How Does God’s Law Apply to Us Today?

Law—what is it good for? Absolutely nothing? Lamentably, the way many Christians speak about God’s moral law today (as distinguished from the civil and ceremonial aspects of Old Testament law) indicates that they functionally believe this to be true. When confronted with pastoral exhortations to keep God’s commandments, their guard is immediately thrown up against what sounds to them like legalism. “The gospel is not about what we do, but about what Christ has done for us,” they’ll say. And right they are. The gospel is about Christ’s work, not ours. Rightly understood, however, the gospel doesn’t diminish the importance of the law in believers’ lives, it actually increases it. Believers are meant to love the gospel and the law.

This widespread uneasiness concerning the law is understandable. There are passages such as Romans 8:2, “For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death,” and 1 Corinthians 15:56, “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law,” that seem to pin the blame for our condemnation upon the law itself. Like the radioactive waves emanating from the radium that claimed Marie Curie’s life, many believers think the Bible wraps caution tape around the law, warning them to stand back as far as possible lest they succumb to the death radiating from within.

But upon closer inspection, these verses are not speaking of the law essentially or in and of itself—they are speaking functionally. They are a warning against the improper use of the law—namely, for the purpose of earning eternal life. Used in that way, the law can only bring death, “for by works of the law no human being will be justified in [God’s] sight” (Rom. 3:20). But used in the ways that God has prescribed, the law, which is “holy and righteous and good,” is a source of delight to the believer (Rom. 7:12).

So, how then does the law apply to us today? There are three primary ways:

1. The law is a means of conviction.

“You don’t know what you don’t know” captures well the spirit of this first use of the law. Until we know our sin for what it truly is, we cannot know our need of the grace offered to us in the gospel, hence why God gave the law. The law “came in to increase the trespass”—that is, to increase our awareness of sin’s prevalence so that God’s grace would abound all the more in our eyes (Rom. 5:20).

The law is to a believer what a mirror is to a person’s face: It doesn’t cause the spot of sin, nor does it have the power to wipe it away. All it can do is give us a picture of who we really are and direct us to Him whose blood washes us whiter than the snow. When you look into the perfect law of God, what is it that you see? Do you see a man or a woman who is getting along well enough—certainly not perfect, but better than most? Or do you see a desperate sinner in need of a sufficient Savior?

2. The law is a means of protection.

When God first revealed the moral law to Israel at Mount Sinai, He did so for their good. God laid down rules for Israel for the same reason that parents tell their children not to play in the street or to talk to strangers: so that it might go well with them (Deut. 4:40; 5:29). The moral law, written on the hearts of all people, is like God’s muzzle, restraining the regenerate and unregenerate alike from giving full expression to their evil desires.

The world as we know it would spiral out of control were it not for this fear inscribed on the hearts of all people. Christians should, then, for the glory of God and the good of their neighbors, long to see this common grace benefit become increasingly common. They shouldn’t hide the law of God under a basket in shame or embarrassment but confidently uphold it so that all the nations might see its light.

3. The law is a means of direction.

There’s nothing worse than not knowing what you’re doing. Whether it’s filing your taxes, working on the car, or traveling from point A to point B, we all long for guidance. The law of God gives just that; it is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (Ps. 119:105).

God wants His people to be holy. He wants them to be holy because He is holy (1 Peter 1:16). And what better pattern or rule for holiness is there than that contained in the Ten Commandments? Even if one would insist that believers are called to pursue Christlikeness and not greater obedience to the moral law, what was it that Christ came to do? “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matt. 5:17). Jesus fulfilled the law for our salvation. And we are called to follow that same law as our guide, not that we might be our own saviors, but that we might express our love and heartfelt thanks to God for His saving grace.