Bird's-eye view
In this passage, the apostle Paul, having warned Timothy about false teachers who misuse the law, now pivots to explain the law's true and righteous purpose. He is not setting the law aside as though it were a bad thing. Rather, he is putting it in its proper place. The law is good, but only when it is used lawfully. And what is that lawful use? It is to expose and condemn sin. The law is not a tool for self-justification for the righteous man, for the righteous man is not under its condemnation. Instead, the law is a divine instrument designed to confront the unrighteousness of fallen humanity in all its varied and ugly manifestations. Paul provides a representative list of sins, all of which stand in stark opposition to "sound teaching." This sound teaching, he concludes, is nothing other than the gospel itself, the glorious good news of the blessed God, which has been entrusted to Paul and to all faithful ministers.
This section serves as a crucial theological anchor for the pastoral epistles. It establishes that the foundation of all true ministry is the gospel, and that the law, rightly understood, always serves the gospel. It shows us that the law is not a ladder for us to climb to God, but rather a mirror that shows us our desperate need for the grace that God has provided in Jesus Christ. The law drives us to the gospel, and the gospel fulfills the law.
Outline
- 1. The Right Use of God's Law (1 Tim 1:8-11)
- a. The Goodness of the Law Used Lawfully (1 Tim 1:8)
- b. The Target of the Law: The Unrighteous (1 Tim 1:9a)
- c. A Catalogue of Lawbreakers (1 Tim 1:9b-10a)
- i. General Rebellion
- ii. Specific Sins Against God and Man
- d. The Law's Purpose: To Uphold Sound Gospel Teaching (1 Tim 1:10b-11)
Context In 1 Timothy
Paul has just charged Timothy to remain in Ephesus to deal with false teachers who were causing doctrinal confusion (1 Tim 1:3-4). These individuals were obsessed with myths and endless genealogies and desired to be teachers of the law, yet they understood neither what they were saying nor the things about which they made confident assertions (1 Tim 1:7). Paul's correction here in verses 8-11 is therefore directly aimed at this error. He is not anti-law; he is anti-lawlessness, and that includes the lawless use of the law. He is showing Timothy, and by extension the whole church, that the law is not a plaything for speculative theology. It has a sharp, convicting edge meant to drive sinners to Christ. This section sets the stage for the rest of the letter, grounding pastoral ministry in the sober reality of sin and the glorious truth of the gospel.
Key Issues
- The Lawful Use of the Law
- The Law's Relation to the Righteous and Unrighteous
- The Nature of Sound Teaching
- The Gospel of the Glory of God
- Key Word Study: Nomos, "Law"
- Key Word Study: Hugiainō, "Sound"
Clause-by-Clause Commentary
v. 8 But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully,
Paul begins by affirming the divine origin and inherent goodness of the law. This is a crucial starting point. The problem with the false teachers in Ephesus was not that they were interested in the law, but that they were misusing it. The law of God is good because God is good. It reflects His holy character. But like any good tool, it can be used improperly. You can use a scalpel to perform life-saving surgery, or you can use it to commit murder. The law is good, Paul says, with a significant condition: "if one uses it lawfully." This lawful use is not as a means of earning righteousness, which is a fool's errand, but as a diagnostic tool to reveal sin. The law is the straight edge that shows how crooked we are. When used this way, to drive us to the cross, it is being used lawfully and is therefore very good.
v. 9a knowing this, that law is not made for a righteous person,
Here is the central principle of the law's lawful use. The law, in its condemning function, is not aimed at the righteous man. Why not? Because the righteous man, the one who is justified by faith in Christ, has already had the law's demands met on his behalf by Christ. The curse of the law has been exhausted at the cross. For the believer, the law is no longer a taskmaster threatening condemnation, but rather a guide for grateful living, what the Reformers called the third use of the law. But Paul's primary point here is about the law as a curb and a mirror. It is not laid down for the man who is already walking in the right way. You don't put up a "Keep Off the Grass" sign for someone who is already on the path. The law's primary function in this context is to confront and restrain the lawbreaker.
v. 9b but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and godless,
Now Paul begins to unpack who the law is for. He starts with three pairs of general descriptions that paint a picture of comprehensive rebellion against God. The "lawless" are those who refuse to live under any external standard. The "rebellious" are those who actively defy the authority that is over them. This is the very heart of sin: autonomy and insurrection. The "ungodly" are those who lack reverence for God, while "sinners" are those who miss the mark of His standards. The "unholy" are those who are profane, common, and set apart for corruption, while the "godless" are those who live without any practical recognition of God's reality. This is a description of fallen humanity, dead in trespasses and sins. The law is for them, to show them the truth about their condition.
v. 9c for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers,
From general rebellion, Paul moves to specific and heinous violations of God's law, likely drawing from the Ten Commandments. He begins with the fifth and sixth commandments. The phrase "those who kill their fathers or mothers" is a shocking one. It points to the ultimate breakdown of natural affection and societal order. The family is the bedrock of society, and the command to honor parents is the hinge between our duties to God and our duties to man. To strike at one's own parents is to strike at the very heart of God's created order. He follows this with "murderers," a direct violation of the sixth commandment. This is not just about taking a life; it is about usurping God's prerogative as the giver of life and violently defacing His image in man.
v. 10a for sexually immoral persons, for homosexuals, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers,
The list continues, touching on other fundamental aspects of God's moral law. "Sexually immoral persons" is a broad term for any sexual activity outside the covenant of marriage between one man and one woman, a violation of the seventh commandment. "Homosexuals" refers to those who engage in same-sex relations, a practice the Bible consistently identifies as a profound confusion of God's created design for male and female. "Kidnappers" (or man-stealers) is a violation of the eighth commandment, "You shall not steal," applied to the highest form of property, a human being made in God's image. This was a capital crime in the Old Testament. "Liars" and "perjurers" are violations of the ninth commandment, "You shall not bear false witness." Lying breaks down the fabric of trust that makes community possible, and perjury corrupts the very process of justice.
v. 10b and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching,
Paul knows his list is not exhaustive. He is giving representative examples of the kind of behavior the law condemns. So, he provides a catch-all category: "and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching." The word for "sound" here is where we get our word "hygiene." It means healthy. Sound teaching is healthy teaching. It produces spiritual life and health. Sin, in all its forms, is therefore unhealthy. It is a spiritual sickness, a corruption. The law is given to identify this sickness. Any behavior, any attitude, any thought that is contrary to the healthy doctrine of Scripture is something that the law is set against.
v. 11 according to the gospel of the glory of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted.
This is the magnificent conclusion. What is this "sound teaching" that all these sins are contrary to? It is the gospel. But notice how Paul describes it: "the gospel of the glory of the blessed God." The gospel is not just a plan of salvation; it is a revelation of God's glory. It is the good news about who God is, in all His blessedness and majesty. The law shows us our sin and God's holiness. The gospel shows us God's glory in the face of Jesus Christ, who has dealt with our sin. This glorious message was not something Paul invented; it was "entrusted" to him. It was a sacred deposit, a stewardship. And the point is that the law, used lawfully, always serves this glorious gospel. It prepares the soil of the human heart for the seed of the gospel by breaking up the hard ground of self-righteousness. The law roars, so that the gospel's whisper of grace might be heard.