Good Law

         But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, realizing the fact 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 profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted.  (I Timothy 1:8-11)

          It would be nice to skip this passage, but it wouldn’t be honest. This isn’t the only time that Paul discusses the usefulness of the Law. In Romans, Galatians, and here, he tells us that the Law has its uses. In Romans, Paul explained that he didn’t know what was wrong until the Law told him, and then he found himself desiring to do the wrong things even though he knew they were wrong. In fact, he found himself doing the wrong things knowing they were wrong even though he didn’t really want to do them.

           Here, his point is more that the Law isn’t designed to have anything to do with people who are good. I can go through my day without looking around or over my shoulder to see if there’s a cop watching me because I haven’t done anything that would give a cop an interest in me. It might seem petty, but it’s freeing when you think about it. In effect, and as Paul noted in Romans, the law is unresponsive to those who don’t break it.

          Some folks who reject the law flout their disobedience. They think they are free to do as they please and do it knowing that society and/or the law will disapprove. The problem with this thinking is that it’s like the child who has been told “no” who insists on doing it anyway. There’s a “Watch Me!” and “Pay attention to me!” quality to their behavior. This is why it’s not enough to permit someone else to sin, but we must approve, encourage and celebrate it.

         With this in mind, Paul lists examples from a noncomprehensive, not exhaustive list of sins for whom the law was designed. Summing it all up, the law was made against anything that is contrary to the sound teaching as defined by the glorious gospel of the blessed God. This is the point at which those who might have been silent until now speak up to proclaim that it is wrong to judge, and especially to judge someone who happens to sin differently than you or I do.

          We may not know why Paul chose to list these particular sins here. Perhaps they were common in Macedonia, where Paul left Timothy. They seem to have in common that they are relational sins:

Society	God	Other People
The lawless	Ungodly	Those who kill their fathers or mothers
The rebellious	Sinners	Murderers
	Unholy	Immoral Men
	Profane	Homosexuals
		Kidnappers
		Immoral men
		Homosexuals
		Kidnappers
		Liars
		Perjurers

          The third reason Paul may have mentioned these sins is because the men who wanted to be teachers may have been trying to rewrite the law, so that the sins listed would be considered acceptable.

          Whatever the reason, Paul makes it clear that the Law is opposed to these things and was given because of them. Obedience to the Law would not save a person because perfect obedience is impossible, but tossing the Law aside is foolish because the Law is a good teacher and it will stand opposed to those who oppose it.