Law’s Purpose: Pointing to Your Savior

We Uphold the Law

Romans 3:27-31 CSB
Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By one of works? No, on the contrary, by a law of faith. [28] For we conclude that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. [29] Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, [30] since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. [31] Do we then nullify the law through faith? Absolutely not! On the contrary, we uphold the law.

Some may interpret this to mean that all people, including believers, must observe the law, including the Sabbath. However, it is important to consider the broader context of the Bible and the teaching of the New Testament on the relationship between believers and the law.

The law was given to the Israelites as a tutor or guide to show them their sins and point them to the need for a savior. The law was not intended to be a means of justification or of achieving a right relationship with God, but rather was intended to reveal our sinful nature and the need for grace. When we accept and believe in Jesus as our savior, we are no longer under the law as a tutor, but are instead under grace.

The Law Reveals Our Sinful Nature & Need of a Savior

Romans 3:20 CSB
For no one will be justified in his sight by the works of the law, because the knowledge of sin comes through the law.

Galatians 3:19 NLT
Why, then, was the law given? It was given alongside the promise to show people their sins. But the law was designed to last only until the coming of the child who was promised. God gave his law through angels to Moses, who was the mediator between God and the people.

Romans 7:7 CSB
What should we say then? Is the law sin? Absolutely not! But I would not have known sin if it were not for the law. For example, I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, Do not covet.

Galatians 3:24-25 NKJV
Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. [25] But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.

Sin Magnified Grace Multiplied

Romans 6:14 CSB
For sin will not rule over you, because you are not under the law but under grace.

Romans 5:19-21 CSB
For just as through one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so also through the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. [20] The law came along to multiply the trespass. But where sin multiplied, grace multiplied even more [21] so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace will reign through righteousness, resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

As believers, we can use the law to fulfill its original purpose of pointing people to their need for a savior.

The Law Shuts Every Mouth

Romans 3:19-20 CSB
Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are subject to the law, so that every mouth may be shut and the whole world may become subject to God's judgment. [20] For no one will be justified in his sight by the works of the law, because the knowledge of sin comes through the law.

Are you boasting in yourself or Jesus? (Luke 18:9)

How to Use the Law Legitimately

1 Timothy 1:8-11 CSB
But we know that the law is good, provided one uses it legitimately. [9] We know that the law is not meant for a righteous person, but for the lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinful, for the unholy and irreverent, for those who kill their fathers and mothers, for murderers, [10] for the sexually immoral and males who have sex with males, for slave traders, liars, perjurers, and for whatever else is contrary to the sound teaching [11] that conforms to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God, which was entrusted to me.

In this passage, Paul affirms that the law is good, but is not intended for those who are righteous or justified through faith in Jesus. Instead, the law is for those who are lawless and unrighteous, and serves to reveal their need for salvation. As believers, we can use the law to help non-believers see their own sinfulness and need for a savior, just as it was intended to do.

This does not mean that the principle of upholding the law is no longer important, but rather that our relationship with God is now based on faith in Jesus and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, rather than on our own efforts to keep the law. As we seek to share the gospel with others and help them understand their need for a savior, we can use the law as a tool to point them to Jesus and the grace that he offers.

The law demands “perfect” obedience, and there is only one who is capable of fulfilling it. This is where our faith lies – in Him, Jesus our Savior. So, yes we uphold the law as our most effective tool to point people to their Savior, Jesus Christ through the power of the Gospel.

Questions that Challenge Your Current Understanding

1. What is the main purpose of the law according to Galatians 3:24-25 and how does it relate to the teaching of Jesus being the only way to salvation?
   
   
2. When Paul says in 1 Timothy 1:8-11 that the law is not meant for a righteous person but for the lawless and rebellious, what does this indicate about the nature and purpose of the law?
   
   
3. How do you reconcile the idea that we are no longer under the law as a tutor, but are instead under grace?
   
   
4. Considering that the law demands "perfect" obedience and only Jesus can fulfill it, how does this knowledge shape your daily walk with God and interactions with others?