Use the Law Lawfully

Announcement (RT)

Call to Worship (RT)

“Praise Ye, Praise Ye the Lord” (RT)

Prayer of Praise and Confession (RT)

Offering (RT)

Doxology (RT)

Hymn 128 “God Moves in a Mysterious Ways” (SE)

Our Evening Hymn this week is written by William Cowper. He was a contemporary and dear friend to John Newton in the 18th Century. Before converting to Christianity Cowper was institutionalize for insanity for attempted suicide and thereafter he dealt with severe melancholy or by todays standards, clinical depression. As a ministry to Cowper, Newton invited him to write hymns for their church. This hymn was written right before his death and is to be considered one of the greatest english hymns. In the midst of a life on struggle, Torment, and crisis Cowpers last words were “I am not shut out of heaven after all!” I hope the story behind this hymn is a comfort to you as we sing. Sing now with me Hymn 128

Pastoral Prayer (SE)

Civil Realm:

We pray for the first responders in our communities. As medical workers continue to serve in the midst of this crisis, protect them according to your common grace. We have many doctors in our own congregation that are selflessly serving for the sake of the common good in our society. protect them in this uncertainty. We pray that you give these health professionals wisdom and prudence at this time.

The Lost of the World/Mission of the church:

We think of the lost in this world. We think of the people of china at this time. We are reminded that that underground church there and th outworking of the gospel. We pray for the softening of the hearts of the people of China. We pray that religious restrictions might die and that the gospel might go forth. We think of the Reformed seminaries that are in china and working to produce faithful ministers. We pray that you bless these pastors with mass conversions.

The Mission of the Church

We pray fr

The Sanctification of the Church

We pray for our own church.. That we might continue to grow in grace. We pray for our elders and deacons. In our limited ministry, we pray that our diaconate and session continue to care for the shut ins and congregation. May this be a time of deep seated pastoral care. Give us wisdom and insight as we care for the saints at FPC. and bless our families with spiritual discipline. It is easy to sleep in with remote worship and to ignore the word when there is not accountability. May our people be convicted in maintaining the faith in this lockdown!

The Sick and Afflicted

-We think of those in need among us! We think of the women who are carrying children in our church. We think of the Finches and Tuckers at this time. Bring them comfort by your Spirit. May you countenance shine down upon them. Protect their children with a healthy pregnancy and we thank you for bringing this children into your covenant and in this church.

-We think of those affected by this Crisis. We think of the sick. We think of the financial sacrifices. We hear of the rise of suicide caused by this suffering. Lord, there are many desperate people in our land. We pray for revival. For in this present darkness we are reminded of the words of Calvin. After darkness, light. Send your spirit to the hopeless and dead and give them life. For the sake of your glory, bring about life in the midst of this current crisis.

-We lift up the fletcher family. As Brian continues to serve in the hospital with possible covid sicknesses. As he self quarantines and is away from his own family, be with Virginia and their children in this difficult times. Raise their sprits and protect them!

Sermon Text Introduction

If you have your bibles, I invite you to turn to . We will be picking up in verse 8 and go through to verse 11. Today, we continue our series in the Church’s calling. Paul called timothy and the church of Ephesus to destroy false teaching within the church. As you remember the problems of the false teachers. They were wielding myths of Old Testament figures to promote their false teaching. And on the other hand they were wielding the moral law as self proclaimed teachers of the law. They have error in both of their hands! And Paul seeks to set us straight in regards to the Law of God. He gives us the purpose of the Law in our text today. For even good laws can be misapplied and unlawfully used.

Though our sermon is on verse 8, let us begin our reading in verse 5 for context,

English Standard Version Chapter 1

5 The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

6 Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion,

7 desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.

8 Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully,

9 understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers,

10 the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine,

11 in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.

English Standard Version Chapter 1

6 Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion,

7 desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.

8 Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully,

9 understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers,

10 the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine,

11 in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.

Here ends our Epistle lesson and this is the Word of God.

Sermon Introduction

Good laws can be twisted and misapplied. We have many laws in our own country that on paper are good laws, but when we see them unfold in reality by wicked men and women. We see them warped and distorted. This is nothing new to society. Charles Simeon, the Pastor of Holy Trinity Church in Cambridge during the 18th Century said this,

Horae Homileticae Vol. 18: Philippians to 1 Timothy Discourse 2221: The Law Good, If Used Aright (1 Tim. 1:8)

TO live under the government of laws that are wisely enacted and well administered, is a blessing of no ordinary kind. But the best of laws, if perverted to ends which were never contemplated by the legislature, may be made sources and instruments of the most grievous oppression.

We need not go far in our own society to think about the abuse of good law. A small example of this may be seat belt laws in our country. They are intended for good. We often hear that wearing seatbelts will save lives. However, research has shown that states with seatbelt laws have more fatalities in car accidents. Striking, The researchers concluded that seatbelts make people feel safer and thus they drive more recklessly. Which in turn leads to more deaths. My wife and I watched a murder mystery the other night. It was delightful to figure out which family member killed the rich old man. It seemed that the entire family was rotten and didn’t deserve his fortune. Either way the old man decided to give his fortune to the nurse that cared for him in his time of need. Guess what, the family sought to use the full force of the law, in getting their fortune back. Good laws to protect families from abuse, wielded by rotten people to get a fortune that none of them deserved.

That is what we have here is 1st Timothy, We have a good law misapplied by rotten false teachers. False teachers that believe they know the law of God and how to wield it. Yet as Paul reminds us, they do not know the law and know not how to apply the law. They have no basis for their confidence in the law of God. In our own time the Law of God, the ten commandments are under great scrutiny. Some in the Christian church argue that the ten commandments have no relevance to the church of Christ. They often cite passages like these to defend their claims that the law is not for Christians. These folk are often called Anti-Nomians. They are Anti-Law. This group says it doesn’t matter how much you sin. Jesus saves, just look to him. Continue in your sin for Jesus cleanses you of this sin. Go on in your lawlessness. On the other side of the spectrum, we have an equally heinous group of neo-nomians. These are your legalists. They search the law and believe that if they obey the law, then they will be saved. The law for these folks leads to self-righteousness. If I obey these Laws, God will accept me as righteous. These folks need not Christ for their salvation. They need only the law of God. Paul calls these false understandings rubbish and gives us this text today. A law of God that is good and purposeful. It is a law that leads us to Christ, that guides us to holiness, and reveals to us our own sin. In other words, the Remedy to both the lawless and self righteous is not more or less law. It is the gospel. For in the gospel, the law becomes both the revealer of our sin and school teacher of our hearts.

Proposition: Use the Law Lawfully! How do you use the law lawfully?

Christians recognize that the Law is Good (8)

We see this in verse 8,

8 Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully,

8 Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully,

English Standard Version Chapter 1

8 Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully,

8 Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully,

8 Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully,

The Common knowledge of the Law

Paul comically begins by saying “we know that the law is good.” We know it to be true and good. Paul is telling us this common idea. Everyone who has any sense knows that the law is good. For the Law has a proper place in the life of a Christian. You remember the ten commandments in the book of Exodus. It was a gracious act of God to give his people the law. And how do the ten commandments begin? They begin with “I am the Lord your God.” Our God is a God the begins his commands by reminding us that we are his first. Salvation first, and then the law of God. Rescue from Egyptian enslavement and then the giving of the law. Thus, this must be a good law!

The Good law, lawfully used!

8 Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully,

So we determined that the Law is good since it comes graciously from God to us. But this good law must be used lawfully. And there are three and uses in our tradition for the law in our society and church. If you pick away at these uses, it often leads to the errors that we discussed earlier. It either leads to lawlessness or legalism. So must must get this right!

The Law Restrains Evil (Civil Use)

Believe it or not, the Law of God is used to restrain evil in our society. For the law of God is written on mankind hearts. Generally speaking, humanity agrees explicitly with the second table of the law. Do not murder, do not steal, do not lie. Each of these moral commands are enforced in our society and most all of societies. Without the law of God on our hearts, society would be much worse than it even is today! Thus the law of God promotes civil order.

The Law restrains Evil (Civil Use)

The Law condemns sin (Pedagogical Use)

The second use of the law condemns sins. So it restrains evil in our land, but it also condemns sin. The moral Law, The ten commandments reveals to us the holiness of God and the sinfulness of man. Thus the law of God convicts us of our sin. We know that we are fallen when we look at the law of God. For we are unable to maintain the law perfectly in our own lives.

As Augustine wrote, “the law bids us, as we try to fulfill its requirements, and become wearied in our weakness under it, to know how to ask the help of grace.”

In this way, the law is our tutor that leads us to our need for Christ and his work of redemptions

The Law guides us in sanctification (Normative Use)

Lastly, and often the most neglected use is as a guide for our own sanctification. In other words, the law is for Christian people. It teaches us how to live in the new creation. The Law tells us how to please our heavenly father as his adopted children. It is our rule of life. Christians are free from the law in regards to it being a system for their salvation, but we are not free from the law as children of God.

Like many of your own homes. You have rules in the household. Children, when you obey the rules, it leads to blessing as you please your parents. When you misbehave and bend the rules. Your parents often discipline you. You might be sent to bed early or not get ice cream in the evening. In a similar manner, as christians we are in the household of God. And as children who love our father, we seek to live by his rules of life. And we come to know that these laws are good for us as his children. We begin to love the laws!

Proposition: Use the Law Lawfully! How do you use the law lawfully? Christians recognize that the law is Good

Christians learn the moral standards of God (9-10)

Who is the law for? It is for sinners. We see this in verses 9-10,

English Standard Version Chapter 1

9 understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers,

10 the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine,

A familiar List

This builds off the second use that we mentioned earlier. The law reveals our sin and the holiness of God. Thus, in the ten commandments we learn the moral will of God. And if you look at the text at hand you might begin to notice something. Paul mentions the entirety of the ten commandments in these two verse.

You remember these false teachers, They were wielding the law for their extra-biblical speculations to ground their false teaching. These self righteous teachers argued that obedience to these laws led to an enlightened life. They were Christian perfectionists. They taught perfect obedience to the law was possible in this life.

If these false teachers, were truly perfect. Then they have no need for the law. For the Law of God is not for the perfect. It is not for the righteous. The law of God is for the sinner. You fondly remember the words of Jesus in the gospel that he came not to call the righteous to himself, but to call the sinner. These false teachers have lost sight of their need for grace and the gospel of Christ. They became self reliant and arrogant in their teaching.

The broad implications of the Decalogue

The broad implications of the Decalogue

Verse 9 and 10 also give us list for who this law is for. It is for the lawless and disobedient. It is for the ungodly and sinners. It is for the unholy and profane. It is for those who strike their fathers and mothers and for murderers. It is for the sexually immoral and men who practice homosexuality. It is for the enslavers, for the liars, and for the perjurers.

lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers,

In other words, the law is for those who break the ten commandments. The whole of the ten commands are found in this short text. The ungodly, sinners, unholy, and profane all refer to the first four commandments While the rest are self explanatory. The ten commandments are present right here. The law is for those who transgress the commands of God. But the most striking thing about this this list is that is offers extremely heinous violations of the ten commandments. From Profaning the lords day to beating down your father and mother. From murder to acts of homosexuality. From the most heinous for of thievery (man-stealing/enslaving/kidnapping) to perjurers. Paul presents us with gross violation of the ten commandments.

10 the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers,

Notice the end of the list, and those teachings contrary to sound doctrine. Wretched living leads to wretched theology. Wretched living leads to wretched doctrine. How we live tells us a lot about who we are.

We ten commandments themselves are a synecdoche. This is a figure of speech for a part representing a whole. We use this all the time. We say we something like, “We have boots on the ground.” That ordinary means we have soldiers in is specific location. We don’t merely mean literal boots. Or you may say I got new wheels. You probably mean a new car. The same is true for the ten commandments. When we say “do not murder,” we aren’t only focused on murder proper, but a principle of promoting and maintaining life. We are called to protect life.

That is what this list is doing. It is not merely naming the ten commandments proper, but rather case studies that fall under each of the commandments. And we have all of them here. Reformed folk tend to be labeled as brain on sticks. They’re all head and no heart. That’s often the charge against us. We have all the right doctrine and none of the right living. Our personal piety often lags far behind our theology. We are on the right track in regards to sound doctrine, let us finish well by living as God’s children. Let us not be like the false teachers. Where their heinous false teaching leads heinous living. If our doctrine leads to lawlessness, it is no better than the false teachers in Ephesus.

Proposition: Use the Law Lawfully! How do you use the law lawfully?Christians recognize that the law is Good and learn the moral standards of God.

Christians believe that the law works with the Gospel (11)

English Standard Version Chapter 1

whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine,

11 in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.

English Standard Version Chapter 1

11 in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.

The gospel in accordance with the law

Sometimes we desire to only see a contrast with the law and gospel. That they are two mutually exclusive ideas that cannot relate to one another. That their is a stark contrast between law and gospel. But Paul seems to disagree with this idea. At the end of his section on law, he promotes gospel. There is more continuity or unity between the law and gospel than we often realize! For on the one hand the Law condemns us like it did Israel for their unbelief. This condemnation is gracious in that it point to the need of the gospel and salvation given by Christ. For Christ alone is that perfect keeper of the law of God. And those who believe in Christ are not saved according to their own obedience to the law. Rather they are saved by Christ’s perfect obedience of the Law. The law shatter us as it reveals our sin. And we approach God with no righteousness in us, but the righteousness of Christ given to us. And as we are driven to Christ in the gospel, we enter into a new relationship with the Law. No longer is the law a task-master over us. But in Love and in Christ, it becomes the means for serving God in holiness. Thus, the law teaches you and me how to live in a manner that pleases God.

The Glory of God entrusted to Paul

This gospel is glorious. For only the Gospel can take the good law of God that condemns sinners and turn it into the means by which we grow in Christ. From being condemned by the Law to be growing in holiness under the Law. It is only by the work of God that we have have such a conclusion.

What means does God use to bring about new covenant? Paul, his faithful minster and timothy his Son. God has entrusted the glorious proclamation of the gospel to his faithful ministers and servants. The God of the universe chooses to uses sinful Paul to this glorious end. And he uses you and I too,

I once attended a young adult ministry at multi-campus styled church. Really just to see how it was. They had a worship styled service and then they would break out into small groups. I avoided the small groups at all costs. They were odd experiences, but they talked me into going a few times. These was not ideal ground for this cage stage calvinist. but nevertheless, I went. and a common statement that was said in our group was, “I don’t want to sound like a legalist, but...” The group of men would preface any dogmatic statement with that phrase. Kind of funny when you think about it. “I dont want to sound like a legalist but, I think we should baptize babies.” OR “I don’t want to sound like a legalist, but I think I should get baptized again.” These well meaning Christians were so afraid of the law, that they thought having doctrinal conviction meant you were a legalist.

Many in Christianity have come to this very same conclusion. But the law and gospel are meant to be directly juxtaposed against each-other! The law in our fallen conditions needs the gospel. That is why we need the gospel. The gospel is the key for proper use of the Law. How does one use the law lawfully? It is through the lens of the gospel. For if we truly understand the gospel, it will protect us against legalism and lawlessness. For in the gospel, We deny legalists and their view of earning salvation by their works. And in the gospel, we deny the lawless their abounding in sin as the gospel reminds us that we are dead to sin and alive to God in Christ.

That is why we need the gospel. The gospel is the key for proper use of the Law. How does one use the law lawfully? It is through the lens of the gospel.

Proposition: Use the Law Lawfully! Christians recognize that the law is Good and learn the moral standards of God and that the Law works with the gospel.

Conclusion

We might be tempted to use the law unlawfully for our own gain like the family in the murder mystery. We might seek to justify ourselves like the legalists or seek the throw out law and obedience like the lawless. But these approaches both miss the mark and harm the believe. For lawless Christianity is no Christianity at all. And a legalistic Christianity ceases to know Christ. They both misunderstand grace, the gospel, and the law of God. Sinclair Furgeson said this problem that we have discussed today is a part of over 50 percent of his pastoral crises in ministry. Christian have long failed to use the law lawfully. And are call today is to use it well. For it is good, it reveals the morality of God and works in conjunction with the Gospel.

Trust and obey for their is no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey

Hymn 672 “Trust and Obey”

Benediction

English Standard Version Chapter 13

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.