What is the purpose of God’s law if it can’t save us?
7What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead. 9Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. 10I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. 11For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. 12So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good. 13Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! Nevertheless, in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it used what is good to bring about my death, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.
Romans 7:7-13 (NIV)
In Romans 7:7-13, Paul addresses a potential misunderstanding that could arise from his argument in the previous verses. He has stated that believers have been released from the law and are now bound to Christ. This might lead some to conclude that the law itself is sinful. Paul quickly refutes this notion, stating emphatically, “Certainly not!”
He explains that the main purpose of the law is to reveal the nature of sin. It does this in two ways:
- It defines sin. Paul uses the example of coveting, saying he would not have known what it was if the law had not said, “Do not covet.” The law provides a clear standard of right and wrong.
- It exposes the sin within us. Paul writes, “Apart from the law, sin is dead.” When we are confronted with God’s commandments, it stirs up and makes evident the sin that resides in our hearts. Paul found that the more he tried to avoid coveting, the more it grew within him. The law made sin “utterly sinful” to him.
The law’s purpose is not to save us, but to show us that we need to be saved. Unless it carries out this convicting work, we will remain in denial about the depth of our sin and fail to see our need for Christ’s grace.
Paul then makes a shocking assertion: the law actually provokes sin within us. He suggests there is a perversity in our hearts that makes us desire to do something simply because it is forbidden.
To illustrate this point, Paul alludes to a story from Augustine’s Confessions. As a boy, Augustine stole pears from a tree, even though he had better pears of his own. He stole them simply for the thrill of doing what was not allowed. Augustine realized that the ultimate motive behind every sin is the desire to “play God” and defy His authority over us.
God’s laws serve as a reminder that we are not sovereign and prevent us from living however we wish. The essence of sin is that it hates this infringement on our self-rule. As seen in the Garden of Eden, the serpent’s temptation was, “You will be like God.” This desire to usurp God’s place is at the heart of all sin.
Consequently, the more we are exposed to God’s law, the more this sinful force is stirred up within us. The law, though good and holy, acts as a catalyst for sin to spring to life.
In summary, Paul argues that the law is not sinful in itself, but it plays a crucial role in revealing and even provoking sin within us. Its purpose is to make us aware of our sinfulness and our desperate need for a Savior. Only when we understand this can we fully appreciate and embrace the grace offered to us in Christ.
Have you ever found yourself wanting to do something simply because it was forbidden? What does this reveal about the nature of sin in our hearts?
[This material for Romans 7:7-25 was drawn from Tim Keller’s book “Romans 1-7 for You“]
As I think back to the begining stages of my active alcoholism and addiction, I recall thinking to myself that I was going to do whatever I wanted to do in order to make myself feel as good as possible at all times. This began with the copious consumption of alcohol and drugs, but I also remember at a certain point, I became given over to doing pretty much anything and everything that was “forbidden.” If I wanted something, I decided I would just take it. In retrospect, the underlying thought behind it all was, as our reading points out, that I was my own god and in control of my world. Nobody else was going to tell me what I could or could not do. Today, though my outward behavior has drastically changed, I would have to confess that this perverse, defiant nature still lurks in my heart. When I feel angry, it is usually because someone else is not behaving the way I think they should, and I am still trying to “play God.” Sin runs deep, and at its core is a pride which cries out, “I am my own god!” But for the grace of God I am nothing more than a guide to my own destruction, as Augustine also once said.
I don’t know if I would actually do something forbidden just because it was. However, I might try go to the edge of what’s forbidden or a little beyond because of my legalistic mindset. If the speed limit is 20mph and the radar guns they used is know to have a +/- 10% error then I might go 22mph because it won’t get me into trouble. I often said that I wouldn’t park in a parking lot that’s completely empty if there is a sign that said no parking because that’s clear but if there is any wiggle room, I might take it. Before I came to know the law, I would do the same but then I wouldn’t feel guilty over it. Now that I know the law, I feel guilty when I don’t follow the spirit of the law. For me, the law doesn’t necessarily make me sin more but the law expose my sins for what they are and I recognize many sins that I have previously done that wouldn’t bother me before now is a burden on my conscience. Worse, when I examine my heart and try to be honest with myself, knowing I can’t fool God, I see my nature is quite impure. Even if a acted perfectly and follow the law perfectly, my heart still shows my depravity. Jerimiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” – it is just our condition and there is nothing I can do now that I recognize sins for what it is I find it impossible to correct, thank God for His mercy and grade – Ephesian 2:8-9 – “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” God will do His redemptive work and for my part I just “…fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person…” – Ecc 12:13-14