The Lawful Use Of The Law
I Timothy 1:8-10
The law of God is holy, just and good. There is nothing in
the law of God but that, which is the delight and desire of God's saints.
"I delight in the law of God after the inward man" (Rom.
What is the lawful use of the law? According to the Scriptures, I can find only four lawful uses of the law. It was given for these four purposes.
(1.) To Identify Sin (Rom.
(2.) To condemn Men For Sin (Rom.
(3.) To Control The Sinful Deeds Of Men (I Tim. 1:9-10). Contrary to popular social opinion, the fear of certain punishment is a very strong deterrent to crime. And that is a lawful use of the law.
(4.) "To Bring Us Unto Christ" (Gal.
However, in our day, as in Paul' s
there are many who have turned aside from the lawful use of the law into vain
jangling," attempting to put God's saints under the rule of the law. These
"teachers of the law" we must avoid, for they do not understand
either the law or the gospel. To try to make the law do what only the grace of
God in Christ can do is to pervert both the law and the gospel. The law cannot
produce true conviction and repentance. Only the revelation of Christ can do
that (Zech.
Don Fortner