Our Sin Exposed
Romans 7:7-12
March 22, 2009

By this point, if you have followed the argument in Romans, you get the idea that Paul is pretty tough on the law. As a matter of observation, it seems that he does not think very highly of it and can do without it. Maybe Paul is ready to toss it out since “by the works of the law no flesh will be justified,” and since “you are not under law but under grace,” it would appear that the law really serves no purpose.

It might appear that way but that is not the case.

Paul actually defends the law in Romans seven. Yet he does not defend it as the means to justification or sanctification. Those twin works come by grace alone through Christ in the gospel. Although not seen at first, oddly enough, law has its part in championing the grace of God as the only means to justification and sanctification.

But to get us to the point of seeing the purpose and usefulness of the law, Paul must show us the dark side of things. He must take us to the impulsiveness of sin. Though law and sin are no partners or friends, in its own deceitful way, sin uses the law to attempt to drive us away from Christ and the gospel. Sin is never for us and never has our good in mind. Sin will use even that which is good and holy to accomplish evil purposes. The Apostle helps us to see this in his explanation of not only how the law exposes sin but also how sin attempts to use the law for sinful purposes. Augustine’s fourth century mentor, Ambrose, the bishop of Milan, summarized Paul’s concern in these verses, “The law is the discoverer, not the begetter of sin” [editor’s note in John Calvin, Calvin’s Commentaries, XIX, 252]. Though sin tries to use the law for evil means, God uses the law to point us to Christ. How does sin try to subvert the right use of the law? More importantly, how does God use the law to bring us to Christ? 

I. A question of contradiction

Among the important truths that Paul sets forth in Romans, one that stands out at this juncture is the inadequacy of the law as the means to justification and sanctification. Paul hammers away at this inadequacy of the law.

So, Paul, what do you think of the Law? “What shall we say then?” He knows that he is being questioned. Here is the question in light of what he has put forth about the law. “Is the Law sin?” ‘There it is Paul; since you have slashed and burned the law, then evidently you think that it is sinful.’ 

1. Au contraire!

“That’s not what I’m saying!” Paul once again uses the strongest language in his arsenal, “May it never be!” No way! Absolutely not; you’ve obviously missed the point!

So, that’s not what Paul was saying, that the law is sin. Rather, the law is critical to our knowledge of sin. “I would not have come to know sin except through the Law.” Now, why is knowledge of sin important? If there is no sin then, there is no offense. And if there is no offense, then there is no need for forgiveness. If there is no forgiveness then, there is no need for justification. If there is no justification then, there is no need for the Justifier. If there is no need for the Justifier, then there is no need for God to send His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to redeem those who were under the Law (Gal. 4:4-5). The Law is the reason for the cross in that the Law demanded satisfaction; and only Jesus Christ at the cross could render such satisfaction as our Substitute before God. [I was helped by John Piper’s sermons on this text at www.desiringGod.org].

It is only through the law that we come to recognize the need for Jesus Christ’s satisfaction at the cross. Without law, the cross is useless and merely sentimental.

“Is the Law sin? May it never be! I would not have come to know sin except through the Law.” ‘But I thought Paul told us that God’s law was written on the hearts of even pagan people.’ Indeed, he did in Romans 2:14. So the question is whether here he means written, codified law or law in the conscience? In this case, he is referring to the codified law, especially since he identified the tenth commandment as his example. Natural revelation, such as the law written on the conscience, is inadequate to save a man. Special revelation is necessary; and a critical component of that special revelation is God’s Law that precedes the revelation of the gospel.

What does the law do? It shows us that sin is sin. For example, suppose I drive by a beautiful piece of property so that it catches my eye. It has lovely contours with especially green grass and trees overflowing with fruit. I see peaches, pears, apples, and lovely figs almost bowing to the ground in all their ripeness and sweetness. It is truly desirable to satisfy me. I do notice the fence bordering the property but that’s no big deal because the land with the fruit trees means more to me than the fence, and the fence is easily crossed. It will make me happy and fulfill my desires, so I will just cross the fence to go over and enjoy its bounty. But as I get ready to climb the fence, I notice a little sign. Suddenly, though my desires are unabated, I realize I may have a problem if I cross the fence. The sign tells me, “No Trespassing.” Just two words can spoil satisfying my desires! The special revelation in the form of that sign makes clear the violation. 

2. Getting personal

Paul takes on an autobiographical note through the rest of this chapter. Some commentators spend a lot of time trying to decipher why he is autobiographical. It is really quite simple. He wants to demonstrate the universality of what he is saying and what better way than by telling his own story?

What does he do to explain to us the power of the law to expose sin? He tells us about his own encounter with the tenth commandment. “For I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, ‘You shall not covet’.” Did this mean that he had never seen or heard of the tenth commandment before? Having grown up in an orthodox Jewish home, “a Hebrew of Hebrews,” he would have been taught the Law from the earliest age. He could recite the commandments with ease. But did he know the implications of the tenth commandment? That goes to the heart of what he is explaining. As with many of his contemporaries, as well as many in our day, he viewed the Ten Commandments externally. He had not physically killed anyone. He had not physically committed adultery. He had not physically stolen from anyone. So he felt good about himself; he thought of himself as blameless in regard to the law.

Then came the tenth commandment. “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 belongs to your neighbor” (Exodus 20:17). One could covet all day long and no one would ever know. Why? Because coveting is an inward desire, a longing, a lust, particularly any kind of illicit desire. Like the rich young ruler who professed to have kept all the commandments, Jesus pinpointed this matter of coveting and his crest fell!

Desires are just natural, so Paul or anyone of us could excuse our desires as natural. But the tenth commandment exposes desires out of control, revealing discontentment with God and His provisions at the root of coveting. No wonder Paul compared it to idolatry (Eph. 5:5) because he understood in that moment of revelation that he worshiped his desires, not God.

So, what the Apostle explains is not that he finally read the Ten Commandments and came across the tenth so that he was smitten with his sinfulness. Rather, the demands of the Law finally dawned on him at some point. He knew the commandments as words but he did not know them for their message. Jesus told of a similar revelation that came with the religious leaders in Israel. “If I had not come and spoken to them,” Jesus said, “they would not have sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin” (John 15:22). Did that mean that they only sinned because of Jesus? No, but rather, they thought that they were righteous with no need for saving grace until they encountered perfect righteousness in Christ. Then they suddenly understood their sin. That is why they reacted with hatred to our Lord—because in seeing and hearing Him they were spiritually naked with no covering or righteousness. They seethed with anger because Jesus brought their sin to light. That’s precisely what the law does: when our eyes are opened to see the law, it brings sin to light. 

II. The Law as a beachhead for sin

A beachhead is a starting point for an assault. When Paul tells us, “But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind,” he referred to this kind of beachhead for sin. It was an opportunity or an occasion, a pretext, a base of operation, a beginning point from which sin operated in his life. Consider what he explains concerning the law and sin [ELKGNT]. 

1. Contented with sin

“For apart from the Law sin is dead.” Does he mean that unless a person does not know the Law then he is free to do whatever he desires with complete impunity? Remember that he refers to the knowledge of sin through the knowledge of the law; not the existence of sin because of the knowledge of the law. So what does he mean?

  1. Apart from the law we do not understand the nature of sin as willful defiance of the Creator. We can call adultery a fling or cheating getting a bargain or lying mere embellishment. As long as sin is thought of as an uncomfortable situation or a right or no big deal, then we will continue in it without restraint. But when we realize that sin is ultimately an offense against God, then it changes everything concerning sin. We can no longer enjoy our sin if we know that the Creator holds us accountable. David was so conscious of his sin against God when he committed adultery with Bathsheba and had Uriah her husband killed, that he cried, “Against You and You only have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight” (Psa. 51:4). He had sinned against his family, against his nation, against Bathsheba and Uriah, but ultimately, all of that paled when confronted with the reality of sin as rebellion against the Sovereign before whom we will one day stand.
  2. One can easily minimize sin or rationalize its effects or excuse it unless he realizes that sin is primarily against God. Even though the history of the world shows that every act of sin is costly and destructive, men willfully press on in sin as though there is no tomorrow. A man sees that adultery destroys his family and others, yet he presses on. A woman sees that lying destroys trust, yet she presses on in spite of the consequences. It is only when the Law reveals that our sin is against God that we are stopped in our tracks.
  3. Desires for personal happiness and satisfaction override consciousness of wrong. Sin is all about me, myself, and I! Or so we think until the Law of God squares us with the offense against God. We can know that sin exists; we can be even somewhat aware of its negative effects but we continue to indulge without the law’s jarring revelation. Sin is dead until that happens. 
2. Incitement to sin

There’s a strange accusation in verse 8. “But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of very kind.” Is Paul saying, “The Law made me do it?” Not quite but he is saying that the law incited his desires by making him more aware of greater levels of sinning. Is he blaming the law? No, he is blaming sin for using something good, as the law, to incite evil desires to sin more. As John Stott points out, “In all such cases the real culprit is not the law but sin which is hostile to God’s law (8:7). Sin twists the function of the law from revealing, exposing and condemning sin into encouraging and even provoking it. We cannot blame the law for proclaiming God’s will” [Romans: God’s Good News for the World, 203].

Let’s go back to our beautiful property with fruit trees bordered by a fence. The “No Trespassing” sign tells me that I cannot cross the fence and indulge in the fruit. So I look at the sign and begin to rationalize. ‘Someone does not want me to be happy and satisfied. There must be something especially wonderful in that piece of property for a sign to restrict my access. Someone is trying to keep me from something that would make my life more enjoyable. Since I deserve to be happy and satisfied, then I have a right to cross the fence, and take whatever I want. No one can tell me what I can or cannot do. I have the right to do whatever I want. I am in charge of my own life. I will cross that fence and take what will make me happy.’

Did the “No Trespassing” sign urge me to cross the fence? On the contrary, it told me that I did not have permission to cross the fence and that the property and fruit belong to someone else. Yet because of my own sinful nature I convinced myself that the “No Trespassing” sign did not matter, and even more, that it did not apply to me. I twisted its meaning to find delight and excitement in trespassing.

Augustine told of a time when as a teenager, he joined several other young boys in stealing pears from a neighbor’s trees at night. He said that he did not do it because he was hungry since most of the pears were thrown to the pigs. Nor did he do it because those pears were better than the ones in his own yard since they were not as beautiful or tasty. His reason, “I only picked them so that I might steal….I loved nothing in it except the thieving” [quoted by J.M. Boice, Romans: The Reign of Grace, vol. 2, 742]. 

3. It killed me

That which pointed me to life and ultimate satisfaction by living in God’s pleasure and following His moral design in the law became the blow of death! “I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died.” That does not mean that sin did not exist until the commandment, but rather that my carefree attitude about sin persisted until I realized that my sin was against God. I thought that all was fine with me, that I had no cares in the world but to satisfy my desires. Then came the commandment. It killed me! “It was a complete reversal of outlook,” wrote Martyn Lloyd-Jones. “Sin which was dead before now sprang to life; he who was alive before, now became dead” [Romans: The Law—Its Functions and Limits, An Exposition of Romans 7:1-8:4, 138].

In other words, I did not know myself until the law revealed my inner workings of sin. I did not see the ugliness of my heart, the wickedness before God, until the law exposed me.

The law killed me. How did it kill me? It does so in two different ways.

  1. It rendered me hopeless. I thought that I was fine and could coast through life until the law showed me that I was accountable to God for my sin. If the law condemns me then why should I try to conform to the law? I will simply give up and give in to sin, since there is seemingly no way to be delivered from sin’s peril exposed by the law.
  2. Even though the law exposed sin, sin told me that the law was enough. Sin convinced me that all I had to do was try my best, be a good person, give outward conformity to the law, and all would be well.

In both cases sin deceived the sinner. On one hand, he convinced the sinner of his hopelessness, on the other of his self-righteousness. Both are deadly, eternally deadly positions [see Piper]. 

4. Who’s at fault?

Is there something wrong with the law? Or to ask it as Paul did, “Is the Law sin?” If “this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me,” then is there something wrong with the law (commandment)? Paul explains, ‘No, it’s not the law; it is you…sin in you.” “For sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.” He personifies sin, pointing, it seems, to the sinful nature that Christ has taken to the cross for the redeemed (6:6). The very bent of my nature runs contrary to the law of God. So when I see that God has commanded one thing, I want to do another; when He has forbidden something that is precisely what I pursue.

We see this in Genesis 3. The serpent asked Eve, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” Did God command that all the trees are off limits? Eve corrected him but in doing so, she added to the command. “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die’.” Actually, nothing about touching it was stated in the original command in Genesis 2:17. The subtle twisting of God’s commands, viewed as denying Eve of something pleasurable, was at work. The serpent continued, “You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” All will be well with you! God is not serious! Eating of this tree will be to your advantage. It will make you happy and wise. When Eve’s appetite and senses felt the lure of the tree, she took and ate, as did Adam.

Paul comments, “…the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness” (2 Cor. 11:3). Sin keeps doing the same: twisting, perverting, denying, and warping God’s commands in order to deceive. Apart from the grace of God, we buy in to the deception and sin kills us. That “which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me.”  

III. Repeating the point

So, “Is the Law sin?” It cannot be, Paul insists. The Law is not the problem—we are the problem. The law possesses divine traits; even divine attributes. “So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.” It is holy in that it is set apart to God, distinct from the world, and wholly contrary to sin. It is righteous in that the Law is just. Paul’s use of that word maintains its legal connotations. The Law is not unjust by denying you true happiness or robbing you of life. It is good, so the law pursues your happiness and satisfaction with life. It works for your good. But sin twists and distorts this right view of the law.

Yet, the law is not the means to our justification or sanctification. Christ is. While being holy, just, and good it is helpful and necessary though not saving. It is only as the law does its work to show us our desperation and inadequacy before God that we will run to Christ, who satisfied the law’s demands at the cross.  Thank God for the law! Apart from it we would not have the knowledge of sin. The law does not point to itself for justification but to Christ. The law has no legs to run from sin or tongues to plead our case before God. It has only an index finger pointing to a bloody cross and empty tomb. There satisfaction was made. There, through Jesus Christ, the law’s demands are met and sinners receive pardon and life by faith in Him.

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