The Law was given to Israel to reveal and expose sin, not to save or justify anyone.
Romans 5:20 and Romans 3:20 show that the law entered so the offence might abound and by the law is the knowledge of sin. Les Feldick stresses that the law's only purpose is to show man how sinful he really is; it has no saving power.
Romans 5:20 — This verse directly says the law entered that the offense might abound.
Romans 3:20 — This verse says by the law is the knowledge of sin and no flesh is justified by the law.
Romans 3:19 says that the law speaks to those under the law so that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God. Romans 3:20 adds that by the deeds of the law no flesh shall be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. Romans 5:20 says the law entered so that the offense might abound, and where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. Romans 7:14 declares that the law is spiritual.
Les Feldick teaches that the law has one purpose in Scripture: to give the knowledge of sin (Romans 3:20). When God gave the Ten Commandments, they revealed how the old Adam actually operates—bent to idolatry, thieving, envy, and taking God's name in vain. The law entered so that the offense might abound (Romans 5:20), not by making people sin more, but by making them understand how sinful they were. Every action was contrary to a holy God, so the law compounded sinfulness. It has no saving power and can never justify anyone; its sole function is to show sin. Yet as Romans 5:20 concludes, where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.
The law entered so that the offense might abound. Les Feldick explains this does not mean the law caused people to sin more; rather, it caused people to understand how sinful they were. We are not sinners because we break the law; we break the law because we are sinners.
No. The law makes everyone guilty before God, and by the deeds of the law no flesh shall be justified. Les Feldick emphasizes that the law has no saving power and no power of justification; it only shows us our sin.
The Ten Commandments show the old Adam how he really operates. Les Feldick says people are bent to take God's name in vain, worship idols, be envious, and thieve. The law compounds sinfulness by revealing that everything a person does is contrary to a holy God.
Romans 5:20 says that where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. Les Feldick points out that God is greater than everything, so even though the law exposes sin, grace overwhelms it.
How Can You Know You're Saved? The Plan of Salvation in Scripture
one of my classes just the other night, and it's always a valid question. Why did God create mankind if He knew, and He did, that man would become such a disappointment, when He would just become such a rebel, and create such a catastrophe on the planet? Why did God ever create man in the first place? To have someone He could love, and a creature who could respond to that love.
The Law's Only Purpose
Les Feldick explains that the law has one purpose in Scripture: by the law is the knowledge of sin; the Ten Commandments show the old Adam how he really operates.
The Law Made the Offense Abound
The law entered so the offense might abound, not by making people sin more, but by making them understand how sinful they were.
The Law Shows Man His Sinfulness
When the law came in, all it could do was show man how sinful he really was; where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.
The Law Reveals the Old Adam
The law shows what old Adam is made of and compounds sinfulness by revealing everything he did was contrary to a holy God; the law is spiritual.
The Law Has No Saving Power
The law's purpose is to show how sinful men really are; it has no saving power or justification whatsoever.
Justification Cannot Come Through the Law
The law makes everyone guilty and gives the knowledge of sin; no flesh is justified by the law.
Why Grace Always Wins Over Sin — Romans 5:15-20 Explained
He could have stricken every Roman soldier and every Jewish priest and high priest in Jerusalem with a spoken word, but he was obedient, because he knew that this was the will of the Father, of course, the Godhead of which he himself was now a part. All right, now come back with me, and maybe we can finish Romans chapter 5. We've got about a minute left, all right? And so, verse 20, "...
Romans 3:19: Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
This verse shows the law's purpose of bringing the whole world under guilt.
Romans 3:20: 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.
This verse directly states that the law gives the knowledge of sin and does not justify.
Romans 5:20: Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.
This verse explains that the law entered to cause the offense to abound, leading to grace abounding even more.
Romans 7:14: For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
This verse affirms that the law itself is spiritual, as Les Feldick notes.
According to Les Feldick, the law's only purpose is to give the knowledge of sin (Romans 3:20) and to show man how sinful he really is.
No. The law did not cause people to sin more; it caused people to understand how sinful they were. The offense abounded in the sense that sin was clearly recognized.
No. By the deeds of the law no flesh shall be justified (Romans 3:20). The law only exposes sin; it has no saving or justifying power.
Watch the Teaching: How Can You Know You're Saved? The Plan of Salvation in Scripture