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All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous.

God gave Moses and the Children of Israel the most well-known table of laws ever written. He gave them the Ten Commandments.

Perhaps the reason why the Commandments ring so true is that they were written somewhere else long before they were given to Moses. From the beginning, God has written his law on the hearts of all people.

God’s law is written on your heart. Think about it. You don’t need the Ten Commandments to tell you that murder is wrong, do you? As a child, when I was taking cookies without asking, I tried to hide it. I knew taking something that I shouldn’t have was wrong.

It is helpful that God’s commands are written on our hearts and in the Bible with the Ten Commandments. It makes each of us both aware and accountable for our actions. But knowing the law is only part of the matter. Keeping the law is what no one can do.

When teaching a lesson on the Ten Commandments, Jesus said, “I have not come to abolish God’s law, but to fulfill it.” Jesus knew that no one could keep the law of God perfectly, so he came to do it for us. Through faith in Jesus, we become “righteous in God’s sight.” This was the gospel or “good news” that the apostle Paul came to preach.

So, the next time your conscience is bothering you, know that it is God’s law doing its work on your heart. At that same time, remember Jesus, the one who takes your sin away.

Dear Lord, thank you for writing your law on my heart and giving it to me in the Bible. When I have done wrong, point me to Christ where there is forgiveness. Amen.

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All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. ™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.