Was the Law itself perfect and holy as God originally gave it?
Yes. The Law, as God first gave it, was perfect, holy, and righteous; its full purity was perfect. In Galatians, Paul nevertheless calls the Law weak and beggarly and insists Gentile believers were not under the Mosaic Law but under grace. Its righteousness is fulfilled in believers who are in Christ.
Les explains that Galatians 4 addresses turning again to the weak and beggarly elements, namely the Law. Paul’s thrust in Galatians was to prove to Gentile believers in Galatia that they were not under the Mosaic Law but under grace, and he warns against going back under the Law after tasting grace. Yet in Romans 8, Les points out that the righteousness, or the full purity, of the Law as God first gave it was perfect, holy, and righteous. The purpose is that the righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us who are believers, who now have a position in Christ gained by believing the Gospel. For those in Christ, salvation has been experienced.
That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
More Questions
Why could the law not do what God required?
What the law could not do, it could not do because it was weak from the fleshly side, from man's point of view.