“Now we know, that what things soever the law speaketh, it speaketh to them that are in the law; that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may be made subject to God. Because by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified before him. For by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now without the law the justice of God is made manifest, being witnessed by the law and the prophets. Even the justice of God, by faith of Jesus Christ, unto all and upon all them that believe in him: for there is no distinction: for all have sinned, and do need the glory of God.”
The Old Testament sets forth the best set of moral teachings to be found before Christ. Plato, Aristotle, and other such thinkers have excellent but warped teachings due to their misunderstanding of God and the soul. The law is given by God for His people that they may learn how to love, though without grace this is an impossibility: “I am the vine; you the branches: he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit: for without me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). The law is given as moral precepts to those that need correction and how to worship God, all of which find their fulfillment in Jesus and His way of love: “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not heavy” (1 John 5:3). The number of commandments throughout the Old and New Testaments stop every mouth from speaking of its own righteousness, for all human action is stained and imperfect in some fashion, if not by the action itself, by what the heart clings to in acting: “For the word of God is living and effectual, and more piercing than any two edged sword…. And is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). Therefore, in recognizing how poorly you love, you can declare your imperfection and cling to God: “Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak” (Psalm 6:3). These stains show the unfathomable reaches of God’s mercy, and how it is in His love alone that goodness comes: “Not by the works of justice, which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us, by the laver of regeneration, and renovation of the Holy Ghost” (Titus 3:5). Now, there is in man a natural capacity to know and love God, but like something deflated and empty this is not realized without the grace of the Holy Spirit: “It is the spirit that quickeneth” (John 6:64); “the love of God is poured forth in our hearts, by the Holy Ghost, who is given to us” (Romans 5:5). Therefore, the law shows what sin and poor love is, but it is the Holy Spirit that gives the ability to love, rather than simply following the works of the law: “For the letter killeth, but the spirit quickeneth” (2 Corinthians 3:6). It is the soul inflamed with love that walks the narrow road of the love of God, and it is this that manifests God’s goodness, that those who are ignorant of the law still walk madly in love with God and do all things for His sake. There are many great, learned men whose love of God is overshadowed by an uneducated old woman who simply loves her Jesus and converses with Him in simplicity. Because the law and the prophets could not bring Israel to love, they needed to point ahead to what, or Who, would draw love out of them. This love, expressed by faith, is the gift of God: “For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, for it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). It is the love that is given to Christ Jesus, the love that is Jesus, and the love that comes from Jesus, which looks into the mystery of the Trinity, that saves you: “That Christ may dwell by faith in your hearts; that being rooted and founded in charity, you may be able to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth, and length, and height, and depth; to know also the love of Christ, which surpasseth all knowledge, that you may be filled unto all the fulness of God” (Ephesians 3:17-19). All who turn to this merciful love are thereby justified, for God gives freely without considering the merits of His child: “If any of you want wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men abundantly, and upbraideth not” (James 1:5). There is no distinction, no consideration, but only love: “For as many of you as have been baptized in Christ, have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek: there is neither male nor female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:27-28). Because you are loved by the Father as Jesus is loved by the Father, for you have put on Jesus, you receive the merits of Jesus and are justified as Jesus is justified. This is not because of following the law before entering into the life of the Trinity, but by the sheer gift of love: “Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift” (2 Corinthians 9:15).