Why was the law given if salvation is by faith?

The law serves multiple purposes, primarily to make transgression known and to lead us to Christ (Galatians 3:24). By highlighting our inability to keep the law, it shows us our desperate need for salvation—not through our own works, but through faith in Christ. Romans 3:20 states that by the law is the knowledge of sin, illustrating that the law functions to confirm our guilt and draw us to the grace available in Jesus. Thus, while salvation is indeed through faith, the law is also integral in preparing our hearts for that saving faith.