Good Use Of The Law
1 Timothy 1:5-11
INTRODUCTION:
A. Video Illustration
B. As you where watching the video, what were you thinking?
1. What where you thinking about the Law? I’m talking about the 10 Commandments?
2. Consider this:
a. Addressing a national seminar of Southern Baptist leaders, George Gallup said, "We find there is very little difference in ethical behavior between churchgoers and those who are not active religiously...The levels of lying, cheating, and stealing are remarkable similar in both groups. Eight out of ten Americans consider themselves Christians, Gallup said, yet only about half of them could identify the person who gave the Sermon on the Mount, and fewer still could recall five of the Ten Commandments.
b. And Bill Ricks, pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock AR, gave us some surprising insight into our nation’s ignorance of the law in a message he preached, “A Gallup poll (concerning the Ten Commandments) given several years ago revealed 85% of Americans believe the Ten Commandments are still binding today. However, only 15% could name five of them. This is not terribly surprising considering the secular slide our country has had in the past 50 or so years. But what is surprising is what Newsweek once reported about supposed religious folks. Newsweek reported that of people who go to church, only 49% of all Protestants and 44% of all Roman Catholics could name FOUR of the Ten Commandments.”
C. So what about the law? The Ten Commandments?
1. Are they for today? Why are we even talking about it today?
2. Are they good or bad?
3. Should we teach them as God’s standard or should we present them as good guidelines?
4. If they are good, how should we use them?
a. To bring condemnation?
b. To enlighten people as to God’s ideas concerning morality?
5. Are they for everyone or just a select group of people?
6. In our message for this morning we will answer these questions and more, I hope.
D. This morning the title of our message is “Good Use of the Law” and our text is found in 1 Tim. 1:5-11 Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling; Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm. But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine; According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.
1. On our message will consider three things
a. Our reason for looking into the law
b. Our Assessment of the Law
c. And finally, Our Use of the Law
2. Let us pray and ask God to shed some light on the Law, the Ten Commandments for us this morning.
PRAY
We begin this morning by understanding
I. OUR REASON FOR LOOKING INTO THE LAW, 1 Tim. 1:5-7 Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling; Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.
A. If you remember: Paul had written this letter to his son in the faith Timothy
1. He had charged the young man to put an end to all the false teaching that was going on within the church at Ephesus
2. In doing so his motivation was to be love: from a pure heart, good conscience and true faith.
B. This had become necessary because some had turned from love and to making something of themselves.
1. Note the word “swerved” also translated “straying” or “wandered”
- Concerning this word, John Kitchens in his commentary on the pastoral epistles says, “It means to miss the mark, to swerve, to fail to aim at. Rienecker says “the word indicates taking no pains to aim at the right path. ”
2. In other words those who were teaching false doctrine were not concerned a bout whether or not what they said was right or wrong, they were looking to gain a following and turned to fruitless discussions using fables and endless genealogies missing the mark, the purpose for the law, totally.
3. It would seem they had digressed from grace and faith to teaching the law was necessary for salvation – a works centered salvation, that the people had to have good works to be saved or maybe, even had to continue in good works to remain saved.
4. But the scriptures tell us that they
a. Did not understand what they were talking about, and
b. They did not know, they did not have knowledge of what they were proclaiming.
C. And so we come to a discussion concerning the law – something Paul was more than able to lay out for them – this is brought to light by the phrase But we know…
1. That is Paul and Timothy knew the purpose of the law, whereas the false teachers did not.
2. And it is because of this that He writes Timothy and we come to discuss the law this morning.
This brings us to
II. OUR ASSESSMENT OF THE LAW, 1 Tim. 1:8 But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; two things we need to look at here
A. First and foremost, …the law is good…
1. There are two Greek words translated “good”
a. One emphasizes that which is both intrinsically good and outwardly active
b. The other emphasizes that which is beneficial in its effect
c. The word use here is of the first kind.
1) It is good in and of itself
2) And it has a good outward effect!
2. The law is good!
3. In Romans 7:12 Paul wrote, Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, just and good.
B. But there is a stipulation to it goodness – that being …if it is used lawfully.
1. Hence, there is the possibility of it being used wrongly, as in the case of the false teachers in Ephesus.
2. But that did not change the fact that it is good, if used rightly.
Now that naturally begs the question “What does it mean to be used lawfully?” “What is to be
III. OUR USE OF THE LAW? 1 Tim. 1:9-11 Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine; According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.
A. First we begin with the Negative – what It is not intended for, Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man…
1. This is one of those verse people don’t like to face because it is hard – what did Paul mean by Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man…
a. Was Paul saying that once a person was saved, having the righteousness of Christ applied to their account the law was no longed necessary in their life?
b. Was he saying that there are those who don’t need the law because they are already righteous?
c. The answer to both of these is no.
2. The word translated “righteous” speaks of one who is not at odds with God – sin is not causing separation from God
3. The best, though maybe not the most accurate, way for me to explain this is: at the instant I got saved, the law no longer had effect. I was totally righteous in Christ and action – I was no longer at odds with God and had no sin that separated me from God (granted it did not last very long – probably not even until I left the building, but that is what we will look at next).
4. In context, Paul was saying it is not a means to righteousness nor can it be the method of righteousness, in and of itself.
5. Any use of it in this context was wrong.
B. Now we come to the positive aspect: the right use: 1 Tim 1:9-11 Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine; According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.
1. The proper, or lawful, use of the law is as it applies to sinners and those who sin
a. As applied to sinners it has a threefold purpose
1) The first two we will mention are Condemnation and knowledge/conviction of sin: Rom 3:19-20 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
2) And this points us to the Savior: Gal 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
b. This is why I say when we teach our children about God’s love and grace we must be sure to show them their need for a Savoir by showing them their condition of condemnation as a sinner by the law!
c. There is no need for a Savior if there is nothing to be saved from!
2. As applied to those who sin, that is the saved – the saint who sins, it works in much the same way
a. The law of God is still His standard: and it is meant to convict us of sin – it shows us our continued need for the Savior and his amazing grace.
b. It is like a mirror that helps us to see who we really are - You know, I can think that I look like Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise, but when I look at myself in the mirror, I know the truth. When we look in the mirror of God’s law we see ourselves as we really are. We see that we don’t live up to what God demands: to be the perfect parent, to be the perfect spouse, or to love him more than money, a nice house and our new Mercedes.
c. So it pushes me back to the Savior and my dependence on Him.
3. So the law, the ten commandments, is a moral compass, yet much more than that, it points us to the need of a Savior.
4. It is God’s standard, and should be taught as such, for everyone and is good for what it was intended!
5. Hence Paul could say, According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust. 1 Tim 1:11
CONCLUSION:
A. This morning I hope you have come to understand that God’s law, the Ten Commandments, is for today.
1. The apostle John wrote, John 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
2. The law shows us we cannot live up to God’s standard of righteousness and therefore are in need of a Savoir
3. We cannot be saved without a knowledge of our sinfulness, conviction of sin and faith placed in Jesus Christ to save us from sin.
4. This, in effect, is the intent of the law.
B. Has the law spoken you this morning?
1. Let it move you to Christ
2. For salvation or sanctification
3. Glorify the Lord with you obedience to His word.
That is the
GOOD USE OF THE LAW
