For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, – Romans 8:3 (NIV)

Notice how the law is portrayed as powerless. It could never address the sinful nature; all the law could do was identify our weakness toward sin. But when God gave the law, He was setting the stage – the law was never supposed to deliver us. God gave standards that were so high that only God Himself could fulfill them. That’s what He did in Jesus Christ. The perfect man became the sin offering for all of humanity. This is the action that brings freedom to anyone who receives God’s mercy by faith.