Daily Word

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 for 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, righteous and good. Romans 7:9-12. He was alive, not in the sense of having a spiritual life, but in his own estimation. Knowing the law, which promised life for obedience, made Paul realize that law-keeping was required. Trying to obey it made him realize that inwardly, in the desires of his heart he was constantly breaking the law even before he knew it, and when he saw what he was doing he couldn’t stop it. Paul writes that sin, the anti-God, anti-law driving force within him, “deceived me and…Killed me.” He became convinced that spiritually he was lifeless and lost. In itself the marks out a path that guarantees God’s favor and humanity’s happiness. But where sin reigns, the law brings only misery and death. The law reflects Gods character (holy); it is the objective norm for humanity’s covenantal response to God (righteousness); and it is beneficial for each one of us personally, since we have been created in God’s image (good). Chew on this one several times today!