Why We All Know There’s a Moral Law—Even When We Try to Pretend Otherwise

 “For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law.” — Romans 2:14 (ESV)


Have you ever caught yourself saying, “That’s not fair!” — even when you’re the one stealing someone else’s lunch? Yeah, me too. Or thought, “I don’t like it when people lie" but when it comes to you, you say maybe this little white lie won’t hurt…” — only to find yourself doing exactly the thing you say you hate in others. If you’ve ever done this, congratulations: you just discovered the Moral Law in action.

C.S. Lewis, the legendary Christian thinker, wasn’t just some old professor playing with words when he wrote Mere Christianity. He said something simple yet wild: we all know there’s a “right” and a “wrong” — even when we try to convince ourselves otherwise.

You don’t need a PhD to figure this out. Just look around:

  • Why does a thief say, “That’s not fair!” when someone steals from him? He’s not saying stealing is okay; he’s claiming there’s a standard someone broke

  • Or imagine a person guilty of terrible sin who still screams if someone tries to harm his own daughter. It’s twisted, but it shows that even people who break rules believe those rules exist.

In other words, everyone is playing by the same rulebook — even if they rip out some pages.

But If We All Know the Moral Law, Why Do People Do Horrible Things?

Great question. Maybe you’re thinking, “Okay, fine, there’s some kind of universal ‘right’ and ‘wrong.’ But why didn’t this stop the Hutus from massacring the Tutsis in Rwanda?” Or why didn’t it stop the Nazis from committing their atrocities?

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: knowing the moral law and following it are two different things.

People can believe something is “right” and still twist it to justify evil.

  • The Nazis believed they were fighting for justice and purity — they didn’t say, “Morality doesn’t exist.”

  • The Hutus were told the Tutsis were enemies and threats, justifying horrific violence as “self-defense.”

Lewis nailed this when he said evil is not the absence of morality, but a corruption of it. People don’t just “forget” right and wrong — they rewrite it to suit their pride, fear, or hatred.

So, Are We All Just Hypocrites Then?

Pretty much. 

Lewis makes us uncomfortable by pointing out that even when we judge others, we’re often guilty of the same sins inside:

“We say people shouldn’t do certain things — but we do them ourselves before the day ends.”

Jesus said it too:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not murder,’ and whoever murders will be liable to judgment. But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment.” — Matthew 5:21-22

That anger, that judgmental spirit inside us — that’s the root of every big sin.


And What About God’s Mercy? Isn’t He More Merciful Than a Human Judge?

Oh, absolutely. God is the most merciful being in the universe. But mercy doesn’t mean ignoring evil.

Imagine a judge who lets a murderer go free just because he donated to charity. We wouldn’t call him merciful — we’d call him corrupt.

God’s mercy is perfect justice meeting perfect forgiveness. Jesus’ death and resurrection satisfied that justice for all who trust Him.


Why Does This Matter?

Because it means:

  • There is a moral law — you can’t just wish it away.

  • We all break that law — even when we try to justify ourselves.

  • The evil in history — from Rwanda to the Holocaust — proves that corrupted morality without God’s truth is dangerous.

  • We need forgiveness and transformation that only Jesus can give.

Questions to Ponder

  • If there really is a moral law written on your heart, why do you try to ignore or explain away your failures?

  • Have you ever caught yourself judging someone else for a sin you secretly struggle with?

  • What does it mean for your life that Jesus both judges sin and offers mercy to sinners?

Closing verse:
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” — Romans 3:23-24

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