“LAW is Made NOT for the Righteous”

Many believers may find this surprising, but the Old Testament Law—the Torah—was not made for the righteous. Note what the Bible says in this regard:

We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. ⁹ 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, ¹⁰ for adulterers and perverts, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine ¹¹ that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God,

1 Timothy 1:8-11

This passage starts off by declaring that the Law is good, but only if it’s used properly. This means that the Law is inherently “holy, righteous and good,” as Paul pointed out in Romans 7:12, but it is only good for people if it is utilized properly. In other words, in and of itself the Law is good, but it’s only good for us when used appropriately.

The remaining verses reveal what this means: The Old Testament Law is not for the righteous, meaning believers who are made righteous in Christ through spiritual rebirth:

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

2 Corinthians 5:21

Jesus never sinned, but he became sin for us on the cross so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. ‘Become’ in the Greek is a form of ginomai (JIN-oh-may), which means “to come into being, to be born” (Bullinger). Whether you know it or not, when you turned to the LORD in repentance and faith you were spiritually reborn and, consequently, your spirit was born the righteousness of God. This explains why we are instructed to put off the flesh and put on the “new self”:

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; ²³ to be made new in the attitude of your minds; ²⁴ and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Ephesians 4:22-24

This means to live out of our reborn spirit that was “created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” When we do this we’ll be spirit-controlled rather than flesh-ruled. We’ll naturally bear forth fruits of the spirit rather than works of the flesh—we’ll walk in “true righteousness and holiness”!

This is the key to living according to the Old Testament Law, not putting the Law in front of us and trying to force our flesh to comply, which is being “under the law.” This never works. In fact, it will actually increase the sin problem. Why do you think Paul said, “The law was added so that the trespass might increase” (Romans 5:20)? He said it because this is the reason the Law was given to humanity—to increase the sin problem and drive us to the Savior in whom we can have spiritual regeneration (Titus 3:5).

Once we’re reborn in this way all we have to do is learn to put off the flesh daily (or, as Jesus put it, “deny yourself”) and live out of our spirits empowered and guided by the Holy Spirit. This includes transforming our thinking so that it corresponds to who we are in our spirit, covered in this video. ‘Repentance,’ by the way, means to change your mind—your thinking—for the better. As such, those who try to turn away from a sin without changing their thinking are doomed to repeat the transgression.

Putting off the old man and putting on the new is being spirit-controlled rather than flesh-ruled. It’s living by the spirit with the help of the Holy Spirit as opposed to living by the flesh. This is the answer to the sin problem, not putting a list of hundreds of laws in front of us and trying to force our carnal nature to conform. Again, this doesn’t work and never will because the flesh is the sinful nature. It’s utterly futile to try to make it produce righteousness! The entire Old Testament is testimony to this.

The passage goes on to stress that the moral law was made “for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious” (verse 9). Paul then provides a list of various sinful lifestyles, like fornicators, sodomites and liars (see the NKJV rendering of 1 Timothy 1:8-11).

God’s moral law was “made for” such people in that it reveals to them that they’re in sin, which can lead them to the Savior, the gospel, spiritual regeneration and the attainment of righteousness in Christ. At which point they won’t need the Law anymore; they’ll just need to learn how to put off the “old self” and put on the “new self” because—when they do this—they’ll walk in “true righteousness and holiness.” Obviously if someone’s walking in “true righteousness” they have no need for the Law.

This, by the way, explains a mysterious statement Paul made after listing the fruits of the spirit:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Galatians 5:22-23

When believers learn how to live out of their new natures as led of the Holy Spirit they’ll be spirit-controlled rather than flesh-ruled and naturally produce the fruit of the spirit, which are the fruits of God’s very nature! Such people need no external law to produce these godly attitudes and behaviors!

This is why the Bible says that the Law is not for the righteous, but the unrighteous. The righteous have no need of the Law. Why? Because they’re already producing the fruits of righteousness through living out of their spirits by the Holy Spirit. They’re spirit-controlled, not flesh-ruled. It’s the unrighteous who need the Law. This would include Christians who are practicing sin with no concern to repent.

Say, for example, if believers are living in adultery, fornication, homosexuality, lying, slander or strife. We can show them through God’s moral law that they are in sin and need to repent. This is using the Law lawfully or properly. Once they humbly repent God forgives them and they are cleansed from “ALL UNRIGHTEOUSNESS.” At which point they’ll no longer need the Law because they’re righteous, as this passage clearly shows:

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:8-9

As long as believers “keep with repentance” in this manner (Matthew 3:8) they walk in the grace of God’s forgiveness and are righteous in Christ because God purifies them “from all unrighteousness” when they confess. If the LORD cleanses repentant believers of all unrighteousness, what’s that make them? Completely righteous. As such, they have no need of the Law because the Law was made for the unrighteous, not the righteous.

This article was edited from Chapter 3 of…