In seeking to please God and be declared righteous in His sight, we discover the law, and the many times God has commanded that we obey it. Romans 2:13 tells us that those who obey the law will be declared righteous, and in 1 Timothy 1:8 - "We know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully." We think we have found the answer. All we have to do is obey the law to the best of our ability and we will be all right.
But if we study further, we find cause for concern.
"The righteous man leads a blameless life." (Proverbs 20:7)
"Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to the left." (Joshua 23:6)
"Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments…will be called least in the kingdom of heaven…For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5:19,20)
We find that the Pharisees were a religious group who set great store by obeying the law and hedged it about with rules and regulations covering minute details. Becoming righteous in the sight of God begins to look extremely difficult, even impossible. We must try very hard not to break any of the commandments.
We soon find this impossible because our natural tendency is to sin.
"But I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members." (Romans 7:23)
And we learn that all men are sinful because of the fall of Adam.
"Therefore just as sin entered the world by one man and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned." (Romans 5:12)
"Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me." (Psalms 51:5)
So how on earth are we to obey the law when our very nature is against it? Our confusion is complete when we read James 2:10:
"Whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it."
What then is the purpose of the law if no one can possibly obey it? Paul explained it to the Romans.
"Through the law we become conscious of sin." (Romans 3:20)
"I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said 'Do not covet.'" (Romans 7:7)
If there were no laws we would never know that we were doing wrong. God wants us to be reconciled to Him even more than we do, but we must be pure and holy first.
"Here we stand before you in our guilt, though because of it not one of us can stand in your presence." (Ezra 9:15)
And how can we be cleansed unless we first become aware of our filthiness? We have to realize, through the law, that because of sin we are dead.
"Once I was alive apart from the law. But when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death." (Romans 7:9-11)
So we become aware of our condition, and our inability to be declared righteous before God through our own efforts. We need to seek further to find the way. Then John says that Jesus told the people:
"I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life." (John 5:24).
And Paul told the Romans:
"That if you confess with your mouth 'Jesus is Lord', and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9).
Just believe and you will be saved. Surely that cannot be all? What about the requirement that we obey the law?
"For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering…in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us." (Romans 8:3,4)
"…He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross." (Colossians 2:13-14)
This is an amazing concept, to find that because of Christ the law no longer has a hold over us. It is difficult to grasp. Ephesians 2:15 tells us that Christ has saved us "by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations."
"The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God." (Hebrews 7:18,19)
And we do find hope rising within us that this truly is the way to draw near to God. But still we find it hard to shake off the belief that you must surely have to do something.
"The work of God is this: to believe in the one He has sent." (John 6:29)
And we find that the Israelites had the same problem, but could not resolve it.
"What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith, but Israel who pursued a law of righteousness has not attained it. Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works…Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes." (Romans 9:30-32; 10:3,4)
Hope grows in our heart and we feel the working of the Holy Spirit bringing us to Christ. Paul asks us:
"Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? Does God give you His Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law or because you believe what you heard? Clearly no-one is justified before God by the law, because, 'The righteous will live by faith.' Before faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law." (Galatians 3:2,3,5,11,23-25).
Hope gives birth to faith and we declare "I believe Jesus is Lord! I give myself to him and know I am saved!" At last we know that we are declared righteous before God
"not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ - the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith." (Philippians 3:9)
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