Delighting in the Law of the Lord: God’s Alternative to Legalism and Moralism

by Jerram Barrs

Publisher:

Crossway

, 2013

Overview

We are steeped in a culture in which people hate being told how to live and idolize uninhibited “freedom.” What’s more, many Christians seem to think the law only leads to legalism and therefore doesn’t have a role to play in the Christian life. Yet, regardless of what society or even fellow believers say, we need guidance to truly honor God in everything we think, say, and do.

Jerram Barrs helps us recognize and articulate the immense importance of God’s commands for godly living as he clears away unbiblical ideas that have crept into our thinking. Looking to the teachings of Jesus, this book will lead you to delight in the eternal beauty and life-changing significance of God’s perfect law.

Key Features

• Establishes a firm foundation for understanding the relevance of the Law
• Contextualizes the Christian view of the Law in the larger story of Scripture
• Emphasizes contemporary application and relevance

Contents

• The Good Life (1): Do We Need God’s Laws Today?
• The Good Life (2): Found in Christianity or Postmodernism?
• The Source of Law: Humanity or God?
• The Beauty of the Law
• The Giving of the Law at Sinai
• Law and the Image of God (1)
• Law and the Image of God (2)
• The Spirit of the Law
• Jesus Expounds the Law
• Jesus Fulfills the Law
• Jesus Overcomes the Curse of the Law
• How Substantial Is the Healing We Can Expect?
• How Have Different Traditions Understood the Law?
• Jesus Challenges Additions to God’s Law
• Jesus’s Attack on Legalism
• Rules for the Family and Church?
• Jesus Applies the Law Jesus Shows Amazing Grace
• Lessons from Jesus’s Two Approaches
• To Whom Ought We to Show and Tell the Law?
• The Law of God and Our Secular Society
• Living as Salt and Light in and for the World
• Old Testament Law: How Should We View It?
• The New Covenant and the Law

Top Highlights

“However, the final authority became the individual’s conscience and reason” (Page 19)

“Why is Jesus inviting himself into the home of a complete stranger? Zacchaeus would not, and could not, invite a Jew, and especially a Jewish religious leader, into his home, for no self-respecting Jew, and certainly not any rabbi, or teacher of God’s Word, or synagogue leader in that day, would ever consider accepting such an invitation. No such person would dream of ever visiting the home of such a man as Zacchaeus; it would be even more unthinkable than going into a Gentile’s house. So, because Zacchaeus cannot invite him, Jesus invites himself, much to Zacchaeus’s amazement, and to everyone else’s as well.” (Page 243)

“Christ is the example to us of a human who thought, spoke, and acted as humans were created to think, speak, and act. Christ demonstrated who we should be and what we are to become. He shows us the nature of true humanity.” (Pages 96–97)

“life is restoration to the image, or glory, of God” (Page 96)

Praise for the Print Edition

Jerram Barrs has given us a gripping account of how God’s law, understood through the grace released in Jesus Christ, is the best guide we could find. Barrs shows us the biblical path to a sane and balanced worldview, avoiding the pitfalls of utopian theocracy, libertarian naïveté, and cultural indifference. More than a guide, this book is an invitation to see God as our only comfort in life and in death. Delighting in the Law of the Lord is simply delightful!

—William Edgar, Professor of Apologetics, Westminster Theological Seminary

We live in morally confusing times—confusing for the culture, confusing for the church. We’ve lost the compass, and, truth be told, when it comes to personal or societal issues, most of us Christians simply don’t think of the law of God as providing much guidance. ‘Think again!’ says Jerram Barrs. In his winsome across-the-kitchen-table style, Barrs explains why we need to retrieve afresh one of God’s greatest gifts. Churches will love this resource!

—Nicholas Perrin, Dean, Wheaton College Graduate School

Jerram expounds the true nature and purpose of God’s law from the Psalms, which extol God’s law in light of the Bible story of creation and redemption, and he draws primarily on the Gospels for stories to illustrate how this perspective on God’s law works out in practice. All will find this book challenging and helpful, but I recommend it especially to those engaged in communication of the truth that is in Jesus, particularly preachers, Bible study groups, parents, and Christian schools.

—David Clyde Jones, professor emeritus of systematic theology and ethics at Covenant Theological Seminary and author of Biblical Christian Ethics

Product Details

• Title: Delighting in the Law of the Lord: God's Alternative to Legalism and Moralism
• Author: Jerram Barrs
• Publisher: Crossway
• Publication Date: 2013
• Pages: 352
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Topic: Biblical Theology

About Jerram Barrs

Jerram Barrs (MDiv, Covenant Theological Seminary) is the founder and resident scholar of the Francis A. Schaeffer Institute at Covenant Theological Seminary, where he is professor of Christian studies and contemporary culture. He and his wife served on staff with L’Abri Fellowship in England for eighteen years. Jerram and his wife, Vicki, have three sons and seven grandchildren.