Our Daily Bread Archive
 
< December 1999 >
S M T W T F S
28 29 30 1 23 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28 29 30 31 1
2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Online Offer
The Love of God
Search
ODB Radio
Our Daily Bread
Print
Send to a Friend
RSS
Increase Font Size Decrease Font Size
TEXT SIZE:
TOOLS:
December 2, 1999
The Law In The Heart
[They] show the work of the law written in their hearts. —Romans 2:15

Marilyn Laszlo dedicated her life to giving the Hauna people of New Guinea the Bible in their own language. As she worked on the translation, she came to the word for "sin." When Marilyn asked the people what they thought sin was, they told her, "It's when you lie." "It's when you steal." "It's when you kill." "It's when you take another man's wife."

Marilyn was astounded. They were giving her God's standards as spelled out in the Ten Commandments. "God's law is written on the heart of man," she later commented, underscoring the truth found in Romans 2:14-15.

What a remarkable verification of biblical truth! Our faith is strengthened by accounts like this. But there's something else. If each person on earth is aware of sin (which is true even though some deny it), we need to make sure everyone hears the remedy. Jesus paid the penalty for sin and offers all sinners a life free from bondage.

God put His law in our heart, but we can never live up to its requirements (Rom. 3:23; Jas. 2:10; 1 Jn. 1:8). The law shows us how enslaved we are by sin, but God's grace to us through Christ brings liberty. If we have experienced that forgiveness and freedom, it's up to us to share the good news with others.  — Dave Branon

The perfect Law of God reveals
The dreadful state we're in;
But when we put our faith in Christ,
We're cleansed from all our sin. —Sper
God's law shows us a need that only God's grace can supply.

Bible in One Year: Amos 1–3; Proverbs 22:9-16
http://www.rbc.org/devotions.aspx?id=4370
© 2008 RBC MINISTRIES, Grand Rapids, MI 49555 USA.
Written permission must be obtained from RBC Ministries for any further posting or distribution.