Learning the Gospel Pt. 2 - the law of God is good and no one can keep it

[joseph]

The gospel Pt. 2 – The law of God is good and no one can keep it

The first part of this lesson is fairly self evident but the main
point is critical to understanding the gospel.

Once we have determined how wayward and unmanageable the human nature
is (see post 1), the concept of God’s law in easy: God in his mercy
and love for his creation gave us good laws and commands that served
to bring this unruly nature into some kind of order. It only makes
sense: Think of a football game without rules for the players and the
crowd. Total chaos.

So it is with the human nature - totally out of control without laws
and commands. That’s why the scripture says that “the law of the Lord
is perfect.” The problem is, no human being can keep them perfectly,
and that brings us to the main point: Without God’s law we would never
know how unmanageable and sinful our lives had become. Like streets
with no speed limit signs: we’d be cruising along at 90 mph heading
for the hair pin curve without knowing anything was wrong. When the
state puts up a 35 mph speed limit sign we realize how far off we are,
and how impossible it is (for some of us) to follow the law.

So the law, perfect and good, helps keep some kind of order, but it’s
main purpose is to make us realize that we are lawbreakers and in need
of some serious help. Martin Luther puts it this way – “The law serves
to indicate the will of God, and it leads us to the realization that
we can’t keep it.”

With this dilemma in mind, we look desperately for a solution. We
could change the law, change God, change ourselves, or cry out for a
Savior. In comes Christ and the gospel.