Is There a Second Use for the Law?
I said something to a friend today which bothered him. I felt bad about that. I think the quote was something like, "The Ten Commandments don't matter anymore." He texted me later, confused by what I'd said. I don't want to put words in his mouth, but if I understand his concerns, what he understood me to have said was something more like. "The Ten Commandments aren't important anymore." I do think they're important, crucial really. But I don't think they matter to the one who wishes to follow God, and has been united to Christ by faith. With the possible exception that they give one a glimpse of God's heart. I think Paul said it best in Galatians (3:19-25) when he characterized the entire Law (which includes the Ten Commandments) as a disciplinarian. When one follows Paul's logic, it becomes apparent that the Law was given as an intermediate measure until Christ came and righteousness—life really—could be had by faith. Paul writ...