Christians And The Law

SERMON OUTLINE:

(1). Two Husbands (vs 1-6).

(2). Two Discoveries (vs 7-14)

(3). Two Principles (vs 15-25)

SERMON BODY

Ill:

• In 1965 the United Kingdom set up The Law Commission,

• Their job was to update the country’s legal system,

• And push for reforms where needed.

• Since its implementation, over two thousand outdated laws have been repealed,

• But not all of them!

• We still have some very old rules that are so ridiculous and so outdated,

• That they didn’t feel they needed to change those laws.

• Here’s four of them.

• Did you know:

• It's illegal to stand sockless within 100 yards of the King.

• Thanks to a law enacted by Edward VI, between 1547 and 1553,

• Did you know:

• It’s illegal to break a boiled egg at the sharp end!

• If caught you could be sentenced to 24 hours in the village stocks.

• Another of Edward VI unrevoked laws!

• Did you know:

• It is illegal to hail a black cab as it speeds towards you,

• With its yellow 'for hire' light on!

• According to the strict letter of the 1843 London Hackney Carriage Act,

• London cabbies are allowed to seek custom only when they're stationary.

• Did you know:

• It’s illegal to drop dead in the Houses of Parliament.

• According to the 1887 Coroners Act, which was 're-enacted' by the 1988 Coroners Act

TRANSITION: This morning we are thinking of the Law,

• Not silly UK laws,

• Not even British or international law.

• We are thinking about Old Testament law.

Note: Now that word, “Law” can sometimes cause confusion.

• In the New Testament the word, “Law” has at least three different meanings,

• And the context surrounding that word determines it’s meaning.

• e.g., It can refer to the whole Old Testament,

• (as in Romans chapter 3 verse 19)

• e.g., It can refer to part of the OT (“Law & the prophets”),

• (as in Matthew chapter 5 verse 17).

• e.g., It can specifically, refer to that part of the OT written by Moses,

• The first five books of the Bible, called the Torah (as in Luke chapter 24 verse 44),

• The Torah, the legal code of Judaism can be divided into three sections.

• The Moral Law, Ceremonial Law, Civil Law.

• I would suggest that is what the apostle Paul is referring to here,

• The Torah, the first five books of the Bible.

• But either interpretation does not change the meaning or application of these verses.

Ill:

Evangelist Fred Brown used three images to describe the purpose of the law.

• First, he likened it to a dentist’s little mirror,

• Which he sticks into the patient’s mouth.

• With the mirror he can detect any cavities.

• But he doesn’t drill with it or use it to pull teeth.

• It can show him the decayed area or other abnormality,

• But it can’t provide the solution.

• Second, The law is also like a flashlight. If suddenly at night the lights go out,

• You use it to guide you down the darkened basement stairs to the electrical box.

• If you had old wiring, when you point it toward the fuses,

• It helps you see the one that is burned out.

• But after you’ve removed the bad fuse,

• You don’t try to insert the flashlight in its place.

• You put in a new fuse to restore the electricity.

• In his third image, Brown likened the law to a plumbline.

• When a builder wants to check his work,

• He uses a weighted string to see if it’s true to the vertical.

• But if he finds that he has made a mistake, he doesn’t use the plumbline to correct it.

• He gets out his hammer and saw.

• The law points out the problem of sin; it doesn’t provide a solution.

• OK, Let’s look at the passage,

• Let me divide it up under three headings.

(1). Two Husbands (vs 1-6).

“Do you not know, brothers and sisters—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law has authority over someone only as long as that person lives? 2 For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law that binds her to him. 3 So then, if she has sexual relations with another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress if she marries another man.