God's Law Leads to God's Righteousness
(Summary of Sermon from Sunday, September 25, 2022)
By Pastor Kevin Williamson
Turn with me in your Bibles to I Timothy.
I Timothy 1:8-10 says, “But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine.”
Today we want to frame God’s grace through God’s Law. God’s Law is good. That is what the Apostle Paul conveys to Timothy here in this passage. But there is a qualifier for the Law’s good use . . . The Law must be used lawfully.
God’s Law has an agenda: First, the Law of God announces penalties for breaking His Law. We see that repeatedly in the Old Testament. Secondly, the Law of God exposes sins that we cover up and also can expose false happiness. Without the Law, we often think sin will make us happy. And that is true to a certain extent. Sin can bring fleshly enjoyment for a season, and so we pursue it. Hebrews Chapter 11:25 tells us this.
But the Law of God, used lawfully, interrupts this pursuit.
Romans 7:7-12 states, “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, ‘You shall not covet.’ But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead. I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me. Therefore, the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.”
Paul, like all of us, was not fully aware of sin and its deadly consequences without the Law. Paul experienced this. He said, “I would not have known what coveting was unless the Law had said ‘You shall not covet.’”
We too experience this. All of God’s Word (including the Law) many times issues a "Call to Change" for us. It exposes sin in us, even the secret sins that we selfishly engage in. That is one reason people keep their Bibles closed, and they stay away from church. If they can avoid hearing the Word of God, then they can avoid hearing that Call to Change.
Now notice that a strange thing happened when the Law of God pointed out Paul’s failures. Instead of bringing life to Paul, the Law’s commandments brought death. How could that be? Because the Law has no power of itself to change a person’s heart; it only has the ability to point out what we are doing wrong.
And the Law is good at this. This is the job of the Law. The Law is not timid about doing its job. The Law didn’t even back down from the Apostle Paul. It said, “Paul, you are a sinner!” God’s Law is bold. It is confrontational.
We know what the Law says . . . It says things like:
You shall not murder.
You must not lie.
You shall not steal.
You must not covet what your neighbor has.
So, let’s personify the Law and imagine that we could have a conversation with it. Let’s call the Law, Mr. Law.
Maybe the conversation would go like this: “Mr. Law, help me not to do wrong things.”
“I cannot help you. I can only show you your failures."
If there was such a person as Mr. Law that represented the Law, that's exactly what he would say.
One writer said it like this: “Some people will be shocked by the assertion that there are some things the law cannot do. The law can only reveal sin. It can show us our weakness, but it cannot provide strength. It can only condemn, but cannot justify. The law commands, but does not enable; the law slays, but grace alone can make us alive.”
So, the legitimate use of God's Law is to point out sin. The Law declares, “This is what God expected, and this is what you did. You came up short.”
That is what Paul was saying in I Timothy 1:8 when he stated, “the Law is good if one uses it lawfully.” The Law compares God’s expectations with our performance.
Now notice that Paul says God’s Law is NOT made for a righteous person. What does this mean? It means that a person who conforms to the law is innocent of any wrong-doing. There are laws of society and laws of God. When we obey these laws, we will not be found guilty when justice prevails.
Now which of these laws – God or society – has more authority over our lives? Let’s look at Acts Chapter 5.
Acts Ch. 5: 26-29 . . . “Then the captain went with the officers and brought them without violence, for they feared the people, lest they should be stoned. And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them, saying, “Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man’s blood on us!” But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men.”
God is the ultimate authority for our behavior. When the expectations of our society contradict the expectations of God, we must choose to obey God.
Now let's go back to I Timothy 1:9, which tells us that the Law is not for a righteous person. So who is the Law for? Verses 9-10 of I Timothy 1 tell us. It’s for the lawless, the ungodly, and the insubordinate. Those type people defy the ways of God. The Law of God is for them.
But the Law of God is not for those who submit to Christ for their righteousness. Galatians 5:16-21 reads like this: “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God."
When the Bible tells friends of God things like this, what do His friends do? What do those who are truly surrendered to Jesus do?
They run! When the Word of God points out their sins and failures, they run to Christ. That is how they became friends with God in the first place.
The friends of God know that their escape from the punishment prescribed by God’s Law is only by the righteousness of God Himself, which is given to us in Christ. That is what Romans 3 says.
Let’s close with Romans 3:21-24 . . . “But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”
Praise God for the righteousness of God to us through Jesus Christ!! That is the righteousness that saves us eternally from God’s wrath.
By Pastor Kevin Williamson
Turn with me in your Bibles to I Timothy.
I Timothy 1:8-10 says, “But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine.”
Today we want to frame God’s grace through God’s Law. God’s Law is good. That is what the Apostle Paul conveys to Timothy here in this passage. But there is a qualifier for the Law’s good use . . . The Law must be used lawfully.
God’s Law has an agenda: First, the Law of God announces penalties for breaking His Law. We see that repeatedly in the Old Testament. Secondly, the Law of God exposes sins that we cover up and also can expose false happiness. Without the Law, we often think sin will make us happy. And that is true to a certain extent. Sin can bring fleshly enjoyment for a season, and so we pursue it. Hebrews Chapter 11:25 tells us this.
But the Law of God, used lawfully, interrupts this pursuit.
Romans 7:7-12 states, “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, ‘You shall not covet.’ But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead. I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me. Therefore, the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.”
Paul, like all of us, was not fully aware of sin and its deadly consequences without the Law. Paul experienced this. He said, “I would not have known what coveting was unless the Law had said ‘You shall not covet.’”
We too experience this. All of God’s Word (including the Law) many times issues a "Call to Change" for us. It exposes sin in us, even the secret sins that we selfishly engage in. That is one reason people keep their Bibles closed, and they stay away from church. If they can avoid hearing the Word of God, then they can avoid hearing that Call to Change.
Now notice that a strange thing happened when the Law of God pointed out Paul’s failures. Instead of bringing life to Paul, the Law’s commandments brought death. How could that be? Because the Law has no power of itself to change a person’s heart; it only has the ability to point out what we are doing wrong.
And the Law is good at this. This is the job of the Law. The Law is not timid about doing its job. The Law didn’t even back down from the Apostle Paul. It said, “Paul, you are a sinner!” God’s Law is bold. It is confrontational.
We know what the Law says . . . It says things like:
You shall not murder.
You must not lie.
You shall not steal.
You must not covet what your neighbor has.
So, let’s personify the Law and imagine that we could have a conversation with it. Let’s call the Law, Mr. Law.
Maybe the conversation would go like this: “Mr. Law, help me not to do wrong things.”
“I cannot help you. I can only show you your failures."
If there was such a person as Mr. Law that represented the Law, that's exactly what he would say.
One writer said it like this: “Some people will be shocked by the assertion that there are some things the law cannot do. The law can only reveal sin. It can show us our weakness, but it cannot provide strength. It can only condemn, but cannot justify. The law commands, but does not enable; the law slays, but grace alone can make us alive.”
So, the legitimate use of God's Law is to point out sin. The Law declares, “This is what God expected, and this is what you did. You came up short.”
That is what Paul was saying in I Timothy 1:8 when he stated, “the Law is good if one uses it lawfully.” The Law compares God’s expectations with our performance.
Now notice that Paul says God’s Law is NOT made for a righteous person. What does this mean? It means that a person who conforms to the law is innocent of any wrong-doing. There are laws of society and laws of God. When we obey these laws, we will not be found guilty when justice prevails.
Now which of these laws – God or society – has more authority over our lives? Let’s look at Acts Chapter 5.
Acts Ch. 5: 26-29 . . . “Then the captain went with the officers and brought them without violence, for they feared the people, lest they should be stoned. And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them, saying, “Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man’s blood on us!” But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men.”
God is the ultimate authority for our behavior. When the expectations of our society contradict the expectations of God, we must choose to obey God.
Now let's go back to I Timothy 1:9, which tells us that the Law is not for a righteous person. So who is the Law for? Verses 9-10 of I Timothy 1 tell us. It’s for the lawless, the ungodly, and the insubordinate. Those type people defy the ways of God. The Law of God is for them.
But the Law of God is not for those who submit to Christ for their righteousness. Galatians 5:16-21 reads like this: “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God."
When the Bible tells friends of God things like this, what do His friends do? What do those who are truly surrendered to Jesus do?
They run! When the Word of God points out their sins and failures, they run to Christ. That is how they became friends with God in the first place.
The friends of God know that their escape from the punishment prescribed by God’s Law is only by the righteousness of God Himself, which is given to us in Christ. That is what Romans 3 says.
Let’s close with Romans 3:21-24 . . . “But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”
Praise God for the righteousness of God to us through Jesus Christ!! That is the righteousness that saves us eternally from God’s wrath.