The Law Clarified Sin

Transcript

GR 1434
06/06/10
The Law Clarified Sin
Romans 7:7
Gil Rugh

We're going to Romans 7 in our study together. We're talking about the Mosaic Law in Romans 7 and we're going to spend a little bit of time doing some related reminders from different portions of the word of God. Some of you who have studied Romans are aware that we have come into a very controversial section of the book of Romans. From Romans 7:7-25 is probably the most debated section of the book of Romans. There have been numerous articles and books written on this section, and we'll be spending a little bit of time in it. We'll be doing a portion of that section this morning, but much of what we do will lay the background for the rest of the book of Romans. I've been greatly helped on this section of the book of Romans by works by Douglas Moo and his commentary on Romans and then he has written a number of other articles related to the subject. I have found it very profitable and helpful and I think clarifying.

Romans 7 moves us into the subject of the Mosaic Law. We've already delved into that a little bit. In chapter 6 we talked about the fact that the believer died to sin when we were identified with Christ in His death and burial, the power and authority of sin over us was broken and we were raised to new life, to serve under a new master—the Lord, righteousness. When we come to chapter 7 Paul is clarifying that identification with Christ also broke the authority and rule of the Mosaic Law over a life as well. But it is essential for us to keep in mind that the Mosaic Law was given to Jews, not to Gentiles. Gentiles never did live under the Mosaic Law. Some Christians are greatly confused on this today and think believers are under the Mosaic Law. We have never lived under the Mosaic Law. The Law was given to one nation, one nation only, the nation Israel. And so we want to keep this in mind when we talk about the Law. When Paul began chapter 7, “Or do you not know brethren, I'm speaking to those who know the Law, that the Law has jurisdiction over a person as long as he lives,” he's talking about Jews. The problem came in New Testament times that a number of Jews professed faith in Christ, but some of those Jews never understood the clarity of salvation by grace through faith in Christ. So they professed faith in Christ but said it is also necessary for a person to be circumcised and keep the Law for salvation and for sanctification. They tried to put the Gentiles under the Law and the scripture does not do that.

Come back to Exodus 19. Here we have the beginning of the giving of the Mosaic Law, the Law that was given to Moses on Mt. Sinai after he brought the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt. And we are told they are three months out of Egypt, now they are at Mt. Sinai. Verse 1, “In the third month after the sons of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that very day they came into the Wilderness of Sinai. “ Verse 3, “Moses went up to God and the Lord called to him from the mountain saying, thus you shall say to the house of Jacob and to the sons of Israel.” You'll note who this message from God is addressed to, it is addressed to the house of Jacob. “Tell the sons of Israel.” Remember Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. And Jacob's name was changed to Israel. And then Jacob had the twelve sons who become the leaders, the heads of the twelve tribes of Israel. So to talk about the house of Jacob, you're talking about Israel. The sons of Israel are the descendants of Jacob. He reminds them of what he has done to deliver them.

Verse 5,”Now then if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be my own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine. You shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” These are the words that you shall speak to all the world. No, that's not what it says. “These are the words you shall speak to the sons of Israel.” So the Mosaic covenant is specifically addressed and limited to one nation, to one people—the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the sons of Israel. Come down to verse 20, “The Lord came down on Mt. Sinai, to the top of the mountain and the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain and Moses went up. The Lord spoke to Moses, ‘go down and tell him to warn the people’” and so on.

And we move into chapter 20, and the Ten Commandments are given, the most familiar portion of the Mosaic Law. The Jews divided the Mosaic Law into 613 commandments, most of us are familiar with the Ten Commandments. Many of you learned them even as children. They are given here at the beginning of the unfolding of all the details of the Mosaic Law. I want to draw your attention to verse 8,”Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shall you labor and do all your work, on the seventh day it is a Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall not do any work. And that includes your whole household.” Come down to verse 22, “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘thus you shall say to the sons of Israel.’” Again, it's addressed to Israel. “You yourselves have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven.” Then goes on with further instructions and commands to them.

Over in Exodus 31:12, “The Lord spoke to Moses saying,’ but as for you speak to the sons of Israel saying.’” It's a repeated reminder and we don't have time to work through all the times when it is addressed to Israel. And then, of course, later on the scripture makes clear referring back to the Law that God gave to Israel. Note what he says in verse 13, “But as for you, speak to the sons of Israel saying, ‘you shall surely observe My Sabbaths, for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you. Therefore you are to observe the Sabbath for it is holy. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death, whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among the people. For six days' work may be done, but on the seventh there is a Sabbath of complete rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath shall surely be put to death. So the sons of Israel shall observe the Sabbath, to celebrate the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between Me and the sons of Israel forever, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth,’” and so on. You see the stress.

When I was a young person my parents were graciously saved and they were influenced by people who were confused over the Law and they taught them that you need to keep the Sabbath day holy. And that is Sunday. So my parents wanted to do what the Lord told them so I wasn't allowed to ride my bicycle on Sunday, we were not supposed to go out and play and do a lot of things. Keep it down, this is a serious day. And good intentions, but you know what? The Sabbath day wasn't given to that Gentile family in Pittsburgh, it was given to the nation Israel, the sign of God's covenant with the descendants of Jacob. And besides, God is clear here. Exodus 31:15, “Six days' work may be done, but on the seventh day.” We were on the first day. We want to be clear that the Mosaic Law was given to a specific earthly nation, the nation Israel. If we're not clear on this, everything else is going to be confusing.

Come over to Romans 2. We have looked into Romans 2 so we're not going to repeat the details of what we did. But just note, verse 9. Again, we're talking about the judgment that will come upon sinful people—Jews and Gentiles alike. All are sinners, all will face an impartial judge and all will be condemned because of their sin. Verse 9, “There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God,” now note this, “For all who have sinned without the Law will perish without the Law.” Those are the Gentiles. The Gentiles didn't have the Mosaic Law, the Mosaic Law hadn't been given to or for Gentiles. But Gentiles still will come under the judgment of God and still be condemned and perish for their sin. “All who have sinned under the Law,” that's the Jews, “will be judged by the Law. For it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law.” Remember the Jews thought they were in a special class and category, and they are, but not the way they thought. They thought they would get a different kind of judgment and be spared condemnation because they had the Law. Remember Paul's argument was it's not having the Law, it's if you lived in obedience to the Law. Judgment will come without partiality. And the Gentiles are those who don't have the Law.

Christians are confused on this today. And there was more confusion in New Testament times. Come over to Acts 15. What happened, the early church was Jewish to start. Acts 2, Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost to a Jewish audience observing the Feast of Pentecost in Jerusalem. And multitudes of Jews believed and are saved and are baptized. The gospel is preached, but not to Gentiles. It's not until Acts 10 that Peter will go and preach the gospel to a Gentile audience. And there it takes special intervention of God with a special vision repeated to Peter so he would be willing to go and tell a Gentile about the salvation that was provided in the death and resurrection of Christ. Peter does that and for the first time Gentiles hear and believe the gospel. Do you know what the response of the other apostles in Jerusalem was? They called Peter in to give an account in Acts 11. Why did you go and preach the gospel to Gentiles? So you see there was a struggle here, for the Jews to grasp that Gentiles could be saved by faith in Christ.

Well Paul got saved in Acts 9, then he begins his missionary journeys in Acts 13 and you know what Paul is doing on his missionary journeys—he is carrying the gospel out to Gentile peoples in other parts of the world. A debate comes up because some Jews were saying, ‘it's great Gentiles are believing in Christ, believing He is the Jewish Messiah, believing He died on the cross and was raised from the dead. That's wonderful but that's not enough, they must also be circumcised and keep the Law.’ And there was such a conflict over this subject that they determined they would have a conference in Jerusalem where the apostles could address the issue.

So Acts 15 is telling about the Jerusalem Conference. Verse 1, “Some men came down from Judea.” Now they came down, Paul is in Antioch of Pisidia and that is north of Jerusalem. But you always come down from Judea and Jerusalem, wherever you are going. So they come from the Jerusalem area and they come to Antioch where Paul is, and we're in a Gentile area. “And they began teaching the brethren, ‘unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses you cannot be saved.’” Now note, they are not denying that Jesus is the Messiah, they are not denying that He died on the cross to pay the penalty for sin and was raised from the dead, they are saying that's not enough. “Paul and Barnabas had great dissension and debate with them.” So people say, the only way to resolve this is find out what the apostles say, they are the head of the church. You remember they couldn't turn to the book of Galatians, they couldn't turn to the book of Romans. The New Testament hadn't been written yet. But the apostles are living in Jerusalem, that's the center of the church. So we'll go down and find out what the apostles have to say to settle the debate.

Therefore they are sent on their way and they pass through the region on the way to Jerusalem. They arrive at Jerusalem, verse 4, “They were received by the church, the apostles, the elders. They reported all that God had done with them.” Now note this, “but some of the sect of the Pharisees who had believed.” This is remarkable. With all the persecution that comes to a Jew for acknowledging Jesus as the Messiah, these Pharisees had professed faith in Christ. They stand up in this conference and say, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to direct them to observe the Law of Moses.” We have believed in Jesus, we believe He is the Messiah of Israel, we believe He is the Savior. That is not enough, you must also circumcise them and teach them to observe the Law of Moses. We say, why that? Well, think about it. You are early in the church, you don't have the New Testament yet written and it makes sense. God gave the Law to His people, Israel, now He is saving Gentiles. But wouldn't He want them to keep the Law, too? That seems to make sense, but it is not true, it is not biblical. It is a denial of the grace of God and a misunderstanding of the Law.

So the apostles and the elders, the leaders of the church, consider the matter. There is much discussion, much debate. Then Peter stands up and he is the ideal spokesman because he has recognition. Peter. Who was more prominent during Christ's earthly ministry among His followers than Peter? Here is a man who has stature. Who preached the first sermon on the Day of Pentecost that established the church? Peter. So Peter stands up and said, “Brethren, you know in the early days God made a choice among you that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of the gospel and believe.” That goes back to Acts 10. Understand, God selected me to be the first one to carry the gospel to the Gentiles that they might hear and believe. “God who knows the heart testified to them, giving them the Holy Spirit just as He also did to us.” That was the argument in chapter 11 as Peter told the other apostles what God had done. They received the Holy Spirit just like the Jews did, so there can't be any argument that salvation was for the Gentiles as well as the Jews. “And He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith.” What happened? Peter is preaching the gospel at the house of Cornelius in Acts 10, he is preaching the gospel of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. They believe and the Holy Spirit comes upon them. They hadn't been circumcised, they hadn't been baptized, they hadn't committed themselves to keep the Law. None of this has happened. But they have the Holy Spirit, they are saved.

Sounds like the argument of Romans 4 about Abraham, doesn't it? Was Abraham circumcised when God declared him righteous? No. Then circumcision can't be necessary for salvation. God wouldn't declare him righteous if he had to be circumcised to be righteous before God. So here Peter said, the Holy Spirit came upon the Gentiles when I preached the gospel to them and they weren't circumcised. God made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith. Now therefore, this is a key verse as a background and foundation for what we are talking about in Romans 7. Why therefore do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear. What hypocrisy. We Jews and our fathers, our ancestors, couldn't keep the Law. Why now would you try to impose the Law on Gentiles when we Jews couldn't keep the Law? It's an impossibility. We believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus in the same way as they are also. That's it. It's by grace through faith. The Law is not part of it. We believe they are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus. You bring the Law in, it is no longer pure grace, it's no longer grace at all. You have corrupted grace and made it works. That's the conclusion at the conference. They'll have more discussion, James the leader will give a summary. But no circumcision is required. Obedience to the Mosaic Law is not required.

Come over to the book of Galatians. Some have referred to Galatians as something of a rough outline of the book of Romans. You know what was going on in the churches of Galatia? Galatia is a Gentile part of the world, Paul had preached the gospel in the region of Galatia and churches had been established. You know what happened after Paul left? These Jews who professed faith in Christ but believed the Mosaic Law was necessary to salvation and sanctification came into those churches and began to teach them. It's wonderful you Gentiles have believed in the Jewish Messiah, but that's not enough. You also have to be circumcised and keep the Law to be saved. So Paul wrote the letter to the Galatian churches. He reminded them, Galatians 1:3, in his greeting, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ who gave Himself for our sins that He might rescue us from this present evil age.” Right at the beginning he sets out what the issue is. Christ gave Himself for our sins. This is the total picture. Then he says in verse 6, “I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ for a different, which is really not another gospel like the one I preach, it is a totally different creation. There are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed, anathema, condemned to hell.” You see how serious this issue is. You move through the book of Galatians, you know what the issue is—it is a matter of believing in Jesus Christ plus keeping the Law. That's what Paul is pronouncing a curse on. Even if an angel from heaven came down and told you that you must believe in Christ and also keep the Mosaic Law to be saved, that angel is going to hell. That's how serious a corruption it is.

This is a serious matter for us because we have the idea that as long as a person has the four points of the gospel correct, everything else is irrelevant. Everything else is not irrelevant. A person may have the four points, and I'm just saying four points of the gospel, we want to narrow the gospel down, what are the essential points and facts of the gospel

You believe Jesus is the Son of God, you believe He is the Messiah of Israel, you believe that He suffered and died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins, you believe He was buried and raised on the third day and He is alive today. And you must also keep the Mosaic Law. You are condemned to hell. You don't have the facts of the gospel right because you don't understand the gospel is a message of God's grace at work in His Son. He repeats that condemnation in verse 9, and he says this gospel is a revelation from God so it can't be altered or changed.

You come down to chapter 2 and he refers to the conference that we just read about in Acts 15 and the issues there. And he said Titus traveled with them but Titus was not required to be circumcised, he's a Gentile. So verse 3, he wasn't required to be circumcised. Don't want there to be any confusion here, Paul says. “But it was,” verse 4, “because of the false brethren secretly brought in. You see how Paul identifies these Jews who professed faith in Christ. They are false brethren, secretly brought in.” They've come in, in disguise, they are smuggled in as Christians, but they don't understand the gospel. They are there as agents of satan to distort the gospel. They “had sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus in order to bring us into bondage. But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.”

Peter got confused, Barnabas got confused over this issue, we are told down in verses 11-13. Paul had to rebuke Peter. Verse 15, but “we are Jews by nature, not sinners from among the Gentiles.” And that was a clear line drawn. Paul could refer, we Jews see ourselves, how we saw the Gentiles. “Nevertheless knowing that man is not justified by the works of the Law, but through faith in Christ Jesus,” even we, we Jews who have the Law, “even we have believed in Christ Jesus so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the Law, since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.” You know what? We Jews had the Law, we lived under the authority of the Law. But you know what? We couldn't be saved by the Law, even we Jews had to place our faith in Christ to experience God's salvation.

So verse 19, “through the Law I died to the Law so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” Sounds like Romans 6-7, our identification with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection to new life. “I have been crucified with Christ, but I live. It is the new life that I have in Christ that I am living. I do not nullify the grace of God. If righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.” Strong statement. There is no mixing works and faith, grace. No mixing it.

Well then what about the doctrine of sanctification? There are some who say we are saved by faith, by grace through faith. But now that we are saved we are to keep the Mosaic Law. Come to chapter 3 verse 1, “You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? The only thing I want to find out from you, did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law or by hearing with faith?” When I preached the gospel to you and you believed it and the Holy Spirit came into your life, did that happen because you believed in Christ or because you were keeping the Law? “Are you so stupid, having begun by the Spirit are you now being perfected by the flesh?” Not only are you not justified by faith plus the Law, you are not sanctified by faith plus trying to keep the Law. “Having begun by the Spirit, are you now perfected by the flesh?” That is sanctification. You understand God's work of salvation, including justification, including sanctification excludes the Mosaic Law.

“Did you suffer so many things in vain if indeed it was in vain?” I mean, what is the purpose of all this? Verse 7, “it is those who are of faith who are the sons of Abraham.” Verse 9, “those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham the believer. “ Verse 11, “that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident, for the righteous man shall live by faith,” quoting from Habakkuk. No mixture.

Come down to Galatians 4:4, “but when the fullness of time came, God sent for His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law so that He might redeem those who were under the Law.” Wait a minute, who had to be redeemed? Those who were under the Law. Now if Jews who lived under the Law had to have Christ come and die so that they could be redeemed, why would these Jews now turn around and say, Gentiles can't be saved unless they get under the Law. Jews couldn't be saved by being under the Law, and now you have Jews coming into the church saying, you have to keep the Law as a Gentile if you're going to be saved or sanctified. And one is as bad as the other.

Come to Galatians 5:1, “it was for freedom that Christ set us free. Therefore keep standing firm, do not be subject again to a yoke of slaver. Behold I, Paul, say to you, if you receive circumcision Christ will be of no benefit for you. I testify to every man who receives circumcision that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law.” We'll say something about that in a moment. You cannot break the Law up, parcel it out. You cannot say the Law requires every male to be circumcised. You may not have to keep other parts of the Law but you have to keep that part. And if you keep one part of the Law you are obligated to the whole Law.

You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by Law. You have fallen from grace. That doesn't mean people lost their salvation, it means you have cut yourself off from faith in Christ as a way of salvation. You have removed yourself from grace as the provision for our salvation. You have put yourself in a totally works system. There is no mixing of the two. There should be no confusion on this. That's what Paul is telling them. Verse 7, “you were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion did not come from Him who calls you.” This is a work of the devil in bringing confusion into the church, in among believers to corrupt the grace of God.

Back up to Galatians 4:11, “I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored over you in vain.” Maybe you are so confused because you never did understand the gospel of grace. This ought to be clear to people who have believed in Christ and have their eyes open to the marvelous grace of God in salvation by grace through faith, by grace alone through faith alone. And Paul realizes the situation he is in, in verse 16, “have I become your enemy by telling you the truth?” This is a serious matter, the relationship of the Law and grace.

I want to take you to one another passage before we go to Romans 7. James 2:10, “For whoever keeps the whole Law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of it all.” This is similar to what we read in Galatians 5. If you are circumcised, you are obligated to the whole Law. In other words, you can't decide to keep one part of the Law. I say this because it is popular in evangelical circles today to say the Law has the civil aspects that govern the political life, if you will, of Israel; the ceremonial aspects in the religious life of Israel; and the moral aspects. So we have the civil, the ceremonial, and the moral parts of the Law. And they'll say Christians today are not under the civil part of the Law, they are not under the ceremonial part of the Law, but Christians are under the moral part of the Law. In other words Christians are under the Mosaic Law. You can't be under part of the Mosaic Law—you are under it all or you are under none of it. If you break one part of it, you break it all. I mean, we ought to know better.

I read men who should know better and they talk about, well we are under the moral aspect of the Mosaic Law. We are not under any part of the Mosaic Law because you can't be under part of the Mosaic Law. When you put yourself under part of it, whether it is circumcision or some other part, you've put yourself under all of it. So that whole thinking, the Jews never recognize such division, such distinction. But many Christians think we are under the moral provisions of the Mosaic Law. We are not. But some of the provisions that were true under the Mosaic Law are also repeated and they are true for us today, as we have talked about before. Be careful about this idea that we are under some aspect of the Mosaic Law.

Come back to Romans 7. I've spent more time on this and I realize I repeated some of it because this last part of Romans 7, and we'll just be covering a brief portion of it, is crucial. We want to understand it clearly. We must understand. Gentiles were never under the Mosaic Law, were never going to be judged by the Mosaic Law. We saw that in Romans 2. The church has never been under the Mosaic Law, believers have never been under the Mosaic Law, no aspect of the Mosaic Law. Doesn't mean we don't learn from the Mosaic Law, we do not live bound by any of the commands or obligations of the Mosaic Law. Some of the commands given to us in Christ in the New Testament are the same that were given under the Mosaic Law. We do them because they are given to us under Christ in the New Testament, not because they were given in the Mosaic Law. We want to make sure we don't draw ourselves into confusion.

Romans 7 opened up, “Do you not know, brethren. I'm speaking to those who know the Law. The Law has jurisdiction over a person as long as he lives.” He is talking to Jews here and explaining the Gentiles need to understand this as well, that the Gentiles never were under the Mosaic Law as we have already observed. And then when a person is joined to Christ it's like a marriage relationship. When the spouse dies you are freed from all obligations. So when a Jew placed his faith in Christ, all obligations and responsibilities to the Mosaic Law were over. That's the whole picture of the analogy. You are free from all obligations and responsibilities as a Jew to the Mosaic Law. The Gentile never did have any obligations or responsibilities to the Mosaic Law and is going to be judged outside the Mosaic Law as Romans 2 has already made clear.

“Therefore, my brethren,” verse 4, “you were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ that you might be joined to another, to Christ.” I mean, couldn't be any more clear in the picture. Verse 6, “We've been released from the Law so that we may serve as a new person in Christ as the Spirit has made us.” But he made a statement in verse 5, “While we were in the flesh the sinful passions which were aroused by the Law were at work in the members of our bodies to bear fruit for death.” Somebody raised the question, then is the Law sinful? Have we gone too far here? I mean, the Law aroused sinful passions. Sounds to me like the Law might be sinful itself and the cause of sin.

So he answers that in verse 7, “What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be.” And we had this teaching technique that Paul uses by raising a challenge to what he has taught, that what his opponent might raise. Look back in chapter 6 verse 1, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be.” Down in verse 15, “What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the Law but under grace? May it never be.” Chapter 7 verse 7, “What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be.” Verse 13, “Therefore did that which is good become a cause of death for me? May it never be.” So these questions, you can't go that direction, that is not a possibility.

And really Romans 7:7-25 form what you might call a parenthesis. Not that they are not important, but in the flow of his argument you could go from the end of verse 6 of chapter 7 to chapter 8 verse 1. And there is continuity. But he takes this side explanation to give clarity and answer any objections and resolve any confusion that might come from what he has said in the first six verses. Did you have to die to the Law like you died to sin because the Law is sinful? Is that what you are saying, Paul? And since the Law arouses sinful passions, is the Law sin? Really he explains you died to sin, you died to the Law. Now you have new life in Christ. The end of verse 6, “We serve in the newness of the Spirit, not in the oldness of the letter.” Chapter 8 verse 1, “Therefore there is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set us free.” But you need to understand more about the Law.

So the first question raised, what shall we say then, verse 7. Is the Law sin? May it never be. I mean, that is not even a possibility that the Law is sin. On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law. For I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, you shall not covet. I think there is something here that we need to grasp and I think it helps, it helped me. Paul is speaking here, when he talks about himself, not only about his experience as a Jewish man but in identification with the nation Israel. Like we would talk about. I might say, we suffered greatly in the Civil War. It divided us as a people. Well when I say we I'm talking about like an editorial we, we identifying you and me with our country. But I didn't suffer greatly in the Civil War, I didn't suffer at all because I wasn't there. I wasn't even in anybody's mind. But we talk about it that way as identifying with the nation that we are part of. And for the Jews that is even more intense.

So what Paul says about himself here as a Jewish man, he is reflecting here in his position as a Jew. That helps understand some of the things he says here. I would not have come to know sin except through the Law. And that's true for him as a Jewish man. I would not have known about coveting except the Law said you shall not covet. Well people know about coveting, the word here means desire, sometimes translated lust. But lust for us in English carries a concept of sexual orientation. Coveting we sometimes limit to physical things like coveting someone else's house. The word here is just desire, but the desire here is obviously with an evil intention. And that would mean whether it is a sexual desire or a desire for someone else's material possession, or whatever. Well people know about that apart from the Mosaic Law. But when the Law came it gave clarity, specificity, made it clearer what sin was, what the consequences of sin would be.

So verse 8, “Sin taking opportunity through the commandment produced in me coveting of every kind, for apart from the Law sin is dead.” Now we have to put this in the context of where we've been in Romans. We read earlier even today in chapter 2, those without the Law will perish without the Law. So it didn't mean there is no sin apart from the Mosaic Law, but the Mosaic Law given to Israel brought a clarity that had not been true before.

So sin, and sin is personified here, is acting because remember in light of chapter 6, sin is an authority, it is a power, it is a master, it rules in the life of every unbeliever. And the only way to be free from that power and authority of sin, that master, is to believe in Christ and die to sin. The same picture as we have with the Law.

So sin, my master, taking opportunity through the commandment produced in me coveting, desires, evil desires of every kind. So apart from the Law sin is dead. Not meaning it doesn't exist, it doesn't have its fullness, its clarity in what is sin. But people all over who have never read a Bible have a concept of sin and guilt and so on. But the Law brings clarity.

Now there were 613 commandments to be obeyed. God had specified this is wrong, you must do this, you must not covet and so on. So sin took hold of that. Now God told me what I must not do, but I ruled under the master of sin that is always in rebellion against God. They have all turned aside, they have all gone astray, “There is none who does good” as we saw in Romans 3. So now God gives a clearer word and my master, sin, responded by immediately wanting to rebel.

So “I was once alive apart from the Law but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died.” Now we can read a verse like this and say, what does that mean if we are just talking about Paul personally? Was he alive spiritually at one time? No. Was Paul ever apart from the Law? No. Read his testimony in Philippians 3. “He was born into the Law, born into a Jewish family of the tribe of Benjamin. He was circumcised the eighth day. He was never apart from the Law.” In fact Paul's testimony was he was dead until he was made alive in Christ. So when he said, “I was alive apart from the Law,” understand here he is speaking in his identification as part of the nation Israel and the nation Israel's position. Then God gave the Law at Sinai. That's what we read starting in Exodus 19. That's when the commandment came, the commandment being a synonym for the Law. Did that bring life? Well, sin became alive and I died. The impact on the nation Israel with the giving of the Law was disastrous. It brought the judgment of God on them. Well is that the Law's fault? No.

Verse 10, “this commandment which was to result in life proved to result in death for me, as a Jew.” This was the impact upon all the Jews. It's an impact upon our nation from the time God gave the Law at Sinai.

Come back to Leviticus 18. Again, just repeated through these opening books on the Law. Verse 1, “Then the Lord spoke to Moses saying, speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘I am the Lord your God. And you are not to do what has been done in the land of Egypt where you lived or in the land of Canaan where you are going.’” Verse 4, “’You are to perform My judgments, keep My statutes, to live in accord with them. I am the Lord your God so you shall keep My statues and My judgments,’” note this, “’ by which a man may live if he does them.’” So the Law was given, and it's a way of life. But it's a way of life that no one could travel, a way of life no one could keep. That's what Paul uses in Galatians. It requires works by which a man may live, verse 5, “If he does them.” Well what happened when the Law was given? “My master, sin, responded.” This is what happened in Israel, Paul is saying, and sin took hold. And you can live if you do them. So the Law is a way of life, but nobody gets life from the Law because you get life if you do them. But nobody does them. So no one gets life. But that's not the Law's problem, that is Israel's problem.

So if you keep in context here, what he is talking about is the giving of the Law. The commandment came, the Law came and I and the Jewish nation that I am part of had our sin further aroused. Did Israel end up sinning less than the nations around them? Isn't that the condemnation that God will bring on them through the prophets? They have increased their guilt, they have increased their rebellion and they became more guilty. That's why in Romans 2 what did we see? “Judgment is going to come without partiality on the Jew first and then on the Greek, the Gentile.”

So the Law was a way of life. Listen to Ezekiel 20:11, God says “I gave them, Israel, My statutes, informed them of My ordinances by which if a man observes them he shall live.” That's why when Paul talks about the Law, understand you have to keep the Law, it's not the hearers of the Law who are just before God but the doers of the Law, Paul talked about in Romans 2.

Come back to Romans 7. So when Paul says in verse 9, “I was alive apart from the Law, he's not saying they had spiritual life, but the coming of the Law brought greater consequences and greater judgment on the nation Israel. So I is part of my nation Israel, what happened to Israel when the commandment came to the nation and thus to me as a Jew because as part of the nation Israel I become part of that command given at Sinai. That's when the commandment came. So the consequences of the Law was not to give life but to bring death and condemnation.

So verse 10, “This commandment which was to result in life proved to result in death for me.” Not that God gave it expecting that Israel would be saved by living in perfect obedience, but the Law was a good Law. That's where he is going here. For sin, verse 10, so we're back what sin did. Verse 8, “But sin taking opportunity through the commandment produced more sin in me,” basically.

Verse 11, “For sin taking opportunity through the commandment deceived me and killed me.” So the Law never was effective for salvation or sanctification. The Law was devastating because the more commandments that God unfolded, the more rebellious we Jews became, and the more devastating consequences were brought upon us.

Sin taking opportunity through the commandment deceived me, through it killed me. So the Law brought judgment. Principle here - greater light brings greater responsibility. Israel had the revelation from God, but all that could do is make them more guilty because they were more rebellious.

So then the Law is holy, the commandment is holy and righteous and good. No problems in the Law. But people quote this verse and say, isn't the Law holy and righteous and good? Therefore we ought to keep it. That's the problem when you take verses out of context. The whole point of the context of this verse is no one kept it, right? So when you brought the Law into Israel, was Israel now a righteous, holy, good nation? No. The prophets are hard going. Why? All they talk about is sin and the rebellion of the Jews against the law of God. So the Law brought devastating judgment on them, not salvation. The church at Rome, you have Judaizers in there, these Jews trying to tell this Gentile church you have to keep the Law for justification. You have to now keep the Law for sanctification. Paul says, you understand what happened to Israel when the Law came to Israel.

Now this is true for the people to whom the Law was given, why would you be telling Gentiles now to try to keep the Law, when the result of the giving of the Law to Israel was death , not life. And I'm not saying that because there is any problem with the Law, Paul says. The Law partakes of the very character of God, it is holy, it is righteous, it is good because that's God's character. No problem with the Law, but sin in me. So the Law never was a way of salvation, although it offered life for those who obeyed it. But salvation has always been by grace through faith. How was Abraham saved before the Law was ever given? By faith. What about all the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11? By faith. The corruption that always wants to be brought in is works. And even today people think, we believe in Christ and we keep the Law. Not just Seventh Day Adventists, although they are very guilty of this, but evangelical Christians think, we keep the moral aspect of the Mosaic Law. The Law is not for salvation but it is necessary for sanctification. Or we bring in, we preach the Law to people so that after hearing the Law they are ready to respond to God's grace. How can I in good conscience go and try to put a Gentile under the Law when I know the Bible says the Gentiles never were under the Law? People say you have to preach the Law before you can preach grace. Good men did that. Charles Spurgeon has a number of sermons addressing that belief. You have to preach the Law before you can preach grace. But you know what the problem is, people who are confused on the relationship between Israel and the church get confused on everything. The nation Israel is not the church, the church is not the nation Israel. And the nation Israel lived under the authority of the Mosaic Law but they were never saved. Even we Jews had to be saved by faith.

So today, salvation is offered by grace through faith. And that will not change. Praise God. So we can be saved by grace through faith. Now how do we live? We live in the new life the Spirit has given us in the power that He provides, not by being put under the Law which never could work. Not because there were any flaws in the Law, but there were plenty of flaws in man and he was not able to live according to its requirements.

Let's pray together. Thank you, Lord, for the beauty of your word, for the clarity of your word. Thank you for the nation Israel, thank you for the Law that you gave to them which, Lord, revealed their sin, their rebellion, their disobedience. Lord, what a sinful people we are, all of us, Jew and Gentile alike. But what a God of grace you have demonstrated yourself to be, you have provided salvation by grace through faith. We could not work for it, we could not earn it, failure after failure after failure after failure, for the Jews in response to the Law, for the Gentiles in their constant ongoing rebellion against you and the law that has been inscribed on the hearts of those created in your image. And yet in love, mercy and kindness you have provided your Son to be the Savior so on the basis of your grace alone we might believe in Jesus Christ and Him alone and experience all the fullness of your salvation in Him, justification before your throne, sanctification and ultimate glorification in your presence. We give you praise. In Christ's name, amen.