Romans 7:7, commentary and pictures

The law is not sin, but holy and just and good, given to reveal guilt and make sin known. Without the law sin lies dead to the conscience and unknown, but when the commandment comes home sin revives and the sinner dies under condemnation, as shown when the command against coveting exposes lust as sin. Its claims reach beyond outward acts to the thoughts, motives, desires and purposes of the heart, which is why Paul, though blameless by a human standard, saw himself a transgressor when its spiritual character shone upon him. The law is God's unchangeable standard and mirror that detects defects of character, yet it has no power to pardon, cleanse or save, but holds the transgressor in bondage until he is led to Christ. As schoolmaster it produces conviction, humility and repentance toward God and faith toward Jesus as substitute and Saviour, whose grace restores to obedience in spirit and truth and to true sanctification in conformity to the law.

Words and Plain Meaning

Paul's question is answered with a denial: the law is not sin, not sinful and not evil, but the revealer and exposer of sin and guilt. It defines sin as transgression and makes sin known, so that what was hidden is brought to light and shown to be exceedingly sinful. The fault and death are in sin and in the person, not in the law, for sin is in the sinner while the law remains holy and just and good.

By the law is the knowledge of sin, for without the law sin is dead to conscience and unknown. When the commandment comes home to conscience with power and light, sin revives and the person dies, dying to former self-satisfaction under condemnation. In that light sin is seen in its true hideous character, guilt is increased, and the sinner sees himself as a transgressor who must die to sin.

The proof given is coveting, for no one would have known lust or covetous desire as sin except the law said, Thou shalt not covet. Paul did not recognize coveting as sin until the commandment against it reached his conscience, and by that tenth commandment lust in the heart is exposed. So the knowledge of inward sin comes only because the law forbids it, and without that prohibition it would not have been discerned as sin.

That exposure proves the law's claims reach beyond outward acts to the spirit of the law, to thoughts and words and to the motives, desires, designs and purposes of the heart. A person may abstain from outward sin and yet transgress without recognizing it, because even inward desire is sin and even errors and lack of self-knowledge are learned only by comparing life, acts, character and motives with the sacred law. By that light men see themselves guilty before God, for the law requires that the soul itself be pure, the mind holy, and all thoughts and feelings accord with love and righteousness.

Sin is transgression of the law, not merely dishonesty, disloyalty, murder, adultery, robbery or other crimes, and disregard for the law leaves people hoping for heaven without recognizing their sin. It is the carnal mind, not the law, that opposes God, while the law brings sin to light and convicts the sinner as it convicted Paul. Every violation is transgression bringing death as penalty, so fallen man understands his condemned and lost condition only when the holy requirements are applied as the rule of life to will, desires, works, thoughts and feelings.

The commandment ordained to life is found to be unto death, because sin takes occasion by the commandment to work all manner of desire and concupiscence, to deceive and to kill. Without the law sin was dead and the man was alive in his own esteem, but when the commandment came sin revived and he died, with the sinful nature slain by the law. This does not make the law evil, for the fault is in sin, not in the law, and grace gives no liberty to continue in sin where law still makes transgression sin.

Law Holy and Permanent

The law is not sinful or evil, but holy and just and good, and its commandment is holy and just and good. It was ordained to life for those who obey in spirit and in truth, though through sin taking occasion by it the commandment ordained to life is found to be unto death, deceiving and slaying by working all manner of evil desire. The fault lies in sin and not in the law, for sin uses the commandment as an occasion to stir desire and bring death, while the law exposes sin and shows it to be exceedingly sinful. The inward person can delight in God's law, and true conversion honors God by obeying the commandments in spirit and in truth and laying hold of eternal life.

The law is immutable and unchangeable, as changeless as God Himself. The cross of Christ did not abolish the law, whose binding claims remain. If God could have changed His law to meet man in his fallen condition Christ need not have come, but because the law could not be changed God sent His only begotten Son to die for the fallen race. Christ came to maintain and exalt the law by suffering the penalty of sin, so His death testifies to its immutability.

The Holy Spirit presents the law as God's only standard of character. It is Jehovah's great moral standard of righteousness and God's moral government for detecting sin. It serves as a true measure by which people see themselves, a detector of sin, and a great mirror by which the sinner discerns defects in moral character. As the standard of righteousness it exposed Paul as a sinner before God and condemned sin in the flesh.

The law exposes transgression and guilt, including covetous desire, and holds the transgressor prisoner until repentance and faith bring pardon, yet it has no power to remove the defect, pardon the transgressor, cleanse from sin, save the sinner, or release from consequence. Like a mirror it can show defects in moral character but cannot remove them. It holds the transgressor in bondage in condemnation, while the obedient are free. Pardon comes only through repentance toward God because His law is transgressed and faith toward Jesus Christ as substitute, surety, and Advocate, whose blood alone removes sin and whose merit alone justifies to free salvation. It serves as a schoolmaster that shows the sinner the need to go beyond repentance and look to Christ, the sin-bearing Saviour and healer of repented and confessed sin.

To claim God's law is abolished is to have no moral standard and no means of detecting sin. It tramples God's standard underfoot to erect a human standard of one's own creating, so that any claim to sanctification on that ground is false. Teachers who say the holy law has no claim on people cannot define sin to sinners and work directly against Christ. Enmity against the law produces opposition to all who defend it and willingness to falsify, pervert, and stigmatize them.

Paul's Convicting Experience

Judged by a human standard of outward acts Paul was blameless and believed he was zealously keeping the law even while persecuting the saints. He had abstained from sin as men measure sin, yet he had not known lust as sin until the law said, Thou shalt not covet. When the spiritual character of the law was discerned and its light came with power, looking into its depths as a holy mirror, he saw himself as God saw him, a sinner and transgressor. By that light Saul saw he was a sinner, indeed a sinner of sinners, and sin appeared in its true hideousness as transgression exposed and condemned in the flesh. The commandment against coveting brought sin to light and showed him to be a transgressor, while it was the carnal mind and not the law that opposes God.

When the commandment came sin revived and he died to former self-satisfaction and self-esteem. Without the law sin was dead and he was alive once, but sin taking occasion by the commandment wrought in him all manner of concupiscence, and when it came home his self-sufficiency ended. His self-esteem was gone, he bowed in humiliation and confessed guilt, and he did not go away and forget what manner of man he was. That conviction led him to death to sin, repentance toward God and faith toward Jesus Christ as Saviour, by which he was washed and cleansed and began to be purified. The same turning brought obedience to God's law, baptism, and preaching Jesus as earnestly as he had once denounced and condemned Him, trusting in Christ, turning from sin, and laying hold of the Saviour and gospel truth. True conversion begins with this conviction, with realizing that God has claims He will not relinquish and that transgression has broken the connection between the soul and God, which is restored when the sinner repents, confesses, and by faith takes hold of the grace of Christ.

True conviction ended ascribing goodness and merit to self, with pride, sensitiveness, ambition and pulling others down. In its place it produced humility with no longer claiming goodness for self but giving all glory to God, becoming gentle, meek and lowly of heart. It brought loving Jesus with full ardor, loving souls and laboring to win them, and bearing the precious fruits of righteousness in peace. The law's exposure showed that Jesus did not make the law of none effect but came to vindicate the Father's law as author and foundation of true religion from Adam and originator of the Jewish sacrificial system, with the typical law meeting its antitype in His death.

Conviction Leading to Christ

The law is not sin but the revealer of sin, exposing guilt including covetous desire, yet it cannot remove guilt, pardon the transgressor, save, cleanse, or release from consequence. It acts as a schoolmaster and detector, a great mirror in which defects of moral character are discerned though the mirror cannot remove them, holding the transgressor in bondage while the obedient are free. The sinner must therefore first be convicted by being brought before that mirror before being bidden to come to Christ, going beyond repentance to look to Christ the sin-bearing Saviour and healer of sin that is repented of and confessed. The sense of sin pressed home by the law confronting the conscience drives the sinner to the Saviour, whose righteousness is imparted to every repentant sinner and whose love draws the convicted sinner as seen in His humbling Himself to die a shameful death on the cross.

Pardon comes only through the blood of the Son of God, the fountain where defiled character is washed white, so the only hope is repentance toward God because the Father's law has been transgressed and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ. That coming is repentance toward God for breaking the law and faith toward Jesus Christ as substitute and surety, Advocate and Lamb, whose blood alone removes sin and whose merit alone justifies, bringing free pardon and salvation through the promised Redeemer. The law itself is holy and the commandment holy and just and good, and by it is the knowledge of sin, for lust is known only because the law says Thou shalt not covet, and without the law sin is dead to conscience. True conversion is thus a change from transgression of the law to obedience of it, requiring genuine obedience including the Sabbath of the fourth commandment rather than a spurious claim to sanctification while living in opposition to that law.

When the law of God brings conviction to the heart it exposes the malignity and sinfulness of sin, including lust made known because the law forbids coveting. That sense of sin and unworthiness produces humility leading to repentance. Without being assured of the malignity of the disease and realizing the sinfulness of sin there is no felt need of a cure, no appreciation of the value of the atonement, and no sense of the necessity of being cleansed from all sin. Those who do not see sin by the law instead measure themselves by themselves and other sinners like themselves rather than looking at the purity and holiness of Christ.

True conversion begins with this conviction, with realizing that God has claims He will not relinquish and that transgression has broken the connection between the soul and God. When the commandment comes home to the conscience with light, sin revives and the sinner dies to his former self-satisfied life, the sinful nature slain by the law. That broken connection is restored when the sinner repents, confesses sin, and by faith takes hold of the grace of Christ, honoring God by obeying the commandments in spirit and in truth and laying hold of eternal life. The commandment was ordained to life but through sin taking occasion by it becomes unto death, deceiving and slaying, yet the law remains holy and the commandment holy and just and good, and obeyed in spirit and truth it leads the person to grasp eternal life.

Grace gives no liberty to continue in sin, for where there is law transgression remains sin, and the mercy of God does not excuse continuing in transgression. Christ taking human guilt and imputing His righteousness does not permit continued violation of Jehovah's precepts; He came because man cannot keep the law in his own strength, to maintain and exalt the law, to bring strength to obey its precepts, and to suffer the penalty of sin, proving the law as changeless as God. He will never save anyone who knows the law yet lives in transgression of it, and one who acknowledges the seventh-day Sabbath to be binding cannot be saved in trampling it any more than in breaking the other nine commandments, so that once light is given the knowing transgression of the fourth commandment is sin just as stealing, murder, and adultery are sin. The repenting sinner may plead forgiveness through the merits of a crucified and risen Saviour, and God will accept all who come to Him in the name of Jesus.

Without the law's conviction people do not see themselves as sinners or feel their need for repentance and Christ's atoning sacrifice. Without the law people would not know sin, for sin is transgression of God's law and not merely dishonesty, disloyalty, murder, adultery, robbery, or other crimes. When the commandment came home to conscience, sin was seen in its true character, leading to death to sin in order to live unto Christ, and the truth presented through the law convicted people of sin as it had Paul and led them to conversion. Disregard for the law can otherwise lead people to hope for heaven without recognizing their sin.

Sanctification and Self-Examination

True sanctification is conformity to the will of God as expressed in His holy law, and only those who live by every word from God are truly sanctified. The law is not sin but the light by which sin is detected and known, for without its word against coveting lust would not be recognized as sin. Genuine Bible sanctification therefore requires obedience to the law, including the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, and any claim to sanctification or holiness while living in defiance of or opposition to that law is spurious. The law is God's holy standard, the great moral mirror that discovers defects in moral character and the only correct standard of sanctification, and those who trample upon it and refuse to look into it do not know they are defective and sinful. Claims to sinlessness and sanctification while tearing down God's law rest only on a human, finite standard erected in place of God's standard, and in the light of God's law such persons are sinners; by contrast the obedient believer yields the heart to the claims of the law, still sees defects in character, and bows in humility to confess sin, while the avowed transgressor lives in defiance yet claims holiness. The sinner must exercise repentance toward God for transgressing His law and faith in Jesus Christ as Advocate.

A person learns errors and sins and lack of self-knowledge only by sincerely meditating on and investigating motives and by comparing life, acts, and character, separate and as a whole, with the sacred and holy law of God. By the law is the knowledge of sin, for Paul knew what sin was through the law and the command against coveting made him aware of his own covetous desire. The law's claims reach beyond outward acts to the spirit of the law and to inward lust, proving it reaches to the spirit and not only to outward obedience. Even those who advocate and profess to revere the law may daily live in transgression of its spirit without really understanding its claims, lacking a practical understanding of its holy claims and needing conversion, since people may transgress it without recognizing their sin until their lives and motives are compared with the law that exposes that guilt.

Those who do not see sin by the law measure themselves by themselves and by other sinners like themselves instead of looking at the purity and holiness of Christ and God's standard. By trampling the law and refusing to look into it they do not know they are defective, resting claims to sinlessness on a finite human standard. Without being assured of the malignity of the disease and realizing the sinfulness of sin there is no felt need of a cure, no appreciation of the value of the atonement, and no sense of the necessity of being cleansed from all sin. When the law brings conviction to the heart it exposes the malignity and sinfulness of sin, including lust made known because the law forbids coveting, and that sense of sin and unworthiness produces humility leading to repentance.

God's law reaches inward as well as outward, giving knowledge of sin in the thoughts and intents and purposes of the soul and reaching beyond outward acts and words to thoughts, motives, and purposes. It is a searcher of hearts that detects and records guilt known only to God, exposing inward passions such as lust, jealousy, hatred, revenge, malignity, and wild ambition, even when covered up from human observation and never acted upon. Even sins contemplated in the mind but not carried out for want of opportunity make a person guilty and form character. The law lays men under obligation by reaching to the thoughts and feelings of the soul and producing conviction in everyone sensible of having transgressed it, requiring that the soul itself be pure, the mind holy, and all thoughts and feelings be in accordance with the law of love and righteousness, so that by its light men see themselves guilty before God.

The law reaches thoughts, words, and the desires of the heart and serves as a true measure by which people see themselves, holy and just and good and ordained to life for those who obey, but it condemns the transgressor unless that person repents and returns to loyalty to God. Every violation is transgression against God bringing death as the penalty of the divine law, and fallen man understands his guilt and condemned, lost condition only when the requirements of the holy law are applied as the rule of life. Jesus applies the law directly to the soul, bringing will and desires and works under its jurisdiction, so that every wrong act and every thought and feeling condemned by the law must be overcome. A covetous person can recognize covetousness by the law and, on seeing the sin, repent and bear fruits worthy of repentance in a changed life marked by self-denial and giving. Yet the inward person can delight in God's law, which reveals sin without being sinful itself.