Paul says the law is good if it is used lawfully, and that it is laid down not for the just but for the lawless and disobedient. He lists examples of sins it addresses and ties this to sound doctrine and the gospel. See 1 Timothy 1:8–11.
In 1 Timothy 1:8–11, Paul says the law is genuinely good, but only when it is used in the right way. He argues that it is not aimed at people who already live rightly; it targets those whose lives are openly disorderly and harmful. This unit continues Paul’s opening charge to Timothy to confront alternative teaching in the Ephesian setting (1:3–7).
Paul’s point begins with agreement: “the law” is good (verse 8). The problem is not the law itself but using it in a way that matches its purpose. In this passage, the law’s right use supports “sound teaching” by identifying and resisting conduct that damages people and communities (verses 9–10).
A careful answer keeps the immediate passage, the book's argument, and the whole-Bible storyline together, so the question is answered in context instead of as a detached idea.
Start with 1 Timothy 1:8-11, then read the surrounding section so the answer stays connected to the passage's flow.
8But we know that the law is good, if a man uses it lawfully,
9as knowing this, that law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,
10for the sexually immoral, for homosexuals, for slave-traders, for liars, for perjurers, and for any other thing contrary to the sound doctrine;
11according to the gospel of the glory of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.