Good Enough Never Is

Word, Heart & Mind #454 Romans 1:12-16

Audio (this time in my own voice!)

Romans 1:12-16

12 For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. 13 For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. 14 For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them 16 on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.

While I was in seminary, my Greek professor gave us part of our final exam on the first day of class. Most of us looked at it and laughed. A few guys who had taken Greek in their undergrad studies were able to answer a few questions. I had no prior training, and I knew I couldn’t earn a passing grade, so attempting the exam seemed pointless. It was helpful to see what the final would look like and to assess my lack of skills. All I could do was write my name and submit it. It wasn’t an actual exam; he just wanted us to be encouraged by what we would learn over the next three years. The goal was to show us what we didn’t know and what we needed to do to earn a passing grade.

The purpose of the Law is similar. Simply put, “the Law” refers to the rules of righteousness that God demands from Scripture. Although there are hundreds of these rules, the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:3-17) alone show us that we cannot keep the Law perfectly. The Law was not given to us as a standard to keep in order to earn salvation. It was given so we would know that we can never attain the level of righteousness required for salvation. Unlike my Greek final, keeping the Law to God’s standard cannot be passed by good intentions or hard work. No matter how hard we work, how sincere we are, or how pious we are, we will always get a failing grade. Righteousness by the Law requires perfection, not just our best efforts. Keeping the Law is pass/fail; if we break just one, we’ve broken them all. (James 2:10-11)

God is perfect. He is a perfect Judge and Lawgiver. His high standard of righteousness is revealed by the Law and must be kept without fail. Paul explains that those who know the Law, the Jews, seem to have an advantage and try to keep the Law to gain salvation, but they will fail. The Gentiles, who do not know the Law, are not excused because the law is written on their hearts, and their conscience also bears witness. In His grace and mercy, God has given all people some knowledge of His standard of righteousness, either chiseled on stone tablets or written on their hearts.

My mother often said, “Let your conscience be your guide!” This is sound biblical advice. Our conflicting thoughts, whether accusing or excusing, should serve as warnings to us. Hughes is helpful here: “God’s judgment is so perfect that he takes into account one’s moral perception and renders judgment. To be sure, no one escapes condemnation. Oh, for sure. None measure up to their own moral perceptions of right or wrong, let alone God’s law.”[1]

Then what are we supposed to do? Has God set a standard we cannot reach, and then condemns us for not meeting it? Yes! How else could we understand His pure righteousness and divine holiness, as well as our utter dependence on Him to meet those standards for us? Whether we are knowledgeable about the Law or simply guided by our God-given conscience, we know—sometimes secretly—that we fall far short of what is required. Without Christ, God judges the secrets of men. We need Christ to bridge the huge gap between what we can do and what God demands. The obedience to the Law and the righteousness required are offered to us by Christ, who can and has closed that gap. How gracious a gift at His great cost. As Paul has mentioned more than once, we are without excuse. The standard has been set and communicated to us along with the message of Christ, our only hope!

As believers, we are free from the bondage of sin. That also means we are free from the burden of proving ourselves to God, free to abandon our faulty goodness and embrace His grace. Because of His righteousness, for those who trust in Him, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1

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[1] Hughes, R. Kent. Romans. Crossway Publishing, Wheaton, IL. 1991 pg. 54.