The reason this question is important is because the law has been considered by many to be important, but for different reasons. Some say the law is given so believers will know how to conduct themselves in a way that is pleasing to God. Others suggest it brings order to society. Many evangelicals, however, propose that it is no more than a mirror that exposes a person’s sinfulness when measured according to God’s lofty standard.
I have been talking about the importance of obedience to our kid’s on Sunday morning and have always taught that the law is a mirror that exposes ones sinfulness. Although this is true, it is not the sole purpose of the law. Author R.C. Sproul suggests, “Scripture shows that God intends His law to function in three ways.”
According to Sproul, “(The Law’s) first function is to be a mirror reflecting to us both the perfect righteousness of God and our own sinfulness and shortcomings.” The Apostle Paul made it clear that the law is meant to make one aware of sin. He affirms, “For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression” (Romans 4:15). Paul also taught about the law to help his readers understand their need for forgiveness and restoration that only comes through repentance and faith in Christ. He asserts, “All who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.’ Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for ‘The righteous shall live by faith’” (Galatians 3:10-11).
The second function of the law is what Sproul calls the “civil use.” He says, “Though the law cannot change the heart, it can to some extent inhibit lawlessness by its threats of judgment, especially when backed by a civil code that administers punishment for proven offenses…Thus it secures civil order, and serves to protect the righteous from the unjust.” In the book of Deuteronomy, there are many offenses punishable by death. One of those is premeditated murder.
The third function is for believers and is explained by Paul in Ephesians 2:10. He insists, “(Believers) are (God’s) workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” According to Sproul, “The Christian is free from the law as a system of salvation (Rom. 6:14; 7:4, 6; 1 Cor. 9:20; Gal. 2:15-19; 3:25), but is ‘under the law of Christ’ as a rule of life (1 Cor. 9:21; Gal. 6:2).
The Three Purposes of the Law. The Reformation Study Bible. Edited by R.C. Sproul, pp. 264.
