The Law is Good: Romans 7:7-13

I want to begin with two situations in the history of our country that are directly related to today’s text from Romans 7.  The first is prohibition.  Does anyone remember their history in regards to that?  I’ve only read the books, so here is what I have gathered from this period of time in our nation.  A group of folks who had quite a bit of influence and sway managed to get a constitutional amendment passed to ban all things related to alcohol in the U.S.  Now, we know a lot about the effects of alcohol.  We know what it does to people. We know how it kills people.  We know how it breaks up families.  We know how it leads to fights.  We know how it leads to abuse.  We know how it leads to drunk driving and other crimes.  We know this beyond a shadow of a doubt.  So, why is it now legal to drink?  Do you remember why?  Because, interestingly enough, after the production, sale, and consumption of alcohol was banned: IT ACTUALLY INCREASED!!  Think about that for a minute.

Second situation.  This is actually in living memory for many of us.  Not long ago, the U.S. Congress had imposed a 55 mph speed limit maximum on the nation because of a shortage of oil and gas.  Now, that didn’t stop people from speeding, far from it, and that’s not my point. I’ll get to that shortly.  Congress eventually repealed this limit and left it up to the states to impose their own speed limits on highways and thoroughfares.  Montana took an interesting stance.  Because they had so much open highway and so few people traveling on it, they instituted the “reasonable and prudent” speed limit law.  Do you know why it’s no longer in effect and they have posted speed limit signs now?  Because some folks used this as a license to drive over a hundred miles an hour, and the number of traffic fatalities skyrocketed.

In both of these cases, laws that had a particularly noble intent were turned upside down.  They failed.  Why?  Were they bad laws?  I’d argue not necessarily.  The laws in and of themselves were not bad, but the laws could not deal with something that pervades the planet.  The laws were unable to deal with the power of sin, and as a result more harm came about.  So, this begs the question: if the law brings about such things, is the law good?

This is the question that St. Paul now turns his attention to in Romans 7:7-13.  As we turn to this text now, I just want to let you know that I will be focusing on verses 7 through 12, but I have included 13 because it serves as a bridge between this week’s verses and next week’s verses.  Let’s look at what Paul says this week.

He begins asking exactly what I just asked: “7 What then should we say? That the law is sin? By no means!”  Last week, Paul made the remark that “the law aroused our sinful passions.”  So, like any good rhetorician, he deals with a question before anyone else can ask it. In this case, the logic would go: if the law arouses sinful passions, then the law must be bad–the law must be sin.  Paul answers with his usual: God forbid!  Or you’ve got to be stupid to believe that!.  Paul will now show how the law is good.

He says, “Yet, if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, ‘You shall not covet.’” This is kind of a no brainer.  If I am driving down the road, and there are no posted speed limit signs, I don’t know how fast I am allowed to drive.  I don’t know the rules.  But if someone posts a sign that says, “Speed limit 75,” then I know what is right and what is wrong.  We don’t exactly come into this world knowing all the rules and regulations.  We have some idea deep within us about justice and fairness and the like, but we don’t know all the specifics.  They have to be revealed or taught to us.  Paul says this straightforwardly, but it is interesting that he uses a particular commandment.  If you remember the Ten Commandments, you will note that Paul uses the last one: “You shall not covet.”  Why did he use this commandment and not the first and greatest: “You shall nave no other gods before me.”?  I think there is a reason, but we have to wade through an interesting part of the text to get there.

Beginning in verse 8, “But sin, seizing an opportunity in the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. Apart from the law sin lies dead. 9I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived 10and I died, and the very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. 11For sin, seizing an opportunity in the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.”  Now, in my past years, I rushed past these verses and jumped to verse 12.  Verse 12 was easy to understand.  These verses were and are not.  In fact, when you read through the scholars, they are all over the place here.  When you dig into these verses, you stumble across several pit-falls, and in order to interpret them, no matter which way you go, you have to make some assumptions that may or may not be right.  All that is to say is, what I am about to say is how I have managed to make sense of these verses.  Others will disagree with me, but here is how this plays out after I have studied and thought about this a lot this week.

Paul says that the power of sin is so great that when a commandment is set forth, sin goes to work to warp things and produce in us that which the commandment forbids.  In prohibition, it produces a desire for alcohol.  With prudent and reasonable, it produces unreasonableness.  With coveting, it produces covetousness.  If we don’t know the law, sin lies dead–dormant.  If there were no prohibition, we wouldn’t have that desire within us.  This is what Paul I believe is saying in verse 8.

At the beginning of verse 9, he makes a rather interesting statement: I was once alive apart from the law.  What in the world does he mean by this?  Paul was a Jew–a devoted Jew at that, so there would never have been a time when he wasn’t exposed to the law.  There would never have been a time when he was apart from the law.  And how can being apart from the law be life?  Early on in the book of Romans, Paul says that even though there are those who don’t have God’s law, they are still under condemnation and death.  What does this mean?  I think Paul is referring to the time when he didn’t quite get the 10th Commandment.  I think he is referring to the time when he believed he was following the commands of God and was, as he reports himself in the book of Philipians, “as to the law, blameless.”  Paul thought he was following the law perfectly, and in the book of Leviticus, it says point blank: if you follow the law, you have life.  Paul thinks he is alive apart from the 10th Commandment.

However, when the commandment came, sin revived, and Paul died.  Again, this is an interesting line of thinking.  I make sense of it in this fashion: the ancient Jew, and many modern ones, believed that sin was a definite act.  Simply thinking about murder was not a sin. If you murdered someone, that was.  Thinking about sleeping with someone who was not your spouse was not adultery.  Actually sleeping with someone who was not your spouse was adultery.  Paul could have gone down the checklist of the Ten Commandments and said that he followed them perfectly–until he finally understood number 10.  For you see, to covet is to lust after something.  To desire it deeply.  To want it more than anything else in the world at the time.  When the commandment came to Paul, he realized that he was a sinner to his core.  The command that once promised life–if he were able to follow it–now killed him.  And it killed him because in verse 11, sin had deceived him.

What exactly does this mean?  Again, I think there is a reason Paul uses “Thou shalt not covet” to illustrate his point.  What was Paul coveting?  If we read his autobiographical statements in the rest of scripture, we see that he desired to be a perfect Jew.  We see that he wanted to be completely and totally righteous.  We see that he wanted to follow the law above everything else.  This was his goal and purpose in life.  It was his god.  Let me say that again, and I think you will see how sin deceived Paul.  In making him coveting being the perfect Jew; a righteous Jew; Paul desired this above everything else.  And if you dedicate your life to something; if that something becomes your obsession; your deepest desire, it becomes your god.  Sin deceived him into thinking that by desiring to be the perfect, righteous Jew, he was actually serving God; however, Paul now saw that he actually had a false god.  And that false god had led him to bear false witness against the church; had led him to kill people within the church; had led him to persecute the church.  Paul suddenly knew the depths of his sin because the law; the commandment showed this to him.

And so Paul then concludes, “So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good.”   The law is holy because it comes from a holy God.  The commandment is holy because it comes from a holy God.  The command is just because it comes from a just God.  The commandment is good because it comes from a good God.  There is nothing wrong with the commandments.  There is something wrong with us.  We are easily corrupted by the power of sin.

And we don’t want to admit that.  We don’t want to admit it in the least.  We want to think that we are basically good–that we are basically just and merciful and kind.  We want to think that we basically follow the law.  We don’t want to see the depths of our corruption.  We oftentimes become self-righteous like Paul was self-righteous.  We look at a select group of commandments and think: oh, I follow those.  I’m good enough.  It’s just those people out there who are the problem, and if we could just get those people to change; if we could just pass the right laws to reign them in, then the world would be such a better place.

News flash: it won’t be.  The power of sin is corrupting how you obey the law.  The power of sin is deceiving you again.  If you want to start changing the world: if you want to see the world improve, you’ve got to start with your own heart.  You’ve got to become convicted just like Paul was convicted.  You’ve got to realize that not only do you sin, but that you are a sinner.  You’ve got to realize your deepest motivations for doing what you do.  You’ve got to see whether or not you are living for God or living for something else.  I will not be closing this sermon out with the Gospel.  I will not be quoting John 3:16 and 17 this week.  Paul leaves us seeking self-reflection.  He leaves us studying the law and its purpose and how it convicts us.  Next week, he will reveal the solution to this problem.  But for now, we’ve got to wrestle with the problem. We’ve got to wrestle with our own hearts.  We’ve got to be convicted of our own sin.

And so, I am going to leave you with a series of questions.  All of these questions deal with the commands of Christ.  All of these questions deal with how we should live.  If you fail at these questions, you can join Paul and me.  You can join us in admitting that not only do we commit sin, but that we are sinners.  You can join us in awaiting the remedy to our corruption.  You can join us in waiting to hear the gospel.

__ I always love God with all my heart, mind, and soul.  (Matthew 22:37

__ I always love my neighbor as much as I love myself. (Matthew 22:39)

__ I have given up everything I have to follow Jesus.  (Matthew 19:21)

__ I never get angry with my neighbor or call him a good-for-nothing.  (Matthew 5:22)

__ I never look at a person of the opposite sex with thoughts about having sexual intercourse. (Matthew 5:28)

__ I always do good to others when they do things to hurt me. (Matthew 5:38)

__ I love my enemies and pray that God will bless them. (Matthew 5:43)

__ I never judge others, but always put the best construction on their behavior. (Matthew 7:1)

__ Whenever I do something good for someone else, I keep it a secret and do not let others know about it.  (Matthew 6:2)

__ I am happy when someone makes fun of my being a Christian. (Matthew 5:10)

__ I always forgive others when they do me wrong. (Matthew 6:2)

__ I never worry about food or clothing. (Matthew 6:31)

__ I love God more than my family, my friends or myself.  (Matthew 10:37)

__ Whenever I see someone in need, I always help them. (Matthew 10:42)

__ I regularly feed the poor, visit prisoners, put strangers up for the night, give clothes to the needy and visit those who are sick.  (Matthew 25:35-36)

__I never hold anyone to a standard that I, myself do not follow.

If you did as well as I did on this series of questions, then I look forward to seeing you next week as we hear the remedy to sin’s power.  Amen.

Why Abide in Jesus?

     Jesus says in our Gospel reading this morning “Abide in me as I abide in you,” and then He goes on further to give us the results of what will happen if we abide in Him.  This morning, I will attempt to do three things: 1) Answer the question of why we should abide in anything.  2) Show how abiding in anything other than Jesus will lead to disappointment and chaos.  3) Show why you should abide in Jesus above anything else.  It’s a rather large task before us, so let’s jump right in.

    The first thing we’ve got to deal with is why we should abide in anything.  Well, really we don’t have a choice but to abide in something.  The Greek word used by Jesus here is μένω which can mean several things: “abide”, “remain”, “to remain in a place”, “to stay in the house”, or even “to stay alive” or “to stand fast.”  And we all stand fast; we all remain; we all stay alive in something.  However, most of us don’t really take the time to think about where we abide; where we stand fast.  We are kind of like fish who are surrounded by water.  It is so natural for a fish to live in water, he wouldn’t know what it was like to live in anything else.

    So it is with how we live.  We simply go through most of our lives believing certain things we have been taught–things which are deeply imprinted within our hearts.  For instance, most of us, since we live in the U.S. have a deeply imprinted belief that if we work hard, do the right things, then we will achieve some measure of success.  We have a deeply imprinted belief that all people are equal and have certain inalienable rights.  We have a deeply imprinted belief that we are free to do as we choose as long as we do no harm to anyone.  These are so deeply ingrained that if we were taken out of our culture, we would indeed be like a fish out of water.  Many of us would have a very difficult time adjusting to anything else.  Why?  Because we abide in this particular worldview.  We stand fast in this particular worldview.  And even if there are those of you here this morning who question this particular worldview, you need to realize, you have a worldview of your own.  You have a way of looking at things that help you understand reality.  You have a way of looking at the world and dealing with all the information in the world that helps you cope with life and make sense of things.  We remain or abide in those worldviews most of our lives.  And it is very hard to change them.  Very hard.

    But sometimes we run into things that force us to deeply consider why we believe what we believe.  We run into things that force us to ask ourselves, “Is this where I want to continue to live?  Is this where I want to continue to abide?  Do I need to shift my thinking or change how I view the world?”  I have run into this more than a few times with folks throughout my career as a pastor.  Usually, these times occur when someone experiences deep sadness or loss.  If someone loses a job or a spouse or is faced with cancer, such questions usually arise.  I mean, if you have been taught that if you work hard and do good things, then you should be successful, then what happens if you lose your job or fall on hard times?  Were you not working hard enough?  Were you not good enough?  Do you see how this affects such a worldview?  I hope you can, because now we are getting into territory number two: the vast majority of worldviews will lead to disappointment or a sense of superiority over others where you hold others in contempt.  Let me say that again: the vast majority of worldviews will lead to disappointment and a sense of superiority over others where you hold others in contempt.

    Let me try and illustrate this by turning to recent events in Baltimore, MD.  Many of us have seen the images of rioters destroying property and burning buildings.  Many of us have seen the video of the mother slapping around her teenage son.  Many of us know the reason the riots have occurred is a reaction to what happened to Freddie Gray in the back of a police van and the accumulated distrust of a community toward law enforcement officials.  Pundits are pointing a lot of fingers and spreading a lot of blame, but let’s delve deep, very deep.

    Let’s begin with looking at those who blame the police for the violent uprising.  In a very real way, they hold the police officers in contempt because they believe the police have used their power and authority abusively.  This side believes they are continually victimized, and they justify the actions of the rioters by saying, “At some point all the anger and frustration boiled to the surface, and they lashed out at injustice.”  The folks are disappointed in a system which seemingly keeps them burdened and heavy laden without allowing them the freedom to escape poverty.  Many become hopeless, and I think it’s why these communities have a prevalence of drugs.  A lot of folks in these communities only live for their next fix.  Disappointment reigns as does contempt for those who they see as oppressing and abusing them.

    On the other hand, there are those who blame the rioters themselves.  There are those who believe if folks just followed the law and obeyed the rules, then they could improve themselves.  They tend to say, “These folks are just looking for an excuse to get something for nothing.  They are just waiting for an opportunity to do whatever they want, and they have no regard for the law; they have no respect for officers.”  The folks on this side of the street believe they are morally superior to those who are rioting, and they are disappointed with a system who will not crack down on such lawbreakers.  In reality, there is very little compassion being shown by this group, in my opinion.

    Now, I will say that this oversimplifies things a bit.  For we could nuance things very easily and say that there are more groups involved in this whole ordeal, but to keep time in mind, I will only deal with these two groups.  Can you see how the two worldviews lead to disappointment and contempt for others?  Can you see how the two sides are at great odds with each other?  Can you see how there is very little room for compromise or agreement on anything?  When worldviews like this clash, enmity and strife become the norm, and inevitably, worldviews will clash. 

    The question becomes: what is the solution?  Can there be any sort of resolution?  Can we just agree to disagree?  No.  I don’t think so.  The stakes are very high.  We need law and order.  We also need freedom.  We need to deal with those who break the law, but we also need to deal with the injustice of they systems which have kept people in poverty.  And more laws will not do it.  You see, people know they shouldn’t be breaking the law.  Cops know they shouldn’t abuse criminals–the vast majority don’t.  People know they shouldn’t riot–the vast majority don’t.  I mean, why do you think some cops try to destroy or appropriate cameras which catch them abusing others?  Why do you think many rioters covered their faces and hands and ran from cameras?  They know they are doing wrong!!!  We know we are doing wrong, even when our worldview tells us we are wrong, we still break the law!!! 

    I’ve outlined the problem, I think.  Hopefully, I was clear.  So, what is the solution?  Jesus says, “Abide in me.”  You may try and stop me here and say, “Well, why should I abide in Jesus. Aren’t there Christians who fall on both sides of those worldviews?  Aren’t they divided on those lines as well?”  Yes, Christians are divided on those lines as well, but if they are abiding in Jesus, they will not hold others in contempt, and they will not be filled with disappointment.  What do I mean by that?

    Well, I need to do a little bit of work here because we have to get to the heart of Christianity.  We need to see what distinguishes Christianity from all other worldviews–all other religions–all other philosophies.  Every other religion and every other philosophy will look at what is going on in Baltimore and say, “We’ve got to try harder.  We’ve got to follow the law better.  We’ve got to love our neighbors better.  We’ve got to work to overcome this division.  We’ve got to follow the tenets of our religion better.”  The emphasis is all on us.  We’ve got to do it!!  But as I pointed out earlier, we already know what to do.  Trying harder isn’t going to get us there.  It hasn’t throughout history.  It won’t now.  So what will?  Only a change of heart.  And how do hearts change?  How do hearts lose their contempt for others?  How do hearts turn from anger and hopelessness and disappointment to love and hope?

    Christianity says: Trust in what Jesus has already done for you, and to the extent you trust in Him–to the extent you abide in Him–to the extent you make your home in Him–to the extent you stand fast in Him–you will begin to love others.  You will begin to erase the contempt you once had for them.  You will no longer see yourself as superior to them.  You will not be disappointed, instead you will have tremendous hope which will give you abundant life.

    How is such a thing possible?  How does abiding in Jesus do this? 

    You have to realize what Jesus did for you.  You have to realize that when every other worldview says, “Try harder to be good, and then you will receive the rewards,” Jesus says, “There is no way you can achieve the standard that my Father and I set.  There is no way you can ever work hard enough.  There is no way you can be perfect.  You are and always will be a failure in this respect.  But I love you even if you are a failure.  I accept you even if you fall short.  I will never stop loving or accepting you.”

    “How can I trust you on this?”  You might ask Jesus?

    And His answer is the cross.  His answer is, “I died for you.”

            For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that all those who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world but that the world may be saved through Him.

    You see, when you believe that Jesus died for you when you were a sinner; when you believe you were accepted when you least deserved it, you are humbled.  You cast aside your haughtiness and your self-righteousness because you know you didn’t measure up; but you don’t grovel in victimhood and self-hatred because you know you are accepted.  You can neither be too high nor too low.  And your heart finds peace.  Your heart finds itself longing to love even those whom hurt you.  Your hearts finds itself full of hope that there can be a better way and that reconciliation is possible.  And you have proof of that with the resurrection.  Because Jesus lives, you will live also–not only for eternity, but you will live with a lasting, assuring hope.  Nothing can ever take that from you.  There is never then an need to escape the world and live for the moment–you are now abiding in the True Vine.  You are now getting your identity from Him.  You are now getting your sustenance from Him.  You now have an unending source of love and hope and compassion flowing through you.  A love that makes reconciliation possible–not because of anything you have done or how hard you have worked, but because of what Jesus has done for you and even for the one who opposes you.

    Let us pray.  Lord Jesus, you abide in us even without us asking.  You died for us when we least deserved it.  You accepted us when we were failures.  You rose to give us hope.  May we abide in you.  May we trust you.  May we find our identity in you that our divisions will cease; that we may be reconciled to one another; and that peace may reign.  In your name we pray.  Amen.