God’s Law Reveals Our Sin

How Sin Uses God’s Good Commandments for Evil

Romans 7:7-13 NLT
God’s Law Reveals Our Sin

⁷ Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful? Of course not! In fact, it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, “You must not covet.” ⁸ But sin used this command to arouse all kinds of covetous desires within me! If there were no law, sin would not have that power. ⁹ At one time I lived without understanding the law. But when I learned the command not to covet, for instance, the power of sin came to life, ¹⁰ and I died. So I discovered that the law’s commands, which were supposed to bring life, brought spiritual death instead. ¹¹ Sin took advantage of those commands and deceived me; it used the commands to kill me. ¹² But still, the law itself is holy, and its commands are holy and right and good. ¹³ But how can that be? Did the law, which is good, cause my death? Of course not! Sin used what was good to bring about my condemnation to death. So we can see how terrible sin really is. It uses God’s good commands for its own evil purposes.

Last week, we learned that

• We died to the power of the law when we died with Christ (Romans 7:4 NLT).
• When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death (Romans 7:5 NLT).
• Now that we have been released from the law —for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power—we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit (Romans 7:6 NLT).

Today, Paul asks a question. See verse 7^a.

^7a Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful?

He answers in verse 7^b.

^7b Of course not! In fact, it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, “You must not covet.”

The law teaches us what sin is (7^b) and how sinful we are (Romans 3:20^b). The law itself is holy, and its commands are holy and right and good (12).

However, Paul explains how sin uses the law to arouse our sinful desires. For example, sin uses the command “You must not covet” (Exodus 20:17, Deuteronomy 5:21) to arouse all kinds of covetous desires within us (8^a). If there were no law, sin would not have that power (8^b). Paul lived without understanding or knowing the law but when he learned the command not to covet, for instance, the power of sin came to life (9), and his sense of innocence died, and he discovered that the law’s commands —commands that were supposed to bring life—brought spiritual death instead (10). So Paul says in verse 11.

¹¹ Sin took advantage of those commands and deceived me; it used the commands to kill me.

Again, still the law itself is holy, and its commands are holy and right and good (12). So Paul asks another question. See verse 13^a.

^13a But how can that be? Did the law, which is good, cause my death?

Paul answers in verse 13^b.

^13b Of course not! Sin used what was good to bring about my condemnation to death.

Paul concludes in 13^c.

^13c So we can see how terrible sin really is. It uses God’s good commands for its own evil purposes.