It is at this point that people most often go astray in their view of the Decalog, for they most often impute to the Decalog a purpose and ministry that the Word of God does not. Thus, by beginning in the wrong direction, they cannot help but become further and further from the truth. They are like the traveler that, after riding at high speed for some time, was apprized of the fact that he was on the wrong road and going in the opposite direction to what he intended. But he attempted to excuse himself by say, "Perhaps so, but I’m making excellent time!" as if that would in any way correct his error.

The purposes of the Decalog do not involve some attempt on God’s part to correct failure in the creature, as if God had lost control and had to bring in some stopgap matter to restore order. Such would be an indictment of the immutability of God, and would contradict the eternal nature of the Decalog that has already been established.

In taking this ground, we are fully aware that we immediately alienate a large majority of professing Christendom, for this is a flesh-crucifying doctrine, and one that is contrary to the fundamental beliefs of the majority of the religious world. In the great popularity of all humanistic plans of salvation and pride exalting views of man and man’s ability, we see but another evidence of the depraved and fallen condition of man’s heart. Let men talk all they please about man’s "natural ability," his "nobility," his "indomitable spirit," and the "spark of divinity in every man." But in so doing they only manifest their own Luciferian pride and ambition, for Lucifer desired to exalt his throne above the stars of God, and to be like the Most High, Isa. 14:13-14.

Every assumption of the natural man that he is able to fulfill the demands of the Decalog and to attain to acceptance in God’s sight thereby is an outright denial that he even needs a Saviour. It is a claim that he is able to save himself if only given the time and opportunity. But this is not the purpose of the Decalog.

Here are ten passages, all of which speak in no uncertain terms in denying that there can ever be justification by the deeds of the law. Thereby they cut the ground of hope from under the feet of all that hope for some sort of self-salvation that will not require the crucifixion of the flesh and carnal pride of the natural man. This hope of being justified by the keeping of the law is simply the old "way of Cain" come to town again. For Cain’s hopes were all in the works of his own hands, the fruits of the earth, a thank offering for God’s bounty but a steadfast refusal to acknowledge his need of an atoning sacrifice. This is exactly the same fatal mistake that legalists today make. In effect, they say, "Thank you God, for your bounty. I’m sure that you meant well in sending your only begotten Son to die for me, but it was really unnecessary, for I shall simply grasp my own spiritual bootstraps and lift myself up to heaven by my good works. And thereby I won’t be indebted to you or to any one else, but can rejoice and boast in my own spiritual strength and accomplishments."

This self-righteous attitude that is held by such a large part of the religious world is one of the most presumptuous and insulting attitudes that a mortal can have. It treads under foot the Son of God, and accounts His precious atoning blood as of lesser worth than the corrupt works of fallen and depraved humanity. God’s view of such presumption is expressed in Heb. 10:29-31, and shows that, far from the Old Testament Dispensation being the more severe, transgressions under the New Testament dispensation are much more severe because greater privileges are given, and consequently greater responsibility is entailed.

If the Decalog is not given in order for man to be justified thereby, it is needful to inquire what its purpose is. Therefore, we note by way of positive consideration that—

Paul asks and answers the question, "Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made," Gal. 3:19. And again he says, "Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God," Rom. 3:19. "Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression," Rom. 4:15. "For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law," Rom. 5:13. "Moreover the law entered that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound," Rom. 5:20.

The purpose of the Law, according to these verses, is to manifest to man how far short he has fallen when compared with the Divine standard of conduct, to give manifestation of man’s transgression of God’s will, to make it appear in all of its awfulness, and to condemn sin. "Sin is the transgression of the law," I John 3:4f, though man may be ignorant of the Law.

But as soon as Law entered the universe, whether written on fleshly tables of the heart, tables of stone or tablets of paper, it immediately condemned every transgression of its precepts, and placed the transgressors under the curse of the broken law. The boastful mouth of proud-hearted man is stopped, and all the human race is manifested to be guilty before the God of heaven. And not only guilty, but under His just wrath, vessels fit only for the burning. But, at the same time it reveals them to be candidates for the wonderful grace of God to save them from all their sins if they but recognize the Divine diagnosis of their deadly disease, and receive the healing that is provided by the Great Physician.

The purpose of the Law is not to give life, nor is it to comfort men in their sins. Conversely, the purpose of the Law is to turn man away from his self-sufficiency and self-reliance and unto Christ, for in no other way can a man be saved. It is a true statement that someone has made that it is much harder to get people lost than to get them saved. That is to say, man being the rebellious and wicked and proud creature that he is, only Divine grace can bring him to admit and confess his sinful and lost condition. But once having honestly admitted this, he is generally easily led to accept the Lord’s atoning remedy for his condition.

It is native to corrupt and fallen humanity to trust in self, to overrate man’s supposed good works, and to underrate his evil works, and to seek for justification by these human works. Only when the Decalog has wrought its condemnatory work is man turned from this vain and foolish hope to trust alone in Christ. Many persons, rejecting the testimony of the Law, perish in their self-sufficiency and self-righteousness.

If we should stop in our study upon the purpose of the Decalog at this point, we would leave man in a fearfully hopeless condition—condemned and slain by the Law of God. But happily there is another, more cheerful aspect to the purpose of the Decalog. We note therefore that—

Paul gives the scriptural proof of this in Gal. 3:24 when he says, "Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith." The English word "schoolmaster" used here and in V25 does not fully express the meaning of the word in the Greek text. Nor does "instructors" in I Cor. 4:15, the only places where this Greek word (paidagogos) appears in the New Testament. J. H. Thayer gives its meaning.

Once this justification by faith is brought about "we are no longer under a schoolmaster," Gal. 3:25, and the threats of the law have no more application to us. When the son attained to legal adulthood he was no longer under the care and supervision of the pedagogue, but he did what was right out of love and respect for his father. So the true believer no longer endeavors to keep the Law out of fear of its curse, for he knows that he is no longer under the curse. But he endeavors henceforth to keep it out of love to his heavenly Father whose will it is that His children live righteously.

Paul is inspired to teach the same truth allegorically by using Sarah and Hagar as representatives of the two covenants, and their two sons as representatives of those that are under the two covenants, Gal. 4:21-31. Sarah was the older, and the legitimate wife of Abraham, while Hagar was only a slave. So likewise, the Covenant of Grace is the older, dating from eternity past, while the Law covenant was "added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made," Gal. 3:19. As Hagar was never more than a bondmaid to Sarah, so the old covenant—the Law—was never intended to do more than to serve grace.

Legalistic preaching will often make numerous disciples to the preacher and swell the church rolls. But it matters not how promising such converts are, they will ultimately be cast out with their mother, the old covenant of the works. For the Law was never intended to produce sons, but to only be hand-maiden to grace, whose sons will be born in due time, as Jesus promised in John 6:37. The Law covenant and all its sons will ultimately be cast out as Hagar and Ishmael were, but we must remember that there were two expulsions of Hagar, and these both find spiritual fulfillment. We cannot do better than to again quote the words of J. B. Moody who has made an extensive study of this matter and expresses it well.

As we have already stated, a large majority of the religious world thinks that the Decalog is a means of salvation, and so they endeavor to keep it that they might earn eternal life thereby. These people are hard to convince otherwise, and even when one is convinced of the folly of this view, he sometimes takes an equally erroneous view. Some people, conceding that there can be no salvation through the keeping of the Law, then cast off the Law wholly. In taking too narrow a view of the Law, they assume that since the Law cannot save, it has no purpose at all, and so cast off the Decalog and become what is well called Antinomians. This word means literally "against law," and refers to practical outlawry. But this is folly second only to the other view, for grace does not license a person to commit sin, but it triumphs over sin, Rom. 5:20-21.

The apostle brings this out in a more forceful manner when he says, "But now are we delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter," Rom. 7:6. Being saved by grace does not free a person to commit sin. Conversely it obligates one to an even more dedicated keeping of the Law, not as a means of life, but as an evidence of love to the Lord, of which we shall speak more at length shortly. To declare that a Christian no longer has a standard of conduct, nor is obligated to keep the Decalog is to manifest that one has no real concept of the purposes of the Law, and probably does not know the grace of God either. The Decalog has its purposes, both to the lost and to the saved, and we who are saved by grace cannot cast off the Law, for it is still a servant to grace, and must be retained in this character. This is shown in the allegory that Paul draws from the case of Sarah and Hagar, and their respective sons. Hagar continued to serve Sarah even after Isaac was born, but as soon as the question of the inheritance arose, both the bondwoman and her son were cast out, for those "under the law" cannot inherit the promises that are made to those under grace.

No standard is meant to give perfection, but rather to show what perfection is, and to set a goal toward which to strive. Without a standard for conduct no one could be held accountable for his conduct. Were the Decalog not a standard of conduct, no one could know what he ought to be, nor for what he should strive. Therefore, this brings us to consider another thought. If the Decalog is a standard of conduct for men, then it is the basis upon which they shall be judged for their failures. Our next thought therefore is—

This fact is made evident in that the Decalog is commonly called "law," for there cannot be judgment without law. Law is the very basis of judgment. "The law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression," Rom. 4:15. "Sin is not imputed when there is no law," Rom. 5:13. God has so ordained it that none will have cause to cry "Injustice" when judged, for every sin that a man shall be judged for will have resulted from his breaking of a Divine law. Nor will men be able to plead ignorance. For however men may attempt to convince themselves that they do not know their duty, in the Day of Judgment it will be fully manifest that they had sufficient knowledge of right and wrong, but only overruled their knowledge through love of sin and self will.

For the Christian, there is clearly foretold that he will be judged as to his works, of what character they are. This will be a judgment to determine rewards, not to determine one’s destiny for that is determined by whether one is in Christ or not at death. "…we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God," Rom. 14:10-12. "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he had done, whether it be good or bad," II Cor. 5:10. But how can anyone be judged unless there be some standard or basis for judgment? Judgment is simply the measuring of something or someone against a standard, and therefore, if the Christian is to be judged for rewards, there must be something to serve as a basis for judgment. This basis is the Decalog, although it is not exclusively the Decalog, for other things shall also enter in, but the primary standard will be this Divinely given code of Law.

For the unsaved person, it is also true that the Decalog will be the basis, or standard, by which he will be judged, for the Decalog prescribes what a man ought to be, and his failure to be what he ought to be will be judged by this standard. This is evident from the record of the judgment of the Great Day as set forth in Rev. 20:12. "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works." The Book of Life is opened to give evidence that those that appear at this judgment are unsaved, for they have never been enrolled in this Book that lists the names of all of God’s elect, which has been completed since the foundation of the earth, Rev. 13:8. Contrary to popular belief no new name has been added to this book since the foundation of the world. The other books will doubtless be, First, the Book of God’s Law, which prescribes what man’s conduct is to be. Second, the Book of God’s Providence that will show all God’s marvelous workings for the fulfillment of His will, and even the development of each person from conception to death, Ps. 139:16, and how each one responded to opportunities and challenges. Third, the Book in which God has recorded all of man’s actions, also suggested Ps. 139:16. All of a person’s circumstances, opportunities, conduct and failures are recorded in God’s book, and in the Day of Judgment these will all be brought to light and will have a bearing upon the judgment made. Fourth, there will be the Book recording all human thoughts, desires and attitudes, as suggested in Ps. 56:8, for these too will bear upon the judgment. And perhaps there will be even other books that will bear upon the results of both the judgments of saved and unsaved men. All of these books will constitute the Library of Heaven.

The Law is not dead, but alive, and it fulfills its purpose, and will continue to fulfill its purpose even until the day of the Great White Throne Judgment. Then it shall serve as the standard for the last judgment of men where it will serve as the standard for all right and wrong. And every infraction of its laws will be condemned and punished with a befitting penalty.

Law is the basis of judgment, but not the Law alone, for there are at least five elements that enter into the judgment of unsaved men: (1) The demand of the Law. (2) The extent of knowledge of it. (3) The provision of the Gospel. (4) The deeds of the individual. (5) The motivation of the deed. The Law’s demands manifests the fact of sin, while the other four of these have to do with the degree of that sin, but all of them will be brought to bear at the Day of Judgment. However, it will be the Decalog that will be the basis of, and standard for, the judgment of ungodly men, and it will be the Decalog that condemns them to an eternity in hell. The other four elements will determine only the degree of the punishment in hell.

The foregoing thought deals more with the unbeliever than with the believer, but there is another purpose of the Decalog which relates more to the believer, and that is—

There are a number of Scriptures that set forth this fact in no uncertain terms, for obedience is the most evident manifestation of love to God, and by obedience to the Law one shows love to one’s neighbor. Concerning this, A. W. Pink rightly says—

The Christian knows, or should know, that he is not under law, but under grace. Through the atonement of Christ, he is no longer under the condemnation of the broken Law, but this does not license him to sin as he pleases. "For ye are not under the law, but under grace. What then? Shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid," Rom. 6:14-15. Not only is he freed from the condemnation of the Law, but he has become dead to it that he might live unto Christ. The apostle illustrates this truth by likening it to the case of a woman that, so long as her husband lives, is bound by the law to him, but when her husband dies, she is freed from that law, and may marry another. His application of this is, "Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter," Rom. 7:4-6. The whole point of this discourse is that when a person accepts Christ’s atoning death, he immediately ceases to seek justification by the Law, and to all intents becomes dead to it. His obedience of the Law is henceforth no more of that compelled nature wherein he sought justification by it, but he becomes united to Christ in love, and this is the motivation for his keeping the Law. This new motivation causes him to serve in newness of spirit, and not just in the oldness of the letter of the Law.

For the Christian, because of this new motivation, his service to the Lord is acceptable and pleasing in the Lord’s sight. The commandment is still the same, but the new motivation back of keeping it makes it new in practice. John refers to this when he says, "Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning. Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past and the true light now shineth," I John 2:7-8. This is a paradoxical saying, but refers to loving one’s brother as the Lord commanded, as the context reveals.

The Decalog may be summed up in two requirements, to love God supremely, and to love one’s neighbor as one’s self, and the fulfilling of the Law is the manifestation of this love. Scripture says, "Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law," Rom. 13:8-10. "For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself," Gal. 5:14. "If ye fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well," James 2:8.

The Decalog is a standard of conduct to reveal to man what God requires of him, and when a renewed man endeavors to fulfill this code of laws, he manifests his love for the Lord of it. However, it will be a lifelong struggle for the Christian to fulfill the requirements of the Decalog, for while the commandments are not grievous, I John 5:3, yet they are contrary to the carnal mind, which is a natural rebel against the Decalog. "The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be," Rom. 8:7. And therefore a terrible civil war is produced between the two natures in the Christian, which will continue until the death angel sunders soul and body, Rom. 7:22-25.

A terrible civil war? Truly so! Yet may we remember that the endeavor to honor and keep this Law of God manifests love to God and love to man. "By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous," I John 5:2-3. "And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment," I John 3:23.

But not only does the keeping of the Decalog fulfill the Royal Law by loving one’s neighbor, and manifests one’s love to God, but it is also a manifestation that one has been born of God and dwells in Him. "He that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us," I John 3:24. "Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God," I John 4:7. This last verse is another of several proofs that the new birth is the origin and cause of all Christian graces. For "love," like "believeth" in I John 5:1, is a present participle, while "born" in both places is perfect passive (past tense with consequences that go on to the present). Faith and love are the effects of which the new birth is the cause. Proper understanding of this causes us to shout "All glory to God!"

The purposes of the Decalog are manifold, which only goes further to reveal that man could never be justified by the keeping of the Law. However, the Law is good if it is used for its intended purposes, but justification of sinners by their deeds is not one of its intended purposes, and it manifests a decided antagonism against the whole grace system to think so. Almost all "Religion" is manmade, and all such will do its utmost to glorify human effort, even at the cost of robbing God of His glory, and so, it has always taught salvation by the deeds of the Law, to a greater or lesser extent. But Scripture is very clear that on the basis of the grace system, "it is of faith, that it might be by grace," Rom. 4:16. Hence, "Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? Nay: but by the law of faith." Rom. 3:27. "Not of works, lest any man should boast," Eph. 2:9.