"Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin." Romans 3:20
Through the man, Moses, God delivered the Law to the children of Israel. But, the Law was for a purpose that many fail to recognize. God knew that there was a flaw in the Law, but He purposely allowed it.
The Law was to reveal the need of Him! The Law was not JUST rules to follow, it was a standard of living. It opened the eyes of the people by revealing that they were not living up to the standard of God, therefore, they needed God in order to live accordingly.
Thus, simply being a good person doesn't gain you access to God. You cannot enter His presence because you're "good". Nothing we have is what we deserve. All that we lose is not because we deserve to lose it, we don't deserve to live!
But, this is all about grace. Grace didn't abolish the Law, it established the Law's fullness! It's fullness is Christ!
He was the only one who could tear down the barrier! The people were totally afraid of God's presence on the Mount. And that's the purpose of the Law.
God was saying:
"If you come near Me, you will surely die! You are sinful and My presence alone will point out your sin and being that I am holy, you cannot even approach Me!"
But, here's what God's work in this was:
"Therefore, since I love you so much, I'm going to give you what you do not deserve. I, Myself, will come down in a Man's body, being holy and perfect and all powerful, I will humble Myself and be destroyed for the very reason that you cannot approach Me and I'll separate that wall between us!"
Here's an entrance into grace... not disobeying the Law, but God dismantling our penalty if we choose to recognize our need for Him.
