"We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin" (Romans 7:14)

A common misconception is that God sold us as slaves to sin as a result of the trespass of Adam in the garden. Many think that this was part of his punishment. However, the scriptures teach that Adam sold himself into bondage when he disobeyed God's direct command. As a result the rest of mankind was also part of the package. We were delivered lock, stock and barrel to Satan's kingdom when the dominion and authority of the world was transferred to him. And the result is that God gets blamed for a lot of things that are no fault of his. Truth be told, the fault was ours.

It was always God's plan from the very beginning to fellowship with us face to face. The Bible says that He walked and talked with Adam and Eve in the cool of the evening. Even after the fall, he continued to fellowship with Adam, Eve and their children. He created us in His very own image and gave authority over all of creation and every living being to us. But everything was ruined with the introduction of sin because that dominion was given, by Adam to Satan. Humankind cascaded downward until the law was given to show us how sinful we were in comparison to God's holy standard. It was the awareness of that standard that separated us from God.

Therefore, the law is good, but Paul goes one step further to let us know that the law is also spiritual. We are by nature carnal and unspiritual because of what happened in the garden. Which means that the law is perfect but we are not nor could ever be. If we could have lived up to that perfect, holy standard then we would have obtained salvation by it. But since we are carnal and slaves to the default nature of this world it is impossible for us to obtain salvation by fulfilling the law. The result being death because we could not earn salvation by it.

Jesus on the other hand was perfect. He was born in the flesh as a hostage to the kingdom of darkness but since he was perfect he was able to fulfill the law in it's entirety. Because of this, he was able to redeem everything that was handed over to Satan in the garden. By faith, we can obtain the righteousness of the law that was impossible to obtain in the flesh. Romans 8 says, "in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit" ( Romans 8:4 ). The key is living by the Spirit of God and putting your trust in him. By faith we have all the benefits of Jesus fulfilling the law.

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Original article published November 11, 2009.

"So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good. Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! But in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it produced death in me through what was good, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful" (Romans 7:12-13)

Paul raises an important question in today's passage, did the law, which was good become death to us? In other words, can something that is good produce something that is evil? Paul's answer, an emphatic NO! His reason... the law was simply a means to an end. The Law showed us what sin was in order that we would recognize how sinful we really were.

The law is called the ministration of death (II Corinthians 3:7) because the commandment drew out what was already at work within our sin nature... death. Without a basis for comparison it was easy to rationalize sin. Even among human standards we have degrees of sin, some more severe than others. The law, on the other hands shows us God's standard and leaves no room for comparison after all, God does not grade on a curve. The commandments themselves were holy, pure, righteous and good, but with them came the awareness of how utterly sinful we were. The illusion that we are okay on our own is annulled in light of the law and God's standards.

It is through the law that the awareness that we need a Savior comes. When we see ourselves in our sin soaked state powerless to break free, then we look outside of ourselves for salvation. So the purpose of the law has always been to bring us to Christ as our savior (Romans 3:28; Galatians 3:24). Therefore the law is good, holy and just and the outcome when used properly brings us life instead of death (I Timothy 1:8-11).

Today, I praise God for using the law as an instrument to bring us to him. I am so thankful that Jesus came and fulfilled the letter of the law in order that we can be completely whole in him. May you be blessed by this revelation of grace.

Previous: Romans 7:11  Next: Romans 7:14

Original article published November 10, 2009.