We live in strange times. On the one hand, it’s like the days of the Judges when everyone did what is right in his own eyes (Judges 21:25). The law of man transcends the law of God. At the same time, people believe that more legislation will curb evil in society. This stance actually betrays the additional claim of individual rights. Strange times indeed. Confusing times.
As a result, we are faced with three problems that reveal mankind’s confusion and lead to eternal judgement apart from the saving gospel.
The Inward Problem
The inward problem says, “I’m not as bad as the next guy.” This is not just a modern problem since mankind has always naturally measured himself against others just like the Pharisee did with the tax collector in Jesus’ parable (Lk 18). Nevertheless, it is not the proper measuring stick for ethics and morality. God doesn’t grade on a curve.
In our house, the heights of our children are measured several times each year to see how much they have grown. We have used the same board, placed against the wall, to trace their growth. Old marks are not erased, and the board has not been replaced. In the same way, God’s law cannot be replaced. And God’s standards are higher than man-made standards. Jesus said, “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5:48).
The law of man should not transcend divine law. Rather, divine commandments transcend whatever man-made standards we create in our hearts. And regardless of what people may claim, we tend to dumb down and suppress the high standards of God’s law hidden in our hearts. So, we are in rebellion when we ignore his law for our own.
“For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus” (Rom 2:14-16).
But the inward problem manifests itself in society.
The Outward Problem
Society says, “It’s your own life. You only have one. Live it the way you think is best.” But the principles of God’s law are not subject to the shifting foundation of cultural or moral relativism. As Christians, we believe in moral absolutism, not moral relativism. God’s moral absolutes are the final say, not the ethical marks of society. Society is not the final arbiter in measuring man’s morality.
People today make a big deal about individual rights even as individual rights are being taken away. Such proves that man cannot live without law. He knows this instinctively. So, he’ll either live with God’s law or new laws laid down by society, University professors, or government legislation. When this happens, chaos and confusion ensue, not to mention the suppression of religious liberty.
But the inward and outward problem forces us to deal with the upward problem.
The Upward Problem
If the inward problem says, “I’m not as bad as the next guy”, and the outward problem says, “Live the way you think is best because it’s your life”, then in the upward problem God says, “You are obligated to obey my law and when you don’t there will be hell to pay.”
But God is not a cosmic killjoy. His law flows from His holy character and is good for mankind. The Apostle tells us, “So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good” (Rom 7:12). God’s law has not been concealed but has been revealed in the Holy Scriptures. His law is holy, good, and righteous. And all men, therefore, are left without excuse (cf. Rom 1:20).
People speak about the Supreme Court as if our lives depend upon it. In a sense, this is a valid concern. There will be different judgements made based upon the ratio of conservative and liberal appointees. But this is only true temporally speaking. Eternally speaking, there will be a Final Judgement. God’s Supreme Court is a cosmic tribunal with no opportunity for appeal.
Our only hope is to look to Christ in faith since He fulfilled the law for repentant sinners. The saving gospel frees us from our bondage to the law. Those who confess their sin and look with faith to Christ are wedded to Him in an eternal union so “that we may bear fruit for God”. The gospel frees us from the condemning power of the law “so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code” (Rom 7:4-6). On the judgement day, Christ will serve as the Defense Attorney for all true believers. He will say, “I obeyed the law for you.” On that day we will not claim our own obedience to the law as the reason we are saved from God’s judgement. Rather, we will plead the merits of Christ even as He pleads for us based upon what He did at Calvary.