Understanding the purpose of the law

Often people misunderstand the purpose of the law (the 10 commandments) that is given to us as a standard to live by. The truth is if you try and live by them religiously you will always fail.

The the law is given to us for three reasons:

• As a reflection of who God is.
• As a measure of what God expects of us.
• As a mirror to see how we measure up to God’s standards.

Nobody after looking into a mirror and seeing that they have something stuck in their teeth will pull the mirror off the wall and use it to try and pick their teeth with it. In the same way, you don’t take the law and try and fix yourself with it. You take the law and say I am in need of help.

The summation of the 10 commandments can be found in Christ’s statement in Matthew 22:37.

Matthew 22:37 (NKJV)

Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’

This may seem simplistic, but if we think deeply about it, we often overlook the fundamental command to love God wholeheartedly.

In Matthew 22:37-40, Jesus summarizes the Ten Commandments in two parts: to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. The first four commandments focus on our relationship with God, while the remaining six emphasize our relationships with others.

Together, they reveal the comprehensive nature of God’s expectations for us.

However, our understanding of morality is often based on comparing ourselves to those around us—thinking, “I’m not that bad.” But the true test of our character is not how we measure up against others; it’s how we measure up to the standard of Christ.

The law acts as a mirror, showing us where we fall short and revealing our need for a Savior. Through the gospel, we find that only in Christ can we fulfill the law’s demands, as He alone is our righteousness.