My little brother, Rick, pouted as I rode my 24” Huffy bicycle around the front yard. It wasn't new but it was new to me. Dad bought it at a bicycle junkyard on his way home from work one summer day.
I tried to let Rick ride the bike, too. Unfortunately, his legs were too short to reach the pedals. After several attempts of letting me push him around the yard while he sat awkwardly on the seat holding the handlebars, he ran inside the house crying.
Dad stopped off at the bicycle junkyard the next day. This time he bought a tiny bicycle that had solid rubber “bone shaker” tires and “training wheels.” Rick fell in love with his new bike immediately as he rode it up and down the driveway.
There was a problem, though. The bike's training wheels would not allow him to drive anywhere but on a smooth concrete driveway. Every attempt to follow me through the grass, gravel roads or even the street resulted in a painful crash. His driving world remained restricted to our driveway.
In time, Rick learned the principles of riding a bike without crashing. Dad traded in Rick's bike with training wheels for a regular bike without them. That is when our great bicycle adventures began! We began traveling everywhere we could imagine. Freedom was so sweet!
Living under the Law was like riding a bike with training wheels. It served several purposes until God's children learned the principles of righteousness and holiness.
First, the Law revealed how “utterly sinful” sin really is. “But in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it [the Law] produced death in me through what was good, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful” (Romans 7:13).
First, the Law revealed how “utterly sinful” sin really is. “But in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it [the Law] produced death in me through what was good, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful” (Romans 7:13).
Second, the Law was intended for the rebels not the righteous. “We know that the Law is good if one uses it properly. We also know that Law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious; for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for adulterers and perverts, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me” (1 Timothy 1:8-11).
Finally, the Law revealed spiritual realities through its commandments and physical rituals. “The Law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves” (Hebrews 10:1).
Jesus now calls us to live by His grace through our faith. He has removed the training wheels of the Law for us. Today, Jesus “Himself is our peace . . . by abolishing in his flesh the Law with its commandments and regulations” (Ephesians 2:14). Now we must move beyond mere law keeping and pursue Jesus in the grand adventure of His grace! Freedom is sweet!
By Jim Morris