The function of the law

[Romans 7:7-13]

Have you ever violated one of the California traffic laws, the D.U.I.? In other words, do you know about Driving Under Influence? This law is said to be applied when the blood alcohol concentration is 0.08% or more after drinking alcohol. If you drink and your alcohol level is over 0.08%, you will be punished if you are caught driving while intoxicated. The penalties are, for example, (1) Imprisonment for up to 48 hours to 6 months, (2) Impoundment of the vehicle for up to 6 months, (3) Suspension of driver's license for up to 6 months and so on (internet). Before, if you were caught drunk driving, the record was 7 years, but now it is said that it is 10 years. Therefore, if you are caught drinking and driving twice within 10 years, you will have additional punishment. You maybe even go to jail. One of the reasons why this D.U.I. traffic law is getting stricter is that so many people die in drunk driving accidents. So, in the United States there is a group called “Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).” Founded in 1980 with the efforts of a mother whose young daughter died from drunk driving, this group develops policies, codes of conduct, and organizes citizen campaigns to end drunk driving, and is now it is said to be the world’s largest anti-drunk driving organization. One of the initiatives by this organization is a poster called “Don’t Drink and Drive”. According to an internet article, thousands of anti-drunk driving laws were passed through this organization (Internet). Why do these traffic laws exist? In other words, what is the purpose of traffic laws? Its purpose is to secure safe and smooth traffic by preventing and removing all hazards and obstacles in traffic on the road (Internet). In this way, there are numerous laws in the world besides traffic laws. Even within the church, there is something called the church constitution, but today I'm going to think about the law. The reason is because apostle Paul is talking about the law in Romans 7:7-13.

After apostle Paul told the saints in Rome about the life under the law before they believed in Jesus, that is, the life that bore fruit for death in impurity and lawlessness, through Romans 6 and 7:6, he talks about the law in Romans 7:7-13 to explain the life under the law before believing in Jesus in more detail. The law is about the function of the law. What is the function of this law that Paul is explaining to the Roman saints? We can think of it in 3 ways. While meditating on these three functions of the law, I hope and pray that you and I learn how to look at the law, so that we can go deeper into God's grace. And because of the grace of the Lord, I hope and pray that we will be able to glorify God by obeying God's commandments more and more with our hearts.

First, the function of the law is to convict us of sin.

Look at Romans 7:7 – “What shall we say, then? Is the law a 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.’” Here Paul gives an example of the law. That law is none other than the tenth of the Ten Commandments, “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house. ….” It is based on the word “Do not covet” (Exod. 20:17, Deut. 5:21). What does the phrase “Do not covet” really mean? It means ‘Don’t have unreasonable wishes’ (Park). The overall summary of the entire law is the Ten Commandments, and the tenets of the Ten Commandments are to love God and love people. Covetousness is the unjust desire that prevents us from loving God and makes us love other things (Park). That is why Paul even said, greed is idolatry (Col. 3:5). Furthermore, covetousness prevents us not only from loving God but also from loving our neighbor as well. It is covetousness that makes a very person a selfish person full of greed. Therefore, covetousness is opposed to love, which is the spirit of the whole law.

When the apostle Paul looked at himself, he saw that he had various covetousness within him. He confesses this in Romans 7:8 – “But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from law, sin is dead.” When Paul did not have the law, he did not regard sin as sin. But because of the law, Paul came to realize that the sinful nature that had been dormant within him was sufficiently active to produce various kinds of greed that he could not bear. If the tenth commandment of the Ten Commandments had not been given, we would not have regarded the sin of covetousness as a sin even though we committed the sin of covetousness. Therefore, we would have continued to commit the sin of covetousness without a sense of guilt. However, because of the tenth commandment of the Ten Commandments, not to be covetous, we realize that covetousness is a sin when unreasonable greed arises in us. In the midst of this, what surprises us is that this sinful nature of covetousness inherent in us sees the tenth commandment of the Ten Commandments, a strong sinful passion to break the law even though we know it. Therefore, because of the fruit of the tree of covetousness that has fully grown in us, we eventually see ourselves committing the sin of covetousness with actual actions. So, Paul said, “when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died” (v. 9). In other words, Paul confesses that since the law is enacted, sin is aroused by taking the control of the law as an opportunity. And as a result, he is captured by the sinful nature and is in a pitiful state (Park). This pitiful state captivated by sinful nature is because sin deceived Paul (v. 11). Just as the devil tricked Eve into eating the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, thus breaking God's commandment and causing her to commit a sin, the devil is trying to make us enslaved to sin by deceiving us in the way that it is okay to sin. Why is Satan working so hard like this? The reason is to bring us to death, the end of the life of a slave to sin (v. 10). In the end, in order to be separated from God and put to death forever, Satan is trying to deceive again and again.

Let’s keep in mind. You and I have already passed from death to life through faith in Jesus Christ (Jn. 5:24). We are no longer slaves to sin. We are now slaves of righteousness and slaves of obedience. Therefore, we must now live by obeying the word of God. The first lesson God gives us today is that we must realize our own sins through God's law, God's commandments, or more comprehensively, God's word. We must realize our sins through God's word (3:20). We will be exposed as sin through His word (7:13). Through His word, our sins will be exposed again and again. What should we do then? We should thank God. Why? The reason is because “where sin abounded, grace abounded all the more” (5:20). The more we realize our sins through the word of God, the more we realize how great, many, and overflowing the grace of the Lord is. So, we must be thankful.

Second, the function of the law is to lead us to Jesus Christ.

What would you do if, through God's law, you were to become more and more aware of your own sins? I think you will choose one of the two: Whether you hide your sins or humbly go to Jesus as you are by faith, relying on the precious blood of Jesus on the cross to receive the forgiveness of sins. If we hide our sins, we will fall deeper and deeper into sin. The Bible commands us not to covet. But if we commit the sin of covetousness and live by hiding it from God and others, all the more we will continue to commit the same sin over and over again. Then in the end we will not have a clear conscience and thus we will not regard sin as a sin and will feel no remorse. However, if we do not hide our sins when our sins are revealed through the word of God but go to Jesus in faith to receive the remission of sins and confess and repent of our sins, God not only forgives our sins but also will not remembers them. And He will deliver us (save) us from our sins. Which path are you choosing?

The apostle Paul says in Galatians 3:24 – “So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith.” What does it mean? When we realize our sins through the law (Rom. 7:13; cf. 3:20), we realize that we cannot be justified by obeying the law. Therefore, we have no choice but to look to Jesus Christ. Why? The reason is that we can be justified only through faith in Jesus Christ (Gal. 3:24). In the end, the law not only makes us realize our sins, but also makes us realize that the blood of Jesus on the cross is absolutely necessary. When we realize our sins through the law, we realize that we cannot be justified by God by obeying the law. How do you realize it? It is because we have to admit that we cannot obey God's word 100%, since we can be justified by God only when we obey the law completely. The law makes us feel helpless. It makes us realize that we cannot fully obey the law. Therefore, we have no choice but to look to Jesus, the one righteousness of God who has been revealed to us outside the law (3:21). Why? It is because only in Jesus there is forgiveness of our sins.

Let's look to Jesus. There is forgiveness and forgiveness only in Jesus Christ. There is only true salvation in Jesus. Although sin kills us because the commandment causes us to commit various sins within us through various kinds of covetousness, Jesus Christ brings us to life (v. 10). I hope and pray that we can be forgiven of our sins by looking to Jesus with faith and receive life by being delivered from our sins.

Third and last, the function of the law is that the law is a guideline for our life of faith to those of us who believe in Jesus.

The law not only makes us realize our sins and leads us to Jesus Christ, but also guides us who believe in Jesus on how to live. In other words, we learn how to live as believers by understanding God's will through the law. Among modern believers, it seems that there are people who often think that since the Old Testament of the law is the age of the old covenant, there is no need to keep the law of the Old Testament in the age of the new covenant, the New Testament. Why are they thinking this way? I think the cause is because they confuse the law with legalism. In other words, because we see the law and legalism as the same, we think that there are cases among us who view the law negatively or, worse, as sinful. What is legalism? Usually, when we think of legalism, we think of the Pharisees in the Bible. What's wrong with them? Are they hypocritical? The most fundamental problem of the Pharisees was that they were trying to be justified by obeying the Old Testament law. This is legalism. In other words, legalism is a faith based on self-righteousness. So, in legalism, one's dedication and effort to keep the prescribed rules and regulations are emphasized (Internet). However, there are two dangerous fruits of this self-righteous legalistic faith. It is none other than a sense of spiritual superiority and habitual guilt. Those who abide by the rules and regulations set forth in the law better than others have a sense of spiritual superiority, so they look down on those who are inferior to them. On the other hand, people who have not followed it well have a habitual guilt (Internet). We know that the legalism that makes us feel spiritually superior like the Pharisees is not the right faith. That is why we are wary of it. But the problem is that while we are wary of this legalism, we also tend to take the law lightly. Perhaps one of the reasons is the confusion between the rules and regulations of the Old Testament and the rules of the New Testament that continue to be followed and those that are no longer required. But what is clear is that the law is different from legalism. In other words, legalism is based on self-righteousness to be justified by keeping the law. But the law is what we believers must keep and obey as those who have been justified by God's grace through faith in Jesus. This is faith based on the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

In Romans 7:7 and 13, Paul says this to the saints in Rome: “… Is the law sin? Certainly not! …” (v. 7), “Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! …” (v. 13). What does it mean? The law itself is not sinful. Rather, Paul is saying that the law is good. In particular, Paul says 'the law is holy, righteous and good' (v. 12).

The law is holy.

Because God is holy, His Law (Word) is also holy. Through those holy words, we realize our unholiness, so we have no choice but to rely on this grace of Jesus Christ. Also, because of the Lord's grace, we must live a life of pursuing God's holiness by obeying God's holy word.

The law is righteous.

The word righteous here means to be ‘flawless and upright before God and man’ (Park). God's Law (word) shows us the right way. As saints who have been justified through faith in Jesus, you and I have the responsibility to walk the right path, the path of righteousness that God's law shows us.

The law is good.

Its meaning teaches us that we must do good works by obeying the law. Why do we have to obey the law with our hearts and do good deeds? The reason is that you and I are those who have been created anew in Jesus Christ “for good works” (Eph. 2:10). I hope and pray that by obeying the good law, we will see our good works and the world will glorify our Heavenly Father (Mt. 5:16).