Faithful to Christian: When I came to the foot of the hill called Difficulty, I met with a very aged man, who asked me what I was, and whither bound. I told him that I was a pilgrim, going to Celestial City. Then said the old man, Thou lookest like an honest fellow; wilt thou be content to dwell with me for the wages that I shall give thee?

Then I asked his name, and where he dwelt. He said his name was Adam the First, [and he dwelt] in the town of Deceit. I asked him then what was his work, and what the wages that he would give. He told me that his work was many delights: and his wages, that I should be his heir at last. I further asked him what house he kept, and what other servants he had. So he told me that his house was maintained with all the dainties in the world; and that his servants were those of his own begetting. Then I asked how many children he had. He said that he had but three daughters: ‘The Lust of the Flesh, the Lust of the Eyes, and the Pride of Life,’ and that I should marry them if I would.

Why, at first, I found myself somewhat inclinable to go with the man, for I thought he spake very fair; but, looking in his forehead as I talked with him, I saw there written, ‘Put off the old man with his deeds.’

Then it came burning hot into my mind, whatever he said, and however he flattered, when he got me home to his house, he would sell me for a slave. So I bid him forbear to talk, for I would not come near the door of his house. Then he reviled me, and told me that he would send such a one after me, that should make my way bitter to my soul. So I turned to go away from him; but just as I turned away to go thence, I felt him take hold of my flesh, and give me such a deadly twitch back, that I thought he had pulled part of me after himself. This made me cry, ‘O wretched man!’ So I went on my way up the hill.

Now when I had got about half way up, I looked behind me, and saw one coming after me, swift as the wind…So soon as the man overtook me…down he knocked me, and laid me for dead. But when I was a little come to myself again, I asked him wherefore he served me so. He said, Because of my secret inclining to Adam the First; and with that he struck me another deadly blow on the breast, and beat me down backward, so I lay at his foot as dead before. So when I came to myself again, I cried him mercy; and he said, I know not how to show mercy; and with that he knocked me down again. He had doubtless made an end of me, but that one came by, and bid him forbear.

I did not know him at first, but as he went by, I perceived the holes in his hands and in his side; then I concluded that he was our Lord.

Christian to Faithful: That man that overtook you was Moses: he spareth none, neither knoweth he how to show mercy to those that transgress his law.

In this narrative pastor Bunyan teaches us that in the gospel we are no longer under law, but under grace. The seed promised to Abraham has come being full of grace and truth. The Mosaic economy has served its purpose. It contained rigid guidelines for the people of God, and punished the law breakers without mercy. Its types and shadows are now obsolete compared with the reality of the good things to come that Christ has established with His sacrificial death and resurrection in power and glory.

This article will hear what the Scriptures have to say regarding the role of the moral law and the New Covenant believer. How should the Christian view the moral law?

Jesus told His disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment." [John 16:7-8]

God the Holy Spirit convinces men of sin, and ‘sin is the transgression of the law’ [I John 3:4]. It is not vague impressions of guilt that the Spirit brings into hearts to which He will apply the grace of God. It is awareness of transgression against specific moral precepts, which comes forcefully upon an awakened conscience.

The Kingdom of God announces life for the dead. Christ sent the Spirit to bring men to birth by which they ‘see’ and ‘enter’ the kingdom [John 3:3,5]. Those upon whom the Spirit operates with this life giving grace were ‘dead in trespasses and sins’ [Ephesians 2:1,5]. He by supernatural power quickens to life in righteousness. Members of the kingdom are ‘created in Christ Jesus unto good works’ [Ephesians 2:10]. They are made dead to sin and alive unto righteousness. The moral law defines sin and righteousness.

Entrance into the Kingdom of God is made by way of repentance and faith. New Testament preaching stressed repentance with the announcement of the arrival of the kingdom. ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand’ [Matthew 3:2; 4:17; Acts 2:38]. Certainly no man will turn from sin unless he knows what it is. Nor will any trust Christ for righteousness without some idea of the lack of it in himself. The moral law exposes sin and unfolds the righteousness of God in Christ.

The apostle Paul teaches that the moral law exposed his guilt and condemnation, ‘I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet’ [Romans 7:7]. Men must be shown their sin before the Savior becomes precious to them. In Christ the righteousness of God is revealed to those who believe [Romans 3:21-22].

A true sense of sin without an attending conviction that God is merciful to sinners in Christ will never produce repentance. It is equally true that a belief in the mercy of God through Christ will have no effect if preached without the moral law. None but sinners need grace and mercy. Men do not know themselves to be sinners without the moral law.

Paul states in Romans 7:14 ‘that the law is spiritual.’ The spiritual nature of the tenth commandment is what convinced him of sin. Of all the commandments, this alone has a purely inward application. It deals solely with the secrets of heart attitudes. Other commandments also speak of heart motives, thoughts and desires. From his understanding of the spirituality of all parts of the moral law the apostle says, "I delight in the law of God after the inward man’ [Romans 7:22].

In Christ’s preaching on the Kingdom of God He opens the moral law by contrasting its true import with the perversions of the scribes and Pharisees. ‘For I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven’ [Matthew 5:20].

Because the Spirit had not yet come in gospel measure, Moses of necessity emphasized external and detailed applications of the moral law. Scribes and Pharisees seized upon the external and upon the letter of the moral law while entirely overlooking its spiritual nature.

As Christ preached the gospel of the kingdom, He did not institute a new moral law. Rather He called attention to the spiritual essence of the moral law mediated by Moses. The Pharisees understood the sixth commandment only as a prohibition of literal murder [Matthew 5:21]. Christ declared the spirituality of this law by showing that anger in the heart without a cause was also forbidden. The same can be said regarding their incomplete understanding of the seventh commandment [Matthew 5:27]. Christ taught that lust reveals the sinful nature of the heart.

It was not a new law that Christ expounded but the spiritual dimension of the ageless moral law engraven on stones. His Spirit would write on the spiritual tablets of the heart the same moral code once written on stones [Jeremiah 31:33; Hebrews 8:10].

Christ used two texts from Moses himself to summarize the spiritual nature of the moral law. ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang the law and the prophets’ [Matthew 22:37-40 taken from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18].

How is love to God and man to be expressed? The apostles always return to the Ten Commandments to answer this question [Romans 13:8-10]. John expresses the spiritual character of the moral law, ‘This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous’ [I John 5:3]. Love to God is the heart of the moral law. Moral law shows us the way to perfect love. Love gives power and pleasure to the ways of law. Moral regulations are not a burden to the new heart. They are its delight.

Moral law cannot produce love for God in an unregenerate heart. Only the grace of God under the influence of the law and the gospel can change the stony heart of man. There is no fault with the moral law. It is weak only ‘through the flesh’ [Romans 8:13], but perfectly suited for the spiritual kingdom. Moral law describes the righteousness of God. It is the goal of our sanctification. It is the rule of life in the world to come.

[Credits to Walter Chantry from God’s Righteous Kingdom; Banner of Truth Trust, 1980.]