What is it about law, or the law, that will not release a person apart from death?

This text is from a transcript of a talk by David Gooding, entitled ‘God’s Power for Salvation’ (2005).

I think the answer to that is simply because of what the law is. If we are under the law and the law says, 'You have sinned there, and you must be executed', I can't just walk away and say, 'I don't like you; you're far too strict you know, and I shall now run away; and I shall take myself outside the remit of the law!' 'No you won't,' says the law. 'The law demands that you be executed. You can't just walk out of it.' I think that is what Scripture means, which seems to me to be borne out by Galatians 4. Before Christ came they were in slavery:

but when the fulness of the time came, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law. (Galatians 4:4)

What for?

that he might redeem them which were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. (Galatians 4:5)

He couldn't just come and invite folks to leave the law behind. They had sinned under it. Christ couldn't say, 'Yes, you sinned under the law, didn't you? But nowadays nobody takes any notice of the law, you know, so don't worry about that. Nothing will come of it.'

No, no. If they are to be released from the law, then the penalty must be paid. We have to be redeemed from the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And Hebrews 9 likewise says the same thing:

And for this cause he is the mediator of a new covenant, that a death having taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first covenant . . . (Hebrews 9:15)

Israel was under the first covenant and had transgressed it many times. Along comes Christ. Christ cannot say, 'Well, never mind that. I mean, that's old-fashioned stuff. Nobody takes any notice of it now. You did transgress, but never mind; don't bother about that. You come under my system; that's far better.' No; that old law was given by God, and people who transgressed it were in serious trouble and were guilty and deserved the penalty. And before they could come over to the new covenant, a sacrifice had to be offered to redeem them, to release them, to cover the transgressions that were under the first covenant. And Christ did that, of course. He paid by his blood to redeem them from the penalty of the law under that covenant, because he suffered the penalty and paid it for them.