The Law Is Good

“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…”

Here the Apostle Paul states the purpose of the law. It must be used lawfully, implying it can be used in the wrong way. Paul then states the reason for the law. It is not for the just—the person who keeps the law—but is for the unjust—the person who breaks the law. Paul then describes those who break the law and are thus guilty. Those who are lawless are those who desire to live and do live as if there was no law. It is for those who disobey the law. It reveals their guilt. It is for the ungodly—those who practice ungodliness. Godliness is practical holiness. Ungodliness is the practice, then, of that which is not holy.

The law is for sinners. In this sense of the word, everyone is a sinner because we all have broken the law. Sinners have violated God’s law by their sin. The law sets the standard. Sin violates that standard. Sin is called lawlessness in 1 John 3:4: “Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.” The law is for the unholy and profane. The unholy are those who reject the obligations laid upon them by God. The profane are those who are worldly and trample all things holy. The law is for those who hate and abuse their parents, both physically and emotionally. Paul is moving from things lesser in degree to greater in degree. The lesser things are no less a violation of God’s law. If the violation of God’s law is seen in all sinners, then how serious is the deliberate violation of God’s law through murder, sexual immorality, homosexuality, enslavement of others, lying, perjuring, and any other thing contrary to sound doctrine? Even lying is a serious sin, just like murder. Sound doctrine is the promotion, in every aspect of it, of God’s law.

God’s law cannot be done away with by the law of men. If a government legislates that murder is acceptable, this does not change God’s law. It violates it. Therefore, we must reject man’s law because it breaks God’s law. If homosexuality is a violation of God’s law, then we must uphold God’s law. We must not accommodate our acceptance of God’s law to the widespread practice and violation of sin. Paul contrasts fourteen sins, which reflect all kinds of people, with the character of one person—the just. All fourteen are practiced by the unjust, but not the just. The just person upholds God’s law. It is possible to uphold the law for fear of reprisal or for fear of seeming to be worse in the eyes of our fellows, but the real reason the just person upholds God’s law is that it glorifies and magnifies God.

And notice that the law was not intended for the just person because the just person uses the law lawfully. The idea that the law is good because we use it lawfully conveys the benefits brought about by obedience—using the law lawfully. The law is not made good because we use it correctly. The law is always good. Romans 7:12 states that “the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.” The law, however, remains good even though we break it. Paul says that “if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good” (Rom. 7:16). God’s law can never be bad or wrong. It reflects the character of God. God is always holy, just, and good.

Using the law lawfully must mean obedience because, by contrast, the fourteen violations belong to those who are, generally speaking, “lawless and disobedient.” And so here is the simple truth about God’s law. There can only be two responses to it. We will either obey or disobey. Calvin outlined the three uses or functions of the law. The first function was that the law acts as a mirror showing the perfect righteousness of God and our unrighteousness. The second function is to restrain evil. This is the civil use of the law. By threatening punishment the law places restraint upon us. The third function is that the law is a guide to the believer for good works. Obedience is proof that we love Christ (John 14:15).

Nobody can be or ever has been saved by the law. Salvation is not the purpose of the law. Galatians 3:11 says that “…it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’” We are not saved by keeping the law because we cannot keep it unto salvation. We are only saved by grace, and grace is always connected to faith (Eph. 2:8, 9). The law is always connected to works or working. However, the law is said to be our guardian until we come to faith in Christ in order that we might be justified by faith (Gal. 3:24). The law leads us and shows us the right way, but it cannot make us righteous or just. We are only made right before God by justification—the imputation of Christ’s righteousness to us.

The law reveals that we cannot do that which pleases God. We have made the law ineffective by our sin. The law also provokes sin (Rom. 7:7–25). The law is always related to doing (works). This is why the fourteen sins listed by Paul in our verses reflect what is done. They are sins committed by the unjust. This is what characterizes their lives. This is what the unjust do. Now if we were to take the very opposite of these fourteen vices we would find that they reflect the law of God. Paul sums the opposite of all these sins by using the word “just.” The “just” love the law. They constantly think about how they can glorify God. They love the law because it displays the character of God and they love God for who he is. The believer loves the holiness of the law because he loves God who is holy. We are never made righteous by observing the law. We can only truly observe the law because we have been made righteous.

There are many vice lists in Paul’s writings, and every vice breaks God’s law. (Rom. 1:29–31; 6:9, 10; 13:13; 1 Cor. 5:10, 11; 2 Cor. 6:9, 10; 12:20; Gal. 5:19–21; Eph. 4:31; 5:3–5; Col. 3:5, 8; 1 Tim. 6:4, 5; Titus 3:3; 2 Tim. 3:2–5). All sins ultimately can be narrowed down to the moral law of God in the Ten Commandments (Ex. 2:1–17; Deut. 5:1–22). This is what we can do with Paul’s list in our verses. Commandments five through nine are specifically found in Paul’s list. All the other commandments are broken in general terms. All sin is, of course, not loving God and, by consequence, not loving my neighbor. This is why the law is generally reduced to these two commandments (Mark 12:30, 31). Jesus even joined the two together to form one commandment: “there is no other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:31). The singular “commandment” is the same as the plural “these”—the two commandments.

If the law means something to the believer, then it is as Calvin suggests in his third use of the law: a tool for our sanctification. What exactly does God want from me? He wants me to be like his Son (Rom. 8:29). This is by the transforming work of the Spirit (Rom. 12:2). God’s law also shows me what I must not do or be like, and it is the Spirit who enables me to want to be like that. The law is, therefore, a means of sanctification, but not of salvation. It is grace only that helps us love God’s law. To despise God’s law is to despise God himself and his grace. God’s entire Word should be our delight and meditation day and night (Ps. 119:97, 99).