"Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope; Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine, Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do. Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling; Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm. But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine; According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust."
In today's quote, Paul reminded Timothy to keep a tight rein on his fellow Christians and warned again of the weakness among the Jewish converts as they would try to reinstate the Law.
Herein, Paul made it vividly clear that the children of God are not subject to the commandments of the Law when he established for whom the Law was actually written in the first place. Paul said, "Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine".
Far too many of today's "Christians" still insist that God's people should be bound to the restrictions of the old Law, even insisting that the Ten Commandments be posted in public places. Paul made it very clear in the above text that the Law was NOT written for those of us whom have had the righteousness of Jesus Christ imputed into us through faith in Him. It was instead written for those lost souls who reject the justification for sin granted through faith in Jesus Christ. In Romans 5:8-9, Paul said, "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being NOW JUSTIFIED by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him."
As we see herein, the rules of the law have nothing to do with attaining or keeping eternal salvation.
We, the children of God are to live our lives, not according to the rules of the law, but rather by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and by the standards He set out for us in Matthew 22:37-40, "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."~
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