How can we human beings know God? How can we who are sinners have a relationship with God who is holy, righteous and just? Jews would reply that the answer to these questions is the Law of Moses. God entered into a covenant relationship with the Jewish people. Because of the Law they became God’s chosen people.
However, the Apostle Paul points out in his inspired letter to the church at Rome, that it is not merely having the Law of Moses which makes a person right with God. It is also necessary to obey it. If a Jew breaks the Law, his spiritual condition is the same as if he didn’t have the Law at all. The Law demands perfection and once a person sins by breaking it, there is no provision to erase his sin. The system cannot save! Sadly, everyone, whether Jew or non-Jew, those who have the Law and those who do not have it, all of us have violated God’s standards. All of us are sinners in His sight whether we have the Law or not.
This truth is very hard for the Jews to accept. In chapter 3 of his letter, verses 1 through 8, the Apostle Paul answers four objections. He writes, “Then what advantage does the Jew have? Or what is the profit of circumcision? Much in every way! Because first of all, they were entrusted with the oracles of God. For what if some were without faith? Will their lack of faith nullify the faithfulness of God? May it never be! Yes, let God be found true, but every man a liar. As it is written, “That you might be justified in your words, and might prevail when you come into judgment.” But if our unrighteousness commends the righteousness of God, what will we say? Is God unrighteous who inflicts wrath? I speak like men do. May it never be! For then how will God judge the world? For if the truth of God through my lie abounded to his glory, why am I also still judged as a sinner? Why not (as we are slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say), “Let us do evil, that good may come?” Those who say so are justly condemned.”
The first objection that Jews have to the concept that the Law does not save is this: If being a Jew does not make us right with God, then what is the advantage of being a Jew? What is the point of having the Law?
Paul’s answer to these questions is that the Jews were entrusted with the very words of God. Though Paul does not explain here the advantages of having the words of God, there are other Scriptures which do. For example, God’s word gives guidance. Psalm 119, verse 105 says, “Your word in a lamp to my feet and light for my path.” (NIV) God’s word also helps us to understand ourselves. Hebrews 4, verse 12 says, “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (NIV) Most importantly, though the Old Testament Scriptures cannot save us, they give us hope and prepare us for salvation. They point us to Jesus Christ who can save us. Paul wrote to Timothy, “…from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.” (2 Timothy 3:15 NIV)
A second protest those who have the Law make is that God isn’t playing fair. In the Law He gave us a system which is supposed to seal our relationship to God. It is supposed to save us, but it doesn’t. We are condemned by the very system which was supposed to help us.
Paul’s answer to this objection is that it isn’t God’s fault that we are condemned. He is faithful. It is not His fault that we have not kept our part of the agreement. How is He to blame when we have violated what we agreed to do? On the contrary, God would be at fault if He did not keep His word by judging us when we violate our covenant with Him.
A third protest some people make is that God is unjust when He condemns us because our unrighteousness shows how righteous God is by contrast. According to this logic, it is to God’s advantage that we sin. His glorious truth shines all the brighter in comparison to our falsehood.
The answer to this is that God is consistent. If He lets the Jews off because their sin enhances God’s righteousness, then He has no basis to judge anyone else. Conversely, if God is going to hold those who do not have Law accountable for their sin, He must also hold those accountable who do have the Law.
A fourth protest someone might make is that God brings good out of the evil that we do. If God uses our sin in order to accomplish good things, then why does He condemn us for sinning?
The answer, of course, is that ends do not justify means. The objection is very similar to that of those who misunderstand God’s grace. Those who have this misunderstanding say that if we are part of God’s chosen people, sin doesn’t matter because God’s grace will cover it no matter what we do. Some would go so far as to say that it is good for us to sin because God brings good from our sin.
Paul’s answer is that people who think and say things like this deserve the condemnation they receive. No amount of good can justify doing what is wrong. God is righteous and He demands righteousness from us as well.
The Jews of Paul’s day thought that having the Law made them right with God. There are many people today who have the same attitude. They think that they are pleasing to God because they belong to the church. Or, they think that because they are a member of a particular denomination, they can do whatever they like and God will still accept them. However, this is not the case. Righteousness does not come from an outward affiliation, but from keeping God’s standards. Peter writes, “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”” (1 Peter 1:15-16 NIV)