The Purpose of the Law…

The purpose of the law is not to keep it perfectly, for that is impossible (humanly speaking). The purpose of the law is to point us to Jesus. It reveals to us that we are sinners, violators of God’s law. Every time we break God’s law, we realize we need to be forgiven. It points us back to God, and draws us into His power to forgive. Breaking the law makes us look to God for forgiveness. It’s a reminder of Who’s in charge, and what He’s done to make forgiveness possible. If you have a disease and you know Who has the cure, wouldn’t it make sense to pay the man with the cure a visit? The problem in society today is that most won’t admit they are sinners (law breakers). And they won’t even allow the law to be posted in public. But it doesn’t really matter, because God has written His law on our hearts, and every single soul knows what’s right and wrong. It’s only when people stop listening to there conscience, that it sears it, nullifying it’s power to convict. It may numb the feelings of guilt, leaving you less and less aware, but it still doesn’t remove the guilt. Jesus tells us about this when He tells the story of King David eating the showbread that only the priests were supposed to eat. God never created laws strictly to satisfy Himself with. The laws were always designed to benefit man. Ultimately, the law was to drive man back to God, and thus benefit both.

23 One Sabbath day as Jesus was walking through some grainfields, His disciples began breaking off heads of grain to eat. 24 But the Pharisees said to Jesus, “Look, why are they breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath?”25 Jesus said to them, “Haven’t you ever read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 26 He went into the house of God (during the days when Abiathar was high priest) and broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests are allowed to eat. He also gave some to his companions.”27 Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!” Mark 2:23-28