Romans 4:15 clearly states that “the law worketh wrath,” but so many people, it seems, do not wish to see this. Even some clergymen tell us that God gave the Law to help us to be good, when God Himself says the very opposite; that it was given to show us that we are bad and need a Savior.

“The law worketh wrath.” Every criminal knows this and every sinner should know it, for the Bible has much to say on the subject. Rom. 3:19,20 declares that the Law was given “that every mouth may be stopped, and that all the world may be brought in guilty before God,” and this passage goes on to say:

“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.”

II Cor. 3:7,9 calls the Law “the ministration of condemnation” and “the ministration of death.” Gal. 3:10 says that those who are “of the works of the law,” i.e., who seek to make themselves acceptable to God by keeping the Law, “are under a curse,” because the Law can only condemn them.

Those who approach God, expecting eternal life in return for “good works” are offering Him their terms — which He will never accept. God will not sell justification to those already under condemnation for sin. But He does offer sinners complete justification by grace because:

“Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written; cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree” (Gal. 3:13).

Thank God, those who trust in Christ, “having redemption, through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Eph. 1:7), “being justified, freely by His [God’s] grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:24).

To the Reader:

Some of our Two Minutes articles were written many years ago by Pastor C. R. Stam for publication in newspapers. When many of these articles were later compiled in book form, Pastor Stam wrote this word of explanation in the Preface:

"It should be borne in mind that the newspaper column, Two Minutes With the Bible, has now been published for many years, so that local, national and international events are discussed as if they occurred only recently. Rather than rewrite or date such articles, we have left them just as they were when first published. This, we felt, would add to the interest, especially since our readers understand that they first appeared as newspaper articles."

To this we would add that the same is true for the articles written by others that we continue to add, on a regular basis, to the Two Minutes library. We hope that you'll agree that while some of the references in these articles are dated, the spiritual truths taught therein are timeless.

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