Stephen
Terry, Director
Sin,
the Gospel, and the Law
Commentary
for the May 30, 2026, Sabbath School Lesson
"Everyone who sins breaks the law; in
fact, sin is lawlessness." 1 John 3:4
In quite simple terms, sin is
breaking the law. For Christians, we naturally drift to the monumental event
when Moses was gifted stone tablets on Mount Sinai as the focal point of what
is and is not law and therefore what does and does not constitute sin. But that
allows us off the hook so easily, can it truly be the law the Bible tells us is
being transgressed? It is a short and simple check list. One who is not a
sinner should find that easy.
"Have no other gods before me."
Well, I don't follow Zeus, or Odin, or any other in the vast pantheon of non-Christian
gods, so check.
"Don't make images to bow down
to and worship." I'm not caught up in celebrity worship or even collecting their
images, so check again.
"Don't abuse God's name." I don't
disrespect God by misusing his name. Check.
"Remember the Sabbath." I usually
go to church once per week. Check.
"Honor your parents." I care for
them as I am able. Check.
"Do not murder anyone." So far I
haven't. Check.
"Do not commit adultery." I am
happy with my own wife. Check.
"Do not steal." I have taken
nothing from anyone that was not mine. Check.
"Do not lie, causing anyone
harm." I have been truthful with others. Check.
"Do not be envious of your
neighbor, desiring what is his." I am happy with what God has blessed me with.
Check.
But is my opinion about how I am
doing with these laws valid? After all, I am no lawyer or judge. But perhaps a
judge can give a definitive answer. It happens that two individuals did exactly
that in the Gospels and brought their questions to someone to judge, and that
judge happened to be Jesus who is destined to judge the world. "For we must all
appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what
is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad." (2
Corinthians 5:10) The first was a wealthy young man who asked Jesus, "What good
thing must I do to get eternal life?"
"If you want to enter life, keep
the commandments," Jesus replied and began to cite them from the tablets of
Sinai.
"All these I have kept," the
young man said. "What do I still lack?" Despite observing the Decalogue, he
still felt lacking and unsure of his salvation.
Jesus answered, "If you want to
be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have
treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
Unwilling to do so, he turned
away. (Matthew 19:16-22)
But what is Jesus talking about
here. How did we switch from talking about the Ten Commandments to a man's bank
account? There is nothing in the Decalogue about giving away all your wealth.
Nonetheless, both the wealthy young man and Jesus appear to make the point that
commandment keeping is not enough to gain access to heaven no matter how
faithful we have been in doing so. The fact is that laws are easily multiplied
as a tool to coerce behavior through enforcement, but no matter how much we observe
such laws, we know that if they were not in place, we would take things as far
as the official limits would allow. A good example is when, during the energy
crisis of the last century, the speed limit almost everywhere in the United
States was reduced to 55 MPH, enforcement targeted that standard. Those who
failed to comply came under judgment and were penalized accordingly. But were
those who were never penalized saintlier in their driving habits? Were they
living by the principles behind the lower speed limit? Truth is revealed when
those limits were repealed and the limit rose to 70 MPH almost overnight. The official
reasons for driving fifty-five, safety and saving gasoline, have not changed.
The only change was the letter of the law. In addition, it has become common
knowledge that speeding violations are not enforced for only a few miles over
the limit, so traffic usually flows at that slightly higher rate, again
illustrating the difference between observing the letter of the law or living
by the principles behind it.
The other person who came to
Jesus was a Pharisee, an expert in the law, and he asked Jesus, "Which is the
greatest commandment in the law?"
Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord
your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'
This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love
your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two
commandments." (Matthew 22:34-40)
However, these two commandments
do not appear on the tablets Moses carried down from the mount. Instead, they
are found in (Deuteronomy
6:5) and (Leviticus
19:18). This is tantamount to a judge in a traffic court where I have
appeared for a speeding ticket or some other traffic offense and the judge
telling me, even if you were attempting to follow the letter of the law, were
you driving trying not to get caught or were you driving in a manner that
demonstrates a regard for the safety of every other person traveling that
highway? "Road Rage" has become a frequent problem lately as drivers exit their
vehicles and attack one another with deadly weapons. Lives have been taken, devastating
the families of victims and perpetrators have received lengthy prison sentences
for no other reason than their inability to control their tempers. The result
is that even a normally uneventful trip to the grocery store can cost more than
the groceries. It can cost a family their mother or father for no other reason
than an error or oversight while driving, something we all have done in the
past. As Paul wrote to the Roman church, "All have sinned and fall short of the
glory of God." (Romans 3:23) Driving is no exception and naturally hazardous.
Road Rage does not make it less so.
If we apply these principles to
the law in the Bible, we can see that observing the letter of the law will not
save us if we are more concerned with the boundaries of that law than the reasons
for the law's existence. If we are all theoretically on the same path to the
Celestial City that John Bunyan's Pilgrim trod, then why would we hinder one
another in our progress? We should be making the journey easier for one another
by remembering that the great underlying statutes for everything are aimed at achieving
perfection in our love for God and the rest of humanity, even our enemies.
Returning once again to the
traffic metaphor, too many of us on that highway in "Pilgrim's Progress" want to
travel only in the fastest lane, but with our eyes on that speed limit sign we
refuse to drive even one mile over the limit. Determined also to make sure no
one else does either, we hinder them in their progress. Instead, we should be
willing to move over and let others pass. We are all heading for the same
destination. Besides, anyone going faster than us will certainly not hold us
up, and we can continue to progress as we are willing. There are lots of
reasons for Road Rage on the pathway to heaven these days. Female clerics who
are trying to help others along the path, those with gender dysphoria who are
seeking, despite the challenges to navigate that same pathway, and those
struggling to find relief from pain, both physical and psychological even self-medicating
with drugs and alcohol who barely have the strength to deal with another day. All
of these and all of us need the love that Jesus told us the law was all about.
Our failure to be loving toward God and others with the love he intended should
be our character is the reason we struggle so hard over rules and statutes. We
were created in God's image. (Genesis
1:27) God is love. (1
John 4:8) Christian perfection is not exacting observance of the Decalogue.
It is being perfectly loving as God is, even with our enemies. (Matthew
5:43-48)
Because we have turned away from
God, we find it difficult to return to the character humanity was created with,
but it is not hopeless. If we turn to God, he will recreate us as we were meant
to be. He tells us, "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I
will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh."
(Ezekeil 36:26) It is impossible for love to dwell in a heart of stone, but it
is entirely possible to love with a heart of flesh like we were intended to
possess. This world is a hard place because of so many hearts that remain
stony, but if we do not succumb to the fear that all the hard heartedness tries
to instill, God will give us hearts that will allow love to endure. (Matthew
24:12-13) That is the power that can and will save us if we seek it. "If
from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with
all your heart and with all your soul." (Deuteronomy 4:29)