"Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven,"
Matthew 6:10.
When we come before the Lord asking, "Thy will be done in earth, as it is in
heaven," we must understand that the law of the gospel requires much more than the
law of nature or the letter of the law. The spirit of the law which is the law of the
gospel, requires much, much more than the letter of the law.
The law of the gospel requires serving according to the spirit of the law, i.e., the
righteousness that excels as we saw in MAT 5:20-48. The righteousness that excels goes
into the intents of the heart. Not only that we may not kill a brother, but we may not be
angry with a brother either. That goes much further than the letter of the law; the law of
the gospel goes into the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Also, the law of the gospel is the law of Godliness, i.e., the right posture of our
hearts before the Lord which we find in MAT 6:1-8. This Scripture shows that the Lord not
only wants us to keep the letter of the law, but He wants us to keep the intent of the law
which is for the glory of God. The intent and posture of our heart between us and the Lord
must not be to exalt ourselves.
The law of the gospel requires inward holiness. The law of the gospel goes to the
posture of the heart: the thoughts, intents, and desires of the heart. In HEB 12:14 we
read, "Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the
Lord." The law of the gospel requires holiness in thoughts, attitudes, and posture of
the heart before the Lord. That holiness flows from a desire to do what is to His honor
and glory.
We see now that the law of the gospel goes much deeper than the letter of the law. We
do not keep the law to earn salvation; walking in the spirit of the law is the fruit of
salvation. There is a tremendous difference. We do not walk in the ways of the Lord for
merit, but we walk in His ways because we have been washed in the water of the Word. The
First Epistle of John especially teaches this as our evidence of salvation as we see from
1JO 5:13, "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son
of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of
the Son of God."
