Verses 7-13. To speak about passions being aroused by the law might suggest that the law itself is sinful. What evidence does Paul give in these verse to show that the law is holy and good, and yet a) reveals sin; b) provokes sin; c) results in death? What does it thus bring to light concerning the character of sin? Answer: The law brings sin to light (figuratively speaking of course) for us. It shows us what is right and wrong. This knowing in many cases makes us want to sin more. Like the kid with a cookie jar. Mom tells him no, the kid wants cookies anyway, and the “law” makes him want it all the more. V12 shows that the law, however, did not make us sin and it is not evil. Rather, the law is God’s and therefore is holy and righteous.
V14-25. Which is the stronger force in a man’s life, the law or sin? What, then, is the inevitable result of life under the law, even at its best? Answer: I think, based on what I know of human nature, that sin will dominate whenever possible.
Note. In verses 14-25 the apostle expands what he means by ‘the old way of the written code’ (7:6). The law of God commands from without, but sin as a power within compels obedience to its own dictates. Tow things are needed: a) deliverance from the condemnation that the low of God pronounces, and b) a power within greater than that of sin ton enable us to do God’s will Both are provided in Christ, as Paul shows in chapter 8, expounding the meaning of his words ‘the new way of the Spirit’ (7:6).
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