What is the righteousness of the law?
Orientation
Many assume the law is a ladder to earn God's favor, but its true purpose is to expose our inability and drive us to Christ.
- The law reveals God's perfect, holy standard.
- It acts as a magnifying glass, exposing the depth of our sin and hidden heart motives.
- Its function is to bring us to the end of self-justification, not to provide a path to achieve it.
Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. (Romans 3:20)
— Romans 3:20
Clarification
The law's intensification of demands, as in the Sermon on the Mount, is not a new rule system but a revelation of our desperate need.
- Jesus raised the standard to address inward motives like hatred and lust, proving no one can attain it.
- This exposure is a positive, purposeful work of God to strip away hope in human effort.
- The law is a shadow pointing to Christ, who is the substance and reality.
For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:20)
— Matthew 5:20
Structure
Biblical logic shows the law as a schoolmaster that leads to Christ, who alone fulfills its demands and becomes our righteousness.
- The law's exposure of sin causes despair over self-justification, directing us to recognize our need.
- Christ's redemptive work on the cross fulfills the law's righteous requirement.
- God imputes Christ's righteousness to believers, declaring them justified and transferring them into His kingdom.
Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. (Galatians 3:24)
— Galatians 3:24
Weight-Bearing Prose
The righteousness of the law is a holy, spiritual standard (Romans 7:12, 14). Its primary function is pedagogical and diagnostic: to give the knowledge of sin and to stop every mouth, making the whole world guilty before God (Romans 3:19-20). It exposes the flesh’s inability and drives the sinner to despair of self-qualification. This is its positive purpose. The law is not flawed; humanity is. The Sermon on the Mount intensifies this exposure, addressing heart motives to shatter any illusion of compliance. The law thus functions as a shadow and a schoolmaster (Galatians 3:24), a tutor leading to Christ, the reality. Justification is God’s declarative act, based solely on Christ’s finished work, where His righteousness is imputed to the believer (Romans 3:24-26; Romans 4:4-5). This is the Pauline category: righteousness apart from the law, manifested and imputed through faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 3:21-22). Any attempt to establish one’s own righteousness by the law is to misunderstand its purpose and to be severed from Christ (Galatians 5:4).
Integration
Your qualification for the kingdom is not found in your ability to keep the law, but in Christ alone. He is your righteousness, sanctification, and redemption (1 Corinthians 1:30). God has already transferred you from the dominion of darkness into the kingdom of His beloved Son (Colossians 1:13-14). This is a settled reality based on His work, not your effort. The law’s work is complete when it has driven you to this conclusion. There is no pressure to advance or perform to maintain this standing. Your assurance rests on God’s declaration over you in Christ. Rest here. Christ is your life, your reward, and your sure foundation. The exposure was for this: to bring you to Him, where there is no condemnation, only perfect acceptance.