Daily Devotion: The Law is Perfect and Wise

Psalm 19:7 (Hebrew translation), The law of Yahweh is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of Yahweh is firm, making wise the simple minded.

As this psalm has two absolutes, I have two points to make: 1) Antinomians have no place in Christianity; 2) God’s Word imparts wisdom. The Law condemns because we are incapable of keeping the Law; there is no doubt in that. This does not mean the Law is bad, however, as the gospel reductionists would claim; neither does this mean the Law no longer applies to the Christian, as the antinomians claim.

St. Paul reminds us the Law is holy, righteous, and good (Romans 7:12). The Law is holy, righteous, and good because it tells us how sinful—or how bad—we are. The fact that the Law reveals our sinfulness does not mean the Law is bad; it simply means we are bad. The antinomians are only partially correct. The Law no longer applies to the Christian insofar as salvation is concerned, for that belongs to grace (Romans 6:14); but the Law does apply to the Christian insofar as loving your neighbour is concerned. Your neighbour needs your good works, and the Law tells you how to love your neighbour.

The second point: God’s Word imparts wisdom. Many studies and volumes of books are dedicated to this vast subject. I will keep it down to one fact: wisdom is fearing God. “The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10). The fear of God leads to repentance, which leads to trusting in God’s grace in Jesus Christ. Wisdom, therefore, is ultimately submitting to God’s Word.

Wisdom says homosexuality is still sin when the rest of the world says it is not; to say otherwise is to be simple-minded. Wisdom admits its transgressions against God even when you want to believe you’re in the right, and subsequently trusts in God’s grace; remaining unrepentant is to be simple-minded. Wisdom practises abstinence before marriage, even though the world idolises sexual experience before marriage; promiscuity is to be simple-minded. The list goes on.

Submitting to God’s Word, especially when you don’t want to, is godly wisdom. Let us, therefore, continually pray for the Holy Spirit to conform us to obedience for the sake of our neighbour.