The Gospel's Razor Edge: A Right Use of the Law Text: 1 Timothy 1:8-11
Introduction: A Good Law in Bad Hands
We live in an age that is terrified of law, and for good reason, though not the reason it supposes. Our generation has seen law twisted into an instrument of tyranny, a tool for social engineering, and a gag for the righteous. At the same time, this same generation has abandoned God's law as a relic of a bygone, oppressive era, and in so doing has subjected itself to a far more arbitrary and crushing form of lawlessness. We are simultaneously a lawless and an over-regulated people, and this is no contradiction. When God's law is rejected, man's law multiplies like a cancer.
The situation in Ephesus, to which Paul is writing, was not so different. Certain men had risen up, desiring the prestige of being "teachers of the law," yet they understood nothing about it. They were using the law unlawfully. They had turned it into a platform for "myths and endless genealogies," promoting speculation instead of the stewardship of God. They had taken God's good, sharp, and holy law and were using it as a club to beat the sheep and a ladder for their own egos. They were mishandling a holy thing, which is always a dangerous business.
So Paul, in writing to his apostolic delegate Timothy, must correct this abuse. He must teach the church the proper, lawful use of the law. And in doing so, he shows us that the law, when used rightly, is not the enemy of the gospel but its faithful servant. The law is the straight edge that shows us how crooked we are. It is the diagnostic tool that reveals the disease. It is the bright light that sends the cockroaches scurrying. The law, used lawfully, drives us to the gospel. And the gospel, in turn, establishes the law. To set them at odds is to misunderstand both.
In our text today, Paul gives us a master class in how to think about the law of God. He shows us its goodness, its proper target, its specific applications, and its ultimate relationship to the glorious gospel of the blessed God. This is not abstract theology; this is intensely practical. If we get the law wrong, our evangelism will be toothless, our discipleship will be rootless, and our worship will be fruitless.
The Text
But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully,
knowing this, that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and godless, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers,
for sexually immoral persons, for homosexuals, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching,
according to the gospel of the glory of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted.
(1 Timothy 1:8-11 LSB)
A Good Tool, Used Rightly (v. 8)
We begin with the foundational principle in verse 8:
"But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully," (1 Timothy 1:8)
Paul starts by affirming the essential goodness of the law. This is his consistent teaching. In Romans, he says the law is "holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good" (Romans 7:12). The law is a reflection of the character of God Himself. It is not the problem. The problem is our sin, which the law exposes. A yardstick is not evil because it reveals that a board is crooked. The problem is the crooked board.
So, the law is good. But Paul adds a critical condition: "if one uses it lawfully." A scalpel is a good instrument in the hands of a surgeon, but a terrible one in the hands of a toddler. The goodness of a tool is tied to its proper function. The false teachers in Ephesus were using the law unlawfully. They were using it to build their own righteousness, to create intricate and speculative systems, and to bind the consciences of believers in matters where God had not bound them. They were using it as a means of justification, which is precisely what the law was never designed to do.
What then is the lawful use of the law? The reformers rightly identified three uses. First, the civil use: the law restrains evil in society, even among the unregenerate. Second, the pedagogical use: the law acts as a tutor, showing us our sin and driving us to Christ for mercy (Gal. 3:24). Third, the normative use: for the believer, the law is a guide for sanctification, teaching us how to live a life that is pleasing to God. Paul here is primarily focused on that second use, the pedagogical or evangelistic use. The law is good when it is used to shut the mouths of the proud and show them their desperate need for a savior.
The Law's Proper Target (v. 9a)
Next, Paul identifies who the law is for, and who it is not for.
"knowing this, that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and godless..." (1 Timothy 1:9a)
This is a crucial distinction. "Law is not made for a righteous person." Now, does this mean a Christian has nothing to do with the law? Is he an antinomian, free to disregard God's commands? Not at all. Paul's point is about the law's primary function as an instrument of condemnation and coercion. A righteous man, one who has been justified by faith in Christ, is no longer under the law in that sense. He is not under its curse (Gal. 3:13). He does not relate to God on the basis of his law-keeping. The law is not hanging over his head like the sword of Damocles.
For the righteous man, the law is no longer a harsh schoolmaster, but a friendly guide. He delights in the law of God in his inner man (Rom. 7:22). He wants to obey God not in order to be saved, but because he has been saved. The motivation has been transformed from fear to love. The law is not laid down against him.
But for the unrighteous, the law's function is entirely different. Paul unleashes a torrent of descriptions. The law is for the "lawless and rebellious", those who refuse to submit to any authority outside themselves. It is for the "ungodly and sinners", those whose lives are oriented away from God and toward their own sinful desires. It is for the "unholy and godless", those who have no reverence for what is sacred, who profane the things of God. The law's purpose is to confront this rebellion head-on. It is God's divine "No." It is the fence at the edge of the cliff. It is the divine indictment that declares the world guilty before God.
A Catalogue of Rebellion (v. 9b-10)
Paul then gets specific. He provides a representative list of sins that the law condemns. This is not an exhaustive list, but it is a potent one, and it appears to be loosely structured around the Ten Commandments.
"...for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for sexually immoral persons, for homosexuals, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching," (1 Timothy 1:9b-10)
Notice the progression. He starts with the most foundational rebellion: attacking the family. "Those who kill their fathers or mothers" is a direct violation of the fifth commandment, "Honor your father and mother." When a society's most basic unit of authority is violently overthrown, all other authority structures will inevitably crumble. This is followed by "murderers," a violation of the sixth commandment.
Then he moves to the seventh commandment, which forbids adultery. He lists "sexually immoral persons," a broad term for all sexual sin outside of covenantal marriage, and then specifically "homosexuals." The Greek word here is arsenokoitai, a compound word likely coined by Paul himself, drawn directly from the Septuagint's rendering of Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13. It literally means "male-bedders." This is not an ambiguous term. It refers to men who engage in sexual acts with other men. Paul is clear: this behavior is a fundamental violation of God's created order and His holy law. It is contrary to sound teaching because it is contrary to the Creator's design.
He continues with "kidnappers" or "menstealers," a violation of the eighth commandment against theft, here applied to the ultimate theft of a person's liberty. Then he addresses the ninth commandment with "liars" and "perjurers." And just in case anyone thinks they have found a loophole, he concludes the list with a catch-all phrase: "and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching."
This is a critical point. Sin is not just a list of prohibited actions. Sin is anything that opposes "sound teaching." The Greek for "sound" is where we get our word "hygiene." It means healthy. Sound doctrine is healthy teaching. It is teaching that conforms to the reality God has created. Sin, therefore, is unhealthy. It is a spiritual sickness, a rebellion against reality. All these sins, from patricide to perjury, are symptoms of the same underlying disease: a heart that is at war with God's truth.
The Law in Light of the Gospel (v. 11)
Finally, Paul brings it all together, showing how this healthy teaching and the law that defines its opposite are grounded in the gospel itself.
"according to the gospel of the glory of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted." (1 Timothy 1:11)
The standard for what is healthy and what is not is the gospel. But notice how Paul describes it: "the gospel of the glory of the blessed God." It is not just the gospel of salvation from hell, though it is that. It is the good news about the glory of God. The gospel is the ultimate display of God's character, His weightiness, His breathtaking beauty. It reveals His holiness in His hatred of sin, His justice in the punishing of that sin in Christ, and His love and mercy in providing that substitute for sinners like us.
And notice he calls Him the "blessed God." This word doesn't just mean "praised," it means "happy." The gospel flows from the happy God. God is not a cosmic grump. He is eternally, infinitely, and joyfully self-sufficient within the fellowship of the Trinity. His law is not the arbitrary decree of a celestial tyrant; it is the joyful wisdom of a happy Father, showing His children the path to life. The sins listed in the previous verses are not just rule-breaking; they are a rejection of this joy. They are a mad dash toward misery.
This glorious gospel was "entrusted" to Paul. It was a sacred deposit, a treasure he was to guard and faithfully proclaim. And this is the point. The law, used lawfully, serves this gospel. It shows the lawless, the rebellious, the murderer, the homosexual, and the liar just how far they have fallen from the glory of the happy God. It diagnoses their terminal spiritual illness. It silences their self-righteous excuses. It prepares the ground of their hearts for the seed of the gospel.
You cannot appreciate the good news until you have understood the bad news. The law gives us the bad news. It tells us we are sinners, rebels, and spiritual corpses who stand condemned before a holy God. And when we are crushed by that realization, when we have nowhere else to turn, the gospel comes and tells us that this same God, in His great love, sent His Son to live the perfect life we could not live and die the guilty death we deserved to die. The law is the razor's edge that cuts away our pride, and the gospel is the balm that heals the wound. We must use both, and we must use them lawfully.