Ruminating on ROMANS! (Some Thoughts on Paul’s Great Epistle) #23 “That Sin Might Become Utterly Sinful” (A Study of Romans 7)

Many of you know that my New Jersey friend Frank and I are reading through God’s Word together (described here). We’re now in the book of Romans and are reading chapter 7 each day this week.

“That Sin Might Become Utterly Sinful” (A Study of Romans 7)

I am fascinated by verse 13 which says, “so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.” This section (Romans 7:7-13) has much to say about God’s LAW: the law is not sinful; the law makes us aware of what sin is; apart from the law sin was “dead”; the law caused sin to spring to life and led to the Apostle’s “death”; the very commandment intended to bring life brought death; the law is holy and God’s commandment is holy, righteous, and good; and it is through the commandment that sin might become utterly sinful. Whew!

We also learn a great deal about SIN! We don’t naturally know what sin is without the law; the law’s commandment against coveting helps us understand what coveting is; sin is personified: it seizes opportunities afforded by the commandment to produce in us every kind of coveting. Sin springs to life when the commandment came. A second time Paul says sin seized the opportunity and deceived me and put me to death. He then says, “in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it used what is good to bring about my death, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful. Wow. There’s a lot I don’t understand there!

How about you? As you read Romans 7, what is one truth that you take away from this text?