How Are We to Use the Law: Let Me Count the Ways, Pt 1

The three uses of the law—restraining sin, convicting sinners, and guiding believers in holy living—reflect its multifaceted role in God’s moral order. While the third use promotes societal order and the second provides a blueprint for Christian living, it is the first use that acts as a catalyst for evangelism. The first use, often called the pedagogical use, reveals sin and drives sinners to Christ for mercy and forgiveness. It holds up a mirror to humanity’s unrighteousness, convicting the heart and exposing the need for salvation. Unlike the other uses, which operate in the contexts of society and sanctification, this use of the law uniquely points directly to the gospel, highlighting our dependence on God’s grace through Jesus Christ. Let us look closer at this first use.

The Pedagogical Use of the Law: A Mirror to Reveal Sin

The first use of the law, often called the pedagogical use, reveals your sin and shows your need for a Savior. As Paul explains in Romans 7:7, “I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law.” The law acts as a mirror, reflecting God’s holiness and exposing your heart’s sinfulness. This function of the law is foundational to evangelistic paradigms like the Romans Road, Evangelism Explosion, and The Way of the Master. Each of these methods begins by confronting you with the reality of sin and the justice of God.

Consider the Ten Commandments. Each commandment holds up a standard of perfect righteousness, showing you where you fall short. When you lie, covet, or dishonor God, the law convicts you. This conviction is not cruelty but mercy, for it strips away your illusions of self-righteousness. As John Calvin wrote, “The law warns, informs, convicts, and lastly condemns every man of his unrighteousness” (Calvin 2011, 348).

The Law as a Schoolmaster

Paul’s words in Galatians 3:24 are pivotal: “The law was our guardian until Christ came, that we might be justified by faith.” The Greek word for “guardian” (paidagogos) refers to a tutor or disciplinarian supervising a child’s development. The law functions this way in your spiritual life. It disciplines and teaches you, pointing out your need for redemption.

Imagine the law as a road sign that declares, “Dead End.” It does not provide a way out but makes you aware of the danger. Its role is not to save but to guide you to the Savior. As Martin Luther explained, “The true function of the law is to reveal to man his sin, blindness, misery, wickedness, ignorance, hate and contempt of God, death, hell, judgment, and the well-deserved wrath of God” (Luther 1535, Gal. 3:24).

The Conviction of Sin and the Need for Grace

The law also demolishes your pride. It reveals that no matter how good you think you are, you fall short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23). In fact, the law often provokes sin, as Paul describes in Romans 7: “Sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting” (Romans 7:8). This is not the fault of the law but of your sinful nature.

This crushing realization—that you cannot keep the law—leads you to Christ. Augustine captures this beautifully: “The usefulness of the law lies in convicting man of his infirmity and moving him to call upon the remedy of grace which is in Christ” (Calvin 2011, 357). You must first see your disease before you seek the cure.

Evangelism and the First Use of the Law

The pedagogical use of the law underpins effective evangelism. Methods like the Romans Road begin by presenting the law’s verdict: “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Only then do they introduce the hope of the gospel: “But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

The Way of the Master is particularly explicit in its use of the law. It asks questions like, “Have you ever lied? Stolen? Taken God’s name in vain?” These questions drive home the reality of sin and the certainty of judgment. By showing you your guilt, the law paves the way for grace.

The Law and the Gospel

The law and the gospel are not enemies. They complement each other. The law shows you your need; the gospel meets that need. R. Kent Hughes puts it well: “Law and gospel rest on the same moral base, and they complement each other. People have always been saved by grace, whether living under the law or the gospel” (Hughes and Chapell 2000, 37).

In this way, the law magnifies the grace of God. It shows you the depth of your sin so that you can see the height of God’s mercy. Paul writes in Romans 5:20, “Where sin increased, grace increased all the more.”

Responding to the Law’s Call

As you reflect on the first use of the law, consider how it has worked in your life. Have you allowed it to reveal your sin and lead you to Christ? Or are you still clinging to self-righteousness, hoping your efforts will suffice?

The law’s purpose is not to condemn you to hopelessness but to drive you to the cross. Like a schoolmaster, it disciplines you so that you might find life in Christ. When you see the weight of your sin, do not despair. Look to Jesus, who fulfilled the law perfectly and bore its penalty on your behalf. The law leads you to Him—the only Savior who can meet your deepest needs.

Rev. Dr. Mark Horne is a Pastor-Teacher of Andrews PCA and an ACBC Certified Biblical Counselor and serves at Billy Rufus Center for Counseling and Teaching, Director and is an adjunct professor of Birmingham Theological Seminary.

References

Augustine. 1953. On the Spirit and the Letter. Translated by John Burnaby. In Later Works, edited by John Burnaby. Philadelphia: Westminster Press.

Calvin, John. 2011. Institutes of the Christian Religion, Vol. 1. Edited by John T. McNeill. Translated by Ford Lewis Battles. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

Hughes, R. Kent, and Bryan Chapell. 2000. 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus: To Guard the Deposit. Preaching the Word. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

Luther, Martin. 1535. Lectures on Galatians. Translated by Jaroslav Pelikan. Edited by Helmut T. Lehmann. Vol. 26, Luther’s Works. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House.

Luther, Martin. 1957. Luther’s Works, Vol. 31. Edited by Harold J. Grimm. Philadelphia: Fortress Press.

For the Gospel. n.d. “The Romans Road to Salvation.” Accessed December 18, 2024. https://www.forthegospel.org/read/the-romans-road-to-salvation.

The Way of the Master. n.d. “The Way of the Master.” Accessed December 18, 2024. https://livingwaters.com/store/training-course/online-school-of-biblical-evangelism/. (See also a playlist of YouTube video examples: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsfdXJfdOyg&list=PLIMAX6WHtnhAiOwNahqmvZQIgyM7bG_km).