Chapter 7:7-12

COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

By Dr. John R. Stone

Romans 7:7-12

7 7 What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! 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.” 8But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead. 9And I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive, and I died; 10and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me; 11for sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, deceived me, and through it killed me. 12So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. (Rom. 7:7-12 NASB)

Overview:

The book of Romans is the letter that Paul wrote to new believers whom he had never met, who were living in Rome. In this epistle Paul explains the fundamental (basic) doctrines of the Christian faith so that these new believers will be well-grounded and not led astray with other religious systems or even the erroneous assumptions (statements supposed true) that so often characterize the rational deductions (reasonings) of the human heart. Salvation comes by grace through faith, not as a result of works and obedience to the Law. This basic doctrine of Christianity is a radical departure from the teaching of the Judaism of Paul’s day and from every other religion in the world.

Romans chapter seven is part of the section of this letter where Paul is explaining about the doctrine of sanctification (holiness) and how a believer becomes increasingly like Christ. To do this he must explain how the Law and sin and the believer relate to one another. In 7:1-6 Paul explained the relationship between a sinner and the Law: We are free from the Law. In 7:7-13 Paul explains the relationship between the Law and sin: Sin is revealed by the Law. In 7:14-25 Paul will describe the relationship between the believer and sin: We are victorious over sin.

Vss. 7-8: The Law and Knowledge of Sin

The Law was not given to save a person or to make a person good; it was given to reveal sin and to point the sinner to Jesus Christ. Paul says, “I would not have come to know sin except through the Law.” The particular sin Paul identifies is coveting, which is not an outward act but an inward attitude. Paul, the Pharisee, could control his outward acts, but he could not control his inward attitudes, and the prohibition (forbidding) of coveting actually stirred up a spirit of coveting within Paul’s heart. The command not to lust immediately conjures (brings) up lustful thoughts. The Law actually arouses the sins it prohibits (forbids).

Vss. 9-10: The Law and Death Through Sin

When Paul says in 7:9 that he was once “alive apart from the Law,” he means that before he met the risen Christ on the road to Damascus, he thought that he was actually fulfilling the requirements of the Law and had therefore earned the right to be saved. “But when the commandment came,” that is, when I came to understand the Law as God meant for it to be understood, “sin became alive, and I died,” which means that I was convicted of my sin, and I realized that I had been spiritually dead from the start. As a Pharisee Paul thought that keeping the Law would produce eternal life, but just the opposite was actually the case. The Law “resulted in death for me;” that is to say, a proper understanding of the Law revealed just how dead I really was.

Vss: 11-12: The Law and Truth About Sin

In verse eleven Paul says that sin deceived him, and that is always the case with every sin. When we sin it is because we have believed a lie. We believe that sin will bring us the happiness we seek. We believe that the consequences of sin will not be too bad and that the benefits are worth the pain the sin will bring. Sin always hardens the heart, numbs the conscience, and blinds the spirit. The Law does not remove the sin, but it reveals the sin for what it really is, and the Law convicts us of the need to deal with our sin. The Law is not bad, but it reveals how evil we actually are.

Conclusion:

The Law cannot take away sin, and it cannot make us good. The Law was given to reveal sin and to point us to Christ. Only Jesus can take away sin, and only the Spirit of Christ living within us can make us good. Jesus paid the penalty for our sin so that He could offer salvation as a free gift through faith. He cancels the power of sin in our lives, and He produces life that is abundant and fulfilling in all who look to Him for the power to change.

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