In the previous verse, Paul let’s us know that we’re fools to pursue any sort of self-salvation project. If that’s the path we choose, we need to understand the requirements.
God requires perfect and complete obedience if we decide to use His law to seek salvation. Follow all or face the consequences.
In verse 11, the apostle tells us the results of those who have tried following and obeying the law to save themselves. “Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law” (v11). No one. Nobody. Zip. Zilch. Zero.
God’s requirements are too high, too stiff, too difficult, too overwhelming. There’s not one person who’s beaten the system. Many have tried. Many still do.
The Pharisees are a perfect example. There are still many Christians and Jews who try it today. You know how many are successful? “No one is justified before God by the law” (v11). God has pitched a perfect game. And He always will.
So what’s the purpose behind the law? If God didn’t give it to us to save us, what’s His reason? God has graciously given us His law in order for us to realize our desperate need for Him.
When we hold the mirror of His righteous requirements up to our less-than-holy lives, we immediately understand our dire need for a Savior.
So the law is best understood as a diagnostic tool. It is a spiritual MRI. A divine CT scan. A supernatural ultrasound. It doesn’t heal anybody. It doesn’t cure anything. It only reveals our disease and helps diagnose our brokenness.
In the second half of verse 11, Paul gives us the therapy. “The righteous shall live by faith” (v11). In other words, he let’s us know that the remedy for our sin sickness is simply placing our faith in Jesus. He’s the ONLY ONE who was able to obey God’s law.
He did it because He is God. He did it because He is the Son. He did it because He is filled by the Spirit. Lived a perfect life. Died the perfect death. In our place. On our behalf. When we place our faith and trust in Him, we receive the right standing God requires (2Cor 5:21).
You might think that this is an idea exclusive to the New Testament. But Paul quotes OT prophet Habakkuk to make his point. “The righteous shall live by faith” (Hab 2:4). The minor prophet drops some major truth.
The doctrine of justification by faith isn’t a NT idea, it’s a biblical idea. It goes all the way back to the beginning. Remember that Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness” (Gen 15:6; Gal 3:6). This is THE Big Story of the Bible.
We all need a Savior. And the only way we are made right is when we trust in Him to save us. In the NT. In the OT. In the 21st Century. It doesn’t matter.
Just like an MRI, x-ray, ultrasound, or CT scan can’t heal us, the law can only diagnose. There is one cure. There is one remedy. There is only one prescription. Faith in Jesus. The Good News is the Great Physician is ready to heal you.
©2012
Jay Jennings
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