THE PURPOSE OF LAW IS PEACE.
Love worketh no ill to his neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” The divine purpose is absolute, universal, voluntary peace. The basis, and the only possible basis, of such peace is love. Where love is the ruling spirit, there can be no ill toward any one; for love does not, can not, work ill in any manner. “Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not its own, is not provoked, taketh not account of evil; rejoiceth not in unrighteousness, but rejoiceth with the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Love never faileth.” I Cor. 13:4-8, R. V. What, then, is the purpose of law?—It is to prevent ill to a neighbor, and thus to perpetuate peace. A law of love, in full, unrestricted force, will prevent ill to the neighbor by precluding the disposition to do ill in any way. The Lord, through the Gospel, is working to raise up a people for His kingdom on earth, as in all other parts of the universe, who will choose to have His law written in their hearts, that it may rule there. It is a law of love; a perfect law (Ps. 19:7), holy, just, and good (Rom. 7:12). It forbids only evil things, such as disturb men’s peace; it commands only love: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Thus love fulfils the law; it does not repeal or destroy it. Then what about human law, or government? That was ordained as a temporary necessity, on account of sin. The advent of sin (transgression of God’s law, 1 John 3:4) made it impossible to govern men by the law of love (Rom. 8:7), and thus preserve peace. So the working of “no ill to his neighbor” is, as far as possible, to be enforced upon men, so as to insure at least a modicum of peace while the Gospel of real peace is being proclaimed to the fallen race. Enforced peace and order is necessarily imperfect, and is always unsatisfactory; but it is better than anarchy, for the reason that under anarchical or disorderly conditions men can not be attracted by the appeals of the Gospel. Every experienced person knows that only when men are mentally calm and physically quiet can they be induced to give intelligent attention to any Gospel message. This is why the devil hates law and order, and uses every possible means to create discord among men, and to disturb their peace. And this is why, seeing that men are to have law, he uses his perverting influence to have enacted such unjust, unequal laws as will thwart the purpose of legitimate law, and produce oppression and discontent. It ought to be a cause of humiliation to every human being to know that laws of force—as all human laws must be in principle—are necessary in order to keep him from doing ill to his neighbor. It is natural for each one of us to imagine that I would not do any harm to a neighbor, that the law was made to protect me from the incivilities of others. But I must not forget that the law is designed to protect my neighbor against my possible inclination to do him harm. If each one will take a view of human law, and the conditions that make such law a necessity, from the standpoint of his own part in the human mass, he will be more likely to realize what manner of creature he is naturally. From such a view-point he can not help seeing that, without the grace of God, he is one against whose inclination to do ill7Just as long as sin predominates this world, every man whose heart is not in full harmony with the law of God—no matter what his profession may be—must needs be restrained by some law of force from doing ill to his neighbor. If he does not in some way do the ill that is naturally in his heart, it is because of some law that he fears. The purpose of the Gospel is to gather out of every nation, kindred, tongue, and people those who are susceptible to a desire to be governed by the law of love. Such will admit the law of God in the heart, thus coming into the new-covenant relation with God. When this work shall have been accomplished, the Lord will come and gather this people to Himself (John 14:3; 1 Thess. 4:15-17), and the remainder will be put out of existence (Ps. 37:9-11, 22; Malachi 4:1; John 3:36). In the new earth righteousness will rule absolutely (2 Peter 3:10-13; Rev. 21:1-8); then there will be no further need of enforced restraint of any one from doing ill to his neighbor. The former things having passed away, love will in all things fulfil the law, and peace will prevail throughout the universe according to God’s eternal purpose. “The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Rom. 14:17. “The work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and confidence forever.” Isa. 32:17.