"Therefore no one will be declared righteous in His sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin."
-----Romans 3:20
Paul will work around this concept throughout the book of Romans. The belief that faith is what make us right with God is revolutionary to the church of his time. A common line of reasoning against Christianity is that it leads to lawlessness and that people can not live in that kind of system. Paul explains here what the role of the law is in our lives. Let's use a sports illustration (I am sure I am borrowing this illustration from someone):
If you are playing a football game the goal is to put more points on the board than your competition. The only way to get points is to score a touchdown, a field goal or a safety. Get none of these done by the end of the game and you still have a score of 0. But what if you did not get any penalties (offsides, false start, holding, kicking, biting, scratching, etc.) Shouldn't you get some points for that? Nope, that is not how the game is played.
By not getting any penalties you have a better chance of getting down the field and scoring points because of a lack of hindrances or set backs.
The same applies in our lives. The law makes us aware of how we are to live a life in pursuit of God with as little set backs as possible. There is no saving power in the law. Our relationship with God is about the heart and where we place our trust.
"Father, thank You for making everything glorious."
Heart and Soul,
BAG
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