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Pathways Through Paul
Daily Devotional
February 25
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Today's Pathway:
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Romans 7:9-13
- For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.
- And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.
- For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.
- Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.
- Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.
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We ended yesterday by showing that when the unsaved man did not have the law, sin was unrecognized and "dead" to him. In today's verses Paul expands on the impact that the law has on the unbeliever's life. In verse 9 he says that without the law he was "alive". In other words, he didn't worry about whether or not he was truly obeying God. He was enjoying his life and "living it to the fullest". He was at peace with himself because his conscience was not convicted. He considered himself to be a good man, and thus acceptable to the god of his own creation. However, once he became aware of God's commandments, his sin, which had always been there, came to life in his understanding. He realized that he was not acceptable to a holy God Who demanded holiness from His creation, and, according to the end of verse 9, he died. "Death" really carries the idea of "separation". When a man dies his soul separates from his body. If a man is spiritually dead he is separated from God. Once Paul knew the law, he knew that his relationship to God was not alive, but dead.
Thus, he writes in verse 10,
"And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death".
What does he mean? The law could have given men life. It was intended by God to do so. Leviticus 18:5 says,
"Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the LORD."
Life was available through the law, however, it was only available to the man who kept the law perfectly and completely throughout his entire life. Once Paul saw himself as he really was, the law, rather than giving him life, condemned him to death. In verse 11 he teaches that sin used the commandments as a starting point ("taking occasion"), and then deceived him and killed him. We have already seen in verse 8 that the law excited him to commit sin. He is continuing that thought here. Paul was deceived into thinking that he could live under the law and keep the law and experience a relationship with God through the law. But he found out that he came up short of the law's standard, and the law thus killed him spiritually.
Paul reminds his readers in verse 12 that there is nothing wrong with the law. It is holy, it is just, and it is good. God gave it, so it must be perfect. However, Paul also wrote in I Timothy 1:8,
"But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully."
To use the law as a means of salvation is incorrect. To use it to point out man's wickedness and his need of a Savior is correct. So Paul asks in verse 13, is it possible that that which is good and pure should be changed into evil? His answer again is that the problem is SIN. The law showed that I was a sinner, and it showed me that I was separated from God. Warren Wiersbe put it this way:
"The Law is not sinful, but the Law reveals sin, arouses sin, and then uses sin to slay us. If something as good as the Law accomplishes these results, then something is radically wrong somewhere. Conclusion: see how sinful sin is when it can use something good like the Law to produce such tragic results. Sin is indeed 'exceedingly sinful'.”
Pastor Mark J Montgomery
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