Why Preach the Law?
Understanding Its Purpose in Light of Grace
Let’s be real. Few things have caused more confusion in church than the question of what role God’s law should play in preaching. Some people have been wounded by sermons that sound like nothing but “don’t do this, don’t do that.” Others worry that too much talk about grace will make people careless. Somewhere in the middle is a longing: What does God actually intend the law to do, and why should we ever preach it?
If you’ve wrestled with these questions, you’re not alone. The Bible’s answer is both challenging and freeing, and it’s always meant to lead us back to Jesus.
The Law’s Real Purpose: Not a Ladder but a Mirror
We first mistakenly think of the law as a ladder, a means of climbing to God through our own efforts. But the Bible paints a different picture. The law is a mirror. It shows us who God is: holiness, justice, and goodness. But it also shows us our own hearts. Paul shows us that the law is what makes us understand sin (Romans 3:20). God did not give the law to make us righteous, but to reveal our desperate need for mercy.
Rules can keep you in line for a little while, but a mirror never washes your face. No amount of polishing the outside changes the condition of your heart. If you’ve ever felt like you could never measure up, you’re actually right where the law intends to bring you—to the end of self-sufficiency, face to face with the need for grace.
Who Is the Law For?
In 1 Timothy 1:9, Paul explains that the law is not meant for the righteous, but for the lawless and disobedient. The law’s voice is directed to the unbeliever, the one who is still trying to live life on their own terms, unaware or uninterested in God’s gift of righteousness.
For those who are in Christ, the law’s work is finished. An external standard no longer measures you. God has given you a new heart, a new identity, and the indwelling presence of Jesus Himself. Your life is now lived from the inside out, not from a checklist of dos and don’ts.
God didn’t save you to turn you into a religious rule-keeper. He saved you to walk in a living relationship with Him—one that starts and ends with grace, not performance.
Does Preaching Rules Change People?
Simply put, preaching rules does not change people’s hearts. It may produce outward compliance for a time but does not create true inner transformation. The greatest danger is mistaking the law for the cure when it’s only the diagnosis. The law can show us our need, but cannot supply what we lack. It’s a mirror, not soap. If all we do is preach rules without pointing to the mercy of Jesus, we leave people hopeless, burdened, or pretending.
Paul says, “If there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law” (Galatians 3:21). But it never could. To put believers back under the law is to rob them of their joy and the experience of grace. It is to forget that we have been made new, declared righteous, and placed in Christ forever.
Trying to measure up exhausts some people. If you’re tired, you’re not alone. That’s what happens when we mistake the law for life. God never intended His law to be a whip or a burden. He offers rest, not a spiritual treadmill.
Why Preach the Law at All?
If the law can’t save or change us, why preach it? Here’s the heart of it: the law is a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith (Galatians 3:24). The law is for those who have not yet come to faith in Christ. It speaks to the lost, the self-sufficient, and those still trusting in their own goodness. It is meant to awaken conscience and reveal the impossibility of saving oneself.
But the law's purpose is fulfilled once someone has come to Christ. From that point on, life is no longer lived by keeping rules but by living in union with Christ. The believer doesn’t need external regulations to be changed. Change comes from the Spirit within, from the inside out.
You didn’t get in by earning it, and you don’t stay in by performing. God’s grace is not just the way in—it’s the air you breathe every single day. Don’t let anyone put you back under a load Christ already carried for you.
Preaching the Law With Grace
We preach the law not to shame but to awaken, not to condemn but to call people home. We must hold out God's Savior every time we hold up God’s standard. The law’s last word is always, “You need Jesus.”
And when someone runs to Him, they find arms open wide—not a checklist, but a welcome home.
A Final Word
Preaching the law without grace is like diagnosing a disease and never offering a cure. Preaching grace without the law is like offering medicine to someone who doesn’t think they’re sick. We need both—the truth that shows us our need, and the grace that meets that need in Christ.
Take a deep breath. Rest in Christ’s finished work. Obey, not to earn, but because you’re already loved. God knows you’re still growing. His love is not fragile. There’s grace for every misstep.
The law is good, but only grace makes us new. Let’s never use the law as a weapon, but always as a signpost pointing to Jesus, the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes (Romans 10:4). Rules wear you out, but grace lifts you up. And when you’re free, obedience becomes a joy.