A cartoon depicts Moses standing on top of God’s mountain, holding the two tablets of the Ten Commandments. With a big grin spread across his face, he says, “Hey, these are great! From now on, nobody will have trouble distinguishing right from wrong.”

What makes the cartoon funny is that we obviously do still struggle distinguishing right from wrong. In many ways, this is the problem of our age. It isn’t just a problem today; it’s the perennial problem of the human race. We were created to be good, but we’re not.

Despite having the actual tablets the Ten Commandments written by the finger of God, the nation of Israel still struggled with moral degeneracy and idolatry.

The Ten Commandments tell us in very plain and straightforward language moral truths that should be painfully obvious already. Don’t we already know it’s wrong to lie? Isn’t it obvious that it’s wrong to commit adultery?

But because of sin, we all have a tendency toward self-deception. Yes, we know certain things are right and wrong, but sin has a way of muddling what should be crystal clear. The simple fact is that, as fallen people, we don’t like the idea of a God telling us what to do.

“The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.” (Romans 8:7, NIV)

We’d much rather have our own ideas about right and wrong. That’s what sin is—rebellion  against the kingly authority of God. So, we desperately need a word from God. We need God to put His moral law in bold, clear writing because so often we try to avoid what should be obvious.

The Law Expresses God’s Righteous Character

Modern people might scoff at the Ten Commandments, but God knows better. Paul wrote:

“So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.” (Romans 7:12, ESV)

The philosopher Plato once posed the problem called Euthyphro’s Dilemma. The question he asked was “Is something good simply because God commands it, or does God command it because it’s already good?” But what Plato missed is Option C. When God commands something, He is not just giving us some standard outside of Himself. No, He is expressing His own goodness. God is perfectly good in every way. His moral character is matchless. So, His Law simply expresses what He is like.

That the law of God is a reflection of God’s character has tremendous implications. For example, as you study the Ten Commandments, you are glimpsing the glory and holiness of God. Telling lies is wrong, but it’s ultimately wrong because God is the God of truth. God cannot lie (Numbers 23:19; Hebrews 6:18). Adultery is wrong first and foremost because God is the faithful one who keeps covenant with His own (Deuteronomy 7:9).

So, when we talk about keeping the Ten Commandments, we’re really talking about living like Jesus. He kept them perfectly.

Knowledge of right and wrong is inescapable. The Bible even says that the moral law is written on our heart, even before we read the Ten Commandments.

“For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them.” (Romans 2:14-15, ESV)

The Ten Commandments make explicit the moral truths God has wired into our hearts. And this self-evident knowledge that some things are really and truly right (showing kindness to a loved one) and some things are really and truly wrong (torturing children for fun) is powerful evidence for a Creator.

Why? Because if there is a moral law that I, an American, am obligated to keep and Pharaoh, an ancient Egyptian, is obligated to keep and everyone from all times is obligated to keep, then it must come from a transcendent Source above all of us.

Unlawful Use of the Law

“Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully…” (1 Timothy 1:8, ESV)

When Paul says that the law is a good thing so long as “one uses it lawfully,” the clear implication is that there is an unlawful use of the law. What is a wrong way to use the law? In context, Paul was addressing false teachers who misused the law by misapplying it to Christians. Very likely, he was describing legalistic Judaizers, a sect with whom Paul frequently clashed. These Judaizers taught that Christians were still under the law in the sense of being legally bound to the Old Covenant.[1]

Elsewhere, Paul tells the Romans, “For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace” (Romans 6:14, BSB). When we live as if we are still under the condemnation and covenantal obligations of the law, sin will inevitably master us. It’s only when we experience the free grace of God and the removal of condemnation through the cross of Christ that we can present our bodies to God “as instruments of righteousness” (Romans 6:13).  

The Judaizers told new believers that they couldn’t eat any of the foods that were off limits in the laws given to Israel (1 Timothy 4:3). The laws of the Old Testament are wrapped up in God’s covenant He made with Israel, “the Old Covenant.” So, the laws that you find in Exodus and Leviticus, for instance, are all part of the Old Covenant that God established with the nation of Israel. It’s essential to understand that the Old Covenant was never intended to last forever. God planned on replacing it with a new covenant from the beginning.

“In speaking of a new covenant, he [God] makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.” (Hebrews 8:13, ESV)

This is an important issue, because a lot of Christians today still treat the Old Covenant laws as if the Old Covenant was still in force today. But the Book of Hebrews teaches that the whole system of laws was fulfilled by Christ. What does that mean? It means we—as followers of Jesus—are no longer bound to the Old Covenant, but to the New Covenant. In this sense, we are not under law, but under the grace and blood of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins. Christ fulfilled the law for us, and our identity is in Him.

“But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises.” (Hebrews 8:6, ESV)

We can’t afford to be wrong on this. You as a Christian are no longer bound to the Old Covenant. The laws of sacrificing animals each year in Leviticus are now “obsolete.” You can put the knives away! You are no longer bound to that. The food laws—like not eating pig—are no longer a covenantal obligation for God’s people, whether you are Jew or Gentile. That’s why Paul can say to Timothy (a half-Jew) that those who forbid the eating of certain foods are following the “doctrine of demons” (1 Timothy 4:1). Paul says such people “require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer” (1 Timothy 4:3-5, ESV).

Thus, Christians are permitted to eat bacon! Of course, the issue is much bigger than that.

The system of animal sacrifices of the Old Covenant given to Israel never truly took away sin. Such sacrifices were always meant to be temporary, reminding the people that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Ever since Jesus fulfilled the law perfectly and died the death that the law required in our place, the Old Covenant has been replaced by the New Covenant. The cross was the great turning point. Jesus said in the upper room, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you” (Luke 22:20). His death established the New Covenant as a new way for God to relate to His people.

We, as the Church, are the New Covenant people.

The New Covenant and the Law

It’s important to note that even though the Old Covenant has been superseded by the New Covenant, the moral principles found in the Old Covenant carry forward to the New. In other words, we should not “unhitch” from the Old Testament, as one popular pastor recommended. How do we know that? Because there are numerous examples where New Testament authors reach back to the moral principles of the law to ground their argument. Here are two examples:

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” (Ephesians 6:1-3, ESV)

Do I say these things on human authority? Does not the Law say the same? For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned? Does he not certainly speak for our sake? (1 Corinthians 9:8-9, ESV)

Paul even tells us that the moral prohibitions still represent sound doctrine:

“We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine.” (1 Timothy 1:9-10, NIV)

Because the law was always an expression of God’s righteous character, the principles of the law have abiding relevance for New Covenant Christians, but this is not the primary purpose of the law.

The Law Is a Mirror

The law is like a mirror to show us our true moral condition. This is what theologians have often called the “first use of the law.” In other words, it is the primary purpose of the law.

Paul says the law is for the lawless (1 Timothy 1:9). It’s for sinners. It’s for those living in rebellion against God. Okay, but hang on a second. Aren’t we all sinners? Doesn’t Paul elsewhere say: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23)? So, what does Paul mean here: “the law is for the sinful” (1 Timothy 1:9)? Is the law for us or not for us?

Well, right before saying we’ve all sinned in Romans, Paul says this about the law:

“Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.” (Romans 3:19-20, ESV)

So what’s the primary purpose of the law? To show us our sin. To show that we are accountable to God. When we look at God’s moral law, where God says, “Honor your Mother and Father,” “You shall not lie,” and “You shall not steal,” we are looking both at who God is and who we are.  The law shows us what God requires and prompts us to ask, “How do I measure up?”

Even a child can look at just those three commandments and recognize he’s broken God’s Law and is therefore a little lawbreaker. But although the law can show us that we’re in big trouble, what it cannot do is offer us the hope of forgiveness. That is where the gospel comes in.

The law rightfully condemns us. Most people tend to think, “I’m a pretty good person. If there is a Heaven, I’m sure I’m headed there.” But the law humbles us and shows us that we are actually not good. “There is none righteous, not even one” (Romans 3:10).

I heard a chaplain talk about a time he was sharing the gospel with a group of college football players. They were hanging on his every word until he got to the “sin part.” Those listening were big, tough athletes. Some were popular, admired, and surrounded by girls. They had so many things going for them, and not all of them appreciated this talk about sin. One of the star players came up to the chaplain afterwards and said, “Hey, I don’t like you calling us sinners!” He stormed off without waiting for a reply.

The football player was right about one thing: the Bible’s message about our condition is not flattering. If you haven’t been offended by the Bible’s portrait of sin, then maybe you haven’t looked closely enough (see Ezekiel 16; Ephesians 2:1-3; Romans 1:18-3:20). If you’ve spent your whole life falling more and more in love with yourself, this message of sin is going to burst your bubble.

In his second letter to Timothy, Paul warns:

“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy.” (2 Timothy 3:1-2, NIV)

Baby Boomers have been called the “Me Generation,” but in reality, this could be said of every generation. An article in the Smithsonian said:

“Although selfies flood the current visual landscape, this social media phenomenon did not invent obsession with the self. In fact, a spotlight on the personality of the self is a defining element of American culture. Every generation is guilty of putting the “Me” in its ME-dia, and with each generation of media technology, the “Me” gets bigger.”[2]

We all have this innate tendency to be self-centered and self-involved. So, hearing that we are sinners is offensive because we are telling people that the self cannot be at the center; it must be crucified (Matthew 16:24). The question shouldn’t be, “Is this a flattering picture of me?” but “Is this an accurate picture of me?”

The Law Points Us to Christ

The law of God shows us our true condition because it reflects the righteousness of the God to whom we are accountable. And we can only see our desperate situation as we come into contact with the righteousness of God. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones made this profound point:

“You will never make yourself feel that you are a sinner, because there is a mechanism in you as a result of sin that will always be defending you against every accusation. We are all on very good terms with ourselves, and we can always put up a good case for ourselves. Even if we try to make ourselves feel that we are sinners, we will never do it. There is only one way to know that we are sinners, and that is to have some dim, glimmering conception of God.”[3]

The Book of James likewise says the law is like a mirror showing us what we are really like (1:23-25). But the law can never save. We can’t redeem ourselves through law-keeping. That is why Paul tells Timothy the law must be used lawfully. There is a right way and a wrong way to use the law. If the law is used to show you that you are accountable to God, that’s the right way. But if you try to keep the law to save yourself, it will only leave you worse off than before.

By showing us we are unrighteous, the law gives us a hunger for the righteousness that can only be found through faith in Jesus. As we are united to Christ by faith, we are clothed in His righteousness and justified based on Christ’s sinless life and death in our place.

At the end of the day, you can either be under the law or under grace. Under condemnation or under Christ.

So, thank God for His law today. The law is there to show us our need and point us to Christ. Ultimately, that’s what God was always aiming for by giving Israel the law. They needed it to see their need for a coming Messiah (Galatians 3:24).

Just like a mirror only shows you your appearance but cannot improve your appearance, so it is with the law. It shows us our moral condition so that we will turn to the Savior. And there is no greater and lasting happiness than the joy of knowing you are totally forgiven.

“Happy are those whose sins are forgiven,
    whose wrongs are pardoned.” (Psalm 32:1, GNT)

Have thoughts on this post? Feel free to comment below!

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[1] Biblically, a covenant is an agreement that God established for how He promised to relate to His people.

[2] Amy Henderson, Smithsonian Magazine, smithsonianmag.com, October 15, 2014.

[3] D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Seeking the Face of God: Nine Reflections on the Psalms (Wheaton: Crossway, 2005), 34.