Romans - Part 07 - Role of the Law

S - Scripture

Romans 3:20

20 For no one will be justified in his sight by the works of the law, because the knowledge of sin comes through the law.

Romans 7:7-13

7 What should we say then? Is the law sin? Absolutely not! But I would not have known sin if it were not for the law. For example, I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, Do not covet. 8 And sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind. For apart from the law sin is dead. 9 Once I was alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life again 10 and I died. The commandment that was meant for life resulted in death for me. 11 For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me, and through it killed me. 12 So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good. 13 Therefore, did what is good become death to me? Absolutely not! But sin, in order to be recognized as sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that through the commandment, sin might become sinful beyond measure.

Romans 8:3-4

3 For what the law could not do since it was weakened by the flesh, God did. He condemned sin in the flesh by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh as a sin offering, 4 in order that the law’s requirement would be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

O - Observation

• We know sin because the law reveals it
• Paul gives an example of how sin can twist the law and commands and how it affects him/us
• The law's effects are only as good as we are since adhering to the law is done by us; remember, we are not perfect so we cannot perfectly follow the law
• God accounts for this and sends His Son to fulfill the law on our behalf

A - Application

• As we have learned in other sessions, sin is universal and the role of the law is not for us to earn salvation or be right before God. This session is short and seem repetitive, but notice we are diving deeper into why Jesus had to become fully human in order to fulfill God the Father's plan for our salvation.
• The law (and all of God's Word) exposes sin and doesn't ignore sin.
• Have you ever felt convicted about something? Maybe you felt bad after a decision or action you did. Or maybe a specific Bible verse keeps popping up in your daily life that reminds you of something you need to work on or change.
  • Convicted/Conviction means to be shown or proven guilty of wrongdoing
• Conviction is one role of the law, to show us where we fall short and to remind us we need to rely on someone greater than us to be our Savior (Jesus).
• As we are reminded of our sin, we shouldn't feel beaten up. It is okay to feel remorseful and sorry but we don't have to stay there. Remember, who has lives as we did so that He could bear our sin and defeat sin on our behalf? Jesus, when we feel broken or convicted we know we can go to Him for renewal and strength for overcoming our sin. And don't forget that the Holy Spirit resides in all believers to help us grow in and understand God's Word.
• Obedience of the Law and commandments is out of our response to salvation and not something to earn it.

P - Prayer

Lord,

Thank You for being there for when I fall, I know there isn't anything I can do to fix my sin but to run to You who has defeated all sin for us. Help me to recognize conviction as a welcome to run to You in open arms. I pray that the Holy Spirit works in me to be more obedient to Your commandments, not to earn my salvation but to reflect the changes in my life because You are my Savior.

In Jesus' name, Amen.