Westminster Confession of Faith

God gave to Adam a law, as a covenant of works, by which He bound him and all his posterity to personal, entire, exact, and perpetual obedience; promised life upon the fulfilling, and threatened death upon the breach of it: and endued him with power and ability to keep it.³⁶⁶

This law, after his fall, continued to be a perfect rule of righteousness, and, as such, was delivered by God upon Mount Sinai, in ten commandments, and written in two tables:³⁶⁷ the four first commandments containing our duty towards God; and the other six our duty to man.³⁶⁸

Beside this law, commonly called moral, God was pleased to give to the people of Israel, as a church under age, ceremonial laws, containing several typical ordinances, partly of worship, prefiguring Christ, His graces, actions, sufferings, and benefits;³⁶⁹ and partly holding forth divers instructions of moral duties.³⁷⁰ All which ceremonial laws are now abrogated, under the new testament.³⁷¹

To them also, as a body politic, He gave sundry judicial laws, which expired together with the State of that people; not obliging any other now, further than the general equity thereof may require.³⁷²

The moral law doth for ever bind all, as well justified persons as others, to the obedience thereof;³⁷³ and that, not only in regard of the matter contained in it, but also in respect of the authority of God the Creator, who gave it:³⁷⁴ neither doth Christ, in the Gospel, any way dissolve, but much strengthen this obligation.³⁷⁵

Although true believers be not under the law, as a covenant of works, to be thereby justified, or condemned;³⁷⁶ yet is it of great use to them, as well as to others; in that, as a rule of life informing them of the will of God, and their duty, it directs, and binds them to walk accordingly;³⁷⁷ discovering also the sinful pollutions of their nature, hearts, and lives;³⁷⁸ so as, examining themselves thereby, they may come to further conviction of, humiliation for, and hatred against sin;³⁷⁹ together with a clearer sight of the need they have of Christ, and the perfection of His obedience.³⁸⁰ It is likewise of use to the regenerate, to restrain their corruptions, in that it forbids sin:³⁸¹ and the threatenings of it serve to show what even their sins deserve; and what afflictions, in this life, they may expect for them, although freed from the curse thereof threatened in the law.³⁸² The promises of it, in like manner, show them God's approbation of obedience, and what blessings they may expect upon the performance thereof;³⁸³ although not as due to them by the law, as a covenant of works.³⁸⁴ So as, a man's doing good, and refraining from evil, because the law encourageth to the one and deterreth from the other, is no evidence of his being under the law; and not under grace.³⁸⁵

Neither are the forementioned uses of the law contrary to the grace of the Gospel, but do sweetly comply with it;³⁸⁶ the Spirit of Christ subduing and enabling the will of man to do that, freely and cheerfully, which the will of God, revealed in the law, requireth to be done.³⁸⁷