¹⁸ For, on the one hand, there is a setting aside of a former commandment because of its weakness and uselessness ¹⁹(for the Law made nothing perfect) ….

What has been hinted at, even suggested before, is now unambiguously laid out in plain sight. The Law is weak and useless! What a startling assertion in light of the high value God placed on it. How could anything God has given be described in that way? Taken by itself without any larger context, this would be problematic.

Too many in a cavalier fashion lift single verses out of the larger context of Scripture and place them at the front of every related conversation in such a way as to bias the discussion thereafter. We must balance this verse with others that say, for example, “The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes” (Ps 19:7–8). And, “So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good” (Rom 7:12, see Rom 7:16, 1 Tim 1:8).

However, the Law’s positive nature is contingent, in the sense that the experience of the Law as positive depends on one’s relationship to it. “But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully” (1 Ti 1:8), Paul says. The implication is that if one does not use the Law lawfully, as it were, then he would experience the Law as not-so-good. From the higher perspectives, the Law is holy, righteous and good. It would be like a bike rider pedaling with the wind or against the wind. In one case the biker experiences the good effect of the wind in aiding his travel, but in the other he experiences the bad effect of the wind in resisting his travel. The wind was constant.

So, too, the Law is constantly good because it reflects the unchanging holiness of the Lord. But if one tries to use the Law in an unlawful way, that is, in a way the Law was not intended for use, then the Law is anemic and impotent. In the context of the book of Hebrews, believers in Christ who go back to the Law of Moses in an effort to gain perfection before God are sadly and tragically mistaken. Other Scripture concurs, “… by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin … for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Ro 3:20-23). Praise God, there is another, perfect way, and that is through Christ, our new High Priest, who was both the eternal Sacrificer and the sacrifice for our sins! Why would any who know the truth of Christ, ever want to go back to the Law?

Lord, I am overwhelmed at Your impeccable solution for our redemption. The Law brought awareness of sin, but Your grace has brought redemption.