The beauty of the gospel is that we don’t have to do anything to be accepted by God. Our “doing,” as Scripture amply points out, plays no part in getting us declared righteous in God’s sight, nor can it produce the first tremor of true spiritual life in our hearts.
So then, here’s the natural question: Is there still a purpose for the commands of Scripture?
Say a married man comes up to me and says, “Pastor, I was walking through the mall the other day, and I saw this really beautiful woman in front of me in very skimpy clothing. And I knew what I was supposed to think. I was supposed to recognize that this woman, while beautiful, is not some object for my sexual pleasure. I was supposed to remember that honoring her, my wife, and the God who saved me is far more satisfying to me than indulgence in lust would be.
“But, Pastor, that’s not what I felt in the moment. And isn’t forcing myself to do what’s right—turning the other direction and going home to my wife—relying on the Law? Well, I didn’t want to be a Galatian heretic, so I acted on my heart’s desires and got the girl’s number, then went home and believed the gospel to get God’s forgiveness.”
Do you think I’d say to that man, “Great work! That’s exactly how I was hoping you’d understand and apply Galatians”?
Of course not.
But when this guy forces himself to choose one thing, even though his heart wants something else, he is using the Law in his life. Is that a bad thing?
Paul gives his answer in Galatians 3:
“Why then was the law given? It was added for the sake of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise was made would come …. Is the law therefore contrary to God’s promises? Absolutely not! …. the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin’s power, so that the promise might be given on the basis of faith in Jesus Christ to those who believe …. The law, then, was our guardian until Christ, so that we could be justified by faith. But since that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for through faith you are all sons of God in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:19-26 CSB)
The key word there is “guardian” (some translations say “tutor”). Paul is referring to a schoolteacher or a nanny who oversees children, training them up in the ways of adulthood and making sure they don’t kill themselves accidentally before they become adults.
In the same way, there are three ongoing uses for the Law in our lives today:
1. The Law is a curb.
Through threats of punishment or consequences, the commands of Scripture keep our sinful natures in check. Sometimes we obey simply because we are scared of the consequences. Forcing ourselves to obey the Law doesn’t erase the presence of sin in our hearts, of course, since sin consists primarily of corrupt desires. But the Law keeps us from the further damage caused by acting on sin. The Law may not be able to save us, but it can quarantine our stupidity.
The root of the man-in-the-mall’s sin is in his heart. He desperately needs to deal with that root. But obeying God’s Law not to engage in adultery, even when he doesn’t feel like it, keeps him from the further damage sin would bring—destroying his wife and family, dishonoring the woman, corrupting his own heart, and displeasing God.
The Law says, “You may feel like committing adultery, but let me tell you what that would do to your marriage, your family, your heart, and the glory of God.” So if this man obeys the Law even when he doesn’t feel like it, it curbs the sinful effects of his sin.
2. The Law is a mirror.
Biblical commandments reveal to us how sinful we are and at the same time what a truly righteous heart should look like.
The ninth commandment, for example, shows us that we are supposed to love honesty so much that we’re never tempted to lie, even when twisting the truth would gain us an advantage or get us out of a bad situation.
The tenth commandment shows us that we’re supposed to be so satisfied with God and so trusting of his plan for us that we don’t get jealous when someone else has something we want.
I’ve heard the Law compared to a thermometer. It can take the “temperature” of your heart, but it can’t change it. The Law is the thermometer; the gospel is the thermostat. By looking into the mirror of the Law, we realize how sinful and twisted our hearts are and how desperate we are for a Savior. Then, we are empowered by the gospel to change.
3. The Law is a compass.
After being saved, the Law shows us the best way we can please the God we love. It perfectly reveals God’s character to us and shows us what a life pleasing to him looks like. The Law is like railroad tracks: It can point us in the right direction, but it is powerless to move us along the tracks. After we’ve been given the engine power to obey through the gospel, the Law can still help us know the direction we should go. As Jen Wilkin said in her recent visit to the Summit, “When you are an unbeliever, the Law points to your need for grace. When you are a believer, grace points to your need for the Law.”
So, what about the married guy in the mall? When he feels tempted for this woman, what he should say is, “God, I know that I should love faithfulness and purity more than I desire this woman. But I don’t right now. And that desire reveals how sin-sick my heart is. I’m not going to act on this impulse, as I know it would harm my marriage and this woman, it would further entrench sin’s power in my own heart, and it would dishonor you.
“But I realize that my forced obedience here is not going to heal the distorted desires of my heart. Only you can do that, and that power flows only from the finished work of Christ. Therefore, while I force myself to do the thing that I don’t want to do right now, I am looking to you and trusting in the power of the Spirit on the basis of the finished work of Christ to change my heart so that I love purity more than I desire lust.”
In other words, “God, I am going to choose to do the right thing, but I really want to do the wrong thing. Please, because of Jesus, fix my broken ‘wanter.’”
The Law still has a purpose in our lives today, and we need it to show us how to live so that we can please God and serve others.
But the power to actually change the heart and produce righteous desires is found only in Christ—in his finished work on Calvary and his enduring work, through the Spirit, in our lives. Only Christ can fix your broken “wanter.” Only he offers the transforming power of resurrection, released by faith in the Father’s promise.
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