And the Law?

The love of God, so rich and pure, so measureless and strong – oh to know that love in a greater and greater measure.

”As beautiful as My love is, as measureless as it is, I have been driven by it to bring about My whole creation. Every every act, every object, every person who is part of my creation is there because of My love. My love initiated it, and that is why you can be assured I will never abandon it. That I will never abandon anyone who seeks My love. I promote this continuing search . However there are those who persist in their sin and continually turn their back on Me, I may choose to abandon them and allow them to go on the way they have chosen. But as for you, My love binds you to me stronger than the strongest steel and softer than the softest velvet.”

As we continue in Romans 7, we are reminded that last week we saw that the Christian has died completely to the law as a means of salvation. The question then is, “is that the end of the law and our relationship to it?” The remaining part of the chapter answers that in rather a roundabout way, but we are clearly not finished with the law. Please read the remaining part of ch 7, although we will only deal with 7:7-13 today.

Paul unfolds his argument from 7:6 on in 5 steps:

1.Is the law in itself sin Vv 7-11.

2. Is what is good then become death to me? v 13

3. The law is spiritual but we are unspiritual. v 14-23

4. My desperate situation and its solution. vv24,25

5. The ongoing problem v 25b and ff

So then vv 7-11 “is the law in itself sin? Since we need to die completely to it. The answer is quite clear. The role of the law in anybody’s life is to make us aware of our sinfulness. The law does not make us sin, but makes us aware of when we are sinning and therefore leading to God’s condemnation which leads ultimately to our spiritual death. This passage does not describe Paul’s battle, although he uses the first person, but rather the universal problem everyone has. The final conclusion is in vs 12 So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.

vs 13 Did that which is good then, become death to me. This follows the thought that the law makes us aware of spiritual death because we cannot keep it. Paul is asking, “is it the law which brings condemnation and subsequent death?” The answer of course is that it is not the law that brings condemnation, but rather our inability to keep it and God’s judgement and condemnation which follow. Knowing the law just helps us to understand how serious sin (ie the breaking of the law) is since it leads to death (spiritual death). It generates a sense of the seriousness of sin, something which is absolutely necessary for one to want to seek some relief. The answer to which this chapter builds up to.

Next week the last 3 steps of Paul and a summary of His argument. I hope you are all slowly seeing past all Paul’s flowery arguments to understand His real message.And that this will ultimately help us all to be reminded again of how serious sin is and therefore how wonderful Jesus’ death and resurrection on our behalf is.

God bless you all till next week.