{"id":225488,"date":"2024-06-16T08:57:43","date_gmt":"2024-06-16T15:57:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vayhub.us\/rdpt22\/?p=225488"},"modified":"2024-06-16T08:57:46","modified_gmt":"2024-06-16T15:57:46","slug":"ra12a","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vayhub.us\/rdpt22\/ra12a","title":{"rendered":"RA12a"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What is the purpose of God’s law if it can’t save us?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n

7<\/sup>What 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, \u201cYou shall not covet.\u201d 8<\/sup>But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead. 9<\/sup>Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. 10<\/sup>I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. 11<\/sup>For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. 12<\/sup>So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good. 13<\/sup>Did 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.<\/p>\nRomans 7:7-13 (NIV)<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He explains that the main purpose of the law is to reveal the nature of sin. It does this in two ways:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. 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.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. 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.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    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?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    [This material for Romans 7:7-25 was drawn from Tim Keller’s book “Romans 1-7 for You<\/a>“]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    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. 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