Bible Reading: Genesis 37; Job 3; Mark 7; Romans 7
Romans 7:7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.
Of course God's law is not sin. The Bible here tells us that Paul would not have known what sin was except by the law. When he read the Ten Commandments that say, "Thou shalt not covet," he realized what lust was. This is the purpose of God's law. It shows us how sinful we really are.
Romans 7:8-10 But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead. 9 For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. 10 And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.
When Paul read that commandment, he wanted to obey it because he knew it to be God's word. However, he found that sin in him was stirred up to all manner of lust. If there is no law, sin is dead. But when the law is known, the sin within is stirred up. We are such rebels that we don't want to be told what to do. God's law shows us the sin within much like a thermometer shows us the internal temperature of our bodies. The law kills us because we realize that we cannot keep the law.
It is like putting a small child in a room with a nice vase sitting on a coffee table. The child is playing quietly with her toys until you point to the vase and say, "Don't touch this." Now the sin within is stirred up by your law and the desire to touch that vase is incredible. It is not your law that is bad, but the sin within the child. When I go to eat Mexican food and the waitress tells me the plate is hot, I have this desire to touch that plate and prove how hot it really is! If she didn't say it, I probably wouldn't feel the need to touch the plate!
Romans 7:13 Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.
God's law is a good thing because it shows us the condition of our sinful hearts. We do not get upset at the thermometer when it shows we have a fever. God's law is holy and it points out the condition of your heat so you can run to Jesus Christ and trust in his finished work of redemption on the cross. The law can't save you; it shows your need for Jesus!
In Christ,
Rody
