God's Mirror

By Greg Laurie, Op-ed contributor Friday, February 19, 2010

Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. - Romans 3:19

Some people say, "Well, I don't need Jesus Christ because I live by the Ten Commandments."

My response to someone who said that would be, "Let's start by asking if you can name the Ten Commandments."

"Uh, thou shalt recycle?"

"No. . . . Have you broken any of them?"

"Well, I don't know."

Those who want to live by the law are in trouble, because the Bible says, "For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God's laws" (James 2:10). God's law was never given to make a person righteous; it is a moral mirror that shows us our true state before God, to drive us into the open arms of Jesus. The law says, "You are not good enough. You need God's help."

The Bible compares God's law to a mirror. Mirrors are helpful, because they reveal truth to us. If you go out to lunch with your friends and don't know why they seem to be laughing as you are talking, then they probably haven't told you something that you need to know. When you go into the restroom, you realize that when you put your lipstick on in the dark that morning, you missed your lips. Your friends didn't tell you the truth about yourself, but the mirror did. So God's law was not given to make you righteous, but to show you that you have fallen short of it.

Romans 3:19 says, "Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God." Everyone who has been exposed to the truth of God's law will be held responsible.