The Law is Not Sin

November 7th, 2024
by Dr. D. Lance Waldie

Nov 7, 2024

Dr. D. Lance Waldie

Romans 7:7-8 What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead.

Having spoken of the Law in a less-than-flattering way in 7:1-6, Paul now sets out to quash the idea of antinomianism (no law)—the belief that Christians are unbound by any law. This is why in v. 7 Paul strongly dismisses the idea that the Law is somehow worthless or sinful. Going back to a previous argument he made in Romans, it is clear in Christian theology that God’s Law is meant to reveal man’s sinful nature (3:20). Furthermore, since the Law reflects God’s holiness and perfection, Christians are to strive to uphold the Law (3:31)—loving God and loving others. This of course is not in order to obtain salvation but because they already have salvation.

In v. 7 Paul says that if God’s Commandments had not exposed sin, he would never have known sin. The word “know” (Gr. ginōskō), both in Hebrew (OT) and Greek (NT), means “to experience; to be in relationship with.” In Jeremiah 9:6 the prophet uses the word to rebuke the Jews for failing to maintain their relationship with God, although they knew who He was. In the NT the term is used of Christ who, although He knew what sin was, He did not “know” sin (2 Cor. 5:21) in the sense of participating in it. Paul, in saying that he would never have known sin had the Law not exposed sin as sin, was clearly going beyond the idea that God’s Law only defined what sin was and was reaching into the deeper issue of sin’s sinfulness. In other words, Paul would never have known how wicked sin was unless God had revealed this in His Law.

Perhaps Paul was sharing from his own personal testimony in vv. 7-8, saying that he struggled with the sin of coveting, prohibited by the tenth Commandment (Exod. 20:17). Had the Law not clearly stated that coveting was sin, Paul would never have known this sin or any other sin made explicitly clear in the Law. The Law, therefore, shows God’s love in revealing what He hates! Paul learned from the Commandment that to covet (“to desire; to lust”) was wrong in God’s eyes, and when God convicted him of this sin, he was able to pinpoint how wicked covetousness is with all of its illicit desires, sexual connotations, and idolatry. It is a sin that lurks within the heart causing those who fall into it to break all the rest of God’s Commandments.

Note also how God’s Law actually provokes sin, as in 7:5 where sinful passions are aroused by the Law. In v. 8, Paul says that sin seizes an “opportunity” (Gr. aphormē) through the Law—a term that speaks of “a starting point; occasion,” or base of operations. So, the Law is the base of operations from which sin works. This dates all the way back to Eden when Satan used God’s sole prohibition as his starting point to tempt the human race into sin. Of course God’s ban from the tree was not evil in itself, but Satan used it as his base of operations for evil. Surely, if the Law did not exist, sin would indeed lie dead (v. 8). Once the truth is exposed, however, it comes to life in the person who hears it. Then the struggle begins, and one is either convicted or not.

Food for Thought

All of us tend to see forbidden things as attractive, not because they truly are, but because they provide an occasion for us to put our self-will into motion. St. Augustine wrote that he once stole some pears from a neighbor, not because he was hungry or to sell them for profit, but simply because it was forbidden to do so. When we see signs like “don’t walk on the grass,” we tend to think, “Why shouldn’t I?” And it’s not that money, possessions, fame, or beauty are evil, but are they not base of operations for Satan in the lives of so many who strive after them? Let us note this truth, spy out the sin working within us, and overcome it by the Spirit who indwells us.