Series: Romans
Title: Is the
Law Sin?
Text: Romans 7:
7-13
Date: December
9, 2018
Place: SGBC, NJ
Paul has been declaring
how the believer is free from sin and free from the law. He even
illustrated our freedom from the law portraying the law as a husband,
contrasted with Christ as a Husband. This
brings to mind the picture of the law as a strict husband: always examining his
wife and finding fault, giving her no strength, no love, no forgiveness, no
mercy, always declaring her guilty. So the Holy Spirit of God makes Paul ask the
question he knows people may think.
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. 8:
But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, [But sin]…wrought in me all manner
of concupiscence. [desire which the law forbid] 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. 11:
For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.
12:
Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.
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.
Proposition: Is the law sin? God forbid.
THE LAW REVEALS SIN
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.
The law is not sin; the law makes known our sin. God gave the law to sinners for this one reason—to
make us know our sin—"I had not known sin, but by the law: for I
had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.”
The law was not
given as a code of moral ethics: to be the believer’s rule of life. Believers “walk by faith” (2 Cor 5: 17) “We wait for the hope of righteousness by
faith” (Gal 5:5) “The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith:
but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. (Gal 3: 11) God did not give the
law to motivate believers to serve him—"for the love of Christ constraineth us” (2 Cor 5: 14) God did
not give the law as a measure of sanctification, Christ is our sancification.
(1 Cor 1: 30) The only purpose of
God’s law is to identify, expose, and condemn our sin, shutting us up to Christ
alone for acceptance with God—"I had not known sin, but by the law:
for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.”
Romans 3: 19: Now we know that what things soever the
law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be
stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 20: Therefore by the
deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law
is the knowledge of sin.
Romans 5:
20: Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound.
USING THE LAW UNLAWFULLY
Romans 7: 8: 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:…
Due to our being born the first
time dead in sin, until God gives spiritual discernment to make us hear the
law, our sin makes us use the law unlawfully.
It was not the law that made Paul desire what the law forbid. Paul says “But sin…wrought in me all manner of concupiscence.” It was Paul’s own sin working in him all
manner of covetousness. Sin made him
covet the very things the law forbid, mainly to make himself his idol god.
When a sinner tries to justify and
sanctify himself by the law he is breaking every law because he breaks the last
command by coveting the very thing the first commandment forbids, which is to
have no other gods but God alone! He is
making himself god by attempting to save himself and have the glory that
belongs to God alone.
Paul’s sin “took occasion by the commandment.”
Paul’s sin made him use the law
unlawfully. It made him attempt to save
himself by obeying the law.
Even worse, Paul’s sin made him
think he had done so—"For without
the law sin was dead. For I was
alive without the law once:” “Without the law”
does not mean that Paul did not have the law.
It means he could not hear the law.
When he says “I was alive without
the law once” it means there was a time when Paul thought he was alive. The problem was that he simply could not hear
the law pronounce him guilty. At that
time, he thought the law only demanded external obedience. All his confidence was in external obedience
and deeds:
Philippians 3: 4: Though I might also have confidence
in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in
the flesh, I more: 5 Circumcised the
eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the
Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; 6
Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness
which is in the law, blameless.
In New Orleans once I took my
family through a graveyard to see a whited sepulcher. Outside it was freshly painted. When looking through the crack in the door
you could see inside it was dirty. That was Paul’s problem while he was Saul of
Tarsus. The Lord Jesus said, “Woe unto
you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres,
which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones,
and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men,
but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.” (Mt 23:27-28)
John Gill said, “Like the rest of
the Pharisees, [Paul] thought the law only regarded the outward actions, and
did not reach to the spirits or souls of men, the inward thoughts and
affections of the mind.”
All of us are born dead in
trespasses and in sins. A man can become
religious without being born of God. But
while dead, sinners attempt to come to God by the works of the law because they
cannot hear the law. It is in that sense
that Paul speaks of being “without the
law.” He could not hear it. Therefore,
Romans 8:
5: They that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh.
They desire to
hear the law, to hear what they must and must not do, because their mind is set
on their fleshly doing, not on Christ and what he has done. For that reason
Romans 8: 6.
For to be carnally minded is death…7: For the carnal mind is enmity
against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
The law
declares “every imagination of the
thoughts of our hearts are only evil continually.” (Gen 6: 5) The law
declares we are guilty in thought, in the heart, even if we do not commit the act. This
inability to hear the law is what causes men to be self-righteous, exalting
themselves and looking down on others—clearing themselves and condemning
others. So the
problem is not in the law, the problem is man by nature is a dead sinner who
cannot hear the law therefore he uses the law unlawfully.
1 Timothy 1: 8
But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; 9 Knowing this, that the law is not made for a
righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for
sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of
mothers, for manslayers, 10: For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves
with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be
any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;
WHEN THE COMMANDMENT COMES
Romans 7: 11…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. 11: For
sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me. 12: Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and
just, and good.
When God makes
us hear the law then we see our sin and all our righteousnesses become filthy
rags.
“When the commandment came”—when the
Spirit of God entered in and gave Paul spiritual understanding then he heard
the law for the first time.
1 Corinthians 2: 15: But he that is spiritual judgeth
[discerneth] all things,…
When
God gives us discernment to hear the law “sin
revived, and I died.” Before he
heard the law the “big I” that was alive was that big, proud self-righteous
Pharisee.
Ask a will-worshipper what his hope is and he will begin “I”! “Big I” has got to be killed by the law!
At
that time, in Paul’s estimation—“his sin
was dead and I was alive”. But when
God made him hear the law “sin became
alive, and I died.” When God gives spiritual discernment, for
the first time, we behold our sin alive and thriving. Then everything we thought was righteousness
becomes filthy rags. We see ourselves
guilty and our mouths are shut before God!
Then we
find out what the true purpose of the law is.
While dead in sin Paul thought the law was ordained to give him life. When given spiritual discernment, he found the
law was given to be a ministration of death—"And the
commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. For sin, [taking
occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by [my sin] slew me.”
Galatians 3: 21…for if
there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness
should have been by the law. 22 But the scripture hath concluded all under
sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that
believe.
Listen to Paul
describe what the law was given to minister unto us, to reveal unto us and do
unto us:
2 Corinthians 3: 6: Who also hath made us able
ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the
letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. 7: But if the ministration of death,
written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel
could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance;
which glory was to be done away: 8 How
shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? 9: For if the
ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of
righteousness exceed in glory.
So
again, Paul says, the fault was not in the law—sin deceived me and slew me—causing
me to use the law unlawfully. So here is Paul’s conclusion concerning the law—"Wherefore
the law is holy, and the
commandment holy, and just, and good.” There
is nothing wrong with God’s law. God’s
law is like God who gave it: Holy, Just and Good! God’s chief attribute is he is Holy!
THE LAW WAS NOT MADE DEATH UNTO ME
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.
Nothing about
the law changes. Before I heard it, the
law was holy just and good; after I heard it, the law was holy, just and good. But “by
that which is good”, my sin was made to appear sin. “By that which was good”, I saw my sin had worked death in me. “By the
commandment”, my sin became exceeding sinful.
THE OBEDIENCE OF ONE
Has God used the law to shut your
mouth? When God makes us behold
ourselves to be the sinner then God reveals that the law is established for God’s
people by the obedience of one, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 5: 19…by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. 20: Moreover
the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace
did much more abound: 21: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace
reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
For his people, the Son of God was made of a woman, made under the law
that he might redeem us from the curse of the law. Do you want to see one who is as holy, just
and good as the law? Look to Christ
Jesus the Son of God.
The Holy One took the sin of his people and drank the dregs of the cup of
God’s fury dry, bearing every stripe of divine wrath that his people deserved,
so that we might enjoy the peace of free forgiveness with God! To everyone who casts their care on him, God
say that we are dead to sin by Christ’s work on the cross. We also are dead to the law by Christ.
Romans 7: 4: Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law
by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is
raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.
Have you been slain by the law? Do
you see yourself exceedingly sinful? Do
you say with Paul, “O wretched man that I
am, who shall save me from the body of this death?” Then I have good news, Christ came to save
sinners.
Luke 5: 31: And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need
not a physician; but they that are sick. 32: I came not to call the righteous, but
sinners to repentance.
Has God made all your self-righteous works dung unto you so that all you
want is Christ and his righteousness?
That is what God did for Paul.
Philippians 3: 7: But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss
for Christ. 8 Yea doubtless, and I count
all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my
Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but
dung, that I may win Christ, 9: And be found in him, not having mine own
righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ,
The law’s purpose is to be a schoolmaster to make us see we are
exceedingly sinful. Through the gospel of Christ we are made to flee to Christ to
be justified of Christ by faith.
Galatians 3: 24: Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto
Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25: But after that faith is come,
we are no longer under a schoolmaster. 26
For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
Dear sinner, if the law has slain all your vain thoughts that you are
righteous by your own obedience then flee to Christ. If God has shown you Christ, who established
the law for his people, then cast all your care on him and you shall be saved.
Amen!