WHAT THE LAW COULD NOT DO Pastor Art Watkins of Coden Bible Church (Coden, Alabama) January 12, 2018 Romans 8:3-4: For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. These verses say, what the law could not do. The Jews and especially the Pharisees in Paul’s day assumed the law could do many things that it could not do and was never intended to do. There are many people today who assume the law did things that it could not do. They actually agree with the Pharisees. But there were many things that the law could not do in the past and cannot do today. And these are not minor issues. They pertain to salvation and eternal life. ****The Law Could Not And Cannot Justify Sinners**** Romans 3:19-20: Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. Galatians 2:16: Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. Keeping the law and its ordinances could not in the past and cannot justify a sinner today in the sight of God. Justification is a judicial act by which the guilty person is cleared from the guilt of his crimes or sins. In the Bible, it means being cleared from the guilt of sins and crimes by the death of another. No one can be justified or cleared from the guilt of their crimes and sins unless someone pays for their crimes and sins. And the only payment God will accept for sin is death. And the death of the animal sacrifices under the Law could not justify sinners. If they did, then the death of Christ would have been unnecessary. Galatians 2:21: I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. If the animal sacrifices of the Law could justify sinners, then Christ’s death was unnecessary and in vain. ****The Law Could Not And Cannot Give Men Eternal Life**** Galatians 3:21: Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. What Paul is saying is that as good as the Law was it could not give anyone eternal life. No one gained eternal life in the past by keeping the law and no one today can gain eternal life by keeping the law. If they could, then righteousness and justification should have been by the law. The fact that no one could or can be justified or made righteous by the law, then no one could or can receive eternal life by keeping the law. If it could not justify a sinner, then surely it cannot give eternal life to him. ****The Law Could Not And Cannot Take Away Sins Forever**** Hebrews 10:3-4: But in those sacrifices (animal) there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. Hebrews 10:11: And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: The animal sacrifices offered under the law could not take away sin forever. It was not possible. This is why no one could or can be justified and cleared from the guilt of all sin forever by the law. This is why the law could not give eternal life. The sacrifices of the law were not adequate to justify sinners or give eternal life. Hebrews 8:7-8 says: For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. The Law had a number of faults and that is why God made a second covenant to take the place of the first. The main fault of the law was in the animal sacrifices offered for sin. ----1 They were not the same nature of those who sinned. ----2 They were not sufficient enough or valuable enough or powerful enough to make atonement for the sins and crimes committed against a holy God. ----3 The animals offered under the law did not consent or willingly offer themselves in the place of the sinner. The atoning sacrifice had to be capable of consenting and willingly substituting itself in the place of the sinner. If the law could not take away sin or justify sinners or give eternal life, then how were men saved under the law? The answer is by the same way Abraham was before the law. Romans 4:1-4; What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. Abraham was justified by faith alone in the promise God made to him 430 years before the law was given to Moses and so were all those who followed in the steps of Abraham. (See Romans 4:9-12) ****The Law Did Not Change The Promise**** Galatians 3:13-18: Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham (Gal. 3:7) might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto. Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise. Concerning these verses Albert Barnes says: God cannot have two ways of justifying and saving people; and if he revealed a mode to Abraham, and that mode was by faith, then it could not be by the observance of the Law which was given so long after. The main design of the argument and the illustration here is to show that the promise made to Abraham was by no means made void by the giving of the Law. The Law had another design, which did not interfere with the promise made to Abraham. That stood on its own merits, irrespective of the demands and the design of the Law. The way Paul wrote these words in Galatians 3 about Abraham and the law indicates someone was objecting to what Paul said. The objection may have been that there were important acts of legislation which succeeded the promise made to Abraham, and that the promise must have been superseded by the giving of the Law. To this he replies that the Mosaic Law given at a late period could not take away or nullify a solemn promise made to Abraham, but that it was intended for a different purpose. The law that came after the promise did not disannul or replace the promise God made to Abraham. The promise remained in effect under the law and is still in effect today. ****The Purpose Of The Law**** If the law did not disannul the promise made to Abraham, then what was the purpose of the law? Paul answers that question in Galatians 3:19-26; Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. The law was added or given because of transgressions; That is, the law was given to show the true nature of sin and transgressions or to show what sin was. It was not given to reveal another way of justification, because there was already a way of justification given to Abraham 430 years before the law. It was given to reveal sin and to deter people from sin and to declare its penalty and to convince people of it and to prepare them for the coming of Christ who would die for sin and forgive it once for all. And once the seed who is Christ showed up he put an end to the law. Romans 10:4 say: For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. The law was added and it was ended. It had a beginning and an end. It began with Moses and it ended with Christ. It served its purpose and it still does as far as being a schoolmaster to bring men to Christ and to define what sin is. Galatians 3:24-26: Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. The law was not given to justify sinners or give men eternal life. It was added to bring men to Christ to be justified by his death and shed blood and for them to receive eternal life from him. If the law could justify sinners and give them eternal life then Christ died in vain. There was a way for men to be justified before the law and to receive eternal life and it’s the way Abraham was justified in Genesis 15:8 according to Paul in Romans 4:1-4. It’s the same way we are today; by faith alone without works. Abraham was justified by faith before the law and we are justified by faith after the law was abolished. ****What The Law Could Do**** If the law could not justify sinners or give them eternal life then what advantage was there in keeping it? Deuteronomy 28:1-14 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God. Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out. The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways. The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. The LORD shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, and walk in his ways. And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the LORD; and they shall be afraid of thee. And the LORD shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers to give thee. The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow.And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them: And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them. All the blessings of the law were physical in nature and were conditional upon obedience to its commandments. The law also promised long life to those who kept its commandments. Romans 10:5: For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. The life promised by keeping the law was long extended life in this world. Ephesians 6:1-3: Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. Take the time to read Ezekiel 18:9-32 and notice that it says the man who kept the law: he shall live. It says this over and over again, Notice also, the man who rebelled against the law that it says, he shall surely die. A long temporal life in this world was promised to all those who kept the law, but not eternal life. ****Christ Did What The Law Could Not Do**** What the law could not do for sinners, Christ’s once for all sacrifice for sin and sinners does. His death and resurrection for sin forgives all sins and takes them away forever. His death and shed blood justifies and clears sinners from the guilt of all sins. And by his death and resurrection we are given eternal never ending life. The animal sacrifices of the law could not do any of these things, but the sacrifice of Christ does for it was a perfect sacrifice for the following reasons. ----1 The animal sacrifices of the law were not the same nature of those who sinned. But Jesus Christ took on him the nature of the ones he died for. He became flesh and blood like us to die for us and like us. Hebrews 2:14-18: Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted. ----2 The animal sacrifices of the law were not sufficient or valuable or powerful enough to make atonement for the sins and crimes we committed against a holy God. But the sacrifice of Christ is sufficient enough and valuable enough and powerful enough to make atonement for all the sins and crimes we have committed against God. Acts 13:38-39: Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. ----3 The atoning sacrifice had to be capable of consenting and willingly substituting itself in the place of the sinner. The animals offered under the law did not consent or willingly offer themselves in the place of the sinner. But Jesus Christ was a willing sacrifice. He was not forced to die against his will. He consented unto the Father’s will. Hebrews 10:5-9: Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. The Law of Moses was the greatest religious system in the world in time past. It was created by God himself, but it’s laws and sacraments and ordinances could not take away sin, or justify sinners or give men eternal life. If the religious system of the Law could not take away sin or justify sinners or give eternal life, then no religious system in the world today can either, such as the Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim religions and all the rest. Paul plainly says that if a man could be justified and made righteous by observing the commandments and sacraments of the Law Religion, then Christ died in vain in Galatians 2:21. The same is true of any religion today. Salvation is the free gift of God, but even though it is free, it is not cheap. It cost Jesus Christ his life to give it to you. And beware of any religion that puts a price tag on the gift of God which is eternal life.