QT 11/19/2024 Rom 7:7-12, The Bible is good, holy, and deadly

Romans 7:7–12 (ESV) —

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.

 

NOTE: Constable writes that "… the Law is not sinful simply because it makes us aware of what is sinful." The Law is actually for our good if we could keep it. It is the User Manual for human existence. But it is also what "drives" sin. As Mounce writes:

 

"The point is often made that only after a rule is put in place do people want to do whatever it forbids. What Paul was saying, however, goes beyond the psychological observation that stolen fruits are the sweetest. From a human perspective law is mistakenly viewed as a restriction that in turn causes resentment and gives rise to rebellion. Paul may have had the Genesis account of Adam’s first sin in mind. Apart from law sin is dead in the sense that undefined, it technically does not exist (cf. 4:15). No matter how swift and straight the arrow, without a target there can be no bull’s-eye."

[Mounce, R. H. (1995). Romans (Vol. 27, p. 164). Broadman & Holman Publishers.]

 

So, in what sense was Paul alive apart from the law. There are two possibilities, One, we thought we were alive, but we were always dead. Or two, prior to the fall in the garden, we were not tempted to sin. It was only after the fall, that sin took advantage of our weakened nature and gave us the desire to sin against both the written law and the law of our conscience.

 

So, we are left with a good and holy thing, the law, that only brought me death. That is the discussion for the next paragraph.

 

PONDER:

1. Do I see the bible as God's user manual for life?
2. Or do I see the bible as a restriction I want to avoid?

 

PRAYER: Father, the law made me aware of my utter sinfulness, but also of how to live in a manner that is good for my soul. I would be a mess without your word and the Holy Spirit living within me. Thank you for my salvation and the healing I have experienced through your word.