Subscription Lists

“Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” (Romans 3.20).

The specific law under primary consideration is the Law of Moses, but it could include any law which demands perfect law keeping in order to be right in God’s sight. This fact is true because we become guilty by such laws, justification being something that must occur apart from that law. In every dispensation and era man has come up woefully short when he came to depend upon his own goodness to be in good standing with God. All one needs to do to realize this truth is cast his eyes over the landscape of history, especially that which is recorded in the Old Testament. As a nation, Israel was blessed with God’s special providence, but they literally refused to allow Him to care for them spiritually; their pride tripped them up over and over again as they refused to hear God’s word sent especially to them through the prophets.

Paul’s point in the Roman epistle and the verse cited is to show that in the matter of law keeping and justification, the Jews were in the same boat as the Gentiles. While it was the case that for centuries the Jews had deemed themselves better that the Gentiles, the reality of the matter was otherwise; that is Paul’s point! They could boast all they wanted to, but the facts of the matter simply did not support their claims; they were entirely incorrect in their belief that they were a special people who had been blessed with salvation through the Law. That seems to be the precise reason that the Holy Spirit had Paul write, “Therefore by the deeds of the law, no flesh will be justified…” Paul’s affirmation is absolutely universal in the sense that he concluded that any and all who would claim justification under the law were wrong; by the Law NO FLESH WILL BE JUSTIFIED (emphasis mine; jb).

Had Paul stopped here, the plight of humanity would be lamentable indeed! However, the Roman epistle is not about condemnation; it is about salvation through Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit saw fit to not only demonstrate the error that prevailed in many circles, He also found it necessary to reveal the remedy for the malady of sin. As believers, we should not be surprised. The God of the Old Testament is the God of the New Testament and His purposes are consistent in both Testaments. In the shadows of Eden He began to reveal the plan of salvation that had been in His mind from eternity. The Old Testament literally contains hundreds of allusions to the New Covenant and the blessings that would finally come into man’s possession through that covenant. Jesus came to fulfill the Old Law and He did exactly that for which He set foot upon this earth. When He died upon the Cross, He put an end to the Law, not by destroying it, but by fulfilling it; salvation had been God’s plan all along, but the Law could not impart that blessing.

“By the law is the knowledge of sin.” As erring humanity it seems that we would finally learn that we are not sufficient in and of ourselves. Yet, like the generations that have passed before, we continue to struggle with pride and self-deceit. Like the stereotyped male who refuses to ask for directions (and I must admit I am one of those), we humans love to think that we know the way, never bothering to stop and ask the One who really is the Way! God knows us! He knows us because He made us. Pride is but a foolish disguise that fools no one except the one who wears that mask. By the Law is the knowledge of sin if we would but learn that lesson!

Questions:

1. What knowledge ought we to gain from the Law according to Romans 3.20”

2. Consider this verse as it compares to Romans7.13. How does sin come to appear exceedingly sinful?

3. What claim had the Jews historically made which is shattered by Romans 3.20?

4. Is it possible that we can repeat the same or a very similar error today? If yes, how?

"The Way" from Kevin Pauley

A World of One