Romans 3:20
20 Therefore [dioti] by [ek] the deeds [ergon] of the
law [nomos] there shall [dikaioo] no [pas] [ou] flesh [sarx] be justified [dikaioo] in his [autos] sight [enopion]: for [gar] by [dia] the law [nomos] is the
knowledge [epignosis] of sin [hamartia].KJV-Interlinear
20 For
by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since
through the law comes knowledge of sin. ESV
The Law is a rule of conduct, mental, physical, moral
and such, as prescribed by a higher authority.
In other words, the Law, which Moses wrote out a long time ago, set
forth a standard of perfection, which in itself, made it quite clear, that no
person is capable of keeping.
To keep the Law would make a person in effect equal or
on the same level of perfection as God, who is perfect.
And in order to have a relationship with God, a person
has to possess that same level of perfection, otherwise, no relationship is
possible. The perfect cannot relate to
the imperfect.
So, if we are imperfect and incapable of attaining
perfection, then how can we possibly achieve any relationship with God?
And the answer is of course, we need someone who is
perfect, as well as someone who is already on the same level as God, to step in
and take our place, and help us get to that perfect level.
The person is of course Jesus Christ.
But that concept is not addressed in this verse.
What we learn here is that the Law gives us the
necessary information so that we can learn of our flaws. And once we know our
weaknesses, then we can learn of what we need, namely a savior.
The imperfect, has no future, no eternal life. So we need eternal life in order to have a
future. Otherwise we are delegated into
oblivion forever.
So, God set out a plan by which He would do what was
necessary to save us, and also by giving each person the choice as to whether
they want the benefits of that work. We
believe in Christ and that is our acceptance of His work.
In so believing in Him, we reject our works, we reject
our efforts to rise to Gods level on our own.
The Law is the standard that indicates that we are
weak and need help.
This world is ruthless and in order to get by, people
have to resort to lying cheating, compromising their morals, just to survive.
Some people do this because they are evil. But most folks are not bad per se, but just
have no choice in the matter, and circumstances drive the behavior.
But in Christ, we have an out, from this world, and a
better future.
Therefore, do not fix your attention on your flaws, do
not try to substitute your efforts and morals in place of Gods work and grace,
and instead, conduct yourself in a daily study, learn doctrine and grow up in
grace and in so doing you will replace the standards of this world, with the
standards of God, namely the spiritual resources of the spiritual life.
