Again: since the law is the strength of sin, displaying it without removing it, it makes the conscience guilty before God and threatens wrath. This is Paul’s meaning when he says; ‘the law worketh wrath’ (Rom 4:15). How then could righteousness be procured by the law? And if we get no help from the law, how can we get help from the power of our will alone? (Luther, Bondage of the Will)
What standard of righteousness does the human will have? Where does the human will get its power? The Law came in for the purpose of showing man his sin and even stirring up his sinful heart so that man would die to any hope of obtaining righteousness by himself and his own power. If the very purpose of the Law was so that transgression would increase, then its purpose is not to be a standard or way of obtaining righteousness. If the very purpose of the Law was to show the sin of the soul and therefore of the will, then it could not provide help or power to the human will to obtain righteousness.
Romans 5:20 The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,
Romans 3:19 Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; 20 because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.
What must be seen in this great thought of Luther which is derived from Scripture is that the purpose and power of the Law are exactly opposite of what the ‘free-will’ tries to do with the Law and must do with the Law if it is going to be able to maintain its position. The Scriptures constantly point away from the power and ability of the human flesh to do anything good or anything that would please God, while those who maintain the ‘free-will’ have to constantly maintain their position against Scripture.
How does the Law help sinners procure their own righteousness? Its purpose was to reveal sin and the hostility of the human heart toward God. There is nothing in the Law that has anything that helps sinners procure the slightest bit of their own righteousness. God provides a perfect righteousness in Christ and allows for no other since there is no other perfect righteousness. The Law shows how imperfect human hearts and deeds are, so it can provide no help at all in procuring righteousness for the ‘free-will’. The Law was given as a tutor to teach people to go to Christ for their righteousness, so it could never do one thing to lead people away from Christ the only perfect righteousness available.
How does the Law provide help, power, or ability to the human will so it can make one good choice by itself apart from the power of grace in the soul? It was never given for that purpose and it has no power to do so. The Law was given to show human beings that they cannot (word of ability) keep the Law in and of themselves at any point and in any way. This is to say that the will has no power to do one good thing in and of its own power. It is Christ and His Spirit alone in the soul that can give the soul power to keep any commandment to any degree. The Law drives people to Christ and is the tutor to show people that they have no ability to keep the Law and that they have total inability as part of their total depravity.
So the Law provides no help at all to the human will to obtain righteousness in any way other than to show the will what it cannot do so it will bow in utter humility and its own inability and seek Christ in its helplessness. It is only when the human soul sees that it has no power or ability to obtain anything from God to any degree that it will look to grace and grace alone. Until the soul sees that it has no way or procuring righteousness, it will not look to Christ alone for a perfect righteousness. Until the soul sees that it has no power or ability of will to do anything to make God respond to it, then it will never look to grace alone to give it life and righteousness in Christ. The only place where there is life is in Christ and the only spiritual good and power must come from Christ as the Vine. Oh how terribly wrong and misleading people are when they do not teach people that they are unable to procure righteousness in any way and that their wills have no power to help with anything. It is misleading because until the soul arrives at that point in brokenness it will not arrive at the point of looking to Christ alone to be saved by grace alone.
God Loves... Himself 
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