Page 42 - Biblical Theology Textbook - masters

First, the Law reveals the character of God. God is holy and
separated from sin. He is totally pure and righteous. The Law is an
illustration of what a perfect person would be like. He would love
the Lord with all his heart, soul, and mind. He would worship only
the Lord. He would hold God’s name holy. He would honor his
parents and all other persons. He would not murder, commit
adultery, steal, lie, nor covet. And the Law is far more than the Ten
Commandments. It goes into great detail about what is appropriate
to eat, how to resolve quarrels, caring for slaves, caring for animals,
and on and on. So what the Law does is display who God is in character. He is perfect!

The problem is that Israel could not obey the Law of God. They constantly disobeyed and purposely
rebelled against it. They chafed against it and in doing so, rejected God as their King and Lord. The Law
required the continual sacrifice of blood to cover their sin. Thousands of innocent lambs and oxen were
sacrificed on behalf of the people’s sins, but they could not take away their sin. They only illustrated
that the Messiah would come to shed His blood on their behalf, that their sins could once and for all be
forgiven.

The Law demonstrated or illustrated to everyone what sin is. Romans 7:7 says that we would even
know what sin was except by the Law. John writes that sin is transgressing the law because “Everyone
who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4). Remember,
the Law reveals the character of God and we should honor it as such. Here is where we must have
gratitude for Christ’s sacrifice because He “appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no
sin” but it’s important to note that “no one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on
sinning has either seen him or known him” (1 John 3:5:6).

We are not saved by the law or by law-keeping but anyone who is living a lifestyle of breaking God’s law
is obviously not saved. John makes this clear by writing “Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the
devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to
destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in
him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God” (1 John 3:8-9). The key word
here is “practice” because if you are learning to play an instrument or playing a sport you continue to
practice it because you love it so anyone that continues to practice sin, as a lifestyle, cannot truly be a
person who has been born again because “No one born of God makes a practice of sinning.” That
doesn’t mean that believers still don’t sin. We all sin and stumble and fall but that’s not the same thing
as continually diving into it or practicing sin on an ongoing basis. We are not sinless, but we strive to sin
less! Just like Paul we “have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out:
(Rom 7:18). Like Paul, you and I “do not do the good [we] want, but the evil [we] do not want is what
[we] keep on doing” (Rom 7:19) even though we “have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability
to carry it out” (Rom 7:18).

The Law is our school master to bring us to Christ. It is our guardian to point us to the redeemer.
Galatians 3:23-26 explain it this way:

23 Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would
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be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by
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faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all
sons of God, through faith.
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