1 Timothy 1:8-11 | 18th October 2026

Amen. Please take your Bibles and open

them up to First Timothy.

1 Timothy chapter 1. And this morning

1 Timothy 1 · chapter mention

we'll be looking at verses 8 to 11. So 1

1 Timothy 1 · chapter mention

Timothy chapter 1. This morning we're

going to be looking at together verses 8

to 11.

Let's bow our heads and pray and ask

that the Lord will use his word to speak

to us.

Lord, we thank you this morning that we

have your precious word in front of us.

And Lord, we say with that song, great

is thy faithfulness.

Morning after morning, new mercies we

see.

Lord, we know and understand that there

are some mornings where we just don't

feel that way. And maybe that's this

morning for some of us. That we can't

quite see you and that we can't quite

see your faithfulness.

We can't quite see your goodness. We

can't quite see your kindness.

But I pray this morning that you will

reveal yourself to us.

Reveal yourself to those who are lonely

this morning.

Reveal yourself to those who are sad,

those who are in despair.

Lord, speak to them. We pray.

Encourage our hearts. Edify us.

Point us to Jesus.

In your name, Jesus, we pray these

things.

Amen.

This morning we're going to be looking

at 1 Timothy 1:es

8- 11. And as we look at these verses,

you need to think about the law or you

need to think about laws.

Now, when we think about laws,

the thing about laws is this. They often

feel bad,

but we know that most of the time laws

are actually good.

That's my experience with laws. Laws,

they feel bad. They feel restrictive.

They feel constraining.

But I actually know when I think about

laws that they're actually good.

Let me give you an example of a law that

when I think about it, I feel it's bad,

but I know that it is actually good.

Here's the example. I walk into Aldi

and I choose to buy a bottle of

something.

Now, the people in my family know what

that bottle is going to be, but I choose

to buy a bottle of something.

And then I walk to the counter. But as

I'm walking to the counter with this

bottle of something in my hand, I'm

thinking to myself, "This is really

annoying."

Do you know why it is really annoying?

because this bottle costs me an extra 25

cents.

That is a new law that has been brought

into this land and it is a law that is

really annoying because when I get the

bottle I know this bottle is going to

cost me an extra 25 cents and then I'm

I'm looking through the story of that

bottle in my life. I'm walking up to the

counter. I'm going to pay an extra 25

cents for that bottle. I go home and I

start to drink that bottle. And after a

while, what happens with that bottle?

That bottle gets empty. And now, not

only do we have our bin bag and our

recycling bag, but we also have our

bottle and can bag.

And that bag is really annoying because

we don't have a place to put it. We just

hang it on the back door. We shove it

with bottles and we fill it with cans

and it gets all nice and full up until

Lanna says to me, "Shane, please take

the cans out. please take the bottles

out. So then I do take the bottles out,

but I only take the bottles out as far

as my car and I put it in the boot and

the bag stays in the boot for however

many days it takes me to eventually get

to Aldi, even though Aldi is just down

the road. And then I finally bring that

bottle, which I bought for an extra 25

cents. I finally bring that bottle and

all the other bottles and all the other

cans. I finally walk them back into Aldi

and I walk up to the machine and I think

it's going to be great. And guess what?

There's two more people standing in

front of me. And they have got what?

Bags full. And of course, there's that

one person that has used the machine

before. And yet they don't know how to

use the machine. They grab one bottle at

a time. And they put the bottle in. And

another I know there's some of you here.

They grab another bottle and they put it

in and it doesn't quite work. And they

shove their hand in too far and it goes

up and back and all that thing. And I'm

waiting for them getting more and more

mad about this new rule.

And then I come in and I finally put it

all back in and I get the money back to

pay for what? Another bottle. And the

story goes again.

That law

feels bad and is really annoying,

but I know that ultimately it's given

for a good purpose. Saving our planet

and whatnot and all that kind of stuff.

recycling. It's good.

Laws feel that way. They feel bad, but

ultimately you do know that mostly the

laws are good.

When the speed limit was changed from 50

km to 30 km in some areas, feels bad,

but you know it's good. when you have to

go through those fire drills that you

have in whatever building you're in

feels annoying and bad at the time, but

you know it's actually good. All these

laws and rules and restrictions that we

have. The school uniform that people

might wear. It feels bad, restrictive,

feels like a silly little rule, but

actually when you think about it, it's

it's probably good and brings equality

for all the students and all that. or

when you're standing in the airport and

you're standing in line and and they're

doing the security check and you're

taking off your belt and you're taking

off your shoes, you're taking off

whatever else and they search your bag

and they do all that. Those laws and

restrictions, those rules, they feel

bad, but you know that they're actually

ultimately good.

So it is with the law of God. Anytime

you hear law rules, you think

restriction, you think bad, but

ultimately the law of God, it is good.

And that's [snorts] the point that Paul

wants to make in this passage this

morning.

He wants to tell us that the law is

good. So, here's two things that we must

know in this passage this morning.

First, we must know that the law is

good. That's the first thing you must

know. You must know that the law is

good. But the second thing you must know

is this. You must know who the law is

for. You must know that the law is for

the lawless.

So, first, the law is good. Second, the

law is for the lawless.

Paul's first point is this. the law is

good. And we get that in verse 8. Now we

know that the law is good if one uses it

lawfully.

This is the first thing we need to know

that the law is good. Now Paul says

now we know that the law is good. Who is

the we that Paul is talking about? what

Paul is writing to Timothy primarily

even though at the end of the letter he

says grace be with you all plural he's

writing to Timothy and so the

expectation is this Paul is writing to

Timothy and he's saying to Timothy now

you and me Timothy we know something

about the law of God we know that the

law is good and Paul is saying that the

law is good in contrast to the false

teachers who are at Ephesus is the false

teachers don't know that the law is

good. In fact, here's what it says about

the false teachers in verse 7.

Desiring to be teachers of the law

without understanding

either what they are saying or the

things about which they make confident

assertions.

These teachers of the law, they have

desire,

they have the law, they have confidence.

But what does verse seven say about the

teachers of the law? They do not

understand what they are saying. They do

not understand the law. They do not know

the law. And so in contrast, then Paul

comes into verse 8 and he says, "Now we

know that the law is good." They don't

ultim ultimately have an understanding

of the law. That's right. But what Paul

is saying here is that we know Timothy

that the law it is good.

And this is the perspective that we are

to have about the law and the commands

of God. That the commands they [snorts]

feel restrictive.

They might feel bad to us. But we need

to ultimately know that the command, the

law of God is good.

This is the point that the psalmist is

making right throughout Psalm 119.

In Psalm 119,

there's 176 verses. A lot of verses in

Psalm 119.

176 verses. And he writes

176 verses about what?

About the law.

Psalm 119,

176 verses, the biggest psalm in

scripture,

is all about the law. And do you know

what he's saying about the law? He's

saying the law is good.

It's not restrictive. It's delightful.

It is good.

Let me read some verses to you.

Psalm 119:8,

Psalms 119:8

"Open my eyes that I may behold wondrous

things from your law." Verse 24, your

testimonies are my delight. Your law is

my delight. They are my counselors.

Verse 35, lead me in the path of your

commands, for I delight in them.

Verse 46. I will also speak of your

testimonies before kings and shall not

put them to shame. For I find my delight

in your commands which I love. Is that

how you see the commands of God?

He gives me his commands. He gives me

his instructions and I delight in them.

I love them. That's not our relationship

with commands. We want commands to go

away from us. We don't like commands. We

don't like rules. We don't like laws.

And yet the psalmist says here, "I

delight in them."

In verse 72, he says, "The law of your

mouth is better to me than thousands of

gold and silver pieces.

Your law is better to me than gold or

silver."

Is that your relationship with God's

law? Is that your relationship with

God's word?

Is it better to you than silver and

gold?

This is the psalmist's relationship with

the law. And I could go on with many

more verses.

The psalmist's point is Paul's point. We

know and we must know that the law of

the Lord is good.

Now, what is the law of the Lord?

If we're to know that the law of the

Lord is good, then we are to know what

the law of the Lord is. So what is the

law of the Lord? And as I think about

the law of the Lord, the way I think

about it is in this in this way. I think

about it in numbers. Here are the

numbers. When you're thinking about the

law of the Lord, number five, number

613,

number 10, and number two.

Five.

The law consists of five books in the

Bible. The first five books in the

Bible. We know them as five separate

books, but originally they were one

book. They're called the Torah or the

instruction. So when he is saying, "I

delight in the law of the Lord." Do you

know what he is saying? He is saying, "I

delight in Leviticus."

He is saying, "I delight in numbers." He

is saying, "I delighted in Deuteronomy."

When was the last time you said that?

I usually stop my Bible reading in

Leviticus. I stop it in Numbers. I stop

it in Deuteronomy. But he's looking at

the first five books of the Bible. And

he's saying, "Oh, how I delight in the

law of the Lord, and I meditate on that

law in Psalm 119. I meditate on that law

and I think about that law day and

night. This guy can't get enough of

Leviticus.

So five, as we think of the law of the

Lord, you think of the first five books

of the Bible, 613. Within those first

five books of the Bible, you have 613

commands. And often people will break

those commands up into ceremonial

commands, laws, uh civil commands, laws,

and moral commands and laws. The

ceremonial don't seem to apply to us

today in relation to the sacrifices and

the ceremonial system. The civil laws

were in relation to Israel and how they

would work as a community. And the moral

laws are those laws that seem to extend

beyond us into the new covenant. these

613 commands. You say, "Do I need to

know all the 613 commands?" Well,

thankfully those 613 commands were

summarized with the number 10 down to 10

commands. So, five, 613, 10. And we've

heard those ten commandments before,

haven't we? The first four of those

commandments talk about our relationship

with God. The next six of those

commandments talk about our relationship

with people. So you've got these ten

commandments that essentially say this.

Love the Lord and love people. So then

you come to the number two which is

another summary of this book of the law.

Love the Lord your God with all your

heart, soul, mind, and strength and love

your neighbor as yourself.

And that law

when you look at that law

you must say

it is good.

And that's what the psalmist is saying.

I delight in the law of the Lord. And

that's what Paul is saying in verse 8.

We know that the law is

good.

Scary thing about this when when Paul is

writing to Timothy and Paul is saying to

Timothy, Timothy, I want you to stay in

Ephesus. The scary thing about this is

that the people how quickly the people

in Ephesus forgot that the law is good.

in Ephesus, uh, Acts chapter 18, 19, and

Acts 18 · chapter mention

20. Paul comes and he speaks to the

church in Ephesus. Do you know how long

he was teaching in Ephesus for? Three

years.

They had the best theologian in the

world for three years teaching them.

They had the best foundation that you

could have about the law for three years

and how that law works for Christians

nowadays. And they also had a warning at

the end of his three years. He had this

great speech to the Ephesian elders and

he warned them saying false teachers are

going to come in. Be careful.

And then depending how you date the book

and depending on how you date when Paul

was in Ephesus, we understand that it's

about six years later that Paul is now

writing to Timothy after building a

foundation of three years in Ephesus of

good, solid, sound teaching. He's

writing to them six years later and

trying to remind Timothy, remember that

the law the law is good. They've already

forgot.

Which tells me something for the church.

We must be careful

that we always teach sound doctrine and

that we remind ourselves of that

doctrine daily so that we don't fall

away. And what we understand about the

law is this. What Paul is saying it is

good. So think about that law for a

second. Think about that law to love

your neighbor.

Is that law good? Well, yes. Now,

sometimes we forget that the law of God

is good. And the reason we forget that

the law of God is good is because we

actually use scripture. In Matthew 5:1

Matthew 5:1

17, Jesus says that he did not come to

abolish the law, but he came to fulfill

the law. And then Paul from that in

Romans chapter 6 and throughout the book

Romans 6 · chapter mention

of Romans says to us as Christians, not

only has Christ fulfilled the law, but

now we as Christians, we are no longer

under the rule and the power of the law.

So then Christians might say, well, I'm

no longer under the power of the law.

Christ has fulfilled the law. So let's

forget about the law and let's just fly

on the wings of grace.

Let's stop talking about commands and

obeying commands and let's just talk

about grace and living in light of

grace.

That's forgetting

Paul's point here that the law is good.

Yes, Christ has fulfilled the law. But

what Christ asks us to do?

Because I have loved you, now you go and

love others.

Love God and love your neighbor as

yourself.

So, how do you think about loving your

neighbor as yourself? How might we think

about loving our neighbors practically?

Who is our neighbor? Well, your neighbor

is not just the person next door.

The neighbor is the person who's next to

you in life.

Everybody that God puts in your path, in

your life, is your neighbor.

Christian and non-Christian,

you are called to love your neighbor.

Now, how do you love your neighbor?

Well, often when we think about loving

our neighbor, we think about what we are

to do.

But I think it's better for us to think

about what we don't do, how we don't

tend to love our neighbors.

It kind of works something like this.

Someone walks into a room and you're

really unc comfortable in the room and

you know everybody else but you know

that person walks in for the first time

and they don't know anybody

and you think to yourself,

I could go over to them and talk to

them, but I don't really like small talk

and it's going to be awkward for me. So

here's what I'm going to do. I'm just

going to stay here.

That's a sin of omission.

You know what you should do.

You know you should love that person.

You know you should talk to that person.

You know how awkward it is for that

person because you've walked into the

room alone before and you know what it

feels like.

And so what's the call to love our

neighbor? Walk away from your group and

walk to that person and love them. We

can love our neighbor in that way. Or we

see the struggling parent.

Struggling parent comes in, three kids

jumping all over them, and we're

standing in our little circle and our

group of friends. We see that happening.

We say in our heads, "Oh, glad I'm not

there."

We do nothing about it.

Wouldn't it be better for us to stop

what we're doing and love our neighbor

and walk up to that parent and help them

and help them in a way that's helpful?

Don't like go up to the smallest kid and

scare them in the face. Don't like take

the buggy and run, but just try and help

push the buggy a little bit or something

like that. Do something that would be

helpful.

read the room and help and love your

neighbor.

What about your neighbor who needs

forgiveness?

Maybe there's someone in your life who

has said they're sorry, who has

expressed that they are sorry, but you

are just withholding forgiveness from

them.

Loving your neighbor would be this.

I forgive you because Christ has

forgiven me.

That is a good way to love your

neighbor.

And what about the lonely person in your

life?

You know they're lonely.

You know they'd love someone just to

come over, talk to them, be with them,

sit with them, call over to their house.

But you say, "You know what?

There's a really good show on Netflix

and I'm going to stay here."

It's a sin of omission.

You know what you should do, but you

choose not to.

Loving your neighbor.

It is a good command. I read this

article um by this uh theologian Rebecca

Mlaclin.

Rebecca McLaclin. She is an apologist.

Uh she writes uh books. Some of you in

Monster Bible College may have read a

book by her and she writes articles. But

there's this one article that caught my

eye and it's usually, you know, when

they write an article and it's a really

good title and you just have to click.

I'm that guy. I'm like clickbait

central. It's like woo, you know, that's

me.

Her article was this.

Why I don't sit next to my husband at

church. That was her article. Why I

don't sit next to my husband at church.

And I chose not to send that to Lana.

Why I don't sit next to my husband at

church. Do you know why she doesn't

always sit next to her husband at

church?

Because she wants to love her neighbor.

Now, she said and she admitted that

there are times that she does sit beside

her husband because hopefully she quite

likes him. But she said, "If I'm going

to love my neighbor, where better to

love my neighbor than in church on

Sunday morning?" So on Sunday morning,

what they choose to do when they come in

is they will choose

to sit with the visitor.

They will choose to sit with the

struggling parent.

They will choose to sit with the person

who looks lonely. They will choose to do

that. What is that doing? It's

sacrificial love. I'm going to put away

my comfort and I'm going to love my

neighbor. Why? What's the motive behind

it? Christ has loved me.

So the law in that sense is good. Now

there is an important word and the

important word is this. It is the word

if.

If is a really important word. And all

the children know in this room this

morning that if is a really important

word. Here's how I know the children

know it.

You can watch your show. If you finish

your homework,

you can have the ice cream if [snorts]

you finish your dinner.

parents, they love the word if. And if

is quite an important word because it

changes the whole thing. You can have

the ice cream if you eat your dinner.

That's a big if, isn't it? And so there

is a big if in this verse. Now the law

is good if

>> it is used lawfully.

So love it to the law to love your

neighbor. It is good if you use it in

the way that it was meant to be used. If

you use it lawfully.

If you The only reason you are loving

your neighbor is so that you get in

God's good books so that you can get to

heaven. I'm going to love my neighbor as

my ticket into heaven. That is a bad way

to use the law. You're using it

unlawfully.

I'm going to love my neighbor so I can

get in. No. Here is how you use that law

law lawfully.

I'm going to love my neighbor because

Christ has loved me. The law is only

good if you use it how it was intended

to be used. If you use it lawfully. That

if is really big. So that is the first

thing that we must know. We must know

that the law is good if we use it

lawfully. The second thing that we must

know in this passage is this who the law

is for. And the passage tells us that

the law is for the lawless.

Verse 8. Now we know that the law is

good if one uses it lawfully.

Understanding this, who is the law for?

Understanding this that the law is not

laid down for the just,

but for the lawless and disobedient, for

the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy

and profane, for those who strike their

fathers and mothers, for murderers, for

sexually immoral, for men who practice

homosexuality,

for enslavers, liars, perjurers, and

whatever else is contrary

to sound doctrine.

So we must know that the law is good

and we must know what the law is and we

must know who the law is for. Now who is

the law for according to verse 9? We

understand this that the law is not for

the just.

The law is for the lawless.

You know the speed limits. Let's go back

to the speed limits and those laws, that

rule. Who's the speed limit for? Is the

speed limit for the careful granny who's

driving 25 km an hour? The speed limit

isn't for granny. It's not for her.

Who's the speed limit for? The speed

limit is for the crazy.

Those who break it all the time. Those

who are driving in crazy ways. That's

what the laws of the of the road are

for.

They're for the lawless.

So the law of God, it is not now

primarily now for the just, those who

have been justified by God through faith

alone in Christ. It is for the lawless.

It is for them to point out their sin.

Now what Paul is saying in these verses,

Paul is giving us one picture of the

law. He's giving us one image of the

law.

When we look in the Bible, there are

many uses, many ways, many pictures that

the law is used. Paul is just taking one

way that the law can be used and showing

us that.

And so what he's saying here is that the

law we we can think of it in this one

image that it is used primarily for the

lawless. And he speaks of them in

general ways. In verse 9, he says it is

for the lawless and the disobedient.

It's for the ungodly and sinners. It is

for the unholy and the profane. This is

who the law is for. So he's he's

speaking in general terms. It's

basically for sinners. It's for the

ungodly. It's for the unjust. This is

who the law is for. And he's giving us

one picture of the law. Now, when we

think of the law, you can think of it in

a number of pictures. I spoke of this

when we're talking about the law in

Acts. But I want us to remind us that

Paul when he's speaking of the law, he's

just showing one aspect of it. There are

other pictures that we can think of when

we think of the law. The first picture

we should think of when we think of the

law is this. The law is pictured in

scripture like a guardian.

Do you know when you um fill out forms

and you say the guardian of you know

what you're saying is that I am this

child's guardian. I am this child's

protector. Which means you feed the

child, you protect the child, you keep

the child until what you do? You kick

the child out. You send the child free.

Off you go, lovey. That's the point,

right? The point of parenting, just get

this, this is side note, whatever. But

the point of parenting is this. I teach

them Christ. I speak of them Christ. And

then I send them off into the world.

You're going to send them away one day.

I know. Makes me feel sad. you're going

to send them off. But that's the

guardian's job to keep whole care and to

set them free. That's how the law is

pictured. In Galatians chapter 3 24 says

Galatians 3 · chapter mention

this. So then the law was our guardian

until Christ came in order that we might

be justified by faith. The law kept us.

It protected us. It held us until Christ

came. It's the first picture of the law.

The second picture of the law is a

shadow.

And we know about shadows. We can see

shadows here now today. I see there. I'm

going to point you out because you won't

mind Danny. I see Danny there and I see

daddy's shadow. Now, who's my friend? Is

it the shadow down there that I love and

is my friend? Or is it the person that

is sitting there that I love that is my

friend? Well, I don't. The shadow just

points to the reality. The shadow isn't

important to me. The reality is what is

important to me. And so it is with the

law. The law is the shadow that points

us to the reality that is Christ.

Colossians 2:1 16. Therefore, let no one

Colossians 2:1

pass judgment on you in questions of

food and drink or with regard to

festival or new moon or the Sabbath.

These are a shadow of the things to

come. But the substance belongs to

Christ. The Sabbath command is a shadow,

a mere shadow of the rest. Resting on a

day is a mere shadow of the rest that we

can truly have and find in Christ.

He's the true rest. You think holidays

are the true rest. Holidays are not the

true rest. They're nice, but has anybody

come after a holiday and needed another

rest? Has that happened to you?

Rest in this world doesn't quite

satisfy. Rest in Christ is what

satisfies. So the law, it's pictured as

a guardian. It's pictured as a shadow.

Another picture I like to say in terms

of the law is it's like a window. What

do you do with a window? You look

through the window to see something

beautiful. That is what the law is.

Psalm 119 is is showing something of

that picture. I look at the commandments

of the Lord. I look through that window

and I see what the beautiful character

of God. I look at the command love your

neighbor and I look through that window

and I say isn't God just amazing and

wonderful that he cares for everybody on

this planet. So the law is a guardian.

The law is a shadow. The law is a

window. When I think of the law, I also

think of the picture of a heart. Why do

I think of the picture of the heart? The

summary of the law. Love the Lord your

God with all your heart, soul, mind, and

strength, and love your neighbor as

yourself.

Number five, the law is also a a

picture. When I think of the law, I

think of it as a a warning sign.

Warning signs are good because when you

drive up to a junction, aren't you glad

that the sign says stop?

Oh, I hate it when it always tells me to

do something. It always tells me to

stop. how restrictive of that sign.

Well, actually, it's a good thing that

it's there. And it's a good thing that

it's restricting you. And it's a good

thing that it's telling you to stop.

That's what the law of the Lord does.

It says don't steal.

That's a good thing. It says stop

coveting. That's a good sign to stop

doing that thing. So when we think of

the law, here are the images just to

summarize them again. We think of the

law as a guardian. We think of the law

as a shadow. We think of the law as a

window. We think of the law as a heart.

We think of the law as a warning sign.

But in this passage, Paul is talking

about a specific image and a specific

use of the law. And it is this to think

of the law as a mirror.

The law is a mirror

that points at us and shows us our sin.

Now, the law, it's not one of those

plain, you know, boring mirrors that you

have in your house. It's like those cool

mirrors that you have in the hotel. You

know that mirror you have in the hotel

on one side, it's the normal one, but

then you flip it. And when you flip it,

what happens? Magnifies it out like 15%,

20%. The normal mirror you kind of get

away with. But when you use the

magnified mirror, what does it do? It

shows you every single flaw on your face

that you hate.

That's the law of the Lord. It's this

big massive magnified mirror that when

you look at it, you see every single

flaw of sin in your life.

That's what the law is for. And that's

what the law is doing. He says in

general that the law is there to point

out the sin of the lawless, the

disobedient, the ungodly, the unholy,

and the profane. So he he talks about

those people in general, but then he

talks about the people more

specifically.

At the end of verse 9, he says that the

law is for those who strike their

fathers and mothers. It is for the

murderers. It is for the sexually

immoral men who practice homosexuality.

It's for enslavers. It's for liars and

perjurers. This is who the law is for.

It's it's to point out those sins. And

when he's talking about those sins

specifically, doesn't it remind you of

the law of the Lord? It's for those who

strike their fathers and mothers. What

does the law tell us? Honor your father

and mother.

It is for murderers. What does the law

tell us? Do not murder. It's for the

sexually immoral and those who practice

homosexuality. What does the law tell

us? Do not commit adultery.

It is for the enslavers or what you

could say the kidnappers.

And what does the law and the ten

commandments tell us? Thou shalt not

steal.

It is for for the liars and the

perjurers. And what does the ten

commandments tell us in the law? Thou

shalt not bear false witness.

The law is there to show us our sin.

And we need to sit in that reality.

There is this evangelist

um who I've seen a number of times over

the years and he has this specific

evangelism tactic that I've seen and

some people critique the tactic and the

way he does it cuz maybe it's abrupt or

whatever and he does videos of people

and all this kind of stuff. Whatever you

think about the way he does the thing,

how he does the evangelism is important.

Here's what he does. He takes the law

and he gets the mirror and he shows it

to people. So he goes up to people and

he'll interview people and say this.

Have you ever told a lie? And some

people will say, "No, I haven't really

told a lie." But he'll say, "Come on

now. Have you ever told a lie?" Even

even just a white lie. They'll say,

"Yes."

Okay, check. Liar. He'll say this. Have

you ever stolen something? He'll say

like like even even just the smallest

thing when you were younger or whatever.

Have you ever stolen anything before?

And they'll eventually say yes. They

say, "Right, so you're a thief."

Have you ever committed adultery? What

the Bible says, what Jesus says, if you

look at a man or a woman with lust,

you've already committed adultery with

them in your heart. Have you ever done

that? And they say, "Yes, well, you're

an adulterer.

Have you ever have you ever spoken the

Lord's name in vain? Like spoken against

the Lord, used it in a wrong way. Have

you ever done that?

The person will say, "Yes." And you'll

say, "So, you're a blasphemer."

So, let me just get this straight.

You're a liar. You're a thief. You're an

adulterer. You're a blasphemer.

So, if you were to stand before a holy

God, where do you think you'd go at the

end of the day? heaven or hell.

It's a sobering reality.

It's a sobering thought. What is he

doing? He's taking the mirror of the law

and he's showing it to people.

We were talking about evangelism in in

the men's meeting recently. We're we're

going through a book on evangelism and

we're talking about different ways that

we try and talk with people about Jesus.

And one of the ways that we need to talk

to people about Jesus is we need to talk

about sin.

And it's hard to show people the mirror

of their sin and the mirror of the law,

but we need to do it because if you

don't see the reality of your sin, you

won't see your need for the savior.

And so this is the beautiful thing that

the law does. And so often what I will

try and do in evangelism and listen I

fail at evangelism all the time. All of

us do. But what I try and do when I get

an opportunity is I take the mirror and

I don't point it first at them. I take

the mirror of the law and I point it

first at myself and I say, "Come here.

Look at the mirror with me. Look at all

the spots and wrinkles and everything

with me." Do you see how disgusting that

is?

Like I, Shane Dean,

am a sinner in my thoughts.

I'm a sinner with my words.

I'm a sinner with my actions. I want all

of you to see that.

Do you see that?

And the person who doesn't even know me

will say, "Yeah, of course that's you."

And then what I'll do is I'll take the

mirror and say, "Now let's start to look

at you."

And then as we look at them, what

happens? They see the sin

and thought and word and action.

And my hope is then that they like me

will see their need for the gospel,

will see their need for a savior.

You are deeply sinful more than you even

know.

And what you need this morning is you

need a savior

to rescue you from your sin. You need

Jesus.

I don't need Jesus because I'm holy and

I've got my life together. I need Jesus

because I, Shane Dean, am the worst of

sinners.

And praise God that for those who

believe and trust in Jesus

there is forgiveness of sin.

So the reason we say the reason we must

know that the law is good and the reason

we must know that the law is for the

lawless and the reason we must know that

image that the law is a mirror

is so

that we can know

our need for the gospel.

And that's the last thing that Paul says

in verse 11.

Yes, we must know the law is good. Yes,

we must know the law is for the lawless,

but we must also know that the gospel it

is for the lawless.

He says, in accordance with the gospel

of the glory of the blessed God with

which I have been entrusted. This

reality of the law and what it is is in

accordance is in line with the good

news.

When you think about the law, you must

think of the good news. Yes, we need the

bad news of the law to see our sin, but

we need the good news of the gospel to

see our savior.

Some of my favorite verses in the Bible

talk about the law and they talk about

the gospel.

My favorite verses,

1 Corinthians chapter 6:9,

the law. Or do you not know that the

unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom

of God? Do not be deceived. The

unrighteous, they will not get to

heaven. Do not be deceived. Neither the

sexually immoral, nor idolattors, nor

adulterers, nor men who practice

homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the

greedy, nor drunkers, nor revilers, nor

swindlers will inherit the kingdom of

heaven. That is the law.

But then he comes with the gospel.

And such were some of you.

But you were washed.

You were sanctified. You were justified

in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and

by the spirit of God.

Such were some of you. As you show

people the mirror of the law, never

forget such were some of you.

So when we think

about this,

how do we speak the law into the world

and how do we speak the gospel into the

world that we live in? Because some of

us are all law and we're no gospel. And

what I would encourage you and say is

this. Yes, speak the law, but remember

always to speak the gospel. So here's

how this works in this world. Sometimes

we speak to the world in this way. We

say, "Isn't this world so broken? Isn't

this world so desperate? Isn't this

world so sinful?

Isn't this world so depraved?" And we'll

constantly say this stuff and judgment

about the world. And yes, we need to say

that about the world.

We need to speak that to the world.

But we also need to speak this to the

world.

For God so loved the world that he gave

his one and only son that whoever

believes in him shall not perish but

have eternal life. Don't just speak the

law to the world. Speak the gospel to

the world. This is a world that needs

the gospel.

What about in your home?

Some of us, we only speak the law in our

home. We only parent in one way with our

commands.

Do this, don't do this, do this, don't

do this, do this, don't do this. And all

our parenting is this. It is just

commands.

It is just law.

Now, yes, there needs to be commands,

but don't speak commands without gospel.

Do this. And when you don't do it, can I

show you where you can find forgiveness?

In the Lord Jesus Christ.

We need to have both the law and the

gospel in our homes.

And what about how you speak to

yourself?

Sometimes the way we speak to oursel is

all law and no gospel.

Some of you that's all you say to

yourselves.

I'm a sinner. I'm wretch. If they only

knew. If they only knew who I was. If

they only knew my words. If they only

knew my actions, they wouldn't even talk

to me.

We're constantly condemning ourselves

with the law.

But never forget to speak the gospel to

yourself.

Yes, I am a sinner.

But the good news is this.

No more condemnation for those who are

in Christ Jesus.

My sin is forgiven.

Yes, speak the law to yourself, but

always remember to speak the gospel to

yourself that in Christ you are

forgiven. Let's pray.

Lord, we thank you for your law that

your law is good.

that Lord, this law is a mirror that

points us to the reality of our sin and

the need for a savior.

I pray that you'd help us to be those

who speak the law and the gospel to this

world. Those who speak the law and the

gospel to our children and our friends,

and those who speak the law and the

gospel to ourselves.

We thank you, Lord Jesus, that such were

some of us, but we were washed. We were

sanctified. We were justified by the

blood of the lamb. Amen.

Let's stand and sing remembering