Because God First Loved You

For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law…Do we then nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law. –Romans 3:28 and 3:31 (NIV)

Several years ago, I read a book by A.J. Jacobs entitled “The Year of Living Biblically.” It was about one man’s quest to follow every single rule of the Bible. It was often irreverent, often critical of religion, but the writer does seem to come away from the experience with new insights that make him more open to faith.

One of the author’s points is that you cannot keep every single rule of the Bible. Try as he might (and he really tries), Jacobs finds it impossible to obey every single commandment in scripture, which begs the question: if people are unable to keep all of the rules of scripture, then why are they there?

Paul attempts to answer that question in Romans 3. The law makes people aware of their sin but keeping the law does not save them from sin. People are made right with God by faith and not by keeping laws. I’ve heard it said that the way to God is the way of love, not the way of law.

Perhaps a personal illustration might be helpful. Whatever trouble that I was able to avoid as a teenager (and I certainly didn’t avoid it all) was because of love and not law. I knew that my mother loved me and I loved her. When I successfully resisted temptation, it was not because I was afraid of being arrested, suspended, or punished but because I didn’t want to disappoint my mother who loved me and simply wanted the best for me. The rules of the Ward household were there, to be sure, but I obeyed them (mostly) not because of what I was afraid would happen if I didn’t or because I wanted my mother to love me more but because I already knew that she loved me and I didn’t want to break her heart by breaking the rules.

Rules are important. Paul doesn’t try to discount them and neither do I. But my prayer for you today is that God would grant you the grace to keep the law not because you’re afraid of God or because you’re trying to earn God’s love, but because God first loved you.

If you're interested in reading through the Bible in a year, tomorrow's suggested readings are 2 Chronicles 6-7, Psalm 135, and Romans 4.