Romans 7:7-13 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. No, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust… After the general statement about the two marriages of the soul, the apostle proceeds to exhibit the soul in its unregenerate state, and how it is awakened through Law to a sense of its guilt and danger. In the section now before us we have the soul presented in its state of security, and then passing into its state of alarm. The subsequent section, as we shall see, presents the soul in its regenerate condition contending successfully against its remaining corruption. Let us, then, look at - I. THE SOUL'S SECURITY UNDER SIN. Two distinct ideas are suggested about this state - first, that sin without Law is "dead," by which the apostle means that it lies in a state of latency or dormancy, and is not roused into active struggle; secondly, the soul before the advent of Law is "alive," that is, apparently alive, fancying itself quite as good and well-to-do as its fellows. It lives by its instincts, and yet has no idea of the guilt of doing so De Rougemont, "is selfish addicted to appetite (gourmand), cruel, hateful, freely and naively; he does not imagine that he is doing wrong in following his natural instincts, and as he satisfies his passions without remorse, he is content, he lives. It has been very properly said, Unbelief in the Law is as common as unbelief in the gospel. If men believe the gospel, they soon feel the power of it. So of the Law; if they truly believe it, they will feel the power of its condemning voice. No man can be found who will deny that he has sinned. Let a man, then, only believe, in reality, that death eternal is, according to the Law of God, annexed to his sin as a punishment, and he will be afraid - his heart will sink within him. He will have no rest, he will have fearful forebodings of wrath; and if this be not the case, then plainly he does not believe the Law... To hear the Law, and yet be as hopeful and merry-hearted and unconcerned as if the Law were an idle tale or a mere man of straw, that shows a most miserable state of blindness and want of feeling - a state which can be accounted for only by the fact that the Law is not credited, that its threatenings are not believed at all." How, this state of security under sin is one of danger as well as guilt. It is a sleep on the edge of a precipice, a sleep over a mine, a mere dance of death. The sooner it ends the better. Let us, therefore, consider - II. THE SOUL'S AWAKENING THROUGH THE LAW. The Law comes claiming consideration and belief, and the moment we receive it in good faith, the sense of security is at an end. Now, by the Law the apostle has in view the Decalogue, and he here directs special attention to the tenth commandment and its forbidding covetousness or "lust" (ἐπιθυμία). It is, in fact, the spiritual rider to the whole Law, carrying the receiver of the Law into the region of the heart, and inquiring how its desires and passions are regulated. A Pharisee, such as St. Paul had been, could complacently contemplate the other commandments and regard himself as having kept them from his youth up - that is, of course, so far as outward, overt act is concerned. But the moment the tenth commandment comes in to forbid "desire" of a selfish character, the self complacency is levelled to the dust and genuine conviction begins. Here, then, we have the first step in the awakening of the soul, when the Law searches the heart with its lighted candle and exposes the selfish "desires" which lay behind all the overt acts. Not only so, but, secondly, the Law becomes the occasion, not the cause, of intensified lust - "all manner of coveting" (πᾶσαν ἐπιθυμίαν). By contrariety, the soul becomes more disposed to the "desires" which have been forbidden. The holy command evokes unholy resistance. Sin is intensified through the very denunciation which the Law contains. And then, thirdly, the soul realizes through the Law its death in sin. For, as one already quoted has further observed, "the Law not only shows us our sin, but makes us feel that we are lost - as good as dead. A man is in a room during the dark; he sees nothing, but imagines that he is safe. At length the day breaks. Through the window of his apartment sunlight enters; and behold, he is, though he knew not till now, in the midst of wild beasts which, like himself, have been asleep. They awake, and put on a threatening aspect. There is a serpent, uncoiling its horrid length, and there a tiger, watching its opportunity for a fatal spring. The light has come, and the man now sees his danger - he is but a dead man. So, when the Law comes, there is seen guilt now in the past life, in every part of it. There is felt now sin in the present condition of the heart. Every moment there is a discovery of sin. Everything past and present cries, as it were, for vengeance. Death everywhere stares him in the face." III. THE LAW THUS REVEALS THE REAL NATURE OF SIN. As a selfish disposition, it seems to the unawakened soul a simple "taking care of number one," as the world puts it. But the Law comes with its searching light, and lo, sin is found to be an enemy of our real interests. It antagonizes our welfare; it takes the Law and uses it as a weapon against us. In short, we discover that self-seeking in any form is mutiny against the real welfare of the soul. We discover that we are beguiled and deluded by sin; that all this self-centring is treason to the true interests within. Not only so, but the intensification of sin through the Law's advent leads us to rightly regard it as "exceeding sinful" (καθ ὑπερβολὴν ἁμαρτωλὸς). How dreadful and malignant sin must be when it takes a good and holy Law and works death in the soul thereby! We have thus set before us what the Law can do. It can break up our refuge of lies in which we were trusting; it can awaken the soul to a sense of its sin and danger; but it cannot give us either "the remission of our sins or the Holy Spirit." The salvation must come from a higher source than Law. It comes from the Saviour, who has satisfied the demands of Law and offers us deliverance in himself. The Law serves its purpose, then, when as a schoolmaster it conducts us to Christ that we may be justified by faith. May we be led by Law to him who can save us from all our sin! - R.M.E. Parallel Verses KJV: 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. |
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