Why is the Law described as impotent in saving?

• A. All have sinned and fall short of the standard of the Law.
• B. The Law is perfect and unchanging.
• C. Faith plus works saves.
• D. God revoked the Covenant.

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is that the Law cannot save because it reveals our inability to meet God's perfect standard. The statement that best captures this is that everyone has sinned and fallen short of the standard of the Law. When you see the Law described this way, you understand that its purpose isn’t to provide righteousness for us but to show us our need for a Savior. No one can keep every aspect of a perfect standard perfectly all the time; that universal shortcoming is exactly why the Law doesn’t save—it exposes sin and points us to Christ, who alone provides righteousness by faith.

Think of it this way: the Law tells us what God requires and exposes sin, but it doesn’t empower us to live up to it. That’s why salvation comes through faith in Christ, not through trying harder to keep the Law. The other statements don’t address why the Law is unable to save in the same way. Saying the Law is perfect and unchanging describes its character but not how salvation works. Saying faith plus works saves contradicts the clear biblical teaching that salvation is by grace through faith, not by earning it through works. Saying God revoked the Covenant isn’t accurate to New Testament teaching, which presents a new covenant in Christ rather than a removal of the old.