1 Timothy 1:8-11 -- Using & abusing the law

To catch up on our adventure through 1 Timothy, click here and read from the bottom post up.

1 Timothy 1:8-11 (NIV):

"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, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious; for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for adulterers and perverts, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me."

Paul makes two statements about the law. The first statement is that the law is good if one uses it properly.

The implication from the preceding verses about false teachers is that false teachers use the law improperly, thus making the law a negative thing. False teachers enslave people to the law. They use the law improperly.

The second statement Paul makes about the law is that it is made for sinners, not for the righteous.

The main purpose of the law is to convict those who are not Christians. Ideally, Christians don't "need" the law because Jesus has written the law on our hearts and He has come to fulfill the law. He said the law could be summed up in two statements: love God and love people.

The laundry list of sin Paul mentions is interesting. Liars and murderers are thrown in together, as are adulterers and irreligious people. It's easy to see someone who murdered his mother as sinful. It's a little harder to see a liar as sinful. But it's all sin. And all of it keeps people from God.

What does all of this mean for me as a leader? Jesus came to set us free from the law of sin and death. As a leader and/or teacher, it is very important that I don't submit the people I lead into bondage again! Sometimes it's very easy to do that.

You are a leader because of one reason: people follow you! And because people follow you, you have a solemn, sacred trust to protect. Don't lead your followers astray! After having been freed from the bondage of sin, don't make them slaves to your teaching!

God has entrusted to us the glorious Gospel of freedom. Let's not betray that trust--to God or to the people we lead.