The Law of God exposes the sinfulness of human conduct (words, thoughts, and deeds). Through the work of the Holy Spirit and God's Law, man is convicted in his conscience of his violation of Ten Commandments. Man is convicted and condemned by the Law. Man is hopeless and helpless when it comes to doing right. The chief function of the law is not to save but to condemn and convince sinners of their soul's deep need. Sin is the failure of man to meet the divine standard. Man has and will always come short of the standard of God - absolute sinless perfection. Every sinner is cursed and unable to do anything to lift that curse. Violating even one precept of God's law warrants eternal punishment in hell.
Human reasoning and effort is useless. All of the world's religious systems have one major teaching in common: salvation from sin must be earned, that is, by works, that man must do something to merit the favor of God. But in the Gospel of Christ, salvation is by faith 'alone' in Christ's finished work (His perfect righteousness and precious blood). In the Gospel 'works' do not result in salvation, work result 'from' salvation. The damning lie of 'DO' religions is that man can reconcile himself to God by his own efforts, but all man's efforts are futile and fatal. No matter how hard we try, we can never keep the law perfectly and thereby achieve God's righteousness. We continually fall short of God's perfection. (See James 2:10) People everywhere strive through their good deeds to meet God's approval. But God will not received us on the basis of anything we have done or can do, because we are all sinners by nature and by choice, and are utterly unable to meet God's standard of perfect obedience. There is only One Way to receive God's approval, and that is by RECEIVING God's Son (John 14:6).
Sin brings rebellion and ruin and outrages a holy God. Man is hand in glove with sin. As a fish is not taught to swim, a sinner doesn't have to taught to wallow in sin, it is in his nature to do so. Sin spits and flies in the face of God. We have all sinned and come short of the glory of God (sinless perfection). We must acknowledge this fact: we cannot meet God's holy standard, we cannot attain the goal of pure holiness that God has set for us by His Law.
Self-righteous man thinks that he has a spark of goodness in his soul somewhere which only needs to be fanned into a flame. Man naturally depends on his own righteousness and his own religiousness. The self-satisfied crippled sinner has two crutches he struggles on: the first is his imaginary goodness, and the second one is some kind of religious observance. He tries hard to live up to the rules of his religion. Religion is based on 'trying', but the Gospel of Christ is based on 'trusting'. Religiousness is based on behavior, and Righteousness is based on Believing. However, imperfection characterizes all man's works, whether of a moral, spiritual, or physical nature. Perfection characterizes the works of Christ Jesus. Man's efforts are full of flaws. God doesn't take sinners to Heaven because they deserve, but because of His grace.
Righteousness is found in Christ alone, not in religion. It lies not in the acceptance of a precept, but a Person. Not in obedience to a commandment, but in submission to Christ's righteousness. To submit to God's righteousness means to abandon one's own 'self-righteousness' and acknowledge complete failure. This is the hardest thing for a self-righteous person to do. We are not asked to do anything to placate an angry God's wrath. God has provided the expiation, the atonement, and the propitiation in the person and work of His Dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ is both the propitiator and the propitiation. Christ died for all men without distinction and for all men without exception.
Sinners continually break God's commandments. God as the righteously offended Creator must react in holy anger, wrath, and judgment. God's justice must be satisfied. Every sin ever committed by every person who has ever lived will be punished in one of two ways. Either God's wrath will be satisfied by the impenitent sinner suffering eternally in hell, or God's wrath will be satisfied by the punishment of Christ HIMSELF on the Cross. The choice is yours: either you can receive Christ and His payment for your sin, or if you reject Christ, you will have to pay for your sin forever in Hell.
