What is the law for? I'm not talking about the law as in the laws of the land - although they are based upon the laws to which I'm referring. I am talking about the law set before the people when God gave it to Moses on the mountain: the Ten Commandments. What are they for?

Many people throughout the world view these commandments as rules to live by. Yes, this is one reason we are to live by the law, but is that the only reason that God gave us the law?

What happens when you don't follow that law perfectly? What happens when you look at someone other than your spouse lustfully? For Jesus tells us that anyone who looks at another woman (not his spouse) has already committed adultery in his heart, thus breaking the third commandment. He also tells us that if anyone says, "Racca" (I hate you), to his brother, he has already committed murder in his heart. Or what about all of those times that you held money in higher esteem and with more value than you did the Lord? Didn't you break the commandment there as well?

Jesus tells us that if we break the commandments at just one point we are guilty of breaking all of it. What good are the Ten Commandments, not to mention the hundreds of other laws, if we don't follow them perfectly?

Well, back when I was in eighth grade confirmation class I learned it this way. The law acts as a curb, a mirror and a rule. It acts as a curb to keep you from straying too far from God and to keep you on track. It is the way that God has given to his people to keep from destroying themselves. The laws of our land are based on this point. They keep us from anarchy and total destruction. They are used to keep the peace.

The second use is as a rule. The verse from the Scriptures, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you," has a good application here. The problem is that we would be in big trouble if we stopped there. We would be constantly depressed if this was where we stopped in our use of the law of God, because we would realize how much we fall short on a daily basis.

That leads us to the third use of God's law.

The law also acts as a mirror. As you look at yourself in the mirror and see all of your flaws and blemishes, so you can look at the law and do the same with all of your failures and spiritual blemishes. When you look at the law you can see all of the things that you did that you shouldn't have done: the evil thoughts you had, the things you failed to do and the evil words you spoke.

It is through this use of the law that you are driven to your knees in despair, seeking mercy, grace and forgiveness because you are helpless and hopeless to save yourself.

It is in this way that the law is good. It brings us literally and figuratively to our knees. It helps us to confess that we are poor, miserable sinners. It helps us to forego our pride and put our very lives in the hands of Almighty God who alone has the power to save.

This reminds me of Jeremiah 31:31-34, which I have used several times before, but I want to remind you of it again. In it God tells us that the time is coming when he will make a new covenant with the houses of Israel and Judah. It will not be like the first covenant, which they broke. The difference in this covenant is that it will only be God who is responsible to keep the covenant. In this new covenant, he will forgive our wickedness and remember our sins no more.

In the old covenant under the law, God's people were responsible for keeping all of God's laws and commandments. When they broke the law, they were to offer sacrifices or "sin" offerings. This wasn't necessarily to pay for what they had done wrong or to appease God. It was to help them realize how costly and serious sin is. Too often, these sin offerings were not given with a penitential heart, but only in a dutiful manner, as a way to simply "pay" for sin and keep God off their backs. The offering lost its meaning and effectiveness. The sins remained and the people were dead in trespasses and sins.

Under the new covenant, the gospel, Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, has fulfilled all that we could not fulfill, and paid the penalty that we could not pay. He is the perfect sacrifice for us. He is the sacrifice that paid for all of our sins for all time. Therefore, instead of looking to our own superficial and meaningless sacrifices to appease God or to rid ourselves of sin, we look solely to Jesus, who "takes away the sin of the world."

I urge you, as you look at your life and measure it up to God's perfect law, and as you realize his command to "be perfect therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect," I pray that you come to the conclusion that you are totally lost and condemned.

Then, fall on your knees, and tell God you're sorry. Turn from your sin, knowing that your sins have been forgiven - not because of your confession and repentance or that you turned your life over to him and totally committed yourself to him. Rather, it is because of what Christ has done for you by living a perfect life, dying a perfect death, and rising victoriously over sin, death, the devil and hell.

"Then, the peace which passes all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:7)."