The Immovable Principle
Matthew Layman had a little problem with the Law, as in the 10 Commandments. He was driving while intoxicated and rammed his car into a monument to the 10 Commandments in Fremont, Nebraska. He received a jail sentence of 60 days in jail, a fine of $400.00, and his driver’s license was suspended for six months.
Even though, we are under grace (Romans 6:14; Hebrews 8:6) and not the Law, the Law cannot be ignored. Salvation is not found through obedience to the Law (“Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.” – Hebrews 8:6). Yes, we can be forgiven when we sin and violate one of the Ten Commandments, or other admonitions of morality contained in the Bible (1 John 1:9). However, there will still be consequences for our actions, because the “wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).” Ignoring God’s commandments are like driving your car into a stone monument – it is going to hurt! If we lie, steal, or commit adultery we will eventually encounter problems, and those problems will be painful.
Obedience to God’s moral principles will not bring salvation (Ephesians 2:8-10; Titus 3:5), but it will spare us from many problems. Obedience to God’s moral principles will not necessarily bring His blessings, but will make our lives better, and in many cases easier.
Have you been having problem after problem? It could be that you have been crashing into an immovable object – God’s Laws. God’s moral principles are still in effect, and to ignore them is to invite disaster.
(We are under grace; however, we do not want to ignore the Laws of God because to do so is like crashing into an immovable object.)