Hello Beloved,
We have been studying the names of God over the past eighteen months. These names have helped us to better understand God’s character and attributes. We now have moved to observe some Biblical “epithets” for God. As a reminder, the Oxford English Dictionary defines an epithet as “an adjective or phrase expressing a characteristic quality or attribute of the person or thing mentioned.” Last month, we considered the epithet “King” in relation to God. This month, we will consider the function of God as “Lawgiver.” As Lawgiver, the sovereign God sets moral standards concerning what is right or wrong. He has the authority in this function to demand obedience, accountability, and responsibility in direct conjunction with the moral standard He sets. Further, as the Lawgiver, God is the perfect standard of what is good, right, and just.
We must be extremely careful about usurping the place of God as “Lawgiver.” It is easy for us to set ourselves in this position and judge others based on our own laws or convictions. Consider what James states, “There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?” (James 4:12 ESV). In Isaiah 33:22, the prophet speaks about God stating, “For the LORD is our judge; the LORD is our lawgiver; the LORD is our king; he will save us” Isaiah 33:22 (ESV). Prior to the attribution of this epithet to God, the prophet argues for his readers to consider their actions in relation to God as “Lawgiver.” He writes, “14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling has seized the godless: ‘Who among us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who among us can dwell with everlasting burnings?’ 15 He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly, who despises the gain of oppressions, who shakes his hands, lest they hold a bribe, who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed and shuts his eyes from looking on evil, 16 he will dwell on the heights; his place of defense will be the fortresses of rocks; his bread will be given him; his water will be sure.” Isaiah 33:14-16 (ESV). I conclude with a quote from A.W. Tozer:
God's justice stands forever against the sinner in utter severity. The vague and tenuous hope that God is too kind to punish the ungodly has become a deadly opiate for the consciences of millions. It hushes their fears and allows them to practice all pleasant forms of iniquity while death draws every day nearer and the command to repent goes unregarded. As responsible moral beings we dare not so trifle with our eternal future. (A. W. Tozer: 1897-1963)
Until next time, this is Pastor Daniel writing, “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.”