In the previous verse, Paul talked about those who were under the law - condemned. Now, he elaborates a little on the law itself. We need to remember that the "law" can refer to the written laws in the Old Testament given to the children of Israel (including the 10 commandments), and the moral law written on our hearts and detailed throughout the New Testament.
The sole purpose of any "law" given to us by God is to reveal His character, who He is.
In verse 20, there are some very important facts that Paul writes about the law:
1. The law cannot save, but brings knowledge needed in order to be saved.
2. The law is not about doing, but about knowing.
We will apply these to the verse as we break it down.
For by works of the law no human being will be justified in His sight
In verse 19, Paul told us that we will all be held accountable to God. We saw that this is a serious tragedy for anyone who is still under the condemnation of the law, not covered and set free by the blood of Christ. Now, Paul describes two things about this law that all sinners are under:
1. The law cannot justify - it is not possible for us to be saved through the law, through doing things.
This is because the law must be satisfied perfectly, we must measure up to God's standards, according to His character, in order to satisfy the law. The only one that did this was Jesus Christ. By the mercy and grace of an all-loving God, this standard has been met on our behalf as a gift to us - so that we don't have depend on our works to experience justification!
Any attempt to pay God back for His gift, given in pure grace, is disrespectful and sinful.
2. This law cannot be satisfied by works, we cannot do anything that will set us free from being under the law - condemned. The law is not about doing anything.
The definition of "works" (also translated "deeds") is also important to note:
to work; toil (as an effort or occupation); by implication an act: - deed, doing, labor, work.
When Paul says that "works" cannot satisfy the law, he encompasses every aspect of the word. No effort put forth by us, no doing, no act at all can do anything to free us from the condemnation of the law.
If the purpose of the law is to reveal who God is, we should humbly realize that nothing we can do will actually be of any worth when compared to our perfect and holy God.
There are many other verses throughout Scripture that accompany and verify this fact about works:
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Eph 2:8,9
Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. Romans 3:27
Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, Romans 9:32
But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace. Romans 11:6
yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. Gal 2:16
who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began 2 Tim 1:9
he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit Titus 3:5
Attempting to satisfy the law, or be justified by doing things that the law commands, is to attempt to measure up to the character of God. Not only is this impossible, but also a very sinful thing - driven by pride and selfishness, refusing to accept the fact that:
We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. Isa 64:6
since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
Now that we see what the law cannot do - it cannot provide justification for us, due to the fact that it cannot be satisfied by our works, or effort - we can see what the law does do.
The law provides knowledge. Through the law (God's perfect character revealed), we become knowledgeable about God's pure righteousness and our sinful unrighteousness.
So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.
Gal 3:24
"Guardian" is also translated schoolmaster, and refers to an instructor, also a servant who took the children to school.
This sheds light on the purpose of the law. God did not reveal who He is by giving us laws and commands throughout the Bible so that we could attempt to be justified by keeping these commands. He revealed who He is throughout the Bible so that our pride would crumble, so that we would humbly realize it is impossible to live perfectly according to God's standards.
In this way, the law is an instructor, a schoolmaster guiding us to see our desperate need for someone who can satisfy the law, who can live up to the perfect standard of God, on our behalf. That someone is Jesus Christ, and His satisfaction of the law is complete and deposited on behalf of all those who trust in His blood alone as the perfect and finished work.
If God had not revealed Himself through the laws and commands, we would not truly know who He is, we would never see how sinful we are in our inability to even begin to live by His standards, and we would never be broken over our need for a Savior.
While it cannot provide salvation, the law is an important for salvation. We need this knowledge in order to be broken over our sin, to be driven to repentance, to cling to the blood of Christ, and to live a life of thankfulness for God's grace and mercy.
For the Christian, we need to immerse ourselves in the Bible - opening our hearts and minds so that we can have a correct understanding of who God is, based on His inspired Word alone. Through this He will reveal our sin to us in light of who He is. He will strengthen us to die to ourselves - leaving these sins behind as we draw close to Him.
For those who have not yet accepted Christ, you continue to be under the condemnation of the law. You will be judged according to the perfect character of God, and will fall horribly short. You cannot experience a relationship with Him now, without trusting in the blood of His Son for forgiveness, and you will never be able to experience a relationship with Him if you die without His Son as your Savior.
Apart from Christ, we are all under sin, we are all under the condemnation of the law - none of us measure up to God's character. He is selfless, perfect and holy, full of grace, mercy, and love - and He desires a relationship with every single one of us!
Next Post: 3.2.13
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