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Confession of Faith

Chapter 19: Of the Law of God

Although true believers be not under the law, as a covenant of works, to be thereby justified, or condemned;1 yet is it of great use to them, as well as to others; in that, as a rule of life informing them of the will of God, and their duty, it directs and binds them to walk accordingly;2 discovering also the sinful pollutions of their nature, hearts, and lives;3 so as, examining themselves thereby, they may come to further conviction of, humiliation for, and hatred against sin,4 together with a clearer sight of the need they have of Christ, and the perfection of his obedience.5 It is likewise of use to the regenerate, to restrain their corruptions, in that it forbids sin:6 and the threatenings of it serve to show what even their sins deserve; and what afflictions, in this life, they may expect for them, although freed from the curse thereof threatened in the law.7 The promises of it, in like manner, show them God’s approbation of obedience, and what blessings they may expect upon the performance thereof:8 although not as due to them by the law as a covenant of works.9 So as, a man’s doing good, and refraining from evil, because the law encourageth to the one, and deterreth from the other, is no evidence of his being under the law; and, not under grace.10

  1. Romans 6:14

    For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

    Galatians 2:16

    yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

    Galatians 3:13

    Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—

    Galatians 4:4-5

    But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

    Acts 13:39

    and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.

    Romans 8:1

    8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (ESV)

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  2. Romans 7:12

    So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.

    Romans 7:22

    For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being,

    Romans 7:25

    Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

    Psalm 119:4-6

    You have commanded your precepts
    to be kept diligently.
    Oh that my ways may be steadfast
    in keeping your statutes!
    Then I shall not be put to shame,
    having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.

    1 Corinthians 7:19

    For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God.

    Galatians 5:14

    For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

    Galatians 5:16

    But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

    Galatians 5:18-23

    But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (ESV)

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  3. Romans 7:7

    What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”

    Romans 3:20

    For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. (ESV)

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  4. James 1:23-25

    For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

    Romans 7:9

    I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died.

    Romans 7:14

    For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin.

    Romans 7:24

    Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? (ESV)

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  5. Galatians 3:24

    So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.

    Romans 7:24-25

    Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

    Romans 8:3-4

    For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (ESV)

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  6. James 2:11

    For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.

    Psalm 119:101

    I hold back my feet from every evil way,
    in order to keep your word.

    Psalm 119:104

    Through your precepts I get understanding;
    therefore I hate every false way.

    Psalm 119:128

    Therefore I consider all your precepts to be right;
    I hate every false way. (ESV)

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  7. Ezra 9:13-14

    And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, seeing that you, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserved and have given us such a remnant as this, shall we break your commandments again and intermarry with the peoples who practice these abominations? Would you not be angry with us until you consumed us, so that there should be no remnant, nor any to escape?

    Psalm 89:30-34

    If his children forsake my law
    and do not walk according to my rules,
    if they violate my statutes
    and do not keep my commandments,
    then I will punish their transgression with the rod
    and their iniquity with stripes,
    but I will not remove from him my steadfast love
    or be false to my faithfulness.
    I will not violate my covenant
    or alter the word that went forth from my lips. (ESV)

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  8. Leviticus 26:1-14

    26:1 “You shall not make idols for yourselves or erect an image or pillar, and you shall not set up a figured stone in your land to bow down to it, for I am the Lord your God. You shall keep my Sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord.

    “If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them, then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. Your threshing shall last to the time of the grape harvest, and the grape harvest shall last to the time for sowing. And you shall eat your bread to the full and dwell in your land securely. I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid. And I will remove harmful beasts from the land, and the sword shall not go through your land. You shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall chase ten thousand, and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. I will turn to you and make you fruitful and multiply you and will confirm my covenant with you. You shall eat old store long kept, and you shall clear out the old to make way for the new. I will make my dwelling among you, and my soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves. And I have broken the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect.

    “But if you will not listen to me and will not do all these commandments,

    2 Corinthians 6:16

    What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,

    “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them,
    and I will be their God,
    and they shall be my people.

    Ephesians 6:2-3

    “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”

    Psalm 37:11

    But the meek shall inherit the land
    and delight themselves in abundant peace.

    Matthew 5:5

    “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

    Psalm 19:11

    Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
    in keeping them there is great reward. (ESV)

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  9. Galatians 2:16

    yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

    Luke 17:10

    So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’” (ESV)

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  10. Romans 6:12

    Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.

    Romans 6:14

    For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

    1 Peter 3:8-12

    Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. For

    “Whoever desires to love life
    and see good days,
    let him keep his tongue from evil
    and his lips from speaking deceit;
    let him turn away from evil and do good;
    let him seek peace and pursue it.
    For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
    and his ears are open to their prayer.
    But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

    Psalm 34:12-16

    What man is there who desires life
    and loves many days, that he may see good?
    Keep your tongue from evil
    and your lips from speaking deceit.
    Turn away from evil and do good;
    seek peace and pursue it.

    The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous
    and his ears toward their cry.
    The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
    to cut off the memory of them from the earth.

    Hebrews 12:28-29

    Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire. (ESV)

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Copyright © Tim Hopper. Based on Calendar of Readings in the Westminster Standards by Dr. Joey Pipa. Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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