No. We cannot blame Paul’s negative assessment of the human condition on the law itself (Romans 3:20). The law does not cause sin, but only exposes it, since through the law comes knowledge of sin
(Romans 3:20b). Sin is a universal phenomenon, but it is exposed in Israel through the law. This statement therefore does not convey a distinguishing feature of the law, but rather the effect of the law in our reality. It is precisely because the law has been given as a light, that it inevitably reveals what is in the darkness. The love and mercy in the law contrasts with the hatred and cruelty in the world, thereby revealing it. The statement, For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his [God’s] sight
(Romans 3:20a) can therefore not be limited to those who possess the Torah (the Jews), but also applies to those who do not have the Torah, for the work of the law is written on their hearts
(see Romans 2:15). For this reason the wording of the statement is broad (i.e. not merely law,
but works of the law
).1
20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.