The Schoolmaster
When we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.
Romans 7:5
Remembering that sin here—as in most of Romans—is a noun1 in the original Greek, we can better understand what Paul was saying. Before we were born again, our sin nature— strengthened by the law—motivated and compelled us to do sinful actions, “Now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held” (Rom. 7:6).
What’s dead? Our old man—he was the part held under the law. The law governed and ruled our old
sin nature. The law was given only for people with sin natures.
Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man.
1 Timothy 1:9
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Notice this verse says, “The law is not made for a righteous man.” Who is righteous? Anyone who’s born again. Therefore, the law was never made for a Christian. It was for a lost person, someone who had an old man. The law governed our old man, but it doesn’t govern our new man. There is no law against our new nature because it doesn’t have any propensity or ability to sin. (Gal. 5:22-24.)
When we were in the flesh [before we were born again], the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death [our sin nature—the part of us governed by the law—compelled us toward sinful actions]. But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held [now we’re free from the law because our sin nature is dead]; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter. What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid.
Romans 7:5-7
My teaching entitled The True Nature of God2 goes into much more detail. I’m only going to be able to briefly summa-rize it here.
“Bless God, I Shall!”
Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.
Romans 7:7
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You can lust only for something that’s forbidden. In the sexual realm, do you lust for your spouse? We don’t normally refer to it that way because if it’s legal, then it’s not lust. Lust is always referred to in an illicit, illegal manner. You don’t lust for something you have, but for things you don’t have. You never have lust until somebody puts a restriction on you.
Remember the earlier example of the kids spitting on the flower? It’s the same thing. God originally created us without restrictions, so there’s just something in us that resists them. When we hear, “Thou shalt not…” something on the inside answers, “Bless God, I shall!”
That’s why God gave the law. It wasn’t because we didn’t have a clue about what to do and needed God’s instructions— one through ten thousand—about how to get right with Him. The purpose of the law was for the person who was thinking, I never do anything wrong. There’s nothing wrong with me. I’m such a good person. God has to accept me. I’m better than this old publican over here. I fast twice a week and pay tithes of mint, anise, and cumin. I’m holy. God must love me! (See Luke 18:9-14.) The law was for the self-righteous religious person who was lost and didn’t know it.
God said, “You think you’re righteous? You think you’re good enough? Let Me show you My standard. Thou shalt not…” All of a sudden, this sin that was already present—this old nature—just rose up on the inside. When God declared,
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“Thou shalt not…” all of a sudden lust came alive. That’s what Romans 7:7-8 is saying: “I wouldn’t even have known what lust was if the law hadn’t told me not to covet. But the moment the commandment came, lust came alive.”
Until the Commandment Comes
Sin, [took] occasion by the commandment.
Romans 7:8
The commandment facilitated sin. It didn’t help you over-come it. The commandment helped sin overcome you. It helped your sin nature to dominate and control you. The Old Testament law won’t set you free from sin, but it’ll actually make sin dominate you.
Sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence [desire or lust]. For without the law sin was dead.
Romans 7:8
What a radical statement! Remember, this isn’t talking about the actions of sin, but rather the sin nature. Your sin nature was powerless. It wasn’t dead in the sense that it didn’t exist. It was present, but impotent. Your sin nature didn’t exercise any real dominance or control until the command-ment came.
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This is why a child can be sweet, innocent, sensitive to God, and have Him speak to them before they’re actually born again. It’s not because they came to earth with a pure nature. They were born with a sin nature too. It’s just that sin isn’t imputed to them until the commandment comes. (Rom. 5:13.)
Sin Revived
I was alive without the law once: but when the command-ment came, sin revived, and I died.
Romans 7:9
Notice the word revived. It didn’t say that sin came. Sin revived. That sin nature was already in all of us, but it lies dormant until the time the law comes. Then sin revives and we die.
What Paul was talking about when the commandment comes is what many of us call “the age of accountability.” There’s a time when you are real young that you may do things that are wrong. You may know that you’re going to get in trouble if you do something, but there comes a time when it goes beyond just, “I’m going to get spanked if I do this.” You realize that you’re not just disobeying Mom, Dad, or society, but you’re rebelling against God. The moment you reach that point, then the commandment has come. You’ve reached the age of accountability.
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saving ourselves.
to take away our
The law was given
hope of ever
GRACE, THE POWER OF THE GOSPEL
This age varies. Some folks—like those who are mentally retarded—may never reach an age of accountability. Even though they were born with a sin nature, if they were to die in that state, sin wouldn’t be imputed against them. That’s why when a child dies they don’t go to hell if they weren’t old enough to be born again. That
sin nature isn’t imputed to them until the law comes. But there comes a time in our life when we pass the threshold of inno-cence and willfully rebel against God. At that moment, sin revives and we die. The law was given to make this happen.
Our sins had already defeated us. We already had a corrupt nature, but we were comparing ourselves among ourselves, thinking, Well, I’m okay. Surely God will accept me. (2 Cor. 10:12.) The Lord had to shake us out of this deception. “Do you think you’re okay? Just because you’ve murdered only one person instead of ten doesn’t make you good.” God had to tell us that this wasn’t right. So He shook us out of our compla-cency by showing us a standard that was so holy, perfect, and pure that no one could keep it.
The law strengthens sin. (1 Cor. 15:56.) It didn’t strengthen us in our battle against sin. It strengthened sin—our sin nature—in its battle against us. The law was given to make sin come alive on the inside of us. Then we realize, “Oh, God, I didn’t know I had this stuff in me!”
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To Bring Us to Christ
Before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Galatians 3:23,24
The law was given to take away our hope of ever saving ourselves. It was designed to show us our corruption and cause us to run to God, crying, “Help! I need a Savior!” But through supernatural demonic influence, religion has turned the law around from being something that condemns and kills to some-thing that “gives life” (2 Cor. 3:6–7,9): “Oh, thank You, God, for showing me all the steps that I must do.” Through subtlety, religion has enticed us to embrace the law. Although it was good in the sense that it showed us our need for God and drove us to Him, the law cannot produce salvation. (Rom. 3:19-20.) If there could have been a law given which would have produced life, then righteousness would have come by it. (Gal. 3:21.) But the law has concluded (enclosed or declared) all under sin. (Gal. 3:22.) It’s bound all of us up and shown us our need of a Savior.
The commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.
Romans 7:10
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The commandment itself was perfect and holy, but the problem was none of us were. Even though it could have given life if we would have kept the law in its entirety, it actually produced death because only one person in all of history has ever kept the whole law—and it wasn’t you or me.
Your Old Man Is Dead
Sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me. Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. 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 7:11-13
The purpose of the command was to make us despair of ever saving ourselves. It brings the knowledge of sin, condem-nation, and guilt, and makes us say, “I’m such a sinner. I’ll never make it on my own!”
That’s also why most Christians are so condemned and guilt-ridden today. They’re still trying to relate to God on the basis of their performance. God never gave the law to show us all the things we had to do so we could get straight. Instead, He was willing to relate to us through mercy and grace. But mankind was taking God’s lack of punishment upon sin as approval. They
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We must have this brand-new man on the inside of us and we must let him be the one to live through us.
THE SCHOOLMASTER
were deceived, so God finally had to say, “All right, you think you’re good enough. Here’s what I demand.” Then He gave them a standard that nobody could keep.
Paul was saying that the law was for ruling our old man, who’s now dead: “I have a new man on the inside. Now I’m free from the law. Just like a woman who was treated badly in her marriage doesn’t
have to fear a dead husband, my old nature is gone. It’s over with. Because of
my new mate—my born-again spirit—I don’t have to feel guilty anymore.” Christians shouldn’t feel guilty or condemned anymore because that old man—which the law governed—is now dead, gone, and nonexistent.
Let the New Man Live
We know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
Romans 7:14
In other words, “The law is perfect, and I’m not. So the law and I could never get along.”
That which I do I allow not.
Romans 7:15
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If you’ll let this brand-new spirit live through you, there is no condemnation, no judgment, no sentence against you.
GRACE, THE POWER OF THE GOSPEL
This brings us back to Romans 7:15-25. In essence, Paul was saying, “In the natural, just me by myself, I can’t do anything. I can’t save myself. I had to become a new person through God’s gift of regeneration. It had to be His work, because I couldn’t change my nature. I couldn’t get out of this situation. God had to kill my old man and give me a new one.” Paul wasn’t crying, “I’m schizo-phrenic! Sometimes I do good, sometimes I do bad. I just can’t help myself.” He was
simply describing the inability of any of us on our own to live for God. We must have this brand-new man on the inside of us and we must let him be the one to live through us.
