So many people today think you should go back to the Law in the Old Testament (like the Ten Commandments) to learn how to live. I don’t think that’s the purpose of the Law, according to the New Testament. Then why did God give the law?

Romans 5:20

20 The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,

The whole purpose of the Law was to increase sin! Does that make any sense?! It does if you think about it. God used sin to bring in grace. Recognition and understanding of sin naturally leads to an understanding of how much we need grace!

You see in the second part of the verse above, when sin increased (that’s our knowledge of sin, from knowing what the law says) then grace abounded. The more we recognize our own sin, the more we recognize how much grace God has to take care of all of it!

1 Corinthians 15:56

56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law;

The law is the very thing that gives sin its power. Don’t think I’m saying that it’s okay to murder, steal, and commit adultery! But we have to recognize that using the law as our only guideline to living the Christian life will only increase sin! God gave us the law so that we would recognize how much we needed His grace.

It’s very similar to the principle of death leading to life. Through death, (Jesus’ substitutionary spiritual death) we now share in newness of life.

Romans 6:3-4

3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?

4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

John 12:23-24

23 And Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. (He’s talking about the Cross)

24 "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

Looking to the law should only make us recognize that we could never live up to it. That realization brings you to an understanding of the need for the grace of God. Let me say this one more time; I’m not saying it’s okay to break all the Ten Commandments! A true understanding of the grace of God will make you WANT to follow all of His mandates, not just those 10 we are all familiar with:

Romans 2:4

4 Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?