The First Commandment: Statutes and Precepts (22)
Deuteronomy 6.4-9
4“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 6 And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."
Ephesians 5.15-17; Colossians 4.6
We must endeavor to give the Law of God a defining role in shaping the culture of our homes and communities. This is the sense of “writing” the Law on the doorposts of the homes and the gates of the communities.
Everything about our homes should declare our love for God and devotion to His holiness and righteousness and goodness. The manner of our relating to one another (Eph. 5.22-6.4), all our décor and furnishings, the way we use our homes in hospitality, how we care for our own property and possessions – everything about where we live should reflect love for God and neighbors according to the teaching of the Law.
And to the extent that we can shape the culture of our communities – churches and the communities in which they exist – we should seek to do so, letting our own lights shine and acting as salt (to block decay and corruption) and leaven (to transform even what is most unpalatable) according to the teaching of God’s Law and Word.
T. M. Moore
The Law of God is the soil which, fertilized by the rest of God’s Word and watered by His Spirit, brings forth the fruit of Christian life. If you’d like to understand this process better, and how to make best use of the Law in your walk with and work for the Lord, order the book, The Ground for Christian Ethics, from our online store.
Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
