The Law and Its Purpose

Many Calvinists of any points contend that Christians are not bound by the Law. That makes sense to them because salvation is by grace, and grace alone. However, the proof of salvation is in obedience because those who fail to obey should rightly question the efficacy of their born-again experience.

First off, there are two sets of Laws: those originally given orally with their regulation, and those written in stone for all posterity. The Ten Commandments are an everlasting list of commands written by "the finger of God" (Exo 31:18). They were written on stone to endure forever because they were forever (Matt 5:17-18).  They consist of two parts: (1) those directed toward loving God, and (2) those directed toward loving others - the Greatest Commandment "and the one like unto it." Let us look at how we know that:

Romans 13:8 "Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. 9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law."

Add to these five commandments:  honoring thy father and mother, and  therein we have the last six commandments which Paul specifies as to be comprehended "thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself". Then it stands to reason that the first four commandments are the Greatest Commandment - love God with all your heart, mind, and soul.

As such, the Ten Commandments are not optional. Indeed they are the metrics to demonstrate love. If we truly love God, we obey His commandments (John 14:15). Obedience is works. Grace is gifts. Faith is given to us as a gift (Eph 2:8) but faith in action is works (1 Thes 1:3).  Faith works out of love (Gal 5:6). Just as there can be no time without a clock, there can be no faith without love! The Commandments are the what makes the clock tick, and are the sounds of love from the ticking!

If love is not there, the clock fails to tick. Indeed:

James 2:17 "Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone."

We must keep the Ten Commandments! Those are not optional. The keeping of those are a witness to love, and love is what powers faith. It is love that powers the faith clock. Jesus did not come to do away with the Law, but to fulfill it (Mat 5;17).  Let it tick on!