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The Great Principle of the Law, March 21
If ye love me, keep my commandments.
John 14:15
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The law was not spoken ... exclusively for the benefit of the Hebrews.
God honored them by making them the guardians and keepers of His
law, but it was to be held as a sacred trust for the whole world. The
precepts of the Decalogue are adapted to all mankind, and they were
given for the instruction and government of all. Ten precepts, brief,
comprehensive, and authoritative, cover the duty of man to God and to
his fellow man; and all based upon the great fundamental principle of
love. “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with
all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy
neighbour as thyself.”
Luke 10:27
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God’s law is not a new thing. It is not holiness created, but holiness
made known. It is a code of principles expressing mercy, goodness,
and love. It presents to fallen humanity the character of God, and states
plainly the whole duty of man.
In the precepts of His holy law, God has given a perfect rule of life;
and He has declared that until the close of time this law, unchanged in a
single jot or tittle, is to maintain its claim upon human beings. Christ
came to magnify the law and make it honorable.... In His own life He
gave an example of obedience to the law of God. In the sermon on the
mount He showed how its requirements extend beyond the outward acts,
and take cognizance of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Today God gives men opportunity to show whether they love their
neighbor. He who truly loves God and his fellow man is he who shows
mercy to the destitute, the suffering, the wounded, those who are ready
to die. God calls upon every man to take up his neglected work, to seek
to restore the moral image of the Creator in humanity.
The Ten Commandments, Thou shalt, and Thou shalt not, are ten
promises, assured to us if we render obedience to the law governing the
universe. “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
John 14:15
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