The Lord has not given the law to believers just to place them back under a covenant of works. We are not trading one form of the curse for another. The giving of the law here is an act of the covenant of grace. Moses is an administrator of God’s mercy, not His judgment.
One of the things that we will notice as we go through the Ten Commandments is that the expectation of the writers of the Catechism is that as we as Christians look at and read the Law of God we will have an experiential and an experimental knowledge of effectual calling, justification, sanctification, and the other benefits of redemption. The reason for this is because as those united to Christ by faith our relationship to the statutes of the Lord has changed. No longer is the reading of “Thou Shalt Not Steal” a burden in which we have no power, nor desire, to fulfill. As new creatures in Christ we see the law as a blessed reminder of the wisdom of God. And not only that but we sweetly comply with it as a son to a Father. That does not mean however we in some way no longer transgress or break the law. We most certainly remain sinners until the day of our glorification. Yet even in that case the curse and condemnation of the commandments has ceased to tear at our conscience. Rather than feeling the law’s demand we bear disappointment at our having turned away from the Father’s love.
As believers we also know that even when we fall short we have an advocate with our God, Jesus Christ the Righteous and then, because of that, we bear fruits worthy of repentance as a sign of true faith. All of this is not a move towards licentiousness, but instead an impetus to obedience to the Commandments. Just because we have grace as a gift, and sufficient grace at that, does not mean we have carte blanche to do what we want. No, our spirits as much as our status has been transformed by the work of the Holy Spirit. Our hearts call is to be made more and more like our Savior and to be seen doing and performing His works in the day of the Lord’s coming. Here is why when Jehovah reintroduces the Law at Sinai He begins in the way that he does, which brings us to the Catechism questions for today:
Q. 43. What is the preface to the Ten Commandments?
A. The preface to the ten commandments is in these words, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house or bondage.
Q. 44. What does the preface to the Ten Commandments teach us?
A. The preface to the ten commandments teaches us, that because God is the Lord, and our God, and Redeemer, therefore we are bound to keep all his commandments.
