Good afternoon church,

I hope you are doing well this week.
 
Much of modern medical advances have come because we can now look inside the human body via ultrasounds or MRIs etc. Because of these tools we can get to the heart of the problem. This enables us to then get the treatment we need and be healed. These tests are crucial because what can initially seem to be a minor problem on the surface can turn out to be a much more serious problem if we dig a little deeper. 
 
I use this analogy to help us understand the purpose of the law. The law in the Old Testament functioned as a diagnostic test on the human heart. It revealed that our sin, which might have seemed to us to be a minor problem, in reality is deadly. The more you look at the test results, the more you see that you are fatally compromised, because God is holy and you are not. This is why Paul said the Scripture (the law) imprisoned everything under sin (Gal 3:23). Instead of bringing us closer to God, the law serves to reveal the gap between us and God. However, like a good diagnostic test, the law has a life-giving purpose. The law paved the way for the gospel to come and bear fruit. God gave the law, “so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe (Gal 3:23).  The law is like a great diagnostician that reveals sickness so that God’s people might come to the great Physician for healing. Jesus says, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance (Luke 5:31-32).” Hearts shown to be guilty under the law could receive forgiveness in Christ.
 
I have personally seen this powerful work of the law in action. I had a conversation with a lady a little while ago. She indicated that she did not think it was wrong for girls to have girl partners (homosexuality). This was a very difficult situation for me to be in. How does one respond? The Lord by his Spirit gave me words to speak. I just laid before her that God made people male and female and that marriage was made to be between one woman and one man. I expected her to push back. But instead, the Holy Spirit seemed to soften her, and I was able to then share the gospel and my own testimony of what God had done in my life. 
 
The biblical law: that homosexuality is wrong, and that marriage is between one man and woman was doing its work convicting her. God was exposing sin through the law. This made her open to then hear the gospel. Again, and again I have seen this use of the law in others and in my own life. God uses the law to convict, to reveal sinful patterns in our lives that are not pleasing to him, so that we can repent and put our trust in Christ our Savior. The law cannot save us, as Paul has made clear. But just as it pointed Israel to Christ, so it can do the same for us today. Personal revivals and conversions begin with the deep cut of the law that lead us to run to Jesus our healer. Are you feeling God’s hand of conviction in your life today? My plea is that we would not resist, but that it would drive us to Christ this week.
 
May God bless you.
Taylor Ewert