The Moral Law for All People, Seeing Our Need for Christ: WLC Question 95

In the previous question, the Westminster Larger Catechism taught that the moral law is still important, even though no one can attain righteousness and life by keeping it. The distinction is essential. The moral law cannot save us, but that does not make it useless. It cannot justify sinners before God, but it still reveals God’s holiness, exposes our sin, restrains evil, points us to Christ, and teaches believers how to walk in thankful obedience.

Where question 94 gave us an overview, question 95 begins to dig a little deeper. Before considering how the moral law applies specifically to unbelievers or believers, we first need to see how it speaks to all people.

Question 95 asks, “What is the use of the moral law to all people?” It then answers,

“The moral law is of use to all men to inform them of the holy nature and the will of God and of their duty, binding them to walk accordingly; and to convince them of their inability to keep it and of the sinful pollution of their nature, hearts, and lives. This can humble them in the sense of their sin and misery and thus help them to a clearer sight of the need they have of Christ and of the perfection of his obedience.”

The moral law is useful for all people because it reveals who God is, what God requires, what sin has done to us, and why we so desperately need Jesus Christ.

The Moral Law Reveals God’s Holy Nature

The first use of the moral law for all people is that it teaches us about God himself. God’s law flows from God’s character. Because God is holy, his law is holy. Because God is righteous, his commands are righteous. Because God is good, his will is good.

In Leviticus 11:44–45, the Lord says, “Be holy, for I am holy.” Again, in Leviticus 20:7–8, God calls his people to consecrate themselves and keep his statutes because he is the Lord who sanctifies them. The law does not begin with man. It begins with God. It shows us the moral purity and perfection of the One who made us.

This is why Paul says in Romans 7:12, “The law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.” The problem is not with the law. The problem is with us. God’s law is not harsh, evil, or defective. It is a true reflection of his holy nature.

The Moral Law Shows God’s Will and Our Duty

The moral law for all people also reveals God’s will for human life. It teaches us what we owe to God and to our neighbor. It shows us how we were created to live.

Micah 6:8 says, “He has told you, O man, what is good.” God requires that we “do justice, and love kindness, and walk humbly” with him. The moral law is not something obscure. The Lord has not left us without a standard of what is good, right, and pleasing to him.

This means God’s law binds all people. It is not merely advice. It is the righteous standard of the Creator over his creatures. Every person owes God worship, obedience, love, reverence, and trust. Every person owes his neighbor truth, justice, mercy, purity, and love.

This also helps us understand why sin is so serious. Sin is not merely breaking an impersonal rule. Sin is rebellion against the will of the living God. When we disobey God’s law, we are refusing the good and holy will of the One who made us.

The Moral Law Exposes Our Sin and Inability

The moral law for all people does more than simply teach us what is right. It also exposes what is wrong within us. Romans 3:20 says, “Through the law comes knowledge of sin.” Romans 7:7 says, “If it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin.”

The law acts like a mirror. A mirror does not create the dirt on a man’s face, but it reveals what is already there. In the same way, the law does not make us sinners, but it shows us that we are sinners.

This is painful, but necessary. We want to minimize sin. We compare ourselves to others. We excuse pride, envy, selfishness, anger, lust, unbelief, and coldness toward God. But the moral law strips away our excuses. Psalm 19:11–12 says that by God’s rules “is your servant warned,” and then asks, “Who can discern his errors?” The better we understand God’s law, the more clearly we will see that our sin runs deeper than we first imagined.

The moral law also convinces us of our inability to keep it. Many people think they can be right with God by being sincere, trying hard, or doing more good than bad. But the law does not grade on a curve. James 2:10–11 says that whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. One sin is enough to make us lawbreakers before a holy God.

Romans 3:9 says that all are under sin, and Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” The verdict is universal. No one naturally stands before God as righteous. No one has loved God perfectly. No one has loved his neighbor perfectly.

This does not mean the law has failed. Galatians 3:21–22 teaches that the law was never given to sinners as a way to earn life through obedience. Rather, Scripture shows that all are imprisoned by sin so that the promise, through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.

The law shuts our mouths. It removes boasting. It teaches us that we cannot save ourselves.

The Moral Law Humbles Us and Points Us to Christ

This humbling is a mercy. The moral law shows us our sin and misery so that we stop pretending we are well. It is the doctor who tells his patient that he is dying so that a change can be made. A proud man does not see his need for Christ. A self-righteous man does not hunger for grace. But when the law shows us God’s holiness and our sinfulness, we begin to see ourselves rightly. We are humbled. We recognize that our problem is not merely that we need improvement. We need redemption.

This is where the Catechism leads us. The moral law gives us “a clearer sight of the need” we have of Christ and “of the perfection of his obedience.” Romans 10:4 says, “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”

Christ is the One to whom the law points. He obeyed where we disobeyed. He loved the Father perfectly. He loved his neighbor perfectly. He fulfilled all righteousness. The law shows us what righteousness requires. The gospel shows us where that righteousness is found.

For sinners who trust in him, Christ’s perfect obedience is counted as ours. His death pays the penalty for our lawbreaking. His righteousness covers our unrighteousness. His grace does what the law could never do for sinners: it saves.

The Moral Law Is a Gift of Grace

The moral law is not opposed to the gospel. Rightly understood, it prepares us to see the beauty of the gospel more clearly. It reveals the holy nature of God. It teaches us God's will. It exposes our sin. It humbles our pride. And it points us away from ourselves to Jesus Christ.

So we should not run from God’s law as though it were bad. We should let it correct our false confidence. We should let it uncover our need. And then, with humbled hearts, we should look to Christ.

The law says, “You shall be holy.” The gospel says, “Christ is your righteousness.” The law shows us our guilt. The gospel shows us our Savior. And every sinner who has been humbled by the law is invited to find rest, forgiveness, and perfect righteousness in him.

Soli Doe Gloria