law1 Timothy 1:8-9 We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. We also know that law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels.

Because of differences in sentence structure I had to pick up the last of verse 10 to complete the sentence in Japanese, which illustrates why speakers need to complete their sentences before turning things over to their interpreter, if the two languages involved are English and Japanese. Anyway, this passage makes an important point about legal systems in general. If people were all good, seeking to do good to one another and please God, we wouldn’t need any laws. However, it’s precisely because not everybody is that way that we do need laws. The current hoopla over gun laws in the US is a good case in point. People that commit crimes using guns aren’t going to obey the existing laws, so more laws will have no benefit. Laws are a means of delivering appropriate punishment to those who wouldn’t obey them in the first place. That’s why legalism in the Church is so meaningless, and that’s what Paul is addressing here. If our motive is to please God, then we don’t need laws, we need hints. If our motive is to see what we can get away with, we need laws! Down through the centuries, people have used church regulations as excuses to do whatever wasn’t mentioned in the regulations, and that’s no way to live. We’re back to Augustine’s instructions to “Love God and do as you please.” When we love God sufficiently, we aren’t going to be controlled by anything else, including “the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life.” (1 John 2:16)

As I’ve been reminded recently, rules are helpful and necessary for little children, and failure to establish and enforce them can be very damaging in establishing a good moral compass in them. However, I recognize in myself the impulse to break any rule that is imposed on me. (That’s why enforcing rules is so important in raising children.) I need to keep watch over my heart most of all, because my love for God is not perfect, and temptations to place other things ahead of Him are real. As Paul pointed out to the Romans, “Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” (Romans 13:10) If we are really obeying the First and Second Commandments, (Matthew 22:37-40) we don’t need any other laws, we just need suggestions in how to implement those two. I need to remember that in my own life, and I need to keep that as a guiding principle in serving as a pastor and teacher.

Father, thank You for Your love. Words are not sufficient to express the gratitude and obedience called for. Help me live my life as a declaration of my love for You and for my neighbor, so that I may be an example to others of true discipleship, for their edification and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!