Why does this teaching matter?
Washer captures the paradox that reveals the gospel: God's commands expose our inability, and our inability drives us to grace. The law was never meant to save — it was meant to show us we need a Savior. This is the opposite of both legalism (try harder) and antinomianism (commands don't matter).
What did Paul Washer teach?
"You are commanded to do things that you do not have the power to do. Why would God do that? To let you know that you need to be saved by grace."
Speaker: Paul Washer
Source: Regeneration Sermon
What does Scripture confirm?
Romans 8:7-8
"Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God."
— NKJV
Paul declares human inability plainly: the natural man CANNOT submit to God's law. This is precisely Washer's point — the commands reveal our powerlessness and point us to grace.
Ephesians 2:8-9
"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."
— NKJV
Salvation is a gift precisely because we cannot earn it. The impossibility of self-salvation is what makes grace grace — unmerited, unearned, given to the helpless.
Galatians 3:24
"Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith."
— NKJV
The law's purpose was never to save but to tutor — to expose our need and drive us to Christ. Washer's point is deeply Pauline: divine commands reveal human inability and point to divine grace.