God’s law killed me.

God's law killed me. Romans 7:7-12.

What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, "You shall not covet." Romans 7:7 (NKJV)

If speaking to a Jew, the mere mention of not giving the Law prominence would create a wall of difference that could be hard to cross. Jews are a very proud people and though the receiving of the law was a change in the way they lived they are not willing to consider that God wants change again.

When speaking about change, there are many things that can get in the way and here Paul brings up two of them. First people could ask, "Did the Law miss the mark that God had intended for it? Did God make a mistake by giving the law and are you saying that He now is making things right?" You can see that no Jew or Christian could admit God made a mistake; and He did not.

Paul quickly responds with the same emotional response that others would have. "Certainly not" is a startled type of reaction and it portraits respect to the Law.

Then Paul attributes the reason God gave the law and says God gave it that we might know what sin is. The Law is a tool used to tell us right from wrong and what it is to live righteously. Because we fail the Law the Law teaches us our need for salvation and we see our own inability to resist temptation. The Law humbles every person under it as it sets a standard for holiness.

Many Christians throw out the law and consider themselves under grace; and where it is true that we are under grace, God gave us the power to keep the law. So it still stands to be used by the church.

But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead. I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me. Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good. Romans 7:8-12 (NKJV)

It is easy not to consider what good and proper actions are in at society that has no more inhibition towards sin. Paul had much the same in his day and in Rome, people did as the Romans did. Therefore, without a standard, God's people are just like anyone else. Yet God gave the law, and it was received by many as a tool to satisfy God and bring peace with God. Yet as Paul says, the law brought death.

You can keep the complete law to offend in one small part and be guilty of it all। Therefore, the Law is holy, yet people are not and the very salvation people seek from it condemns all. The good news is that God knew that and the Law was to teach us that we need a savior and that savior is Christ the Lord.