Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. (Gal 3:24)
The law of God was a schoolmaster that drove us to Christ. The moral law has taken prisoner all of Adam’s offspring. The accusations of the law bind us and bring to light the exceeding sinfulness of our sin. Properly speaking the law is a mirror that allows us to see ourselves more truthfully in light of God’s perfections.
The law of God is the prosecuting attorney that continues to plead for the death penalty due to our sinfulness (Romans 6:23). As our self-righteousness becomes apparent the sinner is brought face to face with his condition before a Thrice Holy God in which there exists perfect Holiness.
This is not to say that the sinner by virtue of his natural faculties will turn to God after facing the law’s indictment. The sinner is a cosmic criminal that will flee from the law of God storing up more wrath for himself unless by God’s grace he is converted by the Holy Spirit. Understanding our captivity brings into sharper focus the Torah reading that our Lord Jesus fulfilled in his hearers’ ears:
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
(Isa 61:1)