A world entirely without law would be a dreadful place. It is one aspect of God’s restraining grace that nations have laws, however imperfect, which to some extent limit sins such as murder and theft. They are in place because society needs them. And it is because we need them that God has given us His commands. Among the effects of the Fall is ignorance – in particular, about how we should behave; we need boundary lines to mark out the limits of acceptable behaviour. In kindness, God gave Israel the moral law, in the form of the Ten Commandments. Paul points out that “the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good” (Rom 7:12). Charles Hodge makes the connection: “The law of God is a transcript of His own nature – holy, just and good”.1 And so the Commandments are of permanent validity; they have not lost their authority, and they never will.
As the Scriptures have been circulated to various parts of the world, these commands have provided those who received them with the exact boundary lines they needed. And, however ignorant of God’s law some peoples may yet be, they do have some residual sense of the need to restrain their behaviour. But Western society is in a dangerous position as it turns its back on God’s law, thinking its own ideas better than the revelation given by an infinite mind. The Lord pronounces a solemn “woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil” (Is 5:20). Ungodly people may be unwilling to admit it, but it is good for us to be restricted by God’s law.
The particular commandment referred to in the context is the Tenth: “Thou shalt not covet . . .”. It is good for us not to covet, to be content with our circumstances; this will keep us from many another sin. But all the commandments are good for us. Most people today see the command to “remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy” as unreasonable, restricting them from doing what they consider perfectly legitimate. But it is a great blessing for us to be able on one day in seven to leave everything else, as far as possible, and focus on our spiritual needs.
We should also bear in mind that “the commandment is exceeding broad” (Ps 119:96). The reach of each commandment is very great, taking to do with
1 A Commentary on Romans, Banner of Truth Trust, 1983 reprint, p 226.
every aspect of human life. It not only takes to do with our outward actions and what we say – what everyone else can see or hear – it takes to do with our thoughts and motives. So, for example, when Jesus refers to the Seventh Commandment, He adds, “Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart” (Mt 5:28).
The principle lying behind Jesus’ statement applies to every commandment. The First not only forbids outward worship of a false god and taking part in the activities of a false religion; it is so broad that it forbids every defect in our practice of the true religion. In particular, the refusal to believe in Jesus Christ is a sin against this commandment; so is every shortcoming in the faith of God’s children. Again, the Fourth Commandment not only forbids blatant outward transgression of the sanctity of the Sabbath, but also all unnecessary conversation and thoughts about worldly things.
To gain further light on the great breadth of the commandments, let us notice The Larger Catechism answer to the question: “What are the sins forbidden in the Third Commandment?” It lists them as follows: “The not using of God’s name as is required; and the abuse of it in an ignorant, vain, irreverent, profane, superstitious, or wicked mentioning, or otherwise using His titles, attributes, ordinances, or works, by blasphemy, perjury; all sinful cursings, oaths, vows, and lots; violating of our oaths and vows, if lawful; and fulfilling them, if of things unlawful; murmuring and quarrelling at, curious prying into, and misapplying of God’s decrees and providences, misinterpreting, misapplying, or any way perverting the Word, or any part of it, to profane jests, curious or unprofitable questions, vain janglings, or the maintaining of false doctrines; abusing it, the creatures, or any thing contained under the name of God, to charms, or sinful lusts and practices; the maligning, scorning, reviling, or any wise opposing of God’s truth, grace, and ways; making profession of religion in hypocrisy, or for sinister ends; being ashamed of it, or a shame to it, by unconformable, unwise, unfruitful, and offensive walking, or backsliding from it” (Ans 113).
For a further example from the same source, let us take Answer 141: “The duties required in the Eighth Commandment are, truth, faithfulness, and justice in contracts and commerce between man and man; rendering to every one his due; restitution of goods unlawfully detained from the right owners thereof; giving and lending freely, according to our abilities, and the necessities of others; moderation of our judgements, wills and affections concerning worldly goods; a provident care and study to get, keep, use, and dispose these things which are necessary and convenient for the sustentation of our nature, and suitable to our condition; a lawful calling, and diligence in it; frugality, avoiding unnecessary lawsuits, and suretyship, or other like engagements; and an
endeavour, by all just and lawful means, to procure, preserve, and further the wealth and outward estate of others, as well as our own”.
It may also be a help us to comprehend the breadth of God’s law if we consider the rules, given in Answer 99 of The Larger Catechism, which “are to be observed for the right understanding of the Ten Commandments”:
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That the law is perfect, and bindeth everyone to full conformity in the whole man unto the righteousness thereof, and unto entire obedience for ever, so as to require the utmost perfection of every duty, and to forbid the least degree of every sin.
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That it is spiritual, and so reacheth the understanding, will, affections, and all other powers of the soul; as well as words, works, and gestures.
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That one and the same thing, in divers respects, is required or forbidden in several commandments.
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That as, where a duty is commanded, the contrary sin is forbidden; and, where a sin is forbidden, the contrary duty is commanded; so, where a promise is annexed, the contrary threatening is included; and where a threatening is annexed, the contrary promise is included.
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That what God forbids is at no time to be done; what He commands is always our duty; and yet every particular duty is not to be done at all times.
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That under one sin or duty, all of the same kind are forbidden or commanded, together with all the causes, means, occasions and appearances thereof, and provocations thereunto.
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That what is forbidden or commanded to ourselves, we are bound, according to our places, to endeavour that it may be avoided or performed by others, according to the duty of their places.
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That in what is commanded to others, we are bound, according to our places and callings, to be helpful to them and to take heed of partaking with others in what is forbidden them.
It is not superficial obedience that God demands; it is, as indicated above, perfection. When the lawyer asked Jesus about the first commandment in the law, He answered, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” (Mt 22:37). It is wholehearted obedience, from every part of our being, that God looks for; everything short of that perfect standard is sin. But for us fallen creatures to reach God’s perfect standard is impossible. Hodge states, immediately after the previous quotation about the law, “The clearer our views of its extent and excellence, the deeper will be our sense of our own unworthiness”. And God teaches us not to look to ourselves for deliverance from sin.
Nothing is hidden from Him, however deep down in our hearts it may be. We should always be conscious that “God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil” (Ecc 12:14). If God’s law takes to do with all the details of human life – and it does, for it is “exceeding broad” – then when Christ will sit in judgement on the whole human race at the last day, the standard of judgement will be the moral law, in all its details and all its implications.
Where then can we unworthy sinners turn in our need? We must look to Him who could say, “I delight to do Thy will, O My God: yea, Thy law is within My heart” (Ps 40:8), for Christ’s was a heart where perfect obedience reigned. He could do, perfectly, what no mere human being since the Fall could ever do. In coming into the world, He humbled Himself by coming under the law. Not only did He come to pay, on behalf of a countless multitude of unworthy sinners, the penalty of a broken law, but He also made Himself responsible for keeping the law in their place.
So Christ, as man, came under an an obligation to love the Lord His God with all His heart and with all His soul and with all His mind – to obey the whole law in all its exceeding breadth, to keep all the commandments in all their details and all their implications, both positive and negative. He could confidently challenge His enemies with the question: “Which of you convinceth Me of sin?” (Jn 8:46). Of course, none of them had anything to raise against Him from observing His outward life as He went in and out among them. His whole life was perfectly consistent with wholehearted love to His Father; indeed, all His obedience flowed from that love.
And supposing His enemies had been able to see into His heart, discern His thoughts and analyse His motives, they would have seen nothing but what was characterised by perfect love and holiness. What is more, God could see all the actions and words and thoughts of His own Son, as He went about this world in our nature, and could declare, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased”. He could so speak, not only at Jesus’ baptism and at His transfiguration, but always – and especially when the work of redemption was completed.
These words represented God’s view of Christ as He kept the law on behalf of His people. He did so perfectly, so that there is a righteousness which can be imputed to every sinner who believes in Jesus. How sad when individuals ignore the gospel message and continue attempting to work out a righteousness of their own – an attempt that is doomed to dismal failure! But how wonderful is the salvation which results from obedience to the gospel call: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31); it is a salvation which provides a righteousness that matches the exceeding breadth of God’s holy law and will even stand the most searching scrutiny on the Day of Judgement.