When the Reformed and Lutheran scholastics talked about God’s moral law (lex moralis), they taught that there are three basic uses of the law (usus legis).  They are:

1) The civil use (usus politicus sive civilis).  That is, the law serves the commonwealth or body politic as a force to restrain sin.  This falls under the general revelation (revelatio generalis) discussion in most of the scholastics as well as natural law (cf. Rom 1-2).

2) The pedagogical use (usus elenchticus sive paedagogicus).  That is, the law also shows people their sin and points them to mercy and grace outside of themselves.  In Muller’s summary, this is “the use of the law for the confrontation and refutation of sin and for the purpose of pointing the way to Christ” (p. 320).  This can be found in the Heidelberg Catechism Lord’s Days 2-4.

3) The normative use (usus didacticus sive normativus).  That is, this use of the law is for those who trust in Christ and have been saved through faith apart from works.  It “acts as a norm of conduct, freely accepted by those in whom  the grace of God works the good” (p. 321).  This can be found in the Heidelberg Catechism Lord’s Days 32-52.

That glorious truth has fallen on hard times. Under the guise of “gospel-centredness”, the place of God’s law has come under attack. Thankfully, this vital truth is not entirely lost in our day. In a previous post, I shared my happiness at the news that Ernest Kevan’s The Grace of Law is back in print which deals with the classic Puritan and Reformed take on the place of the Law. Like I said then, I say now: every believer needs to read and internalize the message of that book.

Thankfully, many preachers still uphold the teaching of the abiding moral law for believers today. One such preacher is Pastor Mark Chanski, minister of Trinity Baptist Church, Montville, New Jersey in this teaching entitled A Rule of Life for the Believer: If You Love Me, Keep My Commandments. Please take an hour, grab your Bible (or get your app on) and follow along as Pastor Chanski guides us through this vital issue (you can also download this message in MP3 for later listening at this link):