And even here in Romans we have the same spirit. In Romans 7:22 Paul says, "For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man." And in Romans 7:25 he says, "I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin." This delight in the law and this "serving the law of God" does not sound as absolute as "death to the law."

Not only that, look with me at Romans 3:20-22. Paul makes clear first (in v. 20) that "by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin." In other words, "law-keeping" will never change our verdict from guilty to not-guilty and will not be the ground of our acceptance in the last judgment. My one plea now and then for acceptance with God is that I have trusted not in my own law-keeping or my own imperfect, blood-bought, Spirit-wrought sanctification, but in Christ's blood and righteousness. That is my one perfect plea in the courtroom of heaven now and always. "By works of the law no flesh will be justified."

That is Paul's conclusion so far: There is none righteous, no not one. But now what is our hope? Where does it come from? He says in verse 21, "But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, (22) even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe." The hope of unrighteous people like us and all our friends and enemies is that God has brought about a righteousness that is possible for us to have that is not based on works of the law but based on Jesus Christ. He calls it "the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ." We can be reckoned righteous because of Christ's life and death if we will trust in him as our Savior and Lord and Treasure.

The Testimony of the Law

But notice one crucial phrase at the end of verse 21: "being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets." This other righteousness that is not by works of the law is witnessed to by the law. The law testifies to it. That is one clear reason why Paul can delight in the law and why we do not want to throw the law away. The law itself told us that law-keeping cannot justify and pointed us to another "righteousness" that would one day be revealed.

So when Paul gets down to Romans 3:28, he says, "For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law" – just like verse 20. But then again in verse 31 he asks, "Do we then nullify the Law through faith?" And he answers, "May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law." So the law itself was pointing to a goal that it could not accomplish for us or in us, but when we attained this goal (of justification and sanctification!) through faith in Christ, the law itself would be fulfilled and established. "The goal of the law is Christ for righteousness for all who believe" (Romans 10:4, own translation).

So it's plain that we do not die to the law in every conceivable way. We rejoice in the law in some ways (Romans 7:22), and in the law we see a witness to the "righteousness of God through faith in Christ" (Romans 3:21), and we establish the law through faith in Christ (Romans 3:31); the goal of the law is Christ.