There is a striking difference between what the apostle Paul actually said about the law and what is often taught in churches today.
Many Christians have been taught that the law helps believers become righteous, that commandments help us grow spiritually, and that the more we focus on God’s law, the more victorious over sin we will become.
But is that what Paul actually taught?
Consider these three things Paul never said.
1. Paul Never Said, “By the Law Comes the Knowledge of Righteousness”
Paul said the exact opposite:
“For by the law is the knowledge of sin.” — Romans 3:20
The law was never given to show you how righteous you are. It reveals sin.
Think about a mirror. A mirror can show you that your face is dirty, but it cannot wash your face. In the same way, the law can expose sin, but it cannot make anyone righteous.
Paul writes:
“Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight.” — Romans 3:20
Yet many Christians are effectively taught to look to the law for spiritual growth and righteousness. The message becomes: Try harder. Obey more. Keep the rules. Do better.
But Paul points us somewhere entirely different.
Righteousness does not come through the law. It comes through faith in Jesus Christ:
“But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested… even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe.” — Romans 3:21–22
The law reveals sin.
Jesus gives righteousness.
2. Paul Never Said, “The Law Was Added So That Righteousness Might Increase”
Again, Paul said something remarkably different:
“Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound.” — Romans 5:20
Or, as many modern translations put it, the law came so that sin might increase.
That sounds shocking because many of us have been taught that giving people more commandments should produce less sin. Surely, if people know more rules, they will become more righteous.
But Paul says the opposite.
The law does not cure the power of sin. It exposes it—and even gives sin an opportunity to reveal its rebellious nature.
Paul explains this further:
“Sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence.” — Romans 7:8
The problem is not that the law is bad. Paul explicitly says the law is holy, righteous, and good. The problem is that the law cannot give life to sinful humanity.
But Romans 5:20 doesn’t end with increasing sin:
“But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.”
That is the good news.
The law made the problem unmistakably clear so that grace could be revealed in all its overwhelming greatness.
Sin increased. Grace super-abounded.
The answer to increasing sin was never more law.
The answer was greater grace.
3. Paul Never Said, “When the Commandment Came, Righteousness Sprang to Life and I Became Alive”
Listen carefully to what Paul actually said:
“For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.” — Romans 7:9
Notice the sequence:
The commandment came.
Sin sprang to life.
Paul died.
That is very different from the message many Christians hear today: Focus more on the commandments, and you will become more spiritually alive.
Paul’s testimony was precisely the opposite.
He continues:
“And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.” — Romans 7:10
And again:
“For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.” — Romans 7:11
Paul was not saying that the law itself was sinful. Absolutely not! He immediately declares:
“Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.” — Romans 7:12
The problem was never the law.
The problem was sin.
And the law was powerless to give life.
That is why the gospel is not about giving people a better set of rules. It is about giving dead people new life in Christ.
So Why Do We Keep Sending Christians Back to the Law?
This is the question we must ask.
If Paul said that the law brings the knowledge of sin, why do we teach Christians to look to it for righteousness?
If Paul said that the law came so that sin would increase, why do we present more law as the solution to sin?
If Paul said that when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and he died, why do we tell believers that focusing on commandments will make them spiritually alive?
Paul’s answer to sin was not more law.
It was Jesus Christ.
“For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” — Romans 6:14
Notice what Paul did not say.
He didn’t say, Sin will not rule over you because you are trying harder.
He didn’t say, Sin will not rule over you because you have more commandments.
He didn’t say, Sin will not rule over you because you have become better at keeping the law.
He said:
Sin shall not have dominion over you because you are not under law, but under grace.
The Difference Is Bigger Than We Think
There is a big difference between what Paul said and what is taught in many churches today.
Paul didn’t say:
“By the law comes the knowledge of righteousness.”
He said:
“By the law is the knowledge of sin.”
Paul didn’t say:
“The law was added so that righteousness might increase.”
He said:
“The law entered, that the offence might abound.”
Paul didn’t say:
“When the commandment came, righteousness sprang to life and I became alive.”
He said:
“When the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.”
The law has a purpose. But that purpose was never to give life, produce righteousness, or transform the human heart.
Jesus does that.
The law diagnoses.
Jesus heals.
The law reveals sin.
Jesus removes it.
The law condemns the guilty.
Jesus justifies the ungodly who believe.
The law tells you what righteousness demands.
The gospel gives you righteousness as a gift.
And perhaps it is time we stopped asking the law to do what only Jesus Christ can do.
Leave a Reply