Q3. The Role and Limits of the Law

[Joeraja]

Q3. (Romans 7:12; 8:3) What does the law do well? What does it do poorly? Why is the law (knowing right and wrong) powerless to save us? What is the problem here?

The law is perfect in its description of sinful behaviour. We know exactly what the statutes are. But it is poor because it doesn't convince people to obey it. Knowing what is sinful does not keep us away from sin.

The law is powerless to save us because we are still in bondage of sin. We have inherited the flesh from Adam which is of a sinful nature. This flesh has a rebellious spirit which makes us resist God's values. The law thus instead of leading us to live Holy lives moves us in opposite direction because of our sinful nature. The law has no power to release us from our bondage to sin.

The problem here is how do we live Holy lives now that we know the law. Since the law cannot free us from sin, we are bound to live sinful lives. That is why God out of His perfect love, sent His only Son to die for us on the cross, as a ransom for our sinful nature. Christ's death on the cross has brought us redemption from sin. All we need to do is to repent of our sins and accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, be baptised by the Holy Spirit which will break the dominion of sin in our lives. The holy Spirit will gives us the strength to live holy lives. The law will be fulfilled by the Holy Spirit.

[robertprice]

The law is God's statement of how to live a life that is all-pleasing to Him. In that respect, of course, it is good indeed. What it doesn't do for individuals is to equip them in any way for the obedience to it. Knowing the law, even for the most strong-minded and devout, cannot in itself save, as it is an impossibility for man with his sinful nature to be obedient in every aspect. And that appears to be the problem inasmuch as the law, good though it is, is impossible to be kept in its entirety.

[awylie1949@yahoo.co.uk]

The law tells us what sin is. The law condemns us when we realise our sin. The law is powerless because it does not give us the help or strength to fight and overcome that only Christ can when we know Him as Saviour. The problem is our sinful and fleshly nature that is in us encouraged by satan to fight against the good and the Spirit of God

[lynnjaylynn731]

Q3. (Romans 7:12; 8:3) What does the law do well? What does it do poorly? Why is the law (knowing right and wrong) powerless to save us? What is the problem here?

A1. It reveals sin to us.

A2. It cannot save us.

A3. Because it was not designed to save us but through the law, we would know right from wrong. Because before Christ, grace was not and because grace was not, there were penalties set in place for sin such as immediate death, or a hand cut off, or separation or being put away, which in turn should have taught us obedience but as we see today even though we know right from wrong even in a greater way, we still continue to sin. It is just not in us to be holy but through the washing or sanctification of the truth and the word is the truth (John 17:17), and the Holy Spirit, we can be made holy.

A4. The law is not perfect.

[lynnjaylynn731]

Q4. (Jeremiah 17:9; Matthew 15:18-20; Romans 7:24) What is the doctrine of "total depravity"? Put it in your own words. Does it mean that none of God's original goodness shows through? Then what does it mean? Why does modern man tend to believe that man is basically good? How does this differ from what the Bible teaches?

A1. That the heart is despite fully wicked and within our flesh there are ll these terrible attributes.

A2. No it does not mean there is not anything good about us because Genesis clearly lets us know that everything God made was good.

A3. That because we have all this wickedness in us, it can outweigh or mask any goodness we do possess.

A4. Man believes he is good because of his ability to be charitable, because he says nice things and he offers others opportunities to bring themselves up, because they marry and bear children.

A5. Because in all the goodness we do, evil is always present. Example, my Pastor, I was trying to give them some advice on how they can alleviate some of their financial problems, how they can use some of the world's resources to help overcome some of their problems because you can see they are frustrated, and I did allude to the fact that we have to put our pride aside because it is our greatest nemesis along with a prayer for more blessings. The response I got was so ugly in nature, very prideful, very fleshly and this was coming from someone who should be so endowed with the word but, we see that no matter how spiritual we think we are, between our heart issues, mind issues and flesh and pride issues, we can still be tempted and prone to sin.

[lynnjaylynn731]

Q3. (Romans 7:12; 8:3) What does the law do well? What does it do poorly? Why is the law (knowing right and wrong) powerless to save us? What is the problem?

A1. Let us know we are doing wrong.

A2. Keep us from trespassing it.

A3. Because of the flesh.

A4. We need a savior.

[Debbe]

Q3. (Romans 7:12; 8:3) What does the law do well? What does it do poorly? Why is the law (knowing right and wrong) powerless to save us? What is the problem here

The law tells us what is right and wrong,but it can't keep us from sinning. The law cannot save us because we have a sinful nature that seduces us to sin. We need a redeemer. Praise God for Jesus The Christ who died, was buried and arose again for our sin, because of His love.

[lighthouse2014]

Q3. (Romans 7:12; 8:3) What does the law do well? What does it do poorly? Why is the law (knowing right and wrong) powerless to save us? What is the problem here?

The Lord God of all creation shows us in the law, that He gave to Moses, what His moral code of ethics was for all the human race to live by. Any violation of these commands would be a sin against their God the creator.

What the law failed to do was to offer to man kind the strength to fulfill these requirements. It taught us right from wrong concerning Gods requirements and our relationship to our fellow man. But man being sinful in nature either ignored Gods laws or they attempted to please and worship Him in their own way. There was no way man could fulfill the law or please God with the help from God Himself.   

[WinstonY]

Q3. (Romans 7:12; 8:3) What does the law do well? What does it do poorly? Why is the law (knowing right and wrong) powerless to save us? What is the problem here? 

 

The law defines sin in a proper fashion in accordance with God's will. However it is unable to a) make people behave properly -we have free will, the ability to decide for God or evil.   to redeem people as it only defines the law and does not make us righteous. The law itself must be obeyed and we humans are not strong enough to continuously obey the law. Through, carelessness, forgetfulness and stupidity we cannot rely upon ourselves to do  good. We tend to covey and generally sin against God. We are sinful and need help in order to become holy. It is only by the grace of God in the Lord Jesus Christ that we are able, by relying on Him, by believing in Him, by trusting in Him by having faith in the Lord that we can be made holy-set apart for God.

[DOIT]

The law reminds us what is right and what is wrong, it lets us know God's expectations of us. However, the laws themselves cannot force us to obey them, because God has given us the ability to choose whether we abide by them or not.

The law in its self, is powerless to eradicate the the sinful nature we are born with.(inherited from the blood of Adam).

[Uncle Dave]

Q3. (Romans 7:12; 8:3) What does the law do well? What does it do poorly? Why is the law (knowing right and wrong) powerless to save us? What is the problem here?

      The law does good in that it tells us in explicit detail what sin is. It explains in detail, things we may be tempted with. It does a poor job, in fact it does nothing to prevent the temptation that goes along with it. Just knowing what the law is will not help one bit however because unless one can perfectly keep it the result is death. The problem here is that there is not a person alive who can perfectly maintain the righteousness to enter the Kingdom of God. Sin is sin, regardless of how great or small and sin, will not be allowed past the gates of glory. Jesus said that looking at a woman with **** in the heart is committing adultery, even though no physical action took place. If even thinking about doing something wrong is sin, how can the law, which has been broken at this point be of any good to us when asked why we broke it?

      The problem is this, man is doomed because of the sinful nature he is born with.

      It appears mankind in general has bitten into the tree of the knowledge of good and evil which results in nothing less than death.

      The best part of all this is the fact that putting our trust in Jesus is the fact that we can be forgiven and cleansed of ALL unrighteousness. The reward of eternal life awaits all who will accept it.

      Sometimes I wonder if the problem with the law is, the prowling of the tempter, Satan. Would man still have eaten from the tree had he not been deceived into doing it? A serious breach of trust with God takes place with each bite of forbidden fruit a person eats causing him/her to desire that which is unnecessary, a prime example being the fact that Adam & Eve thought they had to cover the perfection God created in them. Praises to our Father in Heaven for His Son, Jesus. I went through a period of many years worried about being tempted after eternal life began, but if that were possible it would not have been called eternal life. Satan and his army of demons, the ones who tempt, have been defeated and will be in their place of eternal torment when we enter the Kingdom of God, with Jesus as our King, and they will no longer be able to tempt us into going against the will of God.

[Lottie]

Q3. (Romans 7:12; 8:3) What does the law do well? What does it do poorly? Why is the law (knowing right and wrong) powerless to save us? What is the problem here?

The law shows us that what we are doing is wrong or sinful. Yet by showing us that some of our actions are sinful it also causes us to want to do them more. We want what we cannot have. It is powerless to save us because it cannot change our hearts and make us want to live for God. All it can do is show us that we are sinning against God. The problem is that knowing what is wrong does not fix the problem.

[Godswriter]

Q3. (Romans 7:12; 8:3) What does the law do well? What does it do poorly? Why is the law (knowing right and wrong) powerless to save us? What is the problem here?

What the law does well as point out our problem which is sin. What it does not  do well is save us from it. Because we are in need of a Savior who can truly redeem  our souls from sins.

[AmyF]

Q3. (Romans 7:12; 8:3) What does the law do well? What does it do poorly? Why is the law (knowing right and wrong) powerless to save us? What is the problem here?
 

The role of the Law is to reveal sin and make mankind accountable to God. It does well in showcasing His character and holding up God’s holy standard. The Law is limited and falls short in that it can’t alter the sinful nature within me. Even more so, it awakens the sleeping bear of self centered passions and desires. It tells me how to live righteously but doesn’t provide the power to do so. 
 If my problem were only an external moral code, perhaps some could attain it. But the problem is my heart which is deceitfully wicked and corrupt at its core. Apart from the transforming power of Christ’s life in me, my natural affections and appetites will be the dominating force. I can never by my own righteousness satisfy the perfect standard of God’s holiness. Only the righteous work of Christ imputed to me supplies the power to stand in grace and be led by the Spirit to live a life inwardly and outwardly that pleases Him. 

[Irmela]

The Law shows us how to live in harmony with God and man. It does not, however, save us or stop us from leading a sinful life. It does not enable us to only live according to the Law, because of our unregenerate nature. In that way it is powerless. We are full of self and always ready to 'do our own thing'. Only Christ can defeat sinfulness. 

[Krissi]

The law is like a spotlight that shines mercilessly on the darkest specks on our real selves. Every sin that was once hidden is illuminated. Every character flaw magnified. 

Because it spotlights sin, the law can't do anything but make sin unavoidably visible. We can't look the other way. We can't pretend they don't exist. We can't cover them up.

• How many times have I known what is right and didn't do it?
• How many times did I sense I may have been doing something wrong, but didn't stop?
• How many times did I NOT sense I was making a mistake, for whatever reasons, as I did something that, in retrospect, was wrong?

This applies to my thought life far more than my deeds. My thoughts, particularly doubt and fear, are sinful. I know this because the law says to not make any idols and that He is the only god, not my desires.

I think this analogy is wrong. It's not just a spotlight shining on a speck because my entire body has been blighted by sin. I've been dunked in it. And now, when the light shines on me, ALL that can be seen is off-colour, as if I had been soaked in dye.

The problem is human nature. People have been fatally damaged by the fall. We're born to die. Nothing we can do will be strong enough to avoid the inevitable sin, mistake and moral failure.