Whedon's Commentary on the Bible - Romans 3:20
20. Deeds of the law Deeds fulfilling the law. The law is that universal law which Jews and Gentiles are alike obligated to obey, the law of universal and eternal right. This law was, for the Jew, embraced essentially in the Decalogue; and the so-called Mosaic law was a system of special enactments designed to bring men into harmony with that central law. Justified Made or declared by divine authority just, or pardoned. None can be justified by the law, for all have broken it. ... read more
Whedon's Commentary on the Bible - Romans 3:1-20
2. Condition of the Jewish Race, Romans 2:17 to Romans 3:20 . The case of the Jew (17-24) with the written law is essentially parallel with that of the Gentile with the unwritten law, 12-15. Yet the apostle treats with a more careful deference. By a series of interrogations, more delicate yet more forcible than affirmations, he exhibits the wide discrepancies between their boasting of the law and their persistent breaking it. Gradually and carefully he approaches the conclusion that the... read more