Romans 7:12-13 - The Complement of the Previous Article, So That All Those Different Topics Smushed into One Article Now Make Sense (Conciliation Series, Part XXXVI)

 Part IV: God’s Conciliation, Confirmed

So that the law, indeed, is holy, and the precept holy and just and good.

So! With (probably) everything considered in Paul’s argument here, we can now say: so, the law is not sin. This is the rational, simple answer to the objection presented in Romans 7:7.

There is a major distinction presented here, between the law and its precept. The law is the law considered in its entirety, while a precept is one of the commandments within said law. There’s a wealth of information in this discovery, for me personally, and hopefully for yourself as well. The law, as we studied in our mini-education, is “holy.” As we studied way back in Romans 6:12, “holy,” by definition, means “to be set apart.” The law, the Mosaic law, is not called anything here except “holy.” The law itself is “set apart” for a specific function. What is that function? Well, not only have we answered that numerous times for ourselves throughout these articles, but Paul will give us an excuse to review this function in the next verse.

The “set apart” nature of the law is indeed true, but what of the precepts themselves? Of course, these are also “holy,” but there’s more to this. The precept itself is “set apart” to God, but there is a reason that one who properly follows the law is considered to be “holy.” It’s not a moral thing, though the law, as we’ve covered, is righteous. If it were a moral thing, then Paul would not also call the precept “just” in the same sentence. It would be like saying, “The lady smelled nice, and smelled nice.” Since God is not so silly, let’s look again. The precept itself is “holy” to God, literally.

Shoot, you could argue that we don’t even need to consider our relation to the law in this verse. Paul will do that in the next verse, in a sense, but here the law’s precept is on display, not our ability to follow it. What I’m saying, in simple terms, is that if the entire law is holy, then of course the individual precepts within said law will also be holy.

The description of the precepts within the law don’t end there – they are also just. Why? Because the morality of the law requires love. It can’t be “mindlessly followed.” You have to learn to truly love if the law is sustained in you. The law requires the foremost precept, being an all-encompassing (“holy”) love toward God.

And the law’s precepts are good because they quite literally promote life, and peace (Deut. 10:13, Josh. 1:7-8, 1 Kings 2:3, Ps. 1:2, 1 Chron. 22:13, 2 Chron. 31:21.) In fact, I want you to actually read them. Here they are, in the order they were cited:

And now, Israel, what is Yahweh your Elohim asking of you, save to fear Yahweh your Elohim, to walk in all His ways, to love Him and to serve Yahweh your Elohim will all your heart and with all your soul, to observe the instructions of Yahweh your Elohim and His statutes that I am enjoining on you today for your good?

…be steadfast and be very resolute to observe and to obey according to the whole law that Moses My servant enjoined on you. Do not withdraw from it to the right or to the left, that you may proceed intelligently wherever you go. Let not this scroll of the law ever remove from your mouth, but soliloquize on it by day and by night, so that you may observe to obey according to all that is written in it; for only then shall you prosper in your way, and then proceed intelligently.

You will keep the charge of Yahweh your Elohim to walk in His ways, to observe His statues and His instructions, His ordinances and His testimonies as written in the law of Moses, so that you may act intelligently in all that you do and everywhere that you turn around…

…in the law of Yahweh is his delight, And from His law is he soliloquizing by day and night.

…you shall prosper if you observe to keep the statutes and the ordinances that Yahweh enjoined on Moses for Israel.

In every work that [Hezekiah] started in the service of the House of Elohim and in obedience to the law and in the instruction to seek after his Elohim, he did so with all his heart; and he prospered.

The truth is that everyone – and I do mean everyone, whether you’re a Christian pastor, a Jewish scholar, or a generally curious/sound mind – can look within themselves and realize that the law is everything Paul states above. The only reason that one would present a claim so subtly erroneous as the one presented in Romans 7:7 is with attempt to throw Paul’s words back at him, to make him “try and realize how foolishly he’s speaking.” The goal is not truly to throw shade on the law, but to illegitimize everything Paul has said thus far. “You are saying the law is sin,” says the Christian pastor, the Jewish scholar, or the generally curious/sound mind. “You are making such a claim!” And yet Paul has carefully considered the objection, and responded to it with precision and accuracy.

Become good, then, death to me?

This next question is the one and only rebuttal that could be considered, here. We know that internal sin is rooted in death (Rom. 5:12,) but we see the negative impact that the law has had on the flesh, and, because we’re in the flesh, we assume that this means the law only brings death.

But it doesn’t end there. It’s not that the law only brings death, but that, if the law is holy and just and good, as we read in the verses above, then death is good. This is the same as saying, Sin is good, which shows that the objector, whether intentionally or not, is still trying to claim that ‘the law is sin.’

The issue with this view is the same issue I would have with someone who only watches the first half hour of Back to the Future and goes, “Oh, well, I guess Marty’s stuck in 1955 forever!” You can’t look at half the picture and make an assumption. You have to look at the complete whole, and even then, making an assumption is still dangerous (ass/u/me.) If you’re only considering the law from the perspective of the flesh, then of course you’re going to make this claim, because God was using the law to clarify that the flesh is rooted in Sin, which is why it’s dying. The flesh hates this, and wants to buck against the system.

This assumption is designed, not just to prove the previous objection, but to try and make Paul look stupid in the process. If he so much as trips on his words here, then even if his point is still correct, it’s over anyway (which, of course, is why an adulterated version of Scripture with shoddy translation issues has caused so much division and confusion.)

Replace “good” with precept, as opposed to “law,” as only the “precept” of the previous verse was called “good.” He is, in essence, asking, “Look, if the goal of the precept is for man to die, then is death good to me?”

May it not be coming to that!

Right.

But Sin, that it may be appearing Sin, is producing death to me through good, that Sin may become an inordinate sinner through the precept.

This sentence presents three different facts, here. The purpose of law, the purpose of sin, and the goal that will inevitably be reached because of them.

But first, we’re dealing with a bit of a mistranslation in the Concordant version. The Concordant Version should not capitalize the second use of ‘sin’ in the sentence, as there is no definite article in front of it. It is indefinite, so it needs no capitalization.

Sin is the focus when the law is not followed, not you. The law itself is holy. God says that, and that won’t magically change. That will never become death to you, no. The Sin that is already in you is exposed through the law. Think of the law as a flashlight. When it’s on, it shines a light. It exposes the objects within the shadow. Now, when a light is on these objects, you wouldn’t say, “Oh, hey! The objects are lighting themselves!”

It’s the worst insult that Sin could be forced to deal with – “Sin, you are sin.” To be exposed so honestly is Sin’s worst fear. You know how Paul said earlier that one who is judging another, is condemning themselves in the same way? It was Rom. 2:1-2. Yet here, the same idea is presented – Sin corrupts you, and condemns itself in the process. Sin took something good, something that your mind understands as holy and true, and gained power in perverting your strongest sensibilities. Sin dwelling in you has, again, raped your spirit, forcing you into submission. It produced death to you through something inherently good. No, it was not consensual. No, you did not decide, but were corrupted. It’s a horrific, wretched scenario, but it highlights ever further how necessary the faith of Christ is in opposition to the law. When under law, Sin holds you in its clutches. When under grace, you are truly allowed to grow.

Thus the purpose of the law is revealed, as well as the purpose of Sin. The law is shining a light on Sin. Sin is using law to produce more sin in you. Who wins this battle? Of course, the law will undoubtedly succeed, if Sin is only condemning itself in its actions. The last part of the sentence clarifies that the ultimate outcome is that Sin will become an “inordinate sinner” through the precept. The Greek elements of the term “inordinate” are “OVER-CAST.” It is huperbole. It is usually translated “transcendence.” Sin will become even worse under law. It is becoming a transcendent sinner. Sin always consummates in death. In these last 2,000 years of church history, the scale of the law’s reach has expanded dramatically. The law is present in most modern-day churches, which has, of course, caused Sin’s reach to expand dramatically. In this, we see that Sin has indeed overreached, and become much worse than it was before.

*    *   *

This concludes the first half of this chapter. Boy, was it difficult. Like I said at the start of the chapter, Romans 7 is the toughest part of Romans, and arguably the entire evangel for me. But a slow, and careful study will not ever let you down (grace be to God!)

Sin and law have been fully separated. One abuses the other to push its own agenda. Here’s Rogers on the subject:

“Sin and law have been separated and clearly distinguished. The answer [to the initial objection] is that the law is holy and just and good and guiltless of man’s death; Sin is the criminal. Had the law been intended by God to conquer and dethrone Sin, this would not have been the result. Law cannot conquer either Sin or death, for it cannot vivify (Gal. 3:21.)”

This is the theological issue with Judaism. Judaism presumes that, if one follows the law to its greatest extent, that one can live ideally. But Paul, the greatest of all Pharisees, became the greatest of all sinners in his journey to follow the law. His experience found that, the harder he tried to follow the law, the greater his failure became. This is because it was not Paul himself, but the internal Sin working through Paul, that destroyed his will.

Some may take this to mean that the evangel itself is a retcon; God set this up after the law failed to take root in the human heart. Not so! The law succeeded in condemning the sinner. It was designed so perfectly that it does its job of exposing Sin in the most efficient way possible. The law’s catch is that you can’t just learn, but you must do as well (Rom. 2:13.) You have one of two options, if you remain under law: you must either be cursed (Gal. 3:10-12,) or have Sin removed from your flesh.

This is where the evangel comes into play. It’s odd, being freed from something so righteously moral, but such is the case with the death and resurrection of Christ! You only escape the curse on the objective shelter that He provides in His blood. Unlike law, where you were essentially always on probation, the evangel sustains the law already. Sin, as you may be well aware, is dwelling in you, but in Christ you are no longer driven by it. You are not cursed, but exempted, because you died to Sin, in being baptized into Christ’s death.

And, as we’ve covered before, this does not mean that you are just ‘free to do whatever you want,’ because if you died to Sin, it’s senseless to consciously keep living to it. If you continuously and knowingly do something that is very clearly not beneficial in your holy-ized life, faith’s law will fill the necessity – the spirit’s law of life (Rom. 8:2,) which we’ll study throughout Romans 8. But this is not Mosaic law, because there’s no middle ground between grace’s methods, and law’s methods. Under law, you’re under condemnation. Under grace, law is fulfilled, and you’re free to enjoy life, thanks to Christ and Him crucified.

- GerudoKing