God's Mirror

“We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. We also know that the 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 and mothers, for murderers, for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.” (1 Timothy 1:8-11)

The Bible is full of laws. God has many commands for life in his world. A summary of God’s law is the Ten Commandments, although there are many more laws in the Bible than just the Ten Commandments.

God’s law is good, yet people can use God’s law improperly. How? By thinking that God’s law is what makes us good. Our sinful natures are constantly tempted to believe that if we just do the right things, if we just live a good enough life, if we just keep enough laws, God will love us, and we’ll be saved.

Is that true? No! God’s law isn’t a how-to guide for how to save yourself. It’s the opposite. God’s law is like a mirror that shows us what we are really like: Sinful. The letters S.O.S. can help you remember the law’s primary purpose: It Shows Our Sins.

What sins? Paul gives us a big list: Being ungodly, unholy, and irreligious, killing parents or other people, committing adultery, practicing homosexuality, selling human beings as slaves, and lying. You haven’t committed every sin on that list, but you have committed some of those sins. God’s law brings our sins to the surface. It convicts us of what we’re really like: Sinners.

That doesn’t sound good. If God’s law is like a mirror that shows us our sins, how on earth can Paul call the law “good”? Here’s how: We need to see our sins in order to see our Savior. It’s only when we see what we’re like by nature—“ungodly and sinful”—that we can truly see how Jesus came to save us.

It can be hard to look in the mirror, but God’s mirror is good. When you see your sins, turn to Jesus and learn to see yourself as God in grace sees you: The forgiven child of God!

Dear Lord, forgive me for thinking that I can make myself good by keeping your law. Instead, use your law like a mirror to show my sins, so that I place my trust in the good news of Jesus’ salvation. Amen.

Pastor Nathan