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From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham

Q: My friend claims her grandmother was a perfect person, and she was an atheist. When I asked her how this could be, she said that her grandmother followed the law perfectly and had no need to repent. She said her grandmother simply lived a life full of compassion and mercy for others. Is this possible? – L.K.

A: There are many people who confuse conversion with the keeping of the law. The rich young ruler in the Bible claimed he had kept the law, but Jesus uncovered the deception of his claim. The law of Moses is set forth in specific terms in the Bible, and the purpose of the law is made clear. The law wasn’t offered as a remedy for the world’s ills. Rather, it was given as a diagnosis of the world’s ills: All the world is guilty; no flesh will be justified in His sight (see Romans 3:19–20).

The Bible says that the law is the knowledge of sin; a moral mirror, the gauge by which man can see how far he has fallen. It condemns but doesn’t convert. It challenges but doesn’t change. It points the finger but doesn’t offer mercy. There’s no life in the law. There’s only death, for the pronouncement of the law was that death is the wage of sin. It’s the straight stick beside which the crookedness of human nature is obvious.

There are many people who say that their religion is the Sermon on the Mount, but no one has ever lived up to the greatest sermon preached. The Bible says that all have sinned and come short of God’s glory.

God’s Word tells people to examine themselves to see if they live above reproach, absolving them from all need of conversion. We must look into our own hearts honestly before proclaiming that conversion is unnecessary. Truth will reveal that the law cannot save.

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(This column is based on the words and writings of the late Rev. Billy Graham.)

©2026 Billy Graham Literary Trust. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

(c)2026 BILLY GRAHAM DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.