A note from our Pastor:

“But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully;”

1 Timothy 1:8

Good Morning Dearly Beloved,

In our prior study verses, the Apostle has been addressing the false teachers which are arising in the church at Ephesus. These false teachers are chasing fables, looking at genealogies, and bringing in extra-doctrinal teachings in general. Importantly, they are also trying to reinstitute aspects of the law service which passed away with the coming of Christ.

The Apostle is going to address these false teachers further in his letter to Timothy, but in this introduction he is going to provide clarification. In our study verse this week, the Apostle anticipates the objection some are going to raise as he challenges the false teachers. He knows some will accuse him of being opposed to the law, of dismissing it, or of questioning its nature. Thus, the Apostle makes it clear the law is good.

Which law is good? The simple answer is the law which God created. When you trace back through the history of the Old Testament you reach a clear conclusion — there was the law which God gave and then there was the corrupted law which man gave. God’s law was perfect and righteous just as he is. Man’s law was corrupt and sought to empower men. To put it simply, the moral law of God given to his people was not only good, it was just.

Does that mean it could bring salvation? Absolutely not. This leads into the second phrase of our study verse. The law is good if a man use it lawfully. In other words, the law was meant to point out the sins of mankind. The Apostle himself says in another place that he was a sinner by nature, but would not have known this without the law (Romans 7:7). Therefore, if a preacher is using the teaching of the law to point out sin, to reinforce the New Testament, and to teach how Christ’s death was the only way for salvation to occur then the law is being used lawfully.

In the end, the community of believers must always keep in mind the law was until Christ. When Christ came, lived and preached, died, and was resurrected the place of the law was replaced with the grace and mercy of Christ. Do we ignore the Old Testament and the law of God? No. But its place is to reinforce the salvation of Christ and his grace and mercy in our lives.

Let us today not live under the weight of the law but rather with the commandment to love God and our neighbor.

Our Prayers are with you daily,

Brother Jeremiah