First, he is still under
the bond of the royal authority of the great God, both as
Creator and Redeemer. The authority and obligation of the divine
law can never be dissolved, while God is God, and the creature a
creature.
Secondly, he is under the
bond of interest, to obey the divine law. It is true, his
obedience does not give him the title to the reward of glory; it
is only his union with Christ, the heir of all things, that gives
him this; but yet his own personal obedience is evidential and
declarative of his title through Christ. Revelation 22:14.
Thirdly, he is still under
the bond of fear. Jeremiah 32:40. This is not a
slavish fear of hell and vindictive wrath, for that is
inconsistent with his freedom from condemnation; but it is a
filial fear of God as a Father, flowing from an affectionate
regard unto his authority, interposed in the commands of the law.
Fourthly, he is under the
bond of love. He studies to love the Lord his God with all his
heart, soul, strength, and mind; and this love of God in Christ,
like a strong cord, draws him on in the way of obedience.
Fifthly, he is under the
bond of gratitude; being bought with a price, he studies to
glorify God in soul and body, which are his. Christ having
delivered him from the hand of his enemies, he serves the Lord
without fear, in holiness and righteousness, all the days of his
life.
Sixthly, he is under the
bond of a renewed nature. The man is made a partaker of the
divine nature, whereby the life of God, the love of God, and the
law of God, is laid in his very heart; and this is a mighty bond
to obedience: Hebrews 8:10.
Lastly, the inhabitation
of the Holy Ghost is another efficacious bond to obedience.
Ezekiel 36:27. To conclude, that very grace of God which frees
them from the law as a covenant, binds them to it as a rule,
Titus 2:11-12.
(Abridged)
