Reflection on Romans 7:7-8
On account of one sin angels were cast down into the abyss of hell. The sin of the first man – disobedience – brought death. Death entered the soul of man and subdued it. From the moment of the first sin the whole human generation is wounded by sin and all men are born slaves to sin. Human soul is dominated by the law of sin and death. Man defends what is harmful and loathes what is good for him. God gave His law for man’s orientation. However, because man is united with sin and enslaved by it, God’s law which is good and holy is an impossible burden for him and he wants to get rid of it at any price. Sin is natural part of man; one need not force oneself into sinning at all. On the other hand, God’s law is like something strange to him, something that, in his view, restricts and binds him or even ruins his happiness. Sin works through a lie which corrupt human nature automatically accepts as the truth. But as for the truth, man does not believe in it but has literally a defence system against the truth.
The law of sin can be compared to a factory for the production of deadly weapons. The manufacturers can use the most precious materials like gold, silver or platinum, but the product will always be a terrible instrument of death. Similarly, an unconverted man who has not given Jesus the first place in his life and not received His Holy Spirit may devote himself to holy things, interpret the Word of God, hold church office, but the result of his activity will always be spiritual death.
This is the root of pharisaism in the Church. Annas and Caiaphas were entrusted with divine authority, had God’s commandments and the law of God which is holy, inherited God’s promises; however, they lacked one thing – the Spirit of God. They resisted Him. The result was that in the name of the law of God they killed the Son of God, Jesus Christ.
The law of sin within us is a reality. It uses even holiest things as a means to its ends. Verses 9-10 and 11 once again point out sin which abused God’s law and God’s commandments with the purpose of spiritually killing us. It is neither the law nor the commandments that make us free from sin but Jesus Christ through His redemptive death on the cross. Through His death we are delivered from sin as well as from the law. Only in Christ do we have eternal life.
