Sin, Law & I
The Law Slays
In a Brief Survey
of the Epistle of Paul to the Romans
Based on sermons
preached in PCC Worship Services, July 2003 to Sep 2005
Part 29c of 83
“…11
For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me. 12
Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. 13
Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it
might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the
commandment might become exceeding sinful” (Romans 7:7-13).
[The apostle Paul is still dealing with
how believers out to relate to the Law. This clarification is necessarily
because the doctrine of justification by grace alone, through faith alone in
Christ alone seems to negate the need for the Law. But the Law is truly
important for the believer. We saw in the first instalment of this article, how
the Law reveals sin. In the second part, we
considered how the Law convicts sinners. But now finally, we must
consider how the Law slays the convicted sinner to shut Him up to Christ. For
this Paul relates his own experience of how the Law slew him. —JJL]
3. The
Law Slays
Listen
to Paul:
11
For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.
What is behind the slaying? It is sin, is it not?
The
Law is like a sword. If a man uses a sword to kill another, the sword is not
responsible. The man is.
The
Law or the commandment is like a sword in the hand of sin. Sin slew Paul with
the Law. It was sin that slew Paul. Sin deceived Paul into thinking that he can
find eternal life and happiness by keeping the Law. But instead he found death
and misery.
Moreover,
Sin deceived Paul into thinking that he had kept the commandments. Instead he
discovered that he had failed miserably. Therefore, by the commandment, sin
slew him.
12
Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. 13
Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it
might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the
commandment might become exceeding sinful.
The
Law is holy, good and just. The Law was not designed to kill. We must never
think that the Law is evil.
It
is sin that makes the Law appear to be a murderer or a tyrant slave-master. But
the Law is not a murderer or a slave-master by itself. The Law is good, holy
and just. Sin is the culprit. But sin hates the Law. So sin seeks to make the
Law the scapegoat so that we may throw out the Law.
It
is like how the insurgents in Iraq were seeking to make the Americans look bad.
And they succeeded to some extent because many of the Iraqis began blame the
American forces for everything that happened. I read in the papers the other
day about a suicide attack. One man was severely wounded. What did he say in
hospital? “It must be the Americans who did it, because Iraqis do not target
their own people.”
So
it is amongst many professing believers today. When they hear the Law, they
feel miserable. What do they do? They seek to exonerate themselves. The Law is
no good, they say. We are under grace, we are not under the Law. The Law is too
restrictive. It is the Law that make the Christian life miserable. The Law is
bad. It is unfair to require Christians to keep the Law. Holiness has nothing
to do with the Law. It is foolish to live strictly to the law.
What
saith the Scripture?
12
Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.
Where
do we get the idea that the Law is too restrictive? Where do we get the idea
that the Law is useless for Christians? Where do we get the idea that holiness
has nothing to do with the Law? Where do we get the idea that the law is bad
and must be preached against?
The
idea comes from indwelling sin! Sin hates the Law because the Law makes sin
exceedingly sinful and leaves the sinner without excuse. Satan is the
representative of sin. He hates the Law. He was the first to encourage man to
turn away from God’s law.
Do
not be fooled by Satan. When you hear the preaching of the Law, and you feel
slain by it, do not blame the Law. Do not rise up in rebellion against the Law.
The Law is good, just and holy. It does not slay. It is sin that slays! Turn
from your sin! Do not turn away like the rich young ruler. Do not excuse
yourself.
In
my experience, whenever the Law is preached, there will be those who feel
extremely uncomfortable.
When
the preacher says: “It is sinful to do your marketing on the Lord’s Day,” then
someone will say: “What right has he to say that?”
When
the preacher says: “It is sin to use ‘Oh my God!’ as a cavalier expression of
surprise. Then someone will say: “He is too legalistic.”
When
the preacher says: “It is sin to shout at your children impatiently;” then
someone will say: “Let him deal with my children.”
Why
does the preaching of the Law stir such emotions? Because indwelling sin scapegoats
the Law and slays the sinner!
Oh
beloved friends and brethren, what do you do when that happens? The rich young ruler
and the apostle Paul were both slain with the Law. But they responded very
differently. The rich young ruler went away sorrowful. He did not want to hear
the Lord any more. He would try to forget what he heard from the Lord so that
his conscience would not continue to trouble him.
Paul,
on the other hand, fled to Christ. The rich young ruler found death through the
Law. Paul, on the other hand, found life through the Law. The Law drove the
rich young ruler away from Christ. The Law drove Paul to Christ.
Conclusion
What
about you? What is your attitude towards the Law? Let me put it this way: There
are three wrong responses of professing Christians to the Law of God.
The
first is: I don’t know much about it and I don’t care. If that is the case, you
cannot be a true Christian. If you don’t know the Law, you don’t know you are a
sinner. If you don’t know you are a sinner, you don’t know you need Christ. You
simply could not be a converted person. You may have been fooled into believing
you are a Christian or you are fooling yourself. If this is you: I would urge
you to read again the Law of God and repent of your sin.
The
second response to the Law is: It is such a burden and hindrance to my
Christian life. It must be bad because it makes me feel miserable. But how can
it be? Remember that the Law is good. It is sin that makes us feel miserable.
How can a Christian not love the Law? What does the Psalmist say:
“Blessed
is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the
way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD;
and in his law doth he meditate day and night” (Psalm 1:1-2)
The
Christian should be able to say with the Psalmist: “O how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day” (Ps 119:97).
Why? Because the Law reveals his sinfulness so that he would flee to Christ for
life.
The
third wrong response to the Law of God is: I love the Law. I am glad I am
keeping it well. I am glad I am not like the unreformed man who does not keep
God’s law. I am glad to be a good Christian faithfully keeping God’s law.
But
how can the law generate pride in your heart? Surely you do not really know the
Law. If you know the Law as the Spirit of Christ would have you know it, then
you will find that the more you try to keep the Law, the more you fail. You
will find your sin slaying you by the Law. You will find yourself constantly
driven to Christ for comfort and assurance.
What
then is the right response to the Law: “The law is holy, and the commandment
holy, and just, and good,” says the apostle. The true believer loves God’s
law. He is thankful to God that His Law reveals his spiritual deadness. So he strives to keep the Law out of
gratitude to God. But as he strives, he finds himself driven to Christ for
forgiveness for his failures, and for strength to walk in love. The Law shuts
up the true believe to Christ! It shuts him up to Christ at his conversion. It
continues to shut him up to Christ whenever it is preached.
This, beloved and friends, must be the
attitude whenever you hear the law preached. Never argue against the Law. Never
blaspheme God by making the Law sin. Never try to dilute the Law of God. Let
the Law of God expose your sin and drive you to Christ. Amen.
—JJ Lim