What laws are written on our hearts? Is it the Ten Commandments or the higher principles of Christian living, such as in Matthew 5?

This text is from a transcript of a talk by David Gooding, entitled ‘God’s Power for Salvation’ (2005).

Well, the Ten Commandments are repeated in the New Testament as commandments, are they not? 'Let him that stole steal no more' (Ephesians 4:28). 'Don't commit adultery' (see 1 Corinthians 6:9). 'Honour your father and mother', Ephesians quotes, and reference is made to the fact that in the Old Testament that command is followed by a promise 'that your days might be long in the land' (see Ephesians 6:2–3; Exodus 20:12). So the Ten Commandments are repeated as commandments for believers, all except one, and that is Sabbath, of course, which is of a different order. It is sensible enough to take one day of rest in a week. It is good for psychological and physical health. That is very good. But the idea that we are to take it as a command that we must keep the Sabbath on the seventh day and worship God thereon, because it is part of the law and therefore is a moral commandment, is not quite true.

You can see that by the statement of our Lord. 'In the temple' he said, 'the priests on the Sabbath day break the Sabbath and are guiltless' (see Matthew 12:5). Ponder that a moment. In the temple on the Sabbath, the priests break the Sabbath. They have to, because they have to do a lot of work (sacrificing animals was hard work) and yet they are guiltless. You try and substitute any of the other nine commandments for that: 'In the Sabbath in the temple the priests commit adultery, and are guiltless.' That would sound a bit odd. 'On the Sabbath, the priests in the temple steal and lie and murder, and are guiltless.' Well, no, that could never be said. There is a difference between the other nine commandments and this one, is there not? We see this from the fact that on the Sabbath, in the temple, the priests break Sabbath and are guiltless.

You will not find in the New Testament any command to believers that we are to keep Sabbath. If that had been a necessary part of Christian obedience, the apostles would have had to say so, because in Greek-speaking countries they didn't even divide the month up into seven-day periods; they had a different system altogether. And many of them were slaves and were not free to cease work on a Sabbath, nor on what we call a Sunday either. Hence very often they kept the Lord's Supper at night. But if it were part of the moral commandments then, of course, the apostles would have laid it down that they must do it and be prepared to take the consequences if their employers and slave drivers disapproved.

So, are we responsible also for the principles of the Sermon on the Mount? As they apply, yes; I would have said, yes. They too are repeated throughout the New Testament. The difference is the question of whether they are treated simply as laws written in a code that we have to try and do in order to gain acceptance with God, or are they laws and principles and commandments that, so to speak, are written on our hearts because we have been born again; and the spirit of Christ who gave those laws is within us, and he empowers us to keep them? That is the question at stake. And what those basic laws written on our hearts mean when it comes to the fine detail of everyday life, then of course the Epistles talk about this. They lay down all sorts of particular rules and regulations, but they also come to the question: what are we to do where Scripture itself doesn't seem to lay down specific rules and regulations?

One such thing we shall meet in Romans is about what you should eat. Should you eat meat or just vegetables? Should you keep one day sacred above all others, or are all days alike? Where would you go for a Scripture to tell you whether you were to eat vegetables, or to tell you that you could eat meat? Some people get really worked up about this; they think these things are very basically important. What is a Christian to do in these circumstances?

Romans gives a basic principle to be observed, which I shall talk about next time, if I get the chance, for it is an exceedingly important principle. Paul says, 'In the end you must consider your weaker brother and not stumble him. And he mustn't criticize you if you are the stronger brother. You must not try to overpower him. He has a conscience, and you think there is no need for such a conscience. He won't eat anything other than vegetables; he has a conscience against eating meat for some reason. Don't overpower him, whatever you do, because there is a bigger principle at stake, which is that, in whatever we do, we are to do it unto the Lord; and we shall have to give an account of ourselves to the Lord' (see Romans 14:1–15:3). And if the Lord comes to you and says, 'Now, my servant, on a certain day you ate meat, didn't you?'

'Yes, Lord, I did.'

'And when you ate it, you had a conscience about it, didn't you?'

'Well, yes, to be honest, I did.'

'And yet in spite of having a conscience about it, you went and ate it?'

'Yes.'

'So you did something that in your heart of hearts you thought would displease me, and yet you did it?'

'Yes.'

'Why did you do it?'

And if you were to say, 'But, Lord, it was that Gooding fellow who made me! He overpowered me. He mocked me if I didn't, and so made me do it.'

'And he made you do it even though you had a conscience, and you thought you were displeasing me? Tell me, who on earth is this Gooding fellow? Did he die for you by any chance?'

No, of course he didn't.

And in these many places where Scripture doesn't lay down any strict rule, it is not that it doesn't matter what you do. We have to be personally exercised in our conscience. So, I now propose to do this particular thing. If when I get to the judgment seat, Christ calls that into question with me: 'Why did you do that?' I need to be able to say, 'Well, Lord, I did think about it, and I felt it was okay with you to do it, and it would have pleased you. I'm sorry if I'm wrong, but I did try to think it through, and I genuinely thought it would please you.'

In those circumstances we have to think about it and come to make up our mind and get into the habit of consulting the Lord and eventually deciding on the fact: 'I've got to meet Christ over this one day. Let me think it through as best I know how. We should be able to say, 'I think this will please the Lord, so I am free to do it.' Or, we might say, 'I have a feeling that it mightn't please the Lord.' Well then, don't do it, because he died that he might be 'Lord' (see Romans 14:9).

It's easy to look up a rule in a book, isn't it, and to keep it like a Pharisee? It is more difficult, but more valuable, to be exercised in life's ten thousand and one decisions by having to think it through, in that sense, and come to a decision in the fear of Christ, and make up our minds: 'I am going to do this because I think this is what Christ would approve of.' That very process begins to develop a character and contributes to our sanctification.

But that is a long sermon. I'll resist it!