On Romans 3:20

"For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin." Romans 3:20

You would likely agree that this statement is pregnant with theological content. This blisters any hope of favor before God based upon merit or privilege. Instead of commented on this, I would like to offer a few of my favorite commentators thoughts on summarizing the above passage.

on 3:19 | hupodikos: held accountable, to bring under the cognizance of... "someone who is guilty in the sense of having offended against the law & so made hiimself liable to prosecution & punishment." | Cranfield

on 3:20 | "Salvation by 'works of the law' bolstered pride & privilege; salvation by faith abolished them." | John Stott

"The principle point... of the law... is to make men not better but worse; that is to say, it sheweth unto them their sin, that by their knowledge thereof they may be humbled, terrified, bruised & broken, & by this means may be driven to seek grace, & so come to that blessed Seed (sc. Christ)." | Martin Luther

"Our first response to Paul's indictment, then should be to make it as certain as we possibly can that we have ourselves accepted this divine diagnosis of our human condition as true, & that we have fled from the just judgment of God on our sins to the only refuge there is, namely Jesus Christ who died for our sins. For we have no merit to plead & no excuse to make... Secondly, these chapters challenge us to share Christ with others. We cannot monopolize the good news. All around us are men & women who know enough of God's glory & holiness to make their rejection of him inexcusable. They too, like us, stand condemned. Their knowledge, their religion & their righteousness cannot save them. Only Christ can. Their mouth is closed in guilt; let our mouth be opened in testimony." | Stott