The law cannot change you (v. 14). The character of the law is described in four words: holy, just, good, and spiritual. That the law is holy and just, nobody can deny, because it came from the holy God who is perfectly just in all that He says and does. The law is good. It reveals God’s holiness to us and helps us to see our need for a Savior.

What does it mean that the law is “spiritual”? It means that the law deals with the inner man, the spiritual part of man, as well as with the outer actions. In the original giving of the law in Exodus, the emphasis was on the outward actions. But when Moses restated the law in Deuteronomy, he emphasized the inner quality of the law as it relates to man’s heart. This spiritual emphasis is stated clearly in Deuteronomy 10:12-13. The repetition of the word love in Deuteronomy also shows that the deeper interpretation of the law relates to the inner man (Deut. 4:37; 6:4-6; 10:12; 11:1; 30:6, 16, 20).

Our nature is carnal (fleshly), but the law’s nature is spiritual. This explains why the old nature responds as it does to the law. It has well been said, “The old nature knows no law, the new nature needs no law.” The law cannot transform the old nature; it can only reveal how sinful that old nature is. The believer who tries to live under law will only activate the old nature; he will not eradicate it.