Until the last few weeks the weather has been pretty dry here in North Arkansas. I assume that the farmers were beginning to get nervous about the amount of hay and crops that they would be able to grow this year and the extra cost that comes with this weather pattern. There were clouds that would pass by and a few small showers, but nothing that really helped the situation. It was dry.
I was thinking about this while I was reading the book Tabletalk which is a book of quotes from Martin Luther that his students put together from spending time with him. Much of that time was spent around Martin Luther’s dinner table, much to the dislike of his extremely patient wife, so the book was named Tabletalk. In it Luther describes the function of the Law in Scripture. Then he says,
“The Law with its righteousness, is like a cloud without rain, which promises rain but gives none; even so does the Law promise salvation, but gives it not, for the Law was not assigned to that end, as St. Paul says, Galatians 3” – Martin Luther, Tabletalk
Why would Luther say that? And why is it so important?
What Is The Law?
First, what do we mean by the Law?
Luther viewed the different parts of Scripture as being broken down into either Law or Gospel. It might be easier to think of as Law or Promise. The Law is everything that we are required to do. So, the Ten Commandments is the most well known portion of the Law, but Law can be found in other places too. The Gospel, or Promises are those things that God promises that He will do for us. There is a massive difference in the two categories and their purpose.
God’s Purpose For The Law
Here is where things get interesting and very important for the believer. Why did God give the Law? God gave the Law for a few different purposes. Here is a list that might be helpful.
- The Law reveals to us what sin is (Romans 3:19-20).
- The Law stops sinners from justifying themselves (Romans 3:19-20).
- The Law helps people to realize their guilt before God (Romans 7:7).
- The Law acts as our “schoolmaster” or “tutor” to bring us to Christ (Galatians 3:24). We see our sinfulness and need for a Savior through the Law of God.
- The Law shows believers how they should be attempting to live. We know that we cannot keep the Law perfectly, but believers have been set apart, made new, and given the gift of the Holy Spirit so that we will begin keeping God’s Law (Ezekiel 36:22-27).
So, you could sum up the uses of the Law as being to show us our need for the Savior and the way we should live. The problem is that many people attempt to add more duties to the Law than these.
The Problem With The Law
The problem with the Law is that it seems to overpromise. As Luther says here, it “promises rain but gives none”. We will oftentimes get in the mindset of working as hard as we can to earn God’s favor by keeping the Law as best we can. We forget that we can’t keep God’s Law and have had to trust in the Savior. Here is a short illustration.
I heard some bad news a while back and do you know what my first reaction was? “God, I have given up so much to be where I am today. I have given up a nicer home than I live in now. We have given up greater finances than we have now. We are doing good things. We are attempting to raise our children in a godly manner….and this list goes on and on.” What was I doing in this moment?
I was looking at God and saying, “Look at all the good things that I have done and am doing. I’ve earned better than this from Your hand. I have earned your favor by keeping Your Law.” But, this is not the purpose of the Law. The Law was not given to earn God’s favor. It was given for the purposes listed above.
I was assigning a purpose to the Law that it doesn’t have. I don’t keep the Law and earn God’s favor. God has made a different and perfect way to receive His favor.
God’s Promise
God’s favor is not earned, it is given. It is given to us by grace as a gift (Romans 3:24). The cloud that actually brings rain is Jesus Christ. It is He who we look to for God’s favor. It is He who came to earth, lived a perfect life on our behalf, died on the cross paying the full punishment for sin, and rose from the dead three days later accomplishing God’s favor for us. We look to Christ and receive God’s promise. He has made a way for the hostility between us and God to be erased. Now, we trust in the promise of God, not in the keeping of any Law.
Conclusion
So many people today, both inside and outside of our churches, have lost sight of the promises and believe that life is found in the Law. Both Scripture and Luther want to point you in another direction. Life is found not in the keeping of the Law, but in Christ. With the Law comes a realization of our separation from God and our need for the Savior. But in can only take you that far. We must look to Christ. It is He who gives life.
R. Dwain Minor
Image Attribution: By Eazydp (Personal photo.) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
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