Ten Commandments

Today is a day of lawlessness. The spirit of our times is one of unbounded "freedom," one of casting off all restraints, despising all authority. Since God Himself is no longer feared by the majority, many no longer respect the God-ordained authority of governments, parents, church leaders, and educators. Because of abounding iniquity on every hand, the love of many professing Christians for their God and His Law has grown cold, just as Christ prophesied (Matthew 24:12) . Yet we see in Holy Scripture that the only true freedom is freedom from sin. Concerning the purpose of Christ's coming into the world, God's angel Gabriel said to Joseph, "And thou shalt call His name JESUS (that is, `JEHOVAH is Savior') : for He shall save His people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21) . The Lord Jesus said, "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32) . Free from what? Free from sin! Jesus Christ Himself is the Truth, and to know Him is to be free both from the power of reigning sin and from sin's soul-destroying consequences, not simply in the world to come but in this present life as well. The Lord Jesus Himself was well acquainted with the supreme joy of the Godward life of obedience to God's Law and freedom from sin. During His earthly walk, He was a Lawkeeper par excellence. To think, that the Second Person of the holy Trinity, Jehovah the eternal Word, the Lawgiver of Israel, was "made of a woman, made under the Law" (Galatians 4:4) for our redemption! Think on this: the salvation that has been freely given to you, simply by your having trusted in Christ's blood and righteousness, was procured by Him, your substitute, at the highest possible cost. The salvation that is ''all of grace'' to you was earned, ''all of works,'' by your Savior! And yet He obeyed every commandment with the purest delight, saying, ''My meat (food) is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish His work'' (John 4:34). Christ could say in the words of Job (23:12), yet with far greater truthfulness, ''Neither have I gone back from the commandment of His lips; I have esteemed the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.'' Mr. Pink's exposition of God's Moral Law is not exhaustive, for that is impossible. The Psalmist says, ''I have seen the end of all perfection: but Thy commandment is exceeding broad'' (Psalm 119:96). Nevertheless, Mr. Pink gets o the root of man's need. He ably demonstrates the way in which God's Spirit uses the Law: (1) in bringing men to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ (by bringing them to the end of themselves); and (2) in producing in them an increasing ''family resemblance,'' a holy likeness to their Father in heaven (which is the fruit of true saving faith). If you will read this book prayerfully, then God will graciously enable you to cry out with the Psalmist, ''O how love I Thy law! It is my meditation all the day'' (Psalm 119:97). Pink (1890-1953) was a Baptist Preacher in England, Australia, and the United States. He is most famous for his book The Sovereignty of God. After its advent, he, assisted by his editor Mr. I. Herendeen, launched his yearly publication, Studies in the Scriptures in 1921. These continued until his death, totaling altogether 33 volumes of 288 pp. each. Most of Pink=s books are taken from these yearly volumes (written monthly in 24 page format).