📖 Biblical Definition
The Law in Scripture is primarily God's revealed will — His instructions for how image-bearers are to live in covenant relationship with Him and one another. It is not a ladder to earn salvation but a mirror revealing sin (Romans 3:20), a tutor leading to Christ (Galatians 3:24), and a delight for the regenerate heart (Psalm 119:97). Scripture distinguishes ceremonial law (fulfilled in Christ), civil law (given for Israel's national life), and moral law (binding universal expression of God's character — summarized in the Ten Commandments and the Two Great Commandments). Christ did not abolish the law but fulfilled it (Matthew 5:17).
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
LAW, n.
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LAW, n. 1. A rule, particularly an established or permanent rule, prescribed by the supreme power of a state to its subjects, for regulating their actions, particularly their social actions. 2. Municipal law, is a rule of civil conduct prescribed by the supreme power of a state. 3. The word of God; the doctrines and precepts of God, or his revealed will. 4. The Levitical or Mosaic code, or system of commands and ceremonies. 5. A rule of order or sequence established in nature.
📖 Key Scripture
• Psalm 119:97 — "Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day."
• Romans 3:20 — "For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin."
• Matthew 5:17 — "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them."
• Galatians 3:24 — "So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith."
• Romans 7:12 — "So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Two opposite errors corrupt the biblical understanding of law.
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Two opposite errors corrupt the biblical understanding of law. First, legalism — treating law as the basis for acceptance before God, reducing Christianity to moral performance. Second, antinomianism — dismissing God's law as irrelevant to the believer, treating grace as a license for any behavior. Modern progressive theology often collapses into antinomianism, framing all moral standards as oppressive impositions. The biblical balance is that law is good, holy, and just (Romans 7:12), fulfilled by Christ on our behalf, and now written on the heart of every true believer (Jeremiah 31:33).
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
H8451 — tôrāh (תּוֹרָה): law, instruction, direction; the five books of Moses, and by extension all divine instruction.
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H8451 — tôrāh (תּוֹרָה): law, instruction, direction; the five books of Moses, and by extension all divine instruction. Often rendered "Torah."
G3551 — nomos (νόμος): law; used for Mosaic law, Roman law, and principles of moral order. Central to Paul's theology in Romans and Galatians.
H2706 — chōq (חֹק): statute, ordinance, decree — a specific type of law often referring to fixed divine regulations.
Usage
• "The law does not save; it slays. It exposes sin, renders us guilty, and drives us to the only Savior who met its full demands on our behalf."
• "To love God is to love His law — not as a burden but as wisdom. The psalmist meditated on it day and night not from duty but delight."
• "Grace does not negate law; it fulfills it. The Spirit writes it on the heart of every believer so that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us (Romans 8:4)."