Reflection on Romans 7:9-12
“I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died.
And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death.
For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me.
Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.”
Verses 9-12 speak about the law, the commandment, sin, death … They reiterate that the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good. It is said that when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. Thus the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death. Here the Bible points out the mystery of sin, revealing that sin even abuses God’s commandments. Sin deceived me and killed me through the commandment.
Verse 14 says that the law is spiritual, and I am carnal – sold under sin. It explains that what I am doing, I do not understand, and that I do not do what I will to do, so I do not act according to my conscience, but what I hate, that I do. It points out again the secrecy and cunning of the spiritual reality called sin.
Thus, the law and the commandments, even if they are of God and holy, do not have the power to free man from sin. The power and sophistication of sin is beyond the grasp of the mind. It is rooted deep in the soul. It governs our mind, reason, emotions and will. The power of sin is in lies. If we act naturally, without the light of God, we are actually in constant delusion. This corruption of our nature caused by sin is reflected in the physical life too. Emotions, which are not evil as such, can even be very useful if they are in harmony with and under the rule of reason and will. Unfortunately, feelings and passions are an instrument of sin which dwells in our soul. This is why Jesus requires from us the loss of our soul for His sake and the Gospel’s (cf. Mk 8:35) as the basis of freedom from sin. Sin and the power of lies and evil which is behind it was overcome by Jesus through His death at Calvary. Death caused by sin was overcome by Jesus’ death. The victory is only in Christ, in complete devotion to Him. Once we own something and do not want to bring it into the light of God and under God’s power, even if it is a seemingly innocent or even a good wish or plan, sooner or later it will rebound on us and result in futility and death. Just what is in union with Jesus bears the fruit for eternity. This communion on our part depends on receiving God’s will in specific situations. It concerns our relationship to things, to people, to ourselves.
The law will not free us from sin, it just reveals sin. If we abide in our own light and strive to keep the law by our might, we will lose the essence – eternal life. We will be like the scribes and Pharisees, governed by selfishness, rooted in our truth and our own good. Freedom comes only through agape – God’s love. And this love is crucified. If we accept it, our self must be crucified and we must lose our soul for Christ’s sake and the Gospel’s. And then the power of God may work (cf. vv. 23-25).
