Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin. But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.

Even within the law God provided, Paul points out the inherent gap between legality and righteousness, or moral correctness. We all know that while something can be technically allowed under the law, that very same act can make one morally wrong. It might not be illegal to do, but it makes the one who does it a bad person or at the very least, a sinner.

This is gap into which the power of grace steps: the law makes us aware of our sin but God’s righteousness makes us aware of our own capacity for holiness. By being dedicated to him, we no longer fear the punishment of the law. Just as Jesus turned thou shalt not murder into don’t even hate someone, we step beyond the mere legality of the law into righteousness.

Ethan Kirl