To Sin or To Love

 DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS

TO SIN OR TO LOVE

Rom 7:7-12

7 What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, "Do not covet."   8 But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from law, sin is dead. 9 Once I was alive apart from law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. 10 I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. 11 For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. 12 So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.

NIV

Well, at least we know the temptation that Paul fell prey to and that he was very aware of his sin. But to say the law is holy and the commandment is holy, righteous, and good makes it very clear that God’s intent for the law was to bring Paul and us to that point of repentance because we cannot find life in the law. How can something that brings death be so holy? How can a command of God that brings us death be righteous and good? It would seem simple enough because the law came from God. However, it also appears right to understand the law was put in force to show us we cannot find righteousness under the law. If God had never given the law, we would never know that we are guilty of sin. Yet, was that the reason we came to Jesus? From Paul’s testimony of his conversion, he did not come to Jesus because he was a dead man walking under the law, but because Jesus appeared to him and spoke to him. Luke tells us in the acts of the Apostles that after Saul received his sight at the hands of Ananias, he spent a few days with the disciples, those who followed Jesus. When did Paul get this truth about the law bringing death and Jesus bringing us life? When we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we were not ever concerned about any law from God, in fact, we were not even concerned about God. Certainly, there are religious people aware of God, even worship him, and are conscience of sin at some level, knowing some about the commands of God, yet are still dead men walking because they have not died to sin and have been born again into the Spirit. The law, the commandments, can lead us to awareness of sin, but cannot save us from death, in fact, it brings us death. Why then would we want to live under the law? It does not make sense at all to live under that which brings us death. Yet, it appears some in the church today want to establish their own set of laws or rules to live by and may be confused. True, we must make every effort to live righty, to live in the Spirit, to live as a born-again believers in Jesus. This means we do not go looking for ways to sin but look for ways to live in the Spirit and to live a life of love. That is the greatest command that Jesus tells us to love God with our whole being and to love others as he loves us. If we live in love, that is primary, and loving each other will eliminate or eradicate many sins. If we love each other then we would never do any harm to one another or do something that would cause another to sin. That seems simple enough, but it seems we cannot even do that faithfully, or perfectly, so again, we are in desperate need of the grace of God. Everything in this life brings us to our need for the grace of God, for Jesus. Apart from Jesus, we can do nothing, no works are good enough, no life is good enough, no amount is spirituality is good enough, and no abiding by rules and regulations is good enough, although they are not all bad either, they simply do not enhance the grace of God. Faith, hope, and love are the greatest attributes, but the greatest of these is love.