2018 STUDY OF ROMANS

Chapter 3, Verses 1-8

Why Live Right If We’re Saved By Grace?

 [5-13-18]

Review: “Will the Real Jew Please Stand Up?”

Romans 2:17-29) [NIV] Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and brag about your relationship to God;

20) an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth-

NOTE: You’re confident you can teach others and show them the direction to go. The problem is you’re not going the direction you’re instructing others to go!

21) you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal?

22) You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?

NOTE: Throughout history the Jewish people had the Law but often represented God extremely poorly. We Christians can also represent God badly; but if we do so it should not be because we profess to keep all of the rules all the while we are breaking them. We should always present ourselves as forgiven sinners, not as accomplished saints.

25) Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised.

26) If those who are not circumcised keep the law’s requirements, will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised?

*NOTE: Basically Paul is telling them that the way one is initiated into the Covenant of Grace is through accepting Jesus, becoming a new creature in Christ, and consequently, living right.

27) The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker.

28) A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical.

29) No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God.

NOTE: In this new dispensation of the Gospel many Gentiles who weren’t circumcised, and who never had Moses’ Law, were keeping the moral part of Moses’ Law. Paul states that they are right with God.

This Week’s Lesson: “Why Live Right If We’re Saved By Grace?” 

Romans 3:1-8 [NIV] What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision?

2) Much in every way! First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God.

Romans 9:3-5) [GNB] for my people, my own flesh and blood! For their sake I could wish that I myself were under God’s curse and separated from Christ.

4) They are God’s people; he made them his children and revealed his glory to them; he made his covenants with them and gave them the Law; they have the true worship; they have received God’s promises;

5) they are descended from the famous Hebrew ancestors; and Christ, as a human being, belongs to their race. May God, who rules over all, be praised forever! Amen.

QUESTION: If having the Law didn’t save the Jews, then what’s the advantage of being a Jew?

• They were entrusted with the very Words of God [Rom. 3:1].
• They are God’s people, His children [Rom. 9:4].
• God revealed His glory to them [Rom. 9:4].
• God made covenants with them [Rom. 9:4].
• God gave them the Law [Rom. 9:4].
• They had the only true worship [Rom. 9:4].
• They have received God’s promises [Rom. 9:4].

3) What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God’s faithfulness?

QUESTION: If God promises to heal me, and I die sick, does that mean God can’t be trusted?

*ANSWER: In the N.T., to realize God’s promises we must exercise faith in God to keep His promises.

NOTE: When the Jews kept the Law in the O.T. by doing right, and by offering sacrifices for their sins when they failed to do right, it was an exercise of faith in God.

4) Not at all! Let God be true, and every man a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge” [Psalm 51:4].

(ERV)  No, even if everyone else is a liar, God will always do what he says. As the Scriptures say about him, “You will be proved right in what you say, and you will win when people accuse you.”

QUESTION: Is everyone a liar?

ANSWER: It’s most likely certain that every human who lives to be self-aware has told a lie. Certainly, any time we doubt God’s Word we are living a lie.

QUESTION: What’s the main point of this verse?

ANSWER: God’s Word is always trustworthy regardless of the actions of mankind.

5) But if our unrighteousness brings out God’s righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.)

QUESTION: Does “our unrighteousness” bring “out God’s righteousness more clearly”?

ANSWER: It does in the sense of the contrast between our conduct and His; however, God is simply righteous because He is righteous. Our conduct has no influence upon His righteousness.

QUESTION: So then, is God “unjust in bringing His wrath on us”?

ANSWER: Absolutely not! The Creator gets to set the order of the creation. His rules are the only rules that matter!

6) Certainly not! If that were so, how could God judge the world?

QUESTION: What do most individuals that have some form of belief in God say regarding His judging us?

ANSWER: God is love! Therefore He loves everybody! So then, we will all go to Heaven!

7) Someone might argue, “If my falsehood enhances God’s truthfulness and so increases his glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner?”

8) Why not say-as we are being slanderously reported as saying and as some claim that we say, “Let us do evil that good may result”? Their condemnation is deserved.

QUESTION: Why would anyone accuse Paul of teaching that we should “do evil that good may result”?

ANSWER: Paul taught that we are saved apart from our works; we are saved by simply trusting that what Jesus accomplished at Calvary is infinitely sufficient to save us! His opponents twisted that doctrine into the fallacy that Paul taught that it doesn’t matter how you live your life; your faith in Jesus will get you to Heaven anyway.

QUESTION: Is that what Paul taught?

• No! He taught that when we get saved we become new creatures in Christ Jesus [II Cor. 5:17].
• No! He taught that once we’re saved apart from works we are re-created unto good works [Eph. 2:8-10].
• Good works don’t save us [Eph. 2:8-9].
• We do good works because we’re saved [Eph. 2:10].

Romans 8:19-25) [NLT] For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are.

20) Against its will, everything on earth was subjected to God’s curse.

21) All creation anticipates the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay.

22) For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.

23) And even we Christians, although we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, also groan to be released from pain and suffering. We, too, wait anxiously for that day when God will give us our full rights as his children, including the new bodies he has promised us.

24) Now that we are saved, we eagerly look forward to this freedom. For if you already have something, you don’t need to hope for it.

25) But if we look forward to something we don’t have yet, we must wait patiently and confidently.

QUESTION: What’s the Apostle telling in the passage above from Romans 8?

ANSWER: We can still sin now that we’re Christians; but we can’t enjoy it anymore. God has placed an inner groaning in us that longs to be what He wants us to be!

QUESTION: What makes us want to live right if living right has no bearing on salvation?

ANSWER: The new creature we are longs to be the finished “glorified” product that God is at work in us to produce.

2018 STUDY OF ROMANS

Chapter 3, Verses 9-19

Who Among Us Is Righteous?

 [5-20-18]

Review: “Why Live Right If We’re Saved By Grace?”

Romans 3:1-8 [NIV] What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision?

2) Much in every way! First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God.

Romans 9:4) [GNB] They are God’s people; he made them his children and revealed his glory to them; he made his covenants with them and gave them the Law; they have the true worship; they have received God’s promises;

3) What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God’s faithfulness?

*NOTE: In the N.T., to realize God’s promises we must exercise faith in God to keep His promises. When the Jews kept the Law in the O.T. by doing right, and by offering sacrifices for their sins when they failed to do right, it was an exercise of faith in God.

4) (ERV)  No, even if everyone else is a liar, God will always do what he says. As the Scriptures say about him, “You will be proved right in what you say, and you will win when people accuse you.”

NOTE: God’s Word is always trustworthy regardless of the actions of mankind.

5) But if our unrighteousness brings out God’s righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.)

QUESTION: Does “our unrighteousness” bring “out God’s righteousness more clearly”?

ANSWER: It does in the sense of the contrast between our conduct and His; however, God is simply righteous because He is righteous. Our conduct has no influence upon His righteousness.

6) Certainly not! If that were so, how could God judge the world?

7) Someone might argue, “If my falsehood enhances God’s truthfulness and so increases his glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner?”

8) Why not say-as we are being slanderously reported as saying and as some claim that we say, “Let us do evil that good may result”? Their condemnation is deserved.

NOTE: Paul taught that we are saved apart from our works; we are saved by simply trusting that what Jesus accomplished at Calvary is infinitely sufficient to save us! His opponents twisted that doctrine into the fallacy that Paul taught that it doesn’t matter how you live your life; your faith in Jesus will get you to Heaven anyway.

NOTE: We can still sin now that we’re Christians; but we can’t enjoy it anymore. God has placed an inner groaning in us that longs to be what He wants us to be! The new creature we are longs to be the finished “glorified” product that God is at work in us to produce.

 

This Week’s Lesson: “Who Among Us Is Righteous?” 

Romans 3:9-19) [NIV] What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin.

(ERV)  So are we Jews better than other people? No, we have already said that those who are Jews, as well as those who are not Jews, are the same. They are all guilty of sin.

(GNB)  Well then, are we Jews in any better condition than the Gentiles? Not at all! I have already shown that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin.

(GW)  What, then, is the situation? Do we have any advantage? Not at all. We have already accused everyone (both Jews and Greeks) of being under the power of sin,

QUESTION: What’s the Apostle getting ready to do here?

ANSWER: He’s getting ready to show us what he was alluding to in Chapter 2.

NOTE: When it came to the Old Testament/Covenant it mattered if you were a Jew. When it comes to the New Testament/Covenant it doesn’t matter rather you’re a Jew or a non-Jew!

*ANOTHER NOTE: You were born into the Old Covenant by being born a descendant of Abraham; you are born again into the New Covenant by being born into the family of God through faith in Jesus Christ. One is a physical birth; the other is a Spiritual birth.

10) As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; [Psalm 14:3] [Psalm 53:3]

QUESTION: Think of righteousness as meaning “right with God.” How many people who have ever lived, besides Jesus, have ever been, by their own merit, “right with God”?

ANSWER: The answer is zero! Nobody, by their own merit has ever been “right with God.”

QUESTION: What are these verses telling us?

ANSWER: The Holy Law of a Holy God didn’t make a single person righteous.

11) there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. [Psalm 14:1-3]

QUESTION: Has there ever been anyone “who seeks God”?

ANSWER: Of course there has been! Israel of the Old Testament had times of revival. Paul is utilizing these verses to show us that no one, left to himself, has ever sought after God.

12) All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” [Psalm 14:1-3] [Psalm 53:1-3]

QUESTION: What is Paul pointing out here?

James 1:17) [KJV] Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

ANSWER: Nothing good that we’ve ever done originated in us. If it was “good” it originated in God!

QUESTION: What if the “good” is coming from an unbeliever?

Genesis 1:27) [KJV] So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Romans 3:23) [KJV] For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

ANSWER: The only reason an unbeliever can do any “good” thing is because the image of God,  though deeply marred by sin, is still in that person.

13) “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The poison of vipers is on their lips.”

14) “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” [Psalm 10:7]

NOTE: Apart from God no good word would ever precede from our lips.

15) “Their feet are swift to shed blood; [Isaiah 59:7]

16) ruin and misery mark their ways, [Isaiah 59:7]

17) and the way of peace they do not know.” [Isaiah 59:8]

NOTE: Fallen mankind, without the influence of God that resides in them, though marred, would only do evil!

18) “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” [Psalm 36:1]

QUESTION: What does that mean?

John 16:7-8) [KJV] Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

8) And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

ANSWER: Man will never fear God unless the Holy Spirit reproves/convicts/convinces him of sin!

19) 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.

QUESTION: What’s the conclusion the Apostle comes to here?

ANSWER: The Law of Moses condemns the Jews as sinners.

NOTE: The Jews knew that the Gentiles were sinners; now Paul tells them that they are sinners as well. He uses their Law to prove it. He tells them, what they already knew, that the Law was speaking to Jews. The Jews needed to listen to it. It told them they were sinners, just as much as the non-Jews were. The real purpose of the Law was not to bring justification to the Jews, but to bring condemnation to them so that “every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.”

A CLOSING NOTE: Prior to the Gospel the non-Jews of this world never had the moral law contained in the Law of Moses to teach them how to live. Consequently they all lived without that moral law and were therefore lawless. The Jews had the Law but didn’t keep it and were therefore law-breakers. Every Jew and non-Jew was therefore accountable to a Holy God as a sinner.   

2018 STUDY OF ROMANS

Chapter 3, Verses 20-24

Where Is Boasting? Part 1

 [5-27-18]

 

Review: “Who Among Us Is Righteous?” 

Romans 3:9-19) (ERV)  So are we Jews better than other people? No, we have already said that those who are Jews, as well as those who are not Jews, are the same. They are all guilty of sin.

*NOTE: You were born into the Old Covenant by being born a descendant of Abraham; you are born again into the New Covenant by being born into the family of God through faith in Jesus Christ. One is a physical birth; the other is a Spiritual birth.

10) As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; [Psalm 14:3] [Psalm 53:3]

NOTE: The Holy Law of a Holy God didn’t make a single person righteous.

11) there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. [Psalm 14:1-3]

12) All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” [Psalm 14:1-3] [Psalm 53:1-3]

QUESTION: What is Paul pointing out here?

James 1:17) [KJV] Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

NOTE: Nothing good that we’ve ever done originated in us. If it was “good” it originated in God!

13) “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The poison of vipers is on their lips.”

14) “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” [Psalm 10:7]

NOTE: Apart from God no good word would ever precede from our lips.

15) “Their feet are swift to shed blood; [Isaiah 59:7]

16) ruin and misery mark their ways, [Isaiah 59:7]

17) and the way of peace they do not know.” [Isaiah 59:8]

NOTE: Fallen mankind, without the influence of God that resides in them, though marred, would only do evil!

18) “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” [Psalm 36:1]

NOTE: Man will only fear God if the Holy Spirit reproves/convicts/convinces him of sin!

19) 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.

NOTE: The Jews knew that the Gentiles were sinners; now Paul tells them that they are sinners as well. He uses their Law to prove it. He tells them, what they already knew, that the Law was speaking to Jews. The Jews needed to listen to it. It told them they were sinners, just as much as the non-Jews were. The real purpose of the Law was not to bring justification to the Jews, but to bring condemnation to them so that “every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.”

 

This Week’s Lesson: “Where Is Boasting? Part 1” 

Romans 3:20-31) [NIV] Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.

QUESTION: What is the Apostle doing here?

ANSWER: After spending much time in the “where they were,” he is now taking them to the “where he wants them to be.”

QUESTION: What is Paul’s bold statement here?

ANSWER: The Law had never made anyone righteous in around 1520 years.

  [Moses started giving the Law around 1491 B.C.; Jesus resurrected around 30 A.D.] [bibletruth.net].

NOTE: The Law couldn’t make anyone righteous because no one could keep it.

QUESTION: What about Jesus?

**ANSWER: The Law didn’t make Jesus righteous. He was already righteous. He had never sinned. He subjected Himself to the Law that was given to the Jews for our sake. The Law declared the Righteous One righteous! The Law couldn’t make Him what He already was; but it declared the Righteous One righteous. The Jewish Law, in the court of Heaven, declared the Righteous One righteous! Therefore, the One Who is the very embodiment of righteousness, having been declared righteous by the very Law that Jehovah God gave to the Jews, was, by virtue of being found righteous, declared worthy to be the sacrificial Lamb to which all legitimate Old Testament sacrifices pointed.

21) But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.

22) This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference,

QUESTION: What’s Paul doing here?

ANSWER: He’s arriving at his intended destination. Here it is:

• The Law can’t make anyone righteous; it can simply declare one to be righteous who is already free of sin. Apart from Jesus, no one has ever been declared righteous by the Law because no one has been free from sin. THE LAW MAKES NO ONE RIGHTEOUS! IT SIMPLY DECLARES ONE TO BE RIGHTEOUS WHO IS ALREADY RIGHTEOUS BY VIRTUE OF HIS BEING SINLESS!
• Here’s the roadmap to righteousness; i.e., being in a right relationship with God: we must put our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

23) for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

QUESTION: What’s the point here?

*ANSWER: We are all in need of this righteous/right relationship with God because we have all sinned.

24) and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

QUESTION: What does Paul show us in verses 23-24?

ANSWER: We are all sinners, but have been declared right with God as a result of Jesus having paid our penalty for sin. This declaration by God Himself in the courtroom of Heaven is made to all who trust the Lord Jesus Christ to be their Lord and Savior.

NOTE: Justification means “just-as-if-I-had-never-sinned” in the sense that my relationship with a Holy God, Who hates sin, is absolutely solidified by the sacrifice of His Son, and my placing my faith in Him. GOD HAS NOTHING RECORDED AGAINST ME IN THE RECORD BOOKS IN HEAVEN.

 

2018 STUDY OF ROMANS

Chapter 3, Verses 23-31

Where Is Boasting? Part 2

 [6-3-18]

 

Review: “Where Is Boasting?” Part 1 

Romans 3:20-24) [NIV] Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.

NOTE: After spending much time in the “where they were,” Paul is now taking them to the where he wants them to be.

NOTE: The Law had never made anyone righteous in around 1520 years. The Law couldn’t make anyone righteous because no one could keep it.

**NOTE: The Law didn’t make Jesus righteous. He was already righteous. He had never sinned. He subjected Himself to the Jewish Law for our sake. The Jewish Law, in the court of Heaven, declared the Righteous One righteous! Therefore, the One Who is the very embodiment of righteousness, having been declared righteous by the very Law that Jehovah God gave to the Jews, was, by virtue of being found righteous, declared worthy to be the sacrificial Lamb to which all legitimate Old Testament sacrifices pointed.

21) But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.

22) This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference,

ANSWER: He’s arriving at his intended destination. Here it is:

• The Law can’t make anyone righteous; it can simply declare one to be righteous who is already free of sin. Apart from Jesus, no one has ever been declared righteous by the Law because no one has been free from sin.
• Here’s the roadmap to righteousness; i.e., being in a right relationship with God: we must put our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

23) for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

QUESTION: What’s the point here?

*ANSWER: We are all in need of this righteous/right relationship with God because we have all sinned.

24) and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

NOTE: We are all sinners, but have been declared right with God as a result of Jesus having paid our penalty for sin. This declaration by God Himself in the courtroom of Heaven is made to all who trust the Lord Jesus Christ to be their Lord and Savior.

NOTE: Justification means “just-as-if-I-had-never-sinned” in the sense that my relationship with a Holy God, Who hates sin, is absolutely solidified by the sacrifice of His Son, and my placing my faith in Him. GOD HAS NOTHING RECORDED AGAINST ME IN THE RECORD BOOKS IN HEAVEN.

 

This Week’s Lesson: “Where Is Boasting?” Part 2 

Romans 3:23-31) [NIV] for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

 “glory” – “the infinite beauty and greatness of God’s manifold perfections” [desiringgod.org].

“glory” – “The most significant use of the ideas of glory and majesty is their application to God. In this regard, it is sometimes stated that God’s glory is the external manifestation of his being” [biblestudytools.com].

QUESTION: What does it mean to “fall short of the glory of God”?

ANSWER: In my mind the glory of God is the essence of Who God is! We were created in His image (the image of Who God is), but sin has marred that image. Consequently, because we have sinned we have come short of the Who God is.

Romans 8:29) [KJV] For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

QUESTION: What is God currently up to in our lives?

ANSWER: He is conforming us “to the image of his Son,” to the Who God is!

QUESTION: What’s the main point here?

*ANSWER: We are all in need of this righteous/right relationship with God because we have all sinned.

24) and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

(ERV) They are made right with God by his grace. This is a free gift. They are made right with God by being made free from sin through Jesus Christ.

Romans 3:21) [NIV] But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.

QUESTION: What does Paul show us in verses 23-24?

ANSWER: He shows us this “righteousness from God, apart from the law.” We are all sinners, but have been declared right with God as a result of Jesus having paid our penalty for sin. This declaration by God Himself in the courtroom of Heaven is made to all who trust the Lord Jesus Christ to be their Lord and Savior.

NOTE: Justification means “just-as-if-I-had-never-sinned” in the sense that my relationship with a Holy God, Who hates sin, is absolutely solidified by the sacrifice of His Son, and my placing my faith in Him. GOD HAS NOTHING RECORDED AGAINST ME IN THE RECORD BOOKS IN HEAVEN.

25) God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished–

26) he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

QUESTION: What’s Paul saying here?

ANSWER: God’s wonderful plan of salvation for all who believe is one that is consistent with the justice of Almighty God. God didn’t overlook sin; rather, He judged our sin at Calvary. He, in the person of His Son, faced the wrath of God befitting our sin.

“The idea is that through the animal sacrifice of the Old Testament, those who looked in faith to the coming Messiah had their sins “covered” by a sort of an “IOU” or promissory note. That temporary covering was redeemed for full payment at the cross” [Guzik].

*NOTE: Not only is God just, but He is the One Who justifies, in accordance with His justice, all who “have faith in Jesus.”

27) Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith.

28) For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.

QUESTION: What point are verses 27-28 making?

ANSWER: Since we are justified as a result of what Jesus did, and not as a result of anything we have done, we have absolutely no right to boast.

29) Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too,

30) since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.

QUESTION: What is the point here?

ANSWER: All Jews, who have the Law, and all non-Jews, who don’t have the Law, are sinners. Consequently, there’s only one way of salvation for all mankind. That way is through faith in Christ.

31) Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.

Romans 3:20) [NIV] Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.

QUESTION: How does the plan of salvation “uphold the law”?

ANSWER: The purpose of the Law was for us to “become conscious of sin.” When we go to Jesus for salvation it’s because we are “conscious” of our need for a Savior because we are aware that we are sinners. The Law brought that awareness.