Religious people, who live according to a set of rules, can find themselves driven by the want for separation. When the Bible talks about "the law" it is typically talking about the Old Testament with its rules and rituals including the Ten Commandments. But the concept of "the law" goes beyond just keeping the Ten Commandments and the Jewish laws: in its broadest sense it is the concept of effort-and-reward.
My favourite grace preacher, Bertie Brits, says that "the law" can be defined as "by my efforts I will become". So "the law" as spoken of in the Bible is not just a means of being justified in the sight of God -- it is also a means by which a person can make himself acknowledged and respected by other people. "The law" is the concept of effort-and-reward.
In the four Gospels we read about the Pharisees who love to keep religious rules as a means of making themselves look important. In Matt. 6:5-6 Jesus said that the religious people love to pray publicly because it makes them look holy and spiritual. Jesus said that we should pray to God in private and not make it into a public thing. Here is how The Message translation renders verse 5: "And when you come before God, don't turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for stardom! Do you think God sits in a box seat?"
Jesus showed mercy to the woman who was caught in the act of adultery in John 8:10-11. But Jesus was always in conflict with the religious scribes and Pharisees; they were always trying to trick him by asking him awkward questions, like when they asked Him in Matt. 22:15-17, "Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?". Jesus called them "a brood of vipers" in Matt. 3:7.
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