by Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
I. A young lady called, asking if I would consider conducting her wedding.<\/p>\n A. I tell them that I’m willing, but I have certain restrictions. If either had been divorced, it\nhad to be because of sexual immorality (that eliminates most of the calls right there). I\nalso require that they take a pre-marriage class, understanding it will take some time,\nthough it won’t cost them any money.\n B. “Classes? 13 hours of studying the Bible? But my boyfriend and I don’t do religion. I\nmean how can I know the Bible is not just some old book that men wrote.”\n C. The conversation basically ended there, though I did ask why she was calling area\nchurches if she didn’t want religion in her life. Turns out that she couldn’t get a Justice\nof the Peace to a wedding in her backyard.\n D. People balk at the thought of a living God. To understand that there is someone greater\nthan I, whom I must serve. To conform my life to laws of righteousness. No, they\nwould rather pretend there is no God.\n
II. Why do we have laws anyway?<\/p>\n
A. There are broad and diverse views held about the Bible.<\/p>\n 1. “Christ freed us from the law, so now we live by a set of principles, not\nregulations of do’s and don’t’s.”\n
2. “We live by the Spirit and as the Spirit moves me, that is what I will do.”<\/p>\n 3. There are some who believe they can ignore Jesus and the New Covenant and\ncontinue to live a semblance of the Mosaical law. (Jews)\n 4. There are some who try to blend portions of the Old Law with the New Law\n(Seventh Day Adventist)\n 5. There are others who claim the New Testament has been replaced with an even\nnewer covenant (Mormons, Moslems).\n 6. Among so-called Christian denominations, most feel the law God has given is\nout of date and must be modernized to suit today’s world.\n
B. Laws define sin<\/p>\n
1. Sin is the breaking of a law – I John 3:4<\/p>\n 2. Without a law to break, sin exists, but it is not counted against a person – Rom\n5:13\n a. Lying, stealing, and murder have always been wrong. It will not\nchange, whether there is a law or not.\n b. However, to punish or even to rebuke someone for sinning, there must\nfirst be a law.\n 3. This is why many people object to religion. They don’t want to be held\naccountable for their actions.\n
C. Laws improve mankind<\/p>\n
1. If we understand what doesn’t work, we know enough to avoid them.<\/p>\n
2. However, laws define what is right as well as what is wrong – Ps 19:7-11<\/p>\n
3. God’s laws are righteous and trustworthy – Ps 119:137-138, 164<\/p>\n
D. Laws show how imperfect we are – Rom. 3:10-12, 19-20<\/p>\n
III. Law is not the solution for mankind’s problems<\/p>\n A. It seems that whenever something bad happens, we want to fix it in one of two ways,\nthrow more money at it or pass another law against it.\n 1. Children were shot by children wearing camouflage outfits, so one school in\nTexas has announced that they are outlawing camouflage outfits.\n
2. Laws don’t fix problems, they can only define what the problem is.<\/p>\n
B. God does not make frivolous laws, but the same basic problem exists<\/p>\n
1. Heb 7:18-19 – law does not make anyone perfect<\/p>\n
2. While the law defined sin, it could not make a person whole again – Gal 3:21-22<\/p>\n C. Laws are not the solution, because mankind has shown itself unable to keep laws –\nRom 8:3-4\n D. To save us from our sins, God had to come and die on our behalf, fulfilling the\nrequirement of the law that the penalty of sin is death.\n
IV. The reach of God’s law<\/p>\n A. Some people don’t want religion. They don’t want to live under rules that say that their\nchoice of life style is wrong.\n
B. This world has never been without laws – Gen 2:16-17<\/p>\n C. Long before the Mosaical Law was given, Abraham was given the way of the Lord –\nGen 18:19\n
D. Sin reigned from Adam to Moses, implying that there was a law in effect – Rom 5:12-14<\/p>\n
1. Long before Moses, people understood right and wrong<\/p>\n
2. Anger could lead to sin – Gen 4:6-8<\/p>\n
3. The heart was responsible for sin – Gen 6:5<\/p>\n
4. Drunkenness brought on shameful behavior – Gen 9:21<\/p>\n
5. Pride lead to the scattering of the nations – Gen. 11<\/p>\n
6. Lying was wrong – Gen 12:11-20<\/p>\n
7. Adultery was wrong Gen 12:18-20<\/p>\n E. Consider this, if a person lives within the boundaries of the U.S.A., can they\nlegitimately claim they are not bound by the laws of this land?\n
1. We live within the universe that God created – Col 1:16-17<\/p>\n
2. If we live within God’s physical kingdom, then we must obey His laws.<\/p>\n
3. No matter how unfair you think it may be, the law of gravity still holds.<\/p>\n
F. Even so, some insist that they are not governed by any “religious” law<\/p>\n 1. Then why is it that murder is wrong? Is it just because we have a law against it\non the books? Why is adultery still frowned upon, even though it carries no\npunishment? Why do we consider some people “good” and others “bad”?\n 2. Rom 2:14-16 – By a knowledge of right and wrong, people show that they do\nrecognize God’s laws. God is within His just rights to condemn those who\nignore His Laws.\nV. We live in a land, not of our making, in a universe that to is not of our making. Our existence\ndemands that we subject ourselves to laws.\n
A. Those laws clarify right and wrong. Helping us to live better lives if we desire to do so.<\/p>\n B. Yet, each of us recognizes that we are unable to keep the Laws of God. We might deny\nGod’s sovereignty over us, but His right to rule does not depend on our acceptance of\nHis rule over us.\n C. God did not leave us lost in our sins, but He came to earth, in the form of man, to free\nus from sin’s bondage.\n
D. Will you not accept His free gift today?<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I. A young lady called, asking if I would consider conducting her wedding. A. I tell them that I’m willing, but I have certain restrictions. If either had been divorced, it had to be because of sexual immorality (that eliminates most of the calls right there). I also require that they take a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[184,177,1514],"class_list":["post-63655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermon","tag-atheism","tag-law","tag-religion"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":15681,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-you-teach-the-scriptures-to-an-agnostic\/","url_meta":{"origin":63655,"position":0},"title":"How do you teach the Scriptures to an agnostic?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 5, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have an agnostic friend who was raised Catholic and believes that 'something' is 'up there' and created all of this. But he is convinced that all religion is man-made, whose purpose is behavior control and extortion. I sense that he is searching for something to hope in. Where\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":66238,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/religion-says-do-jesus-says-done\/","url_meta":{"origin":63655,"position":1},"title":"“Religion says DO, Jesus says DONE”?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 30, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton People come up with the strangest viewpoints and don't realize how unbiblical those ideas are. I keep passing a sign that says the above but offers no scripture reference. Because the Bible is the final authority, I would suggest that both Jesus and His religion say,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8372,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-convince-an-atheist-to-believe-in-the-bible\/","url_meta":{"origin":63655,"position":2},"title":"How do I convince an atheist to believe in the Bible?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 5, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: How do I convince my friend to believe in the Bible, as well as God?\u00a0 My friend doesn't believe in God, Heaven, the devil, anything that the Bible teaches.\u00a0 This friend told me that, to her, the Bible is complete fiction.\u00a0 I know that I cannot even begin to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":44164,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-the-oldest-recorded-religion\/","url_meta":{"origin":63655,"position":3},"title":"What is the oldest recorded religion?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 8, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Dear Mr. Hamilton, I am here to ask a somewhat moderate question: What is the oldest religion ever recorded? The reason why I want to know is that earlier today, I had a discussion with a few of my fellow classmates on the topic of religion. It started when\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":89553,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/religion-by-majority\/","url_meta":{"origin":63655,"position":4},"title":"Religion by Majority","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 19, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Dub McClish A Pew Poll of 35,000 Americans, released in June 2008, revealed some interesting statistics about religious beliefs. More than half (57%) of \"evangelicals\" (strong in their belief in the Bible and in Jesus as God's only begotten Son, right?) opined that Christianity is not the only way\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8738,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-you-talk-to-someone-who-constantly-twists-the-bible\/","url_meta":{"origin":63655,"position":5},"title":"How can you talk to someone who constantly twists the Bible?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 22, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I attend a Church of Christ but my fiance practices Calvinism. He doesn't refer to it like that, but the beliefs are the same. He and his brother are very into this religion. They get everything from a website. They believe the church age is over and that it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63655","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63655"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63655\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}