Using the Law, Lawfully
1 Timothy 1:8-11
January 17, 2010
Two weeks ago we began a new study
Of a fabulous letter in the New Testament.
A letter written from Paul to his young protégé, Timothy.
It is commonly known as a pastoral epistle
Since it gives much insight into the forming and leading of the church.
In fact Paul clearly spells out the purpose of this letter.
1 Timothy 3:14-15 “I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.”
Paul makes no bones about the purpose of his writing.
He desires the church of God to be a pure and spotless bride.
He told the Corinthians:
2 Corinthians 11:1-2 “I wish that you would bear with me in a little foolishness; but indeed you are bearing with me. For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin.”
Paul was continually concerned
That the church be all that Christ wanted her to be.
After all the purity of the church is of the utmost importance to Christ.
Ephesians 5:25-27 “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.”
Part of the reason for the sacrifice of Christ was to present to Himself
A pure and perfect redeemed and holy bride.
And so it is easy to understand
How important godliness is inside the church.
And so as Paul writes a letter to this church leader
It’s easy to understand why Paul puts a premium on godliness.
In fact, 9 times godliness is mentioned in this letter.
Godliness both for Timothy and for those he leads.
Paul is writing “so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself fin the household of God.”
And as we mentioned last week,
Right living is a result of right teaching and preaching.
If people are to live godly, then they must be taught godliness.
And in order to reach that desired end,
The first thing Timothy was to do
Was to get the teaching ministry of the church in order.
1 Timothy 1:3-5 “As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith. But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”
Some of the teachers were teaching “strange doctrines”
With an unhealthy fascination with “myths” and “endless genealogies”.
This did not further the cause of godliness but instead
Only succeeded in bring confusion and “speculation” to the body.
And this is not the goal of our teaching.
We are not trying to get men to ponder, and speculate,
And rationalize, and think outside the box.
“Deep Thinkers” is not the aim.
1 Timothy 1:5 “But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”
If you wanted to summarize that, you could easily say that
Paul wants us to produce “GENUINE” people.
People who genuinely love God…
People who genuinely serve God…
People who genuinely trust God…
Paul told the Galatians
Galatians 4:19 “My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you”
To the Colossians Paul said:
Colossians 1:28-29 “We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.”
That is the goal of all instruction in the church.
But as you know, that was not occurring at Ephesus.
Paul said:
1 Timothy 1:6-7 “For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion, wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions.”
Instead of producing godly followers,
These men were preaching speculation and myths.
The result is what Paul called “fruitless discussion”
The congregation at Ephesus was not producing godly fruit.
They were not growing in relation to Christ.
Christ was not being formed in them.
They were not being presented complete in Christ.
All because they had teachers who “[wanted] to be teachers of the Law, even though they [did] not understand what they [were] saying or the matters about which they [made] confident assertions.”
And there Paul clearly spelled it out.
The teachers did not understand the purpose of the Law,
And therefore they did not use it properly.
And since the Law was not used properly,
The fruit of godliness was not being cultivated in the church.
And so tonight we study the Law in order to learn how to use it lawfully.
#1 THE NATURE OF THE LAW
1 Timothy 1:8
First off:
“But we know that the Law is good,”
• The Law is not evil…
• The Law is not contrary to God…
• The Law is not a wicked step mother that God must save you from…
“the Law is good”
And allow me to take you to some other passages of Scripture
To help you see why.
TURN TO: ROMANS 7:7-12
Notice how he began verse 7.
“What shall we say then? Is the law sin? May it never be!”
In other words, the Law is not the problem.
The Law is not contrary to the plan of God.
“On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “YOU SHALL NOT COVET.”
The Law is not the problem, sin is.
And it is the Law that exposes sin.
Romans 3:20 “because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.”
Picture the Law somewhat like an MRI machine
That reveals the tumor in your liver.
The Law simply revealed that coveting is wrong.
And when the Law revealed sin, sin fought back.
(8-10) “But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead. I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died; and this commandment which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me; for sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.”
Some of you ladies that have had breast cancer in here.
Think back to the medical test that revealed you had cancer.
From that point on your life changed.
You became a slave to chemotherapy.
And to an extent the cancer still seeks to enslave you, forcing routine
checkups, etc.
Now, think back to the day before you had the test.
DID YOU HAVE CANCER THEN?
WAS YOUR LIFE THREATENED THEN?
But you didn’t know it, and so you felt free.
That is what Paul speaks of here.
He wasn’t really alive before the Law came, but he thought he was.
(12) “So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.”
The conclusion is obvious.
That regardless of how painful the revelation was,
We can be only grateful to the thing that revealed the tumor.
Most cancer survivors actually promote routine checkups
The Law is good.
TURN TO: GALATIANS 3:19-24
Here you notice that Paul begins with a question.
“Why the Law then?”
And the answer is what you and I just learned in Romans.
“It was added because of transgressions,”
“having been ordained through angels by the agency of a mediator, until the seed would come to whom the promise had been made.”
The Law was given because of transgression to be in effect
UNTIL the coming of Christ, who is the seed of Abraham.
It had a role, it had a time frame.
Then comes another question.
(21) “Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God?”
The question is, “Did the Law come and take the place of God’s promises?”
Is the Law the way that God chose to give people His righteousness?
And the answer “May it never be!”
“For if a law has been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on law.”
Is the Law the means by which God gives righteousness?
NO
(22) “But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.”
The Law had a very important role.
That role was to make sure that by the time Christ came,
You knew you were a sinner.
Savior’s aren’t in great demand if people aren’t in peril.
THE LAW CAME TO GET YOU READY FOR JESUS.
(23-24) “But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.”
The Law is good.
IT IS WHAT MAKES CHRIST LOOK BEAUTIFUL!
When I pray for the lost,
Show them sin – Show them judgment – Show them Jesus
It is the Law that makes Jesus look beautiful.
It is the Law that makes men run to Christ.
And that is what Paul meant when he told Timothy.
“But we know the Law is good, IF one uses it lawfully.”
If you use the Law as a means to reveal sin and condemnation
In order to push men to Jesus, then you are using it correctly.
If you use the Law as a mean of self-exaltation, and legalism,
Then you are not using it lawfully.
The Law is Good, but it is only good if it is used properly.
The Nature of the Law
#2 THE USE OF THE LAW
1 Timothy 1:9-10
“realizing the fact that the law is not made for a righteous person”
And here is where many make a critical mistake in regard to the Law.
The law is not for those who are righteous.
In other words, the Law is not for those
Who have already been made righteous by Christ.
This was the flaw of the Galatian churches.
TURN TO: GALATIANS 3:1-9
“You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you..?”
“bewitched” translates BASKAINO (bas-kah-ee-no)
“to fascinate or to charm”
It carried the idea of someone showing up in a snake oil wagon
And deceiving them with an amazing display.
And this is especially shocking since the Galatians
Were well aware of the atoning work of Christ.
“before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified”
They knew the doctrine of the atonement
And yet they still had the wool pulled over their eyes.
HOW?
(2) “This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?”
The question is simple.
HOW DID YOU GET THE SPIRIT OF GOD?
Works or Faith?
(3-5) “Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain — if indeed it was in vain? So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?”
DO YOU SEE THE PROBLEM?
They were trying to use the Law on a righteous person
In order to make him more pleasing to God.
But that is not the purpose of the Law, that is legalism.
That actually belittles the work of Christ.
So Paul sets the record straight.
(6-9) “Even so Abraham BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS. Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “ALL THE NATIONS WILL BE BLESSED IN YOU.” So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.”
Faith is what God is looking for, not legalism.
And so we clearly see that the Law is not being used lawfully
When it is being used on the righteous.
It was never meant to perfect you.
Jesus does that.
Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”
There is no need for the Law in the life of the godly.
The Law only leads you to Jesus.
And so we understand what Paul meant to Timothy.
“realizing the fact that the law is not made for a righteous person”
However the Law is needed for the unrighteous.
“but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching,”
WHY?
Because they need to have their sin exposed.
They need to be driven to Jesus.
They are precisely who the Law is for.
This is also very important to our ministry today.
Commonly today the church seeks to lure in sinners
With a lawless gospel.
Teaching on sin is out…
Proclaiming judgment is out…
Explaining hell is out…
Instead the church has sought to draw men in
Based on meeting their “felt needs”
And appealing to their selfish desires for an abundant life.
We offer them all sorts of things.
Some even go to the extreme of offering cars, and houses,
And financial peace and security.
And I will be the first to tell you that those tactics
Have SUCCEEDED in filling the churches with people.
Go out and read a George Barna survey…
It has worked perfectly (nearly)
There is one thing this sort of attraction has not accomplished.
GENUINE GODLINESS
Such tactics produce complacent, selfish, comfortable, egotistical, wishy-washy, and highly uneffective people.
Paul said:
1 Timothy 1:5 “But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”
BUT GENUINE GODLINESS IS THE LOST ATTRIBUTE TODAY
The point is that our tactics don’t work.
BECAUSE WE HAVE LEFT THE LAW OUT OF THE GOSPEL
What that means is that while people seem to be accepting Christ
This is not what they are really doing.
I fear that we have a bunch of rich young rulers
Running after Jesus trying to carry their wealth with them.
They come in selfishness, not in sacrifice, because
They don’t feel like they need Him worse than their comfort.
THAT IS WHAT THE LAW DOES.
It drives people to Jesus.
It forces them to answer the question Jesus asked.
Matthew 16:24-27 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS.”
When they see their end, they are all the more willing to sacrifice
In order to receive the Godliness that is only found in Christ.
The Law is to be used to lead men to a total commitment to Jesus.
The Nature of the Law The Use of the Law
#3 THE END OF THE LAW
1 Timothy 1:11
“according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted.”
In short, the Law is a tool to aid the work of the gospel.
The gospel is not a tool to aid the work of the Law.
• The Law has to be rightly understood…
• The Law has to be rightly applied…
• The Law has to be rightly used…
And when a person comes to Christ through believing the gospel,
Then the work of the Law is finished.
I don’t know if the teachers at Ephesus
Were still trying to hold the Law over people
(Ch. 4 suggest that they were),
But Paul wants Timothy to know that when Christ comes
The work of the Law is over.
Romans 10:4 “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”
Galatians 2:19-20 “”For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God. “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”
TURN TO: ROMANS 7:1-6
And the point he is making is stated in verse 1
“Or do you not know, brethren (for I am speaking to those who know the law), that the law has jurisdiction over a person as long as he lives?”
And you know this.
The Law doesn’t work on dead men.
And then he uses the analogy of marriage.
(2-3) “For the married woman is bound by law to her husband while he is living; but if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning the husband. So then, if while her husband is living she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man.”
A woman as bound to her husband while he lives,
But if he dies, she is free to marry another.
And then comes the application.
(4) “Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.”
This is why we are crucified with Christ.
This is why we died to self.
So that we might be born again able to be married to a new husband.
“so that we might be joined to another” (Jesus)
And then notice the reason.
“that we might bear fruit for God.”
REMEMBER PAUL’S PROBLEM WITH THE TEACHING AT EPHESUS?
“fruitless discussion”
Men weren’t godly.
Well, we leave the Law and are joined to Christ
So that we can be truly righteous and fruitful.
(5-6) “For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death. But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.”
When we were sinful and unrighteous
The more the Law commanded the more we sinned.
But once we died, we were released from the Law
And joined to Christ and now we are righteous to God.
The point is there comes a time when the work of the Law ends.
It ends when the gospel is believed and we run to Christ.
And so let me bring this all to a conclusion.
If the church is ever to be godly like God intends,
Then we have to get our theology on the Law correct.
• The Law is good, it reveals sin and it drives men to Christ.
• The Law is necessary for wicked men for it is the only thing that renders them condemned and hopeless.
• But once the gospel is believed the Law has no more use for it is not for righteous persons.
That means we preach the Law to drive men to Jesus,
But once you come to Jesus we no longer hold the Law over you.
And now we know what the problematic teachers at Ephesus were doing.
They were not using the Law lawfully.
Either they weren’t using it to condemn the wicked
And therefore drive them to Christ.
Or they were using it on the righteous
In order to snare them under legalism.
And the either way the result is the same. – FRUITLESSNESS
The lost weren’t being saved
And the saved were not being conformed to godliness
The Law was not being used lawfully and godliness was not produced.
You and I learn then the importance of the Law
And the means to produce godliness
In the lives of those around us.
1 Timothy 3:14-15 “I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.”
