Gospel Freedom 01022
Right at the start I want you to grasp and understand that a gospel-centred people are drawn by grace, not driven by the heavy whip of the law.
1.There Was Confusion About the Law Then and confusion about the Law Now
In v.7, Paul tells us there were people in the church at Ephesus who wanted to be teachers of the law but they didn’t really understand what they were talking about. They were trying to bring the believers back under a yoke of ‘do’s’ and ‘don’ts’ In other words, there was confusion about the role of God’s law in the life of a believer.
That’s why 1 Timothy 1:8 becomes so important: ‘We know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully (properly).’
Two things become clear from this statement: 1. The law is good and 2. The law can be misused. It’s possible to misuse the law in the church. It’s possible to misuse the law in your home. It’s possible to misuse the law in our own hearts.
2.Improper Uses of the Law
You can use a good thing in the wrong way and end up in a mess. One improper use of the law is ‘self-justification’. That’s what the rich young ruler recorded in Matthew 19:16-22 did. He listed the commandments and said, ‘All these I have kept since I was a boy.’ He looked at the law superficially and concluded, ‘I’m doing pretty well, I’m doing o.k. I.m not as bad as…’
Paul once thought the same way. In Philippians 3:6, he said, ‘As to righteousness under the law, blameless.’ That’s how he saw himself before Christ. But a shallow reading of the law always leads to self-deception.
A second improper use of the law is self-sanctification, a ‘get out of hell free card’ the idea that Christ forgives your past, opens heaven for your future but leaves the present up to you to manage by rules and effort. That is not the gospel. Romans 8:3 tells us: ‘What the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son.’
The law can instruct but it cannot empower. It can point but it cannot carry you there. The gospel does not bring forgiveness, heaven and law. The gospel brings forgiveness, heaven and Holy Spirit. It is Holy Spirit who changes us inside out, not the law.
3.Not Under the Law, But Not Without It
So what is the proper use of the law? First, the Bible is very clear: Students of Jesus/Disciples of Christ are not under the law.
Romans 6:14 tells us ‘...sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.’ Romans 10:4 says ‘Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.’ That’s why Paul makes the point so strongly in Galatians 5:4 that those who seek justification by the law have fallen away from grace. And before in Galatians 5:1 ‘It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.’
The law cannot condemn someone who is in Christ and for that we say, ‘Praise the Lord.’ Next there is a ‘but’ and this and important ‘but’ - we cannot forget the law. Why?
Four Reasons We Cannot Ignore the Law
First, the law is good. 1 Timothy 1:8 says so. Romans 7:12 says the law is ‘holy, righteous and good.’ 2 Timothy 3:16 reminds us that ‘all Scripture is God-breathed and useful…’
Second, the law remains. Jesus said in Matthew 5:18 that not a single stroke would pass away until all is fulfilled. And He said our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees v.20. Jesus doesn’t lower the standard, He fulfils it and takes us further.
Third, Holy Spirit writes the law on our hearts. Jeremiah 31:33 promises it. Ezekiel 36:27 declares it. God puts His Spirit within us to move us to obey, not from fear, but from desire.
Fourth, Holy Spirit empowers us to live out the law’s purpose. Romans 8:4 says ‘the righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled in those who walk according to the Spirit.’
4.Three Proper Uses/application of the Law
First, the law restrains evil. 1 Timothy 1:9 says it was made for lawbreakers and the disobedient. Good laws restrain sin in a fallen world. That’s why we need laws in society, in homes and yes even in churches. The law acts as a deterrent, keeping us from our worst impulses
Second, the law leads sinners to Christ. Galatians 3:24–25 says, the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ so that we might be justified by faith. When the law truly confronts us, it humbles us. It strips away our excuses. It brings us to mercy.
But hear this: when the law exposes sin, God’s purpose is not that we fall into despair, instead it is to bring us to salvation. Satan wants to use the law to crush you. God wants to use it to draw you to Jesus. • Don’t stop at shame and guilt. Let the law lead you to the throne of grace, where you will find mercy and grace to help you in your time of need.
Third, the law points believers to a life of love. Galatians 5:14 says the entire law is summed up in love. Romans 13:10 says love fulfills the law. Jesus said all the law hangs on loving God and loving people. Love takes us further than rules ever could.
Jesus showed us how to read the law forward, in the Sermon on the Mount: ‘You have heard it said… but I say to you.’
The law says don’t murder, Jesus calls us to forgiveness. • The law says don’t commit adultery, Jesus calls us to purity of heart. That’s not less obedience—it’s more.
5.Love Takes Us Beyond the Law
There is no law that commands laying down your life but believers have done it for centuries. • There is no law that commands giving everything away but love has compelled it. • There is no law that commands crossing oceans but love has sent missionaries to the ends of the earth. • Love goes where law cannot. And where does that love come from? ‘We love because He first loved us.’ 1 John 4:19
Real change doesn’t come from rules. It comes from the love of Christ poured into our hearts by Holy Spirit.
The law restrains. The law reveals. But the gospel transforms.
So let us make proper use of God’s law allowing it to:
To restrain evil, to take us to Christ, point us to a Spirit-filled life compelled by love May we be a people drawn by grace, living by the power of Holy Spirit and moved by the love of Christ. Father, lead us into this life, for Your praise and Your glory.