What did the Apostle mean when he wrote that the Law of God is not made for the righteous man, but instead for the lawless and the disobedient?
1 Timothy 1:8 - 10 KJV
8 But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully;
9 Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man,
but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for
sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and
murderers of mothers, for manslayers,
10 For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind,
for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there
be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;
Illustration:
During the recent pandemic lockdown, the government's constant reminder, and continual enforcement of Standard Operations Procedures, which some people view as too petty, rigid and even unnecessary, is because there are among us many who do not take precautions to maintain social distance, and to take precautions on their own. These are the people who, unless they are restrained by SOPs, would throw caution to the wind and cause infections to continue to spread without control.
Thus, one can say that the SOP is not made for the "righteous" people among us who spontaneously take social distance precautions, but instead, they are made for those "disobedient" people who are reckless and obstinate, who observe SOPs only on pain of being fined or charged in court.
In the same way, we can also say that the Law of Moses, while being "holy, just, and good" (Romans 7:12), is similarly made for those who are breakers and offenders of the Law, for those who are lawless, ungodly, and unholy, that they may be judged for their disobedience.
Romans 7:12 KJV
Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.
