The Law is Good, We Are Not - Romans 7:7-12

Paul asks whether the law itself is sin, and he answers plainly, “By no means.” The law is holy, righteous, and good because it reflects God’s own character. The law acts like a mirror, showing what sin really is and calling people to obedience, but the law does not give anybody the power to obey it.

The tenth commandment brings the issue down into the heart: “You shall not covet.” Coveting is not merely taking somebody else’s stuff. Coveting begins when gratitude for God’s provision turns into a restless desire for what belongs to somebody else, whether that is a boat, a promotion, a vacation, money in the bank, or a bigger version of the life already given. The heart can build a Taj Mahal out of a simple desire for security.

Sin takes God’s good command and twists it. Genesis 3 shows the pattern: God gives a command for the good of Adam and Eve, and the serpent asks, “Did God really say?” Sin makes the boundary look restrictive, makes disobedience look desirable, and then brings death. The commandment is not the problem. Sin seizes the opportunity through the commandment, deceives, and kills.

Paul’s personal language shows the weight of this reality. The man who had been a Pharisee of Pharisees still found that law-keeping could not deal with the sin underneath. The law can expose outward actions and inward coveting alike, but it leaves every person guilty when measured against God’s perfect standard. Deuteronomy’s curse falls on anyone who does not keep all that the law requires, and no person can honestly claim that kind of perfection.

Legalism can look clean on the outside while leaving the heart powerless. The law can become a performance, an attempt to be a good guy, attend church, serve, and still carry hidden desires that eventually break through. God sometimes uses the humiliation and desperation of failure to show that no one can fix himself.

Jesus is the rescue from that dead place. Paul’s cry, “Wretched man that I am,” turns immediately to thanksgiving through Jesus Christ the Lord. Christ redeems people from the law of sin and death, restores the relationship broken in Eden, and gives the Spirit who produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and the rest. Romans 8 then declares that there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, because God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could never do.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. The law is good, but powerless The law reflects God’s holiness and shows what obedience looks like. The law cannot create a new heart or supply strength for obedience. The law exposes the need for rescue rather than becoming the means of self-rescue. [47:02]
• 2. Coveting reveals the hidden heart Coveting reaches deeper than visible behavior because it deals with desires nobody else may see. Gratitude can quietly turn into comparison, and comparison can turn into an idol. The heart needs more than better outward behavior because the heart keeps reaching for something besides God. [49:54]
• 3. Sin twists good commands into temptation Sin does not need an evil law to bring destruction. Sin takes God’s good boundary, questions God’s goodness, and makes rebellion look appealing. The serpent’s question in Eden still exposes the same old strategy: “Did God really say?” [52:57]
• 4. Legalism cannot heal a guilty conscience Legalism can produce religious activity without producing freedom. Failure under the law can become the place where God strips away self-reliance and reveals the need for grace. Christ does not merely help people perform better; Christ redeems people who cannot make themselves clean. [63:37]
• 5. Jesus restores what sin has broken Jesus brings hope where sin and law have brought death and condemnation. His sacrifice restores the relationship God desired from the beginning, when He walked with Adam and Eve in the garden. The Spirit then leads believers into real obedience marked by the fruit of God’s life within them.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [41:15] - Romans 7:7-12
• [43:53] - Bound to Jesus and Restored
• [46:42] - The Law Is Good, but People Aren’t
• [48:18] - The Law as a Mirror
• [49:54] - Coveting Is a Heart Sin
• [52:06] - Sin Distorts God’s Command
• [56:03] - Sin, Law, and Death
• [60:36] - Legalism and the Curse of the Law
• [61:02] - Sin Deceives and Kills
• [65:51] - Thanks Be to God Through Jesus
• [69:27] - No Condemnation in Christ Jesus

Bible Reading

Romans 7:7-12
“What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, ‘You shall not covet.’ But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.” [45:42]

Exodus 20:17
“You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.” [51:08]

Genesis 3:1
“Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God actually say, “You shall not eat of any tree in the garden”?’” [52:57]

Observation questions

1. In Romans 7:7-12, what does Paul say the law helped him recognize, and which commandment does he use as his example? [48:18]
2. What words does Paul use to describe the law and the commandment in verse 12? [46:53]
3. What kinds of things can become objects of coveting even when they are not bad things in themselves? [54:22]
4. In Genesis 3:1, how does the serpent begin his conversation with Eve, and what does that question suggest about God’s command? [52:57]

Interpretation questions

1. If the law is holy, righteous, and good, why does Paul say that the commandment became an opportunity for sin to deceive and kill? [01:01:00]
2. Why does the command not to covet expose a deeper problem than merely avoiding outward sins such as stealing? [49:51]
3. How can a person appear religious, attend church, serve others, and still be trying to earn cleanliness before God through performance? [01:02:01]
4. What does it mean that the law calls people to obedience but does not give them the power to obey, and how does Jesus provide what the law cannot? [01:07:49]

Application questions

1. Where has gratitude for what God has provided begun to slide into comparison with someone else’s life—perhaps their home, work, money, relationships, health, vacation, or opportunities? What would thankful contentment look like in that specific area? [50:07]
2. Is there a good desire in your life—such as security, saving money, physical health, a promotion, or a home—that can easily grow into an idol? What signs show that the desire is becoming too important? [55:16]
3. When God’s commands feel restrictive or difficult, what lies does the heart tend to believe about God’s goodness? How can Genesis 3 help you recognize the question, “Did God really say?” when it appears in everyday temptation? [53:08]
4. Where are you most tempted to rely on being a “good person,” keeping rules, or maintaining a clean outward appearance rather than coming honestly to Jesus for mercy and heart change? [01:03:27]
5. Romans 8 promises no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. How would believing that promise change the way you respond after failure: hiding, making excuses, working harder to prove yourself, or turning quickly to Christ? [01:09:52]
6. The Spirit produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and more. Which fruit of the Spirit would be especially needed in one current relationship or situation this week, and what is one concrete way you could walk by the Spirit there? [01:07:13]