THE HOLY LAW

Passage: Romans 7:7-13

Key verse: 13

NIV

The Law and Sin

7 What shall we say, then?(A) Is the law sinful? Certainly not!(B) Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law.(C) For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”[a](D) 8 But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment,(E) produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead.(F) 9 Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. 10 I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life(G) actually brought death. 11 For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment,(H) deceived me,(I) and through the commandment put me to death. 12 So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.(J)

13 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(K) to bring about my death,(L) so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.

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Footnotes
  1. Romans 7:7 Exodus 20:17; Deut. 5:21
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

The Law and Sin

7 What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, (A)I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if (B)the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, (C)seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. (D)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 (E)that promised life proved to be death to me. 11 For sin, (F)seizing an opportunity through the commandment, (G)deceived me and through it killed me. 12 So (H)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.

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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

1. Law exposes the sinful nature (7-8)

The tenth commandment is 'Do not covet.' It is the only commandment directed toward our inner desires. A well-disciplined person might keep his hand from stealing, but he cannot keep his heart from coveting. Paul was an able and self-righteous Pharisee. But he realized that his heart was full of worldly ambition and covetous desires; he knew that he was a sinner. He could not solve his own sin problem, so he despaired. Then he met Jesus.

2. The commandment is righteous (9-13)

God is righteous, and his law is holy and good. But law has no power to cleanse one's heart and life from sin. Law only makes demands which cannot be met. A person who longs for righteousness only realizes how sinful he is. Paul uses strong language. He said, 'The good law killed me.' The law diagnoses sin; it is used by God to bring conviction of sin. But the law cannot solve our sin problem.

Prayer: Lord, I know that I am a sinner, unable to help myself. Thank you for forgiving me through the blood of Jesus.

One Word: Recognize sin as sin