“Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.” Romans 3:19–20
A few months ago, my wife and I noticed a nickel-sized discoloration on my 3-year-old daughter’s cheek. At first, we thought it was probably one of those normal bumps and bruises that kids get from, well, being kids. However, after a few weeks of the discoloration not going away, we took her to a doctor to find out exactly what the problem was. This was very scary for us as parents. It is hard to not imagine all sorts of worst-case scenarios. (I’m happy to report that it wasn’t too serious of a problem, just a bacterial infection that required some antibiotics and a small operation.) However, if we hadn’t found out what the problem was, we wouldn’t have known what the appropriate cure would be.
Morally speaking, everyone likes to think that they’re a pretty good person. “Of course nobody’s perfect,” they might admit, but do they really know the depth of the problem? What if what looks like a small moral failure is actually evidence of something much more serious?
“So that every mouth may be stopped.” This striking line from Paul is, in essence, saying that a true look into the law of God should make each and every one of us catch our breath, put our hand over our mouth, and shut up about our own righteousness. The most morally pure among us still fall so far short of God’s perfection that they are deserving of hell and the wrath of God. Paul reminds us that the whole world will be “held accountable to God.” God sees everything—every sinful thought, every false motive, every wicked desire. Nobody can escape from the piercing gaze of God’s perfect law.
It may sound strange to some, but this knowledge of our sinfulness is actually a good thing. When we see our sin clearly, it is an opportunity to run to God and receive grace. Instead of seeing our sin and trying to cover it, or make excuses for it, or say “nobody’s perfect,” we can instead bring all of our mess to the foot of the cross. Christ died and rose again so that we could be cured of our sin disease. The law is a diagnostic tool to help us see the problem. The grace of God is the cure!
“Grace doesn’t remove God’s command to obey. No, grace forgives your disobedience and empowers you to desire and do God’s will.”
