What does "sin sprang to life" teach about sin's nature and power? Setting the Context • Romans 7 describes Paul’s personal encounter with God’s law. • Verse 9 pinpoints a watershed moment: “Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died” (Romans 7:9). • Paul is not saying sin was nonexistent before the law—rather, its dormant hostility suddenly erupted when God’s command confronted him. What Happened When “Sin Sprang to Life” • God’s commandment exposed sin, unmasking its presence. • Sin reacted violently, seizing the opportunity “through the commandment” to arouse forbidden desires (Romans 7:8). • The result was spiritual death—separation from God—just as Genesis 2:17 warned: “for when you eat of it, you will surely die.” What This Reveals About Sin’s Nature • Intrinsically hostile: Sin is not passive; it revolts the moment divine authority appears (Romans 7:11). • Deceptive: It “deceived me,” promising freedom while delivering death (same verse). • Opportunistic: 1 Corinthians 15:56—“The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law”—shows sin exploits even holy things to advance rebellion. • Universal: Romans 5:12 affirms that sin entered through one man and spread to all; Paul’s experience mirrors humanity’s condition. • Internal: James 1:14-15 traces sin’s birth from inward desire, underscoring that the problem is not outside us but within. What This Reveals About Sin’s Power • Animate force: “Sprang to life” pictures sin as a living power that awakens and attacks (cf. Genesis 4:7—“sin is crouching at the door”). • Produces death: Romans 6:23—“For the wages of sin is death.” The eruption of sin always ends in separation from God and eventual physical death. • Enslaving: Romans 7:14 calls us “sold as a slave to sin” until Christ intervenes. • Intensified by law: Far from restraining sin on its own, the law magnifies sin’s grip by revealing but not curing it (Romans 7:5). Living in the Light of Christ’s Victory • Freedom is in a Person, not a principle: “Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:24-25). • New power replaces the old: “The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2). • Ongoing vigilance: Although crucified with Christ (Romans 6:6), believers still “put to death the deeds of the body” by the Spirit (Romans 8:13). • Confident hope: Sin’s present eruptions cannot overturn the final promise—“Sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace” (Romans 6:14). Summary Snapshot • Sin lies covert until confronted by God’s command. • The law’s arrival sparks sin’s hostile uprising, proving its deadly nature. • Only the life-giving Spirit in Christ can overpower sin’s tyranny and restore true life. |
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