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Romans 2:14–15
“When Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts.”
Over the past several weeks we have been studying Exodus 20–23, where God gives the Ten Commandments and the Book of the Covenant. These two sets of regulations make up the core of the law of God given to Israel and that the church has received as the Lord’s revelation of His holy will. Scripture has much to say about the law of God, and to have a better understanding of the biblical teaching on the subject, we will now pause our study of Exodus and spend the next four days following Dr. R.C. Sproul’s teaching series God’s Law and the Christian.
Pastors and theologians have noted that when we study what the Bible has to say about the law of God, Scripture shows at least three different uses. One of these is the pedagogical use of the law or the law’s function as a mirror. Passages such as Romans 7:13–25 and Galatians 3:15–29 tell us that the law shows us who we are as sinners—it is a mirror that reveals our transgressions—and points us to Christ as the only solution to our transgressions.
The law’s pedagogical use, however, is not the only way that the law works in the church and society. There is also the restraining function of the law. God’s law restrains sin by giving threats of punishment and promises of reward. Sinners, seeing these punishments, often hold back from the worst behaviors possible because they do not want to receive the consequences of their sin. Many sinners even seek to abide by these rules outwardly, knowing that it is a good thing not to steal, not to murder, and so forth. Though they are not motivated to obey because of a true love of God in their hearts, they nevertheless render a kind of conformity to the law that keeps society from falling into utter ruin. Paul talks about the use of the law of God as restrainer in today’s passage. Gentiles—those who are outside the covenant community—may not have access to the written law of God as the Jews do, but they sometimes live according to the law’s moral norms in a general way. This obedience cannot save them, but it can restrain their worst impulses (Rom. 2:14–15).
Not everyone has the written law of God, but its essence has been put on our consciences because we have been created in the Lord’s image. Everyone, deep down, knows the basic standards of right and wrong (Rom. 1:18–2:29), and the law of God in Scripture gives us this law in a more concrete form. Societies that follow this law will preserve themselves and not collapse completely.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
Ignorance of the law of God is no excuse for breaking it, for no person is wholly unacquainted with His statutes. Sinners suppress the truth of this law and look to find loopholes in it, but they cannot escape it. We can appeal to sinners’ knowledge of this law when we preach the gospel to them, pointing out that they know right from wrong because God has put the law on their consciences and that they must seek His forgiveness through Christ, since they are lawbreakers.
For Further Study
- Genesis 9:1–7
- Genesis 20:1–7
- Psalms 19:7–11
- Psalms 119:9–16
- 1 Timothy 1:8–11