“They want to be teachers of the law, although they don’t understand what they are saying or what they are insisting on. But we know that the law is good, provided one uses it legitimately.”
Let’s review before we move on with today’s verses. Paul had written in the previous two verses that the goal of his instruction is love- which comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith. These false teachers have departed from this and turned to fruitless discussion.
He now writes, “They want to be teachers of the law, although they don’t understand what they are saying or what they are insisting on.” They want to be teachers of the law. We see this phrase in two other places in Scripture and both times are in reference to Pharisees. The first time is in Luke 5:17. “On one of those days while he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea, and also from Jerusalem. And the Lord’s power to heal was in him.” This is the story of the paralytic man who was lowered through the roof to be healed by Jesus. The other is Acts 5:34. “But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law who was respected by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered the men to be taken outside for a little while.”
These false teachers want to be like the Pharisees, but they do not understand what they are saying or what they are insisting on. They must not have been familiar with what Jesus had to say to the Pharisees! Jesus had many harsh words for their hypocritical behavior. John Barry writes in his commentary, “The Pharisees had a reputation for careful and thorough interpretation of the law, yet many of them opposed Jesus. Jesus rebuked them because they rejected the more important matters of the law- justice, mercy, and faithfulness (Matt 23:23).”
It is important to note here that Paul says they want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are saying or insisting on. Perhaps these teachers aren’t even Jewish, because they don’t understand the true nature of the law, as Paul goes on to say in the next verse.
Paul says, “But we know that the law is good, provided one uses it legitimately.” Were these teachers saying that the law was bad? Based on this verse, it appears that this is the case. If this is the case, there is a bit of irony, because the teachers of the law, the Pharisees, whom these teachers were trying to copy, certainly thought the law was good. According to gotquestions.org, “They were known for their emphasis on personal piety (the word Pharisee comes from a Hebrew word meaning ‘separated’), their acceptance of oral tradition in addition to the written law, and their teaching that all Jews should observe all 600- plus laws in the Torah, including the rituals concerning ceremonial purification.”
Paul walks the fine line between the false teachers who do not know what they are talking about, and the Pharisees (and remember, Paul was a Pharisee) whom Jesus rebuked in Matthew. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You pay a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, and yet you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy, and faithfulness. These things should have been done without neglecting the others” (23:23). Paul says that the law is good- provided that one uses it legitimately. The law is there to show us our sinful behavior. Paul writes about this in some of his other letters. “For no one will be justified in his sight by the works of the law, because the knowledge of sin comes through the law. But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, attested by the Law and the Prophets. The righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, since there is no distinction. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:20-24). The law shows us our sinfulness, and we can only obtain righteousness through faith in Jesus. Later in his letter to Romans, in Chapter 7, Paul continues with his struggle with his sin nature and the law. David Guzik, in his Enduring Word online commentary, ends the chapter with the observation that Paul was looking to solve three problems. First, he didn’t know what to do to save himself, but the law came as a teacher. It wasn’t enough. Paul didn’t need a teacher; he needed a Savior. Next, Paul thought he wasn’t motivated enough, so the law was a coach. But Paul didn’t need a coach; he needed a Savior. And lastly, Paul thought he didn’t know himself well enough. The law was like a doctor who diagnosed his sin problem, but the law couldn’t heal him. He needed a Savior.
The law shows us our sin problem. It shows us that we can’t save ourselves, we can’t do enough to fix ourselves, and we can’t heal ourselves. The law shows us that we need a Savior.
Grace be with you!
Abundant Joy 