The Dual Purposes of the Law

"While we are instructing Gods people in the details of the their duty, we may be teaching his enemies the number of their sins." -R.L. Dabney, Lectures on Sacred Rhetoric, pg 62

Simply note the dual purpose of instruction here that Dabney gives to preachers, the law needs to be expounded both to convict, but also to instruct. The point is to be specific when talking about sin. It is not enough simply to tell people they are going to hell but the specific explanation of what they have done wrong and how they have done it needs to be applied as a hammer to their conscience, not just to break but to smash their good deeds. People need to smell the blood on their hands from the murder they have been committing by breaking Gods law. Thankfully we have a high priest who bloodied himself for us. He was numbered for our sins so we did not have to be.