
promotes happiness. Certainly there's a benefit and 
a blessing, and it's a boon to be where the Word of God is preached. 
It's a blessing and a benefit and a boon to own the Bible. So having the Word of God is 
a good thing, but the emphasis in our text is on obedience to 
the law of God. Happy is he who keeps it. Jesus 
says, go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing 
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy 
Spirit. And he says, teaching them to observe all things that 
I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, 
even to the end of the age. So it's not just having the word, 
but it's actually doing what the word says that is emphasized 
by Solomon here. The keeper of the law contends 
with the wicked. If the lawless praises the wicked, 
according to 28.4, the keeper of the law contends with the 
wicked. And then the keeper of the law 
prays in an acceptable manner to the Lord. If in verse 9 of 
chapter 28 we read, one who turns away his ear from hearing the 
law, even his prayer is an abomination, by implication, one who doesn't 
turn away his ear from hearing the law. One who obeys and keeps 
the law by the power of the Holy Spirit. His prayer is not only 
not an abomination, but it's delightful to the Lord. You see 
that back in Proverbs chapter 15. Look at 15 again. 15... 15.8. The sacrifice of 
the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but the prayer of 
the upright is His delight. This has always encouraged me 
in terms of why we ought to pray. I'm not saying I always pray 
the way I ought to, but this is an encouragement for us to 
pray. The prayer of the upright is 
God's delight. When you know that your spouse 
likes something, you try to do that for your spouse because 
it brings him or her pleasure. If we know that God delights 
in the prayers of the upright, why wouldn't we pray? Why wouldn't 
we seek to bring glory and honor and praise unto God? Why would 
we jip Him of something that is His due? Why would we neglect 
the private place? Why would we neglect the family 
altar? Why would we neglect a public prayer meeting? Why would we 
do that when the prayer of the upright is the delight of God 
most high? It's a beautiful and a blessed 
thing. Now, in terms of the use of the law that believers have 
here in verse 18 of chapter 29, but happy is he who keeps the 
law. We've already seen that the civil use applies to unbelievers. The pedagogical use applies for 
unbelievers, and there's also application for believers, but 
the use of the law here is particular for the believer. The unbeliever 
does not have the normative use of the law, but rather the believer 
has what's called the normative use of the law. And again, Moeller 
explains, pertains to believers in Christ who have been saved 
through faith apart from works. In the regenerate life, the law 
acts as a norm of conduct, freely accepted by those in whom the 
grace of God works the good. So the idea is, John 17, 17, 
when Jesus in that high priestly prayer prays, sanctify them by 
thy truth, thy word is truth. Go to Romans chapter 13. I already 
referred to this. I want you to see it for yourself 
so that you can understand that Paul defines love for one another 
as obedience to concrete commands, vis-a-vis the second table of 
the moral law, the Decalogue. Romans chapter 13 at verse 8. 
Oh, no one anything except to love one another, for he who 
loves one another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, 
you shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall 
not steal, you shall not bear false witness, you shall not 
covet. And if there is any other commandment, they're all summed 
up in this saying, namely, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. 
Love does no harm to a neighbor, therefore love is the fulfillment 
of the law. You see, that's the normative use of God's law. When 
we wonder, as justified believers, how should we conduct ourselves 
before this holy God? The law of God reveals to us 
his will. The law of God reveals to us 
his perfection. The law of God reveals to us 
that which is pleasing to God. Francis Turretin explains it 
this way. He says, the law leads to Christ 
and Christ leads us back to the law. It leads to Christ as the 
Redeemer, and Christ leads to the law as the leader and director 
of life. See, that's how it functions. 
And if you have an appreciation of the three uses of the law, 
it will hopefully help you as you study the concept or the 
doctrine of God's law in the Bible. And every time the word 
law applies, it's not that every single use is there. We see it 
in 1 Timothy 1, 9. He's dealing with the civil use. 
Romans 3.20, he's dealing with the pedagogical use. And in Romans 
chapter 13, he's dealing with the normative use. Same idea 
in Ephesians chapter 6. Children, obey your parents and 
the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and your mother. 
The supposition by the apostle is that they're believing children 
within the context of the church at Ephesus. And as believers 
in Christ, they're supposed to render evangelical obedience 
to that fifth commandment and thus honor God and their parents. Now, in terms of just a couple 
of practical observations with reference to 2918b, happy is 
he who keeps the law. I want to suggest three particular 
applications in terms of happiness or joy associated with keeping 
the law. In the first place, keeping the 
law is a consequence of justifying faith. Keeping the law is a consequence 
of justifying faith. You can turn to Galatians 5. 
Galatians chapter 5. We know Paul's point in Galatians. 
If we don't, we need to brush up. Paul's point in Galatians 
is the way of acceptance with the Holy God is by grace alone, 
through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone. In terms of justification, 
how is a man right before God, that justifying work has no dependence 
whatsoever upon the sinner, but all the dependence is upon the 
Savior, even our Lord Jesus. In fact, go back for just a moment 
to Galatians chapter two. Galatians chapter two. I'm going 
to jump into the midst of a context without giving a lot of explanation 
because we don't have the time for it, but just look at verse 
16. Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the 
law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. Even we have believed in Christ 
Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by 
the works of the law. For by the works of the law, 
no flesh shall be justified. It's pretty obvious, pretty evident. The Reformers were not wrong, 
sola fide, faith alone. And then drop down to verse 20. Paul says, I have been crucified 
with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but 
Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live 
in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved 
me and gave himself for me. Now verse 21 is absolutely crucial, 
not that 20 isn't, but look at verse 21. So the apostle is saying 
to these people affected by the Judaizing heresy, that if you think for a moment 
that your works gain acceptance with God, then the work of Jesus 
Christ on the cross was vain. In other words, if you can earn 
your salvation based on your merit, based on your law-keeping, 
based on your ability, then why the cross? If it was up to you, 
then why would the Son of God have to go through what He went 
through? The reality is, is that the Son of God went through what 
He went through in order to save us from our sins, because there 
is no way whatsoever we could have ever earned salvation from 
a holy God. So the emphasis in Galatians 
is justification by grace through faith in our Lord Jesus. We get 
to Galatians 5, and we see the practical outworking of that 
salvation. We see the category of sanctification. And in 5.6, the apostle says, 
for in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision 
avails anything but faith working through love. Now, Rome butchers 
this particular text, but as Protestants, we need to understand 
with Calvin, What is described here is how faith functions, 
not how faith is formed. Faith functions by working through 
love. So keeping the law is a consequence 
of justifying faith. Machen says love, according to 
the New Testament, is not the means of salvation, but it is 
the finest fruit of it. A man is saved by faith, not 
by love, but he is saved by faith in order that he may love. So 
if you have love for God, if you have a compliance with the 
law of God, if there is in you a desire to do the things that 
God commands, this is a fruit of or a consequence of justifying 
faith. In other words, God saves you 
not because you obey. God saves you by grace through 
faith so that you will obey. It's a beautiful thing. So you're 
not doing what God commands in order to be saved. You're doing 
what God commands because by grace you have been saved. Jesus 
makes the statement in John 14, 15, if you love me, keep my commandments. Again, it's a consequence or 
a fruit of or a response of justifying faith. Our Confession says faith 
thus receiving and resting on Christ and His righteousness 
is the alone instrument of justification. Yet it is not alone in the person 
justified, but is ever accompanied with all other saving graces, 
and is no dead faith, but worketh by love. So if there is this 
keeping of the law, and it is for the glory of God, it is for 
the good of souls, this is an outflow of your having been justified 
by faith. Secondly, happy is he who keeps 
the law. Keeping the law is a help. a 
help to promote assurance of salvation. Sometimes persons 
struggle with assurance of salvation. I understand that. Our confession 
has a wonderful chapter that speaks to that particular struggle. 
But even more importantly, there's a book in the New Testament that 
speaks to that particular struggle as well. Turn with me to 1 John. In fact, 1 John gives us the 
point of 1 John in 1 John 5 at verse 13. Just as John gives a purpose 
for the writing of the gospel in John 20, here he gives a purpose 
for the writing of his first epistle in 1 John 5, 13. He says, 
these things I have written to you who believe in the name of 
the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. 
See, it's a good thing to have assurance of faith. It's a good 
thing to have assurance of salvation, because you will function in 
a different manner than those who do not understand or have 
this assurance of faith. And so 1 John is calculated to 
promote in the people of God this assurance. So these things 
I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, 
that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may 
continue to believe in the name of the Son of God." Now, within 
the book itself, he gives us several helps to promote this 
assurance. Notice in 1 John 2. 1 John 2. Again, the second application 
I'm making is keeping the law is a help to promote assurance 
of salvation. 1 John 2. Now by this, we know 
that we know Him. If we keep His commandments, 
Again, the point is not, I'm going to keep His commandments 
in order to be saved. I'm going to keep His commandments 
in order to know Him. No, you've been saved by grace 
through faith. You know Him because He has first 
known you. But an evidence or a manifestation 
of this is obedience to His law. 1 John 2.3, we know that we know 
Him if we keep His commandments. Notice in 1 John 3.14, we know 
that we have passed from death to life because we love the brethren. See, before we were saved, we 
didn't love the brethren. The brethren are the bloodbods. 
The brethren are the redeemed. The brethren may at times bump 
into us. We may have some friction from 
time to time. We may not always see eye to eye in every jot and 
tittle, but we love the brethren. That's a good sign. If you love 
the brethren, God has done a work, most likely, in your heart. We 
know that we have passed from death to life because we love 
the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. 
Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that 
no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. And then notice 
in 3.18 and 19, my little children, Let us not love in word or in 
tongue, but indeed in truth. And by this we know that we are 
of the truth and shall assure our hearts before Him." 1 John 
3, 23 and 24. 1 John 3, 23 and 24. Again, keeping 
the law is a help to promote assurance of salvation. 1 John 3.23, and this is his commandment, 
that we should believe on the name of his son, Jesus Christ, 
and love one another as he gave us commandment. Now, he who keeps 
his commandments abides in him and he in him. And by this, we 
know that he abides in us by the spirit whom he has given 
us. Isn't 3.23 intriguing? And this 
is his commandment, that we should believe on the name of his son, 
Jesus Christ. That is a command. That is absolutely 
imperative. The entrance into the Christian 
life is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. When you are in the Lord 
Jesus Christ, you're supposed to love one another as He gave 
us commandment. And then in 1 John 5, 2 and 3, 
By this we know that we love the children of God, when we 
love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, 
that we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not 
burdensome. See, if the commandments are burdensome, if they are grievous, 
if you look at them as being something that is horrific, that 
is a bad sign, brethren. We may struggle, we will always 
struggle to comply with it 100%, but the law is holy, it's good, 
it's just, and it's right. The problem is never with the 
law, the problem is always with us. The New Testament believer 
says with David in the Old Covenant, oh, how I love thy law. It is 
my meditation all the day. It is something the people of 
God delight in. And just incidentally, look how 
John defines sin in 1 John 3. 1 John 3, 4, whoever commits 
sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. So in terms of some practical 
outworkings of happy is he who keeps the law, we see that keeping 
of the law is a consequence of justifying faith, keeping of 
the law is a help to promote assurance of salvation, and then 
thirdly, keeping of the law is an expression of gratitude to 
God. It is an expression of gratitude to God. We talked about this 
yesterday. Berkhoff hit on this. Berkhoff 
makes this comment. They, the Reformed, stand strong 
in the conviction that believers are still under the law as a 
rule of life and of gratitude. When you obey God, when you do 
what God says, this is an expression of your gratitude to God for 
what He has done in your life. Burkhoff goes on to say, hence 
the Heidelberg Catechism devotes not less than 11 Lord's Days 
to the discussion of the law and that in its third part, which 
deals with gratitude. You would think the Ten Commandments 
would show up at that first part in the Heidelberg that deals 
with our guilt. Now, there is a reference in 
that section on how do we know our sin and misery. Well, the 
law tells me so. But in terms of the exposition 
or amplification of the Ten Commandments, it's in the third section. You've 
got guilt, grace, gratitude. When we obey God, it is an expression 
of our gratitude to God. Our own confession in the chapter 
on assurance of salvation says, and therefore it is the duty 
of everyone to give all diligence to make their calling and election 
sure, that thereby his heart may be enlarged in peace and 
joy in the Holy Spirit, in love and thankfulness to God. They 
go on to say, and in strength and cheerfulness in the duties 
of obedience, the proper fruits of this assurance. So far is 
it from inciting or inclining men to looseness. So, in other 
words, when we obey God, we are not doing so in order to get 
saved. We're doing so as an expression 
of our gratitude to us having been saved by grace through faith 
in our Lord Jesus Christ. So back to Solomon, where there 
is no revelation, the people cast off restraint, but happy 
is he who keeps the law. Well, I hope that you will understand 
the law of God is used in these three ways. First, civil slash 
political. Second, pedagogical. and third, 
normative. With reference to the normative, 
this one has fallen on hard times in our own generation. I think 
the only ones that actually affirm this use of the law and give 
any heed to it is the reform. Oftentimes, in evangelicalism, 
there is no concern whatsoever for the Ten Commandments. There's 
no concern whatsoever for law keeping. And law keeping, in 
many places, is regarded as legalism. You talk about a word that is 
abused. There are good definitions of 
legalism, and the normative use of the law in the lives of God's 
people ain't one of them. It is not legalism to do what 
God says as an expression of gratitude, as a help to promote 
assurance, and as having flown out of a heart justified by faith 
alone. John Murray spoke to this issue 
in his day. I would suggest it's even worse 
in our day. He says, it is symptomatic of 
a pattern of thought current in many evangelical circles that 
the idea of keeping the commandments of God is not consonant with 
the liberty and spontaneity of the Christian man. That keeping 
the law has its affinities with legalism and with the principle 
of works rather than with the principle of grace. He says, 
it is strange indeed that this kind of antipathy to the notion 
of keeping commandments should be entertained by any believer 
who is a serious student of the New Testament. Did not our Lord 
say, if you love me, you will keep my commandments? Now, when 
he says this is a strange thing, that it's entertained by any 
believer who is a serious student of the New Testament, I would 
suggest there's not a whole lot of serious students of the New 
Testament, but as well, when you do read Scripture, and you 
do so with an eye to appreciating how God's law is used in various 
places, you will hopefully glean from that the reality that this 
idea of the threefold use of the law is good. and that as 
God's people, spirit-filled, we have that pattern, we have 
that law as a rule of life, and it is our joy and our delight 
and our blessed pleasure to do what God calls us to do. If it 
is grievous, if it is burdensome, if it's a heavy thing, if it's 
something that causes more consternation than rejoicing or celebration, 
then you need to check your heart. because the law of God reflects 
for us or reveals to us who God is, and the blood-bot wants to 
be like his Father. Well, hopefully this is helpful, 
and hopefully it makes sense of this text. Where there is 
no revelation, the people cast off restraint, but happy, happy 
is he who keeps the law. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank you for your Word, we thank you for these things, in 
the book of Proverbs for the reality that they are consistent 
from Genesis to Revelation. God, we thank you for your law. 
We thank you for its lawful uses in our own hearts and lives. 
We do pray that it would be continued to continue to be proclaimed 
throughout churches and and that that exercise of restraint would 
occur by your your hand and by your power and by your mercy 
and that civil use. And we pray that that law would 
be preached to sinners to show them their great need for the 
Savior, to provoke in them that misery, that realization of their 
own lawlessness, and that seeking after the remedy in our Lord 
Jesus Christ. We ask that you would go with 
us now and help us to bring glory and honor and praise to you, 
and we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. We'll close with 
a brief time of meditation and then be dismissed.