What is the right use of God’s law in the life of a Christian?
We know that obeying the laws of God won’t make us right with God. Galatians 2:16 makes it clear that “a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.”
And yet, God’s Word is filled with laws, commands, expectations, and calls to obedience. We can’t ignore them, so what do we do with them?
There are two extremes to avoid. The first is antinomianism (nomos is the Greek word for law). This anti-law view thinks that since we are saved by the grace of God, we don’t need the law and we can do whatever we want. But we cannot honor God if we are abusing his grace! “Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?” (Rom. 6:1-2) It is easy to slip into antinomianism simply by misunderstanding, devaluing, or ignoring commands for believers. But as John 14:15 says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” God desires our obedience to flow from love and gratitude, not a cavalier attitude about his commands.
The second wrong view is legalism. While antinomianism disregards God’s law, legalism gives it an improper place in our lives. Legalism misunderstands one or more aspects of God’s law:
- Foundation – The foundation of God’s law is God himself. Every commandment in Scripture is rooted in the nature and character of God, so obeying God’s commands reflects him. The reason we are commanded not to lie is that God is a God of truth. The reason we are commanded not to murder is because God is the giver of life. The reason we are commanded not to steal is because God is the generous owner of all things. If we have legalistic tendencies, it’s easy to view God’s laws as random or arbitrary rules.
- Frame – Legalism not only misunderstands the origins of God’s laws, but it often sets up additional rules and regulations outside of what the Bible clearly teaches. The Pharisees did this with the Sabbath command to rest – adding a bunch of man-made regulations establishing rules for what you could and couldn’t do. We know that God wants us to gather with Christians for worship, but it would be legalistic to say that if you ever miss church you are sinning.
- Function – Legalism also misunderstands the role of the law in our lives. Contrary to the Gospel of grace, legalism tends to act or think that following God’s rules will earn us extra favor with God. But God’s unconditional love comes only through faith in Christ. The law’s function is not to make us right with God.
With these wrong views in mind, what is the right purpose of God’s law? We can find some helpful input from French Reformer John Calvin in his Institutes of Christian Religion (1536). Here he outlines three helpful, God-glorifying uses of the law:
- The Law of God shows us the perfect righteousness of God and makes clear our sin, our inability to meet God’s standard, and our need for a Savior.
Since God is the foundation of his law, seeing the law helps us understand the character and nature of God himself. The law shows us that we are sinful and can’t meet God’s standards. Romans 7:7 says, ”if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, ‘You shall not covet.’” While the law can’t give us life, it makes abundantly clear that we need a Savior who can give us life (Gal. 3:21-22).
- The Law of God curbs the sin of unbelievers through their shame and fear of punishment; and while it does not transform their heart or reconcile them to God, the Law of God is a benefit in restraining evil.
The law can’t bring us into eternal life, but it does make this societal and temporal life more bearable. Even nonbelievers have a conscience because the demands of the law are written on their hearts (Rom. 2:15). While sin abounds in the world and the destruction of sin is everywhere, things are not as bad as they would be without God’s law! Paul tells Timothy how the law is used in the lives of unbelievers:
“Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.” (1 Tim. 1:8-11)
- The Law of God makes the will of God clear to believers, so we know how, by his Spirit, to obey and please him.
Christians don’t obey the law to earn God’s love. We have God’s love through the work of Christ. God has adopted us into his family, and so now we want to obey him. Children want to please and imitate their Father! God’s law does not restrain us or hold us back – it frees us to follow him and find the abundant life he prepared for us. James 1:25 teaches that “the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”
The Westminster Confession of Faith (1646) summarizes things this way: “Although true believers are not under the law, as a covenant of works, to be thereby justified or condemned; yet it is of great use to them, as well as to others; in that, as a rule of life informing them of the will of God, and their duty, it directs, and binds them to walk accordingly; discovering also the sinful pollutions of their nature, hearts and lives; so as, examining themselves thereby, they may come to further conviction of, humiliation for, and hatred against sin; together with a clearer sight of the need they have of Christ, and the perfection of his obedience.”
J.D. Greear wrote a helpful book called Gospel: Recovering the Power that Made Christianity Revolutionary. He talks about how faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection is not just our ticket to heaven, but the center and driving force of the Christian life. In his chapter answering the question “Why are there commands in Scripture?,” he shows God’s commands are critical to the Christian life:
“God’s salvation of us includes teaching us what is right (by giving us instruction and commands) and remaking our hearts so that we love what is right (through the power of the gospel). Both commandment and gospel have a role. The laws of God are like railroad tracks, pointing us in the direction to go. Trains need tracks to run on. But those tracks do nothing to power the engine. Similarly, laws, in themselves, are unable to give us the power to do them. The gospel is the power of God for salvation.”
Salvation in Christ not only means that our sin is forgiven, but also that our transformed heart desires to please God. The Gospel is the engine that drives us. Without the love of God in Christ, and the transformation of the Spirit, we’d have no power to move forward. But the laws, commands, and instructions of God are like the railroad tracks directing us in the will of God. Just like you can take a train and put it on the tracks, it won’t go anywhere without an engine – in the same way, the laws have no power by themselves! At the same time, you can connect a powerful engine to a train, but without tracks the train is not going to get very far!
The laws of God don’t save us, but they are crucial to us moving forward in the Christian life. We need both the Gospel and the Law – the engine and the tracks.
“The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether.” Psalm 19:7-9
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