Romans 7:7 – Is the law sin? 

What, then, shall we declare? That the law is sin? May it not be coming to that! But sin I knew not except through law. For besides, I had not been aware of coveting except the law said, “You shall not be coveting.”

What Paul has advanced about the law thus far could easily give the impression that the law itself is sinful. How could one escape that conclusion if the law incites sin (7: 5) and increases it (5:20)? Still, Paul vehemently contradicts this conclusion. “May it not be coming to that!”. The law reveals sin. From here to the end of this chapter, Paul continues his writing in the “I form.” Not because this would exclusively tell its own story, but because it describes what the law does to a person personally.

First, the law makes man sin-conscious. The law explicitly instructed Israel what it would not do, especially in the form of “thou shalt not.” But it is precisely through this approach that she reveals what people would like. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the last commandment: “you shall not covet”. Anyone who takes that as an assignment will be in a fierce personal battle …

Delen: