Romans 7 v 7 – 13
7 What then shall we say? That the Law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the Law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the Law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the Law, sin lies dead.
9 I was once alive apart from the Law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died.
10 The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. 11 For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.
12 So the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. 13 Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure. (ESV)
What we learn about the Law:
- It reveals sin (v 7) – shows it up for what it is and our propensity to do it.
The cause of it is in the heart (Mat 5:21-48).
The Law reveals the wretchedness of the human heart. - It revives sin (v 8) – sin causes us to desire what the Law prohibits.
The Law reveals an attitude in the sinner which wants to break the Law. - It ruins sinners (vv 9-11) – Paul kept the Law in an effort to obtain eternal life and didn’t do too badly, but he learned the harsh lesson of Isaiah 64:6: “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.”
Before we can be saved, we must first know how lost we are.
You can try to save yourself through good works, but it will all fail.
Paul came to the realization that a life lived under the Law is living death!
The righteousness of Christ is all that saves sinners (Phil. 3:7).
The Law has to be abandoned for the Prince of Life. - It reflects sin (vv 12-13) – Sin can take the Law and twist it into an instrument of death.
The Law was given to point us to the path of Life, which is the Lord Jesus Christ. He died on the cross for our sins after perfectly obeying the demands of the Law.
The Law cannot remove sin. For that, you need the blood of Christ.