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LORD; teach me your decrees (v. 64).” “You are good, and what you do is good; teach me your decrees (v.
68).” “All your commands are trustworthy (v. 86).” “Your word, O LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the
heavens (v. 89).” “All the wicked of the earth you discard like dross; therefore, I love your statutes. My flesh
trembles in fear of you; I stand in awe of your laws (vv. 119, 120).”

Second, the law is the true guide for how to live. “Follow them so that you may live (Deut. 4:4).” This has
not changed. Jesus often affirmed the summary of the law only in a deeper fashion. “Love one another. As I
have loved you, so you must love one another (John 13:34; cf. 15:10-12; 1 John 2:3-6).”

Third, due to our sinful nature, we cannot
follow the law. It is impossible. This is part of
God’s design in giving us his law. “I am
unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin (Rom. 7:14).”
He wants to push instead to faith in Christ. As
we cannot earn salvation by following the law,
we do not grow by following the law. The
Galatians were turning to the law for a daily
living when Paul asked them, “After beginning
with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain
Fig. 4: Hebrew codex (book) 10 cent. your goal by human effort (Gal. 3:3)?”
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Fourth, the way we fulfill the law is by walking in the Spirit. He produces fruit in our lives that is far deeper
and more thorough than following a list of dos and don’ts. “Against such things there is no law (Gal. 5:22-
23).” We will not, for example, engage in sexual immorality if we are practicing the self-control taught by
the Spirit (1 Thess. 4:3-8). Instead, we will examine everything that touches our lives to weaken self-control
in any area. “To succeed in keeping the law, one must aim at something other and something more. One
must aim to become the kind of person from whom the deeds of the law naturally flow.”
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Fifth, the law properly lived is a witness to other people. They will say, “Surely this great nation is a wise
and understanding people… What other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as
this body of laws I am setting before your today (Deut. 4:6-8).” The light of Christ shines through believers
that people “may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven (Matt. 5:16). The character of God
becomes the character of his people as the Spirit lives in them and transforms them into his image. As we
have experienced his mercy, so expressing this mercy to others becomes a part of his perfection in us
(5:48).

Hopefully, these introductory matters will be deepened and confirmed as we turn in more detail to the
pages of the Pentateuch. In this survey, we will not be able to cover all issues, but we hope to see God’s
overall plan. We also hope to grow in the process as God’s word lodges more deeply in our hearts, and the
Spirit uses even this new knowledge to draw us to our Lord.

Let’s Practice…

1. Write down one verse that claims inspiration for the Pentateuch.

6 Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy (San Francisco, Harper: 1997), 142.
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