1 Timothy 1:8

“But we know”: Paul, Timothy, and other faithful Christians are not ignorant as the false teachers, rather they “know” the following.

1 Timothy 1:8 “That the Law is good”: The origin of these errors is not found in the Law itself, but in the wrong use of the Law. Paul did not condemn the Law just because some were seeking to pervert its use or design. The purpose of the Law was good, that is, to point men to Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:24). Compare with Romans 7:7; Romans 7:12. In addition, Paul was not an enemy of the Law of Moses, even though God revealed through Him that the Law of Moses ended at the cross (Colossians 2:14; Ephesians 2:15 ff).

The above passage is not saying that we are still under the Law of Moses, rather the Law is still good. It still leads people to Christ (Galatians 3:24). It still teaches us valuable lessons about sin and the character of God (Romans 15:4; 1 Corinthians 11:11).

1 Timothy 1:8 “If one uses it lawfully”: There are wrong uses of the Law of Moses:

1. Idle speculation. 2. The attempt to use it to teach an ascetic lifestyle. 3. Arguing that the Law of Moses is binding today and that we are still under the first covenant (Hebrews 8:13 ff). “When the Law is used as God intended for it to be used, then truth and benefits result. But when the Law is used only as. springboard into hopeless speculation, fanciful legends, and erroneous instruction, then the law is being abused to become an introducer of evil rather than the foundation of truth” (Reese p. 18). “Those who did not see that the law ended in Christ and was taken out of the way by Him understood neither the law nor its aim and end” (Lipscomb p. 128).