I’ve never been good at drawing.

I take that back; I’m really good at drawing stick figures. I could draw them all day long. But if you ask me to draw something complicated (maybe a dog, a ship, or a mountain range) I’d fail miserably. I remember being in elementary school and we had a visitor come; an artist. He drew this really old ship. He took his time and explained everything he was doing. All of us kids had big pieces of paper and we were drawing along. Every line the artist put down, I tried my best to mimic. Every curve, every shade, every slight touch. In the end he had this beautiful portrait of an old ship, and mine looked like the same picture had gone through a blender.

The artist was a professional and I was just a kid, but their picture served to show my inadequacy to measure up to their level.

In Romans 3 Paul is speaking about the unrighteousness of man, and the sovereignty of God. Verse 20 says, “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.” God is the artist, and the picture He draws for us is His law. We can try so hard to follow it, and we should, but the law is not meant to save us. Just like the picture the artist drew, in the end the law shows our inadequacy. It is by this picture that we come to the knowledge of our need for a savior. This is why we can say that Christianity is not about rules; although we may have a list of rules, they are not meant to funnel us into this state of perfection that grants us favor with the almighty because we followed them all, but instead they are meant to funnel us into a holy knowledge that we are utter failures. We are hopeless, helpless, falling down, can’t get up, in need of crutches, and we can’t even light a match to see in this darkness.

What I am good at is debate and argument.

I have a good knowledge of most things and for those things I don’t, I can probably make it sound like I do. I can scheme and sly my way through a conversation and sound convincing at the same time if I really want to. Most of us have this ability to some extent. If you’ve ever gotten a speeding ticket or any other type of ticket, you’ve probably thought up so many things you could say to the judge to get around paying a fine or getting points. We make up excuses until the sun goes down. But what if you ran into an argument so sound, so incredibly conclusive and dominating that you can’t even open your mouth to respond? These types of arguments are so rare in reality, if they even exist. Jumping back a verse to Romans 3:19 it says, “Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.”

In short, there is no getting around the law. Sorry, you can’t argue this one. The law is clear and concise, the judge is all-knowing, and the verdict is always guilty.

Of course after reminding us of these things Paul doesn’t leave us hanging for very long. Romans 3:21-24 says, “But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it–the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus…” Jesus Christ is our way around the law. He is the one who takes our hand with the pen in it and says, “Let me draw a picture for you.” He steps in front of us and speaks to the judge on our behalf. He has the argument that nullifies the verdict the law has rendered on us.

If you are desperately trying to paint that perfect picture for you life, may I suggest you just get the perfect artist to do it instead? You can’t buy His services, but He is offering them to you right now. If you are trying to slip through every situation with excuses and trying to sweet talk every judge, can I recommend my divine lawyer to you instead? He’s never lost a case, and He has a connection with the judge.