now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. for by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. [romans 3:19-20]
since we have been going through the book of galatians for a while, it may be of benefit to remember the context of the book of romans-
- author: paul the apostle
- where: written in the greek city of corinth and sent to the church in rome
- when: approximately ad 57
- history: this letter was sent to the church in rome 3-4 years after nero, a descendent of julius caesar, took the throne. the church was relatively peaceful at the start of nero’s reign. thus, paul felt as though the church needed sound doctrine as their foundation of biblical knowledge
- big idea: God’s righteousness and his design to bring salvation to all
there is a song lyric that goes, “i know my sins and they know me”.
quite frankly, the song is not about drawing near to God, nor is it even sung by Christian artist, but the song lyric highlights something important- our sins become so deeply embedded into our life that they can disguise themselves as our habits, our m-o, and our idiosyncrasies, and they ultimately serve as an excuse to justify our sinful behavior at the cost of Godly justification. paul is essentially calling this out. paul wants to convey to the church in rome that God has freed them from the bondage of sin. we too are freed from such ways of living if we have salvation in God!
as you grow in your salvation, God reveals ways in which you did not realize you were sinning; you become accountable- you are responsible for your thoughts, feelings, and actions. on our own, we cannot be in right standing with God. not by works of the law are we saved, only by his grace and mercy are we even given the opportunity to have a relationship with him! what a blessing!!
question: do you know your sins, or do they know you?
~ angela younger