Human beings are not created to be autonomous, each man a law unto himself, but rather to be subject to God's law. That law—summed up in the two great commands to love God and to love your neighbor as yourself—is abundantly set forth in Scripture, from the commandment given to Adam in the Garden, to the Ten Commandments, to the teachings of Jesus and the New Testament letters. Author R. J. Rushdoony said, "the entire Bible is an exegesis of the Decalogue." We agree.

The heart of the Gospel is the happy news that salvation is received by faith and not by our observance of the law. This is what makes the Gospel so appealing. Legalism, the idea that salvation must be earned by precise and perfect keeping of every commandment, is a heresy that provides little comfort for sinners. No one but Christ could keep it perfectly (Ps. 14:3; Rom. 3:23). Our Lord's faithfulness to do all that the Father required prepared Him to be—the spotless Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. While we are set free by Christ from the bondage of trying to keep God's Law as the means of our salvation, at the same time, Paul makes it clear that we are under the law of Christ (1 Cor. 9:21). Our lives are to be molded into the image of Jesus by means of the Word of Christ. The Christian must never be lawless. Rather, every aspect of our public and private lives should be rigorously informed by God's Law, from the way we worship to our morals to our public dialogue on social and judicial issues.

As Christians, we seek to be ethical people: people who are motivated by a desire to please God rather than ourselves. In the law, He has shown us what kind of behavior pleases Him, and what kind does not. Adherence to the law is not an abandonment of grace but instead its glorious end and purpose. Salvation brings us into conformity to Christ. The modern Church has made an unfortunate dichotomy between law and grace. We hope the books we carry are helpful in a renewal of reverence for God's holy and gracious law.

"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." (2 Tim. 3:16)