There’s Value In The Law Romans 7:7-13
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INTRODUCTION: The Dukes of Hazzard
One of my favorite Television Shows growing up was The Dukes of Hazzard. I loved every part of it. I’ve always wanted to go sliding over the hood of my car like they did on the show but for some reason I never have and I know if I tried it now that I would probably end up at the hospital. One thing that I’m reminded of is that the Dukes
Just a good old boys
Never meanin' no harm
Beats all you never saw
Been in trouble with the law since the day they was born
Straightening the curves, yeah
Flattenin' the hills
Someday the mountain might get 'em, but the law never will
Makin' their way the only way they know how
That's just a little bit more than the law will allow
They were good boys, yeah they had trouble with the law but I’m also reminded that many times there did everything right and still ended up in the jailhouse.
That’s what comes to mind when I think about God’s law. We can try our best to live the best life possible but when it comes down to it, we will still fall short of what God’s expectations and law is. While the Dukes were making their way the only way they knew how, it was still a little bit more than the law would allow.
Well folks, we don’t have make our ways more than the law will allow because we will never live up to God’s law so the only way we can live an abundant life that is promised in John 10:10 “10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” is by living by the Grace that comes through Jesus and seeking His Righteousness as we are told to do in Matthew 6:33 “33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
Today as we continue our look at Romans 7, we will continue looking at the role of the law in our Christian lives. If you will recall last week as we looked at Romans 7:1-6, we saw that we are no longer married to the law because we died to the old way of living and been raised to a new way of living through the Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Christ.
We must remember as Paul writes in 2nd Corinthians 5:16-19
16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;
19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
We were once regarded as the flesh but now we are regarded by and in Christ. That means that we have died to the old way of living (The Law) and been raised as the new creation and a new way of living (By Grace).
We should also remember that the law is still important but it is only important for one purpose, to point out our sins and shortcomings.
As we begin to look at Romans 7:7-13, let’s also remember what Jesus said about the Law in Matthew 5:17 “17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”
Jesus very clearly states that He did not come to do away with the law but rather to fulfill the law. Well, then how can you say that we are no longer under the law if Jesus didn’t abolish it or do away with it? Very easy, He said He came to fulfill the law and that is to provide the grace and salvation that the law can’t provide. That is why in Romans 6 and in the beginning verses of chapter 7 that Paul reminds us that we have died to the law when we died with Christ.
7 What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”
8 But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead.
9 I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died.
10 The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me.
11 For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.
12 So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.
13 Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure.
1. The Law Reveals Our Sin
1. The Law Reveals Our Sin
20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
It is like James refers to in James 1:22-25, looking in a mirror shows what we really look like. The law, is basically that mirror. It shows just how short we come to lining up with Christ and His Plan.
James 1:22–25 (ESV)
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror.
24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.
25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
Remember Romans 3:23
Romans 3:23 (ESV)
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
We all fall short and the law is what shows us just how short we fall.
2. The Law Reveals Our Tendency To Sin (vs. 8)
2. The Law Reveals Our Tendency To Sin (vs. 8)
Paul gives us a great example in verse 8. He points to the 10th commandment from Exodus 20:17
17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”
This is the thou shall not covet. This is the very nature that goes back to the first sin. It’s the idea of having what you can’t have.
Nelson’s Bible Dictionary defines coveting as “an intense desire to possess something (or someone) that belongs to another person.” It means “to desire greatly, to lust after that which cannot be legitimately ours.”
Eve couldn’t have the fruit in the garden but she was enticed to partake of it and therefore sin.
David was enticed by Bathsheeba on her rooftop bathing and he couldn’t have her because that was not just the 10th commandment but also the 7th, which led him to break the 6th commandment and dive deeper into sin.
In Researching and studying for this message, I came across a message by Mark Opperman from 2011 that had this great point:
Coveting is a root sin which is often the cause of other sins. If we could peel back our motives when we sin, a spirit of coveting is often behind what we do. One could argue that coveting is the root sin of Eve in Genesis 3:6 when she viewed the forbidden fruit as “…pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom…” In Colossians 3:5, Paul equates coveting (or greed) with idolatry. In Joshua 7:21, Achan explains why he sinned by taking forbidden plunder: “I coveted them and took them.”
-This commandment deals with inner attitudes. This is the only one of the 10 that just deals with heart attitudes. Sin begins in the heart and one can covet without anyone knowing it. Jesus taught the same thing in Matthew 5:21-28. While some of us can say that we haven’t broken some of the commands that deal with outward actions, every one of us has sinned inwardly.
-Achan probably thought he’d kept the other nine commandments. The first command about having no other gods. No problem. No idols. None. Don’t take God’s name in vain. Clean on that. Keep the Sabbath. Always. Honor your father and mother. Yep. Don’t murder. Wouldn’t think of it. Don’t commit adultery. Never have, never will. Don’t steal. No sticky fingers here. Don’t bear false witness. I’m a truth-teller. But then he comes to number ten. Oops. Busted. “I’m greedy all the time. I want what others have.”
-Coveting can consume us. Jesus warns against greed and the thinking that we always need more than we already have in Luke 12:15: “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” I think it’s fair to say that we live in a consumer culture built on coveting. We need to fight against this by putting into place the words of 1 Timothy 6:6 “But godliness with contentment is great gain.”
(Taken from sermoncentral.com: https://sermoncentral.com/sermons/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-mark-opperman-sermon-on-law-159886?page=3&wc=800)
Tony Merida in Christ-Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in Romans puts in today’s terms. He pointed out that it’s like a kid in the store wanting something really bad. The parents tell them, “You Can’t Have That one,’ and their reaction comes down to the fact, “You never give me anything!” He goes on to say, “In our sinful condition, we do not react rightly to God’s law. Instead, the human reaction often sounds likes this, ‘No one is going to tell me what to do, not even God!’ what Paul is saying is that sin twists the good function of the law. We cannot blame the law for proclaiming God’s will. The problem is not with the law but with our sinful nature (111-112).
So, the tendency, desire, or opportunity is there to sin. When we are confronted with the law we have 2 options, to keep it or to break it. Our very nature is one of lawbreakers/sinners. That is why Paul is saying that sin is dead at the end of verse 8. What he is really saying is that sin is dormant until the law arouses it. Just like that sweet little kid in the candy store. They are just a sweet as can be until that parent tells me no!
TALK ABOUT UNCLE PETE TAKING ME TO BUY BOOTS AS A KID!
We’re not buying first pair we see!
I liked the first pair! We bought the first pair because I threw a fit!
The next year, we were at the grocery store when my uncle came and got me out of the store. He had gone and bought me a pair without me that year.
You see, sweet little Opie Taylor looking Anthony got in the flesh in that boot store at the ripe ole age of 5 or 6.
That’s what still happens today when we are told no.
3. The Law Is Killing Us (vs 9-11)
What do I mean about the law is killing us. Well look at verses 9-11.
Vs. 9: I was alive apart from the law, the law came and I died!
Vs. 10: The commandment that promised life actually is what killed me.
Vs. 11: sin, seizing an opportunity through the law deceived me and killed me.
You see, the purpose of the law is to reveal our need for Jesus. That is the only purpose it has. yes, it has a great moral guideline, but there is not one person on the face of the earth that has ever been able to keep it aside from Jesus Christ. That is why He was the ONLY ONE WHO COULD DIE SO WE COULD OVERCOME THE CURSE OF SIN!
Paul understood very well about all of this living and dying. He was good until the law came along and revealed his sin. He was good until he met Jesus on the Damascus road where Jesus confronted him with his sin. Paul gave his life to Christ.
As a Pharisee and a leader in the community before his conversion, Paul knew the law and as far as he was concerned, it was the law that was going to give him life. However, the more he came to know the law and the teachings of Jesus, the more he realized that it was the law that was killing him.
Let me remind you that it was not a physically killing that was taking place here, it was a spiritual killing taking place.
Remember Romans 6:23
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The wages of sin is DEATH!
Remember John 3:16
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
God have His Son so that people wouldn’t have to perish enterally but could have eternal life.
Sin/Law Kills Us
Sin/Law Deceives Us
If we are following the law to the T, then we think that we are doing pretty good. However, what about the Rich Young Ruler who claimed to keep the law.
17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.
19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’ ”
20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.”
21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
23 And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!”
24 And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God!
25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
26 And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?”
27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”
The Law Kills Us Spiritually because we can’t keep it!
4. The Law Leads Us To Jesus!
4. The Law Leads Us To Jesus!
Back when Jesus said He came to fulfill the law that is exactly what He was saying.
Notice in Romans 7:12-13
12 So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.
13 Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure.
The Law Is Holy (vs. 12)
The Law is Spiritual (vs. 14)
The Law is Good (vs. 16)
The Law is a delight to the inner man (vs. 22)
As a matter of fact, King David praised the goodness of the Law in Psalm 19:7-11
7 The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;
8 the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;
9 the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.
11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.
So what is wrong with the law? It’s not the law, it’s the people trying to keep the law. It’s us and our sinful nature that we must die to as was discussed in Chapter 6 and the early parts of Chapter 7. If we don’t die to our sinful nature/flesh and we are always living for what we want rather than what God wants, we will always fall short of God’s righteousness and fall right back into the covetousness that is talked about in Romans 7:7-8
7 What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”
8 But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead.
As I mentioned, the law has value because it points out our need for Jesus.
Dr. John MacArthur in his commentary on Romans pointed to a poem by Robery Murray McCheyne who died in 1843 called “Jehovah Tsidkenu” which means, “The Lord is our Righteousness”
I want to read it to you this morning.
I once was a stranger to grace and to God,
I knew not my danger, and felt not my load;
Though friends spoke in rapture of Christ on the tree,
Jehovah Tsidkenu was nothing to me.
I oft read with pleasure, to sooth or engage,
Isaiah´s wild measure and John´s simple page;
But e’en when they pictured the blood-sprinkled tree,
Jehovah Tsidkenu seemed nothing to me.
Like tears from the daughters of Zion that roll,
I wept when the waters went over His soul;
Yet thought not that my sins had nailed to the tree
“Jehovah Tsidkenu” — ’twas nothing to me.
When free grace awoke me by light from on high,
Then legal fears shook me; I trembled to die.
No refuge, no safety in self could I see;
Jehovah Tsidkenu my Savior must be!
My terrors all vanished before the sweet name;
My guilty fears banished, with boldness I came
To drink at the fountain, life giving and free.
“Jehovah Tsidkenu” is all things to me!
Jehovah Tsidkenu, my treasure and boast!
Jehovah Tsidkenu! I ne’er can be lost;
In Thee I shall conquer, by flood and by field —
My cable, my anchor, my breast-plate and shield!
Even treading the valley, the shadow of death,
This “watchword” shall rally my faltering breath;
For while from life’s fever my God sets me free,
“Jehovah Tsidkenu” my death song shall be.
MacArthur pointed out after the poem, “McCheyne experienced the same conviction of sin as did the apostle Paul. When he say himself in the full light of God’s law, he realized he was ruined and dead and had no hope but in the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. (MacArthur, Romans 376)
The law is good for one thing, pointing us to our need for Jesus. Today if you are trying to live your life solely on being a good person and following the letter of the law you could still be heading to a place called hell. You see, the Law can point out the morals and standards to live by but the law cannot and will not save you from hell. Only the grace of Jesus can do that.
There’s One Thing The Law Can’t Do: SAVE US FROM SIN/HELL!
How Do You Need To Respond To Jesus Today?
Maybe today, you have some sin in your life that you need to repent of. This altar is open for that.
Maybe today, you are not where you would like to be in your walk with Christ, today, this altar is the place to do business with Jesus.
Maybe today, you are here and you have tried to live a good life on your own and have “Thought Your Were Saved” for years only to realize today that you have never fully surrendered your life to Christ. Today, you need to do that. The only way you can be saved is to
Realize you are sinner
Repent of Your Sins
Confess Your Sins To Jesus
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Confess and Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior
Nothing else is needed to be saved.
38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
PRAY