And God spoke all these words, saying,
Exodus 20:1
There are two further points in relation to the significance of the law that need to be considered before dealing with the commandments themselves. The first is this: Before the Law was formally given, what was the situation in Israel, and on what basis were moral judgments made? The answer to this can only be that they had the Law written in their conscience. There is a light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world. Since the Fall, however, that light has become distorted; sin has marred the writing of God on the hearts of men, thus necessitating another writing of the Law on tables of stone, standing over against the life of man, confronting them with the holy will of God. The second point is: If the Law was not meant to be a way of salvation, then what was it meant to be? Paul answers this question in Galatians 3:19 where he says that 'it was added because of transgressions', that is, in relation to the fact of sin. What does this mean? To answer this we must remember that God's supreme purpose in His dealings with mankind is to rid the world of sin, through His appointed Redeemer. But men do not look for a Redeemer until they feel their need of One, that is to say until they become conscious of sin. But sin has clouded men's eyes, and made them insensitive to its seriousness. Therefore the first need is to bring in something that will reveal sin to men. Thus God gave the Law, for by the Law is the knowledge of sin (Romans 3:20). It is when men try in earnest to fulfil the divine law that they realise how far short they fall, and that they therefore need a Saviour to do for them what they can never do for themselves. The Law is therefore our schoolmaster to lead us to Christ (Galatians 3:24). This is the deepest significance of Exodus 20.