According to the Apostle Paul what was the purpose of the law?
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| Jews praying in the Synagogue on Yom Kippur. (1878 painting by Maurycy Gottlieb) (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Nevertheless, what Paul emphasizes repeatedly is that God sovereignly intended the law to reveal transgressions and to bring about death. Are these two perspectives contradictory? Not at all. It is simply a matter of looking at the purpose of the law from two different perspectives. From an immanent perspective, the law was intended to give life; but from a transcendent perspective, it was given to increase sin. The former is not falsified or trivialized by the latter. The promise of life through the law was frustrated by human sin, not by any defect in the law.
The typical Jewish view was that the law was given to bring about life. In Judaism there was the proverb, “The more Torah the more life” (M. Aboth 2:7). This was the standard Jewish view, which is confirmed by a number of texts (Sir. 17:11; 45:5; Bar. 3:9; 4:1; Pss. Sol. 14:2; 2 Esd. 14:30; 2 Bar. 38:2). We have already seen that Romans 7:10 reflects the same perspective, but Paul differs from his Jewish contemporaries in seeing a transcendent purpose to the law that is remarkably different. Jews typically believed that the law was given to counteract the sin Adam introduced into the world.
Astonishingly, Paul argues that the law is not a solution but part of the problem: “Now the law came in to increase the trespass” (Rom. 5:20). The law at one level may have been given to bring life (Rom. 7:10), but it actually failed miserably to do so and increased transgressions instead. Such is Paul’s argument in Romans 7:7–25.
The content of the law is “holy and righteous and good” (Rom. 7:12).
Nevertheless, the law has been co-opted by sin, so that sin has increased with the addition of the law. Sin has taken on the character of rebellion, in that commands forbidding particular actions, such as coveting, have actually promoted sin, because the command arouses the desire to do what is prohibited. The cancer that brings death should not be traced to the law but to the human being, who is dominated by the flesh.
If one looks at God’s transcendent purpose, then, the law was given to increase sin and reveal sin. Such a conclusion is verified by Romans 2:1–3:20. Even though the Jews enjoyed the privilege of knowing God’s law, the privilege brought no saving advantage since Israel transgressed the law. The law did not secure Israel’s salvation but revealed her transgression and her hard and unrepentant heart (2:5). The law has disclosed that none is righteous, that all fall short of God’s requirements (3:10–12). Indeed, “through the law comes knowledge of sin” (3:20). The law uncovers human sin and discloses to us our inability to please God through our obedience.
When we consider the purpose of the law, Galatians matches what we have found in Romans. Paul remarks in Galatians 3:19 that the law “was added because of transgressions.” Scholars have interpreted this brief statement in different ways. Some have said that the law was added to restrain transgressions, others that the law was given to define transgressions, and still others that the law was added to increase transgressions. The first view is almost certainly wrong. Such a perspective would fit with the opponents in Galatia, who believed that the law was necessary to counter the impulse to sin. But Paul argues that it is those who are under the law who are under the power of sin (Gal. 5:18).
It is possible that the idea of defining sin is included in the Pauline meaning here, but there are powerful exegetical arguments supporting the notion that the law was added to increase transgressions. First, Paul declares that the law did not have the power to grant life, and thus righteousness cannot be obtained via the law (Gal. 3:21). The implication here is that the law produces death since it brings only a curse (Gal. 3:10). Second, the verbal words “imprisoned” and “held captive” (Gal. 3:22–23) suggest that the law locked up all under the authority of sin. Paul does not have in mind here the segregation of Jews from Gentiles, which would indicate that the law spared Israel from moral contamination, for we have seen that the issue here is whether the law is a source of life (Gal. 3:21).
Instead of granting life, it imprisons human beings. Third, we have seen earlier that “under law” in Paul means that one is under the power and authority of sin (see question 10). The parallel in Galatians 4:3 and 4:5 is particularly instructive, for those who are “under the law” are also “under the elements.” But those who are “under the elements” are “enslaved.” Hence, the law does not restrain sin or even primarily define sin but enslaves those who are under its authority (cf. Gal. 4:9). Such an interpretation is confirmed by Galatians 4:21–26. The covenant at Sinai and the law led to slavery rather than freedom. The purpose of the law, it seems, is to enclose all under sin and to increase transgression so that all will see that salvation is available only through faith in Christ.
A negative purpose for the law is confirmed by 2 Corinthians 3:7–18. The letter of the law (i.e., the commands of the law) brings death (v. 6). Hence, Moses’ ministry and the old covenant are a “ministry of death” (v. 7) and a “ministry of condemnation” (v. 9). They prepare human beings for the righteousness and life that come only through the Spirit and Christ.
If the purpose of the law is to reveal human sin and to increase transgressions, then how do we explain 1 Timothy 1:8–11?
Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, 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, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.
One could interpret what Paul writes in 1 Timothy in at least two ways. First, Paul may be saying that the law was given to restrain sin and hinder the spread of ungodliness. Such a statement appears to contradict directly what Paul teaches elsewhere, for he often claims, as we have seen in this chapter, that the law advances sin. But if one adopts this interpretation, the contradiction is only apparent. In 1 Timothy Paul may consider the role of the law when it is accompanied by immediate reproof and punishment.
If human beings are immediately reproved and punished for their sin, they desist from sinning in order to avoid punishment. The law, then, does not truly dampen sin in human hearts; it merely prevents the sin from being expressed outwardly due to the negative consequences. When Paul writes about the law increasing sin, he considers the law’s impotence in conquering sinful inclinations. The desire to sin is not squelched by the law; instead the law fans the desire to sin into a flame. But if there is instant punishment, then human beings fear to translate into action the desires of their hearts.
Another possibility entirely accords with what we have argued about the law’s provocation of sin. Paul may be saying that the false teachers in 1 Timothy had no idea of how to use the law, for the law’s purpose is to reveal the iniquity of human hearts. If the false teachers truly understood the law, they would have comprehended that the law uncovers the depth of evil in human beings but it plays no role in conquering such evil. It is possible, however, that the false teachers believed that the law was the means God used to dethrone sin. Paul struck back by insisting that the law is not the source of life; it only reveals the cascading evil that flows in human hearts.
SUMMARY
The purpose of the law is to reveal human sin so that it will be clear that there is no hope in human beings. The law puts us to death so that life is sought only in Christ and him crucified.
Schreiner, T. R. (2010). 40 Questions about Christians and Biblical Law. (B. L. Merkle, Ed.) (pp. 81–84). Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic & Professional.
