Sunday 22 September, 2013

7 What should we say then? That the law is sin? Not at all! I wouldn’t have known what sin was unless the law had told me. The law said, “Do not want what belongs to other people.” (Exodus 20:17; Deuteronomy 5:21) If the law hadn’t said that, I would not have known what it was like to want what belonged to others. 8 But the commandment gave sin an opportunity. Sin caused me to want all kinds of things that belonged to others. No one can break a law that doesn’t exist. 9 Before I knew about the law, I was alive. But then the commandment came. Sin came to life, and I died. 10 I found that the commandment that was supposed to bring life actually brought death. 11 When the commandment gave sin the opportunity, sin tricked me. It used the commandment to put me to death. 12 So the law is holy. The commandment also is holy and right and good. 13 Did what is good cause me to die? Not at all! Sin had to be recognized for what it really is. So it produced death in me through what was good. Because of the commandment, sin became totally sinful.

We have been set free from the Law, Hoo-rah! It sounds as if we have been released from the powers of an evil overlord. Anyone would think that the Laws God gave to Israel in the Old Testament must be themselves evil.

By no means is this true!

God is telling me here that His Laws are like a bright light in the darkness. God’s Laws show me the way to living a holy and beautiful life. They also show me the way to death and destruction, displaying the ugliness of evil.

God has made very clear to me the way in which I must walk if I want life. His Law makes clear that death and destruction are the consequence of walking in sin.

My sinful nature saw that now God’s way was made clear, so it took the opportunity to rebel to God’s face. My rebellion was no more unclear, it was seen in the broad daylight.

My God, I thank you that the Law became flesh, Jesus Christ. You walked the earth as a light in the darkness and you touched sinners like me. As the perfect man you died a sinners death in my place and you rose to life victorious over death. You fulfilled the perfect Law of God. I thank you that the way to life is found in faith in you Jesus.

Written by Andrew Mellor