Cause/Effect: Because God has given to us the Mosaic Law, we must regard the Law as good and perfect.

The Law of the Lord is not always seen a good thing that God has given to humanity. The Mosaic Law as seen by Luther is a “Mighty Hammer” which crushes the self-righteous spirit of humanity and conditions the flesh of the Christian to submit to righteous living according to the mandates set forth in the Law. The Mosaic Law under Luther’s view is largely seen as a negative force in the lives of humanity rather than a positive agent. Under the Lutheran view of the Law the Law does act to bring people to the savior but only as a result of their failure to positively fulfill the requirements of the Law. Its action is the negation of all the self righteousness found in humanity. Calvin’s view of the Mosaic Law is as a positive agent working toward the same goal of leading people to understand their need of Christ. Calvin says that the Law is like a mirror which shows us how we fall short of meeting the Godly standard. The Law is good and useful for the Servant of God, Calvin says, “by frequent meditation upon it to be aroused to obedience, be strengthened in it, and be drawn back from the slippery path of transgression (2.7.10).” Certainly the Bible regards the Mosaic Law as good and perfect. Psalm 19:7-11 is an example of a truly Biblical view of the Mosaic Law. According to the Psalmist, “The law of the Lord is perfect,” and it is, “sweeter also than honey and drippings from the honeycomb.” The law is called perfect and sweet because it was given to us by God and it sets for his children a standard of behavior which is reflective of God’s own character. The standard is not a human one but a divine standard. The case law which flows from the apodictic law are examples and scenarios of how God’s children are to regard worship, one another, and the rest of the world. When we see the law as a negative force in the life of the believer, we are really seeing God’s character as a negative. We should view the law not as a condemnation of our failures only, but also view the law as coming with grace. Calvin says of the Christian, “He lays hold not only of the precepts, but the accompanying promise of Grace, which alone sweetens what is bitter (2.7.12).” The practical implication of this is that the believer has confidence and assurance that the Mosaic Law no longer hold any sting of condemnation, for Jesus has borne that on our behalf, but it does still hold the sting of conviction of sin. That conviction, however, is forgiven by the Grace of Christ and we may be thankful for the Law and it’s painful but accurate reflection of God’s perfect character upon our fallen lives.