Romans 7:7-12
Scripture (Romans 7:7-12 ESV): “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 sprang to life 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.”
Devotion:
Imagine living in a house with no mirrors. You’d go about your day, unaware of how you actually look, oblivious to the smudge on your cheek or the tag sticking out of your shirt or the piece of spinach stuck in your teeth! We need mirrors to help us fix what’s wrong with us. That is how the law works too. Like a mirror. It reflects back to us our true condition, revealing the smudges of sin we’d otherwise be unaware of. In Reformed theology this is sometimes called the “pedagogical” use of the law. It teaches us how bad our moral state really is and that we need to be saved. It is a perfect mirror showing a very imperfect person in desperate need of salvation.
Paul’s example of coveting illustrates this perfectly. It wasn’t until the law said, “You shall not covet,” that he realized his own desire for what wasn’t his. I often think about walking into a military control center one day, and seeing a big red button with the words “Don’t push” written in big letters on it. None of us wouldn’t be tempted to see what happens if we pushed the button! That is what the law does. It’s just doing its job, showing us the reality of the brokenness in our hearts, our total depravity. Sin takes the law’s good intentions and twists them, using them as a base to launch all sorts of rebellious desires in us.
It’s a bit of a paradox. The law, which was meant to guide us into living rightly, ends up highlighting our inability to do just that. But don’t miss Paul’s point: the law is “holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.” The problem isn’t the law, it’s us and our sinful nature. Those who believe they no longer need to strive to live a good and holy life before God because they have been set free from the law completely miss the point. The law shows you that that very desire to sin, which is justified by rejecting the need to obey the law, is precisely the problem. You need to be saved from that broken sinful heart that wants to sin! The law is there to help us recognize that,
But, recognizing our sinfulness is the first step towards understanding our need for a Savior. The law is like a tutor that leads us to Christ, showing us that we can’t clean up our act on our own. We need someone to cleanse us from the inside out, and that’s exactly what Jesus came to do.
Prayer:
Lord God, thank You for the law that acts as a mirror, revealing my sinfulness and need for a Savior. I confess that often I don’t like what I see in the mirror of Your law, but I am grateful that it drives me to Christ. Help me to view Your commandments as holy and good, even when they reveal uncomfortable truths about myself. Lead me to repentance and a deeper dependence on Your grace every day. Amen.
Spiritual Challenge for the Day:
Today, try to be mindful of the moments when you’re most tempted to ignore the “mirror” of God’s law. Whether it’s in your thoughts, words, or actions, when you catch yourself trying to look away, pause. Reflect on what the law is revealing about your heart and then turn to prayer. Ask God not just for forgiveness, but for the grace to change. Let this practice help you grow in your reliance on God’s strength and mercy.