Romans 7:13

My Notes

What Does Romans 7:13 Mean?

"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." Paul answers the question: is the LAW (which is GOOD) responsible for DEATH? NO — God forbid. SIN is responsible. But sin used the GOOD LAW as the INSTRUMENT of death. The Law didn't kill. SIN killed — using the Law as its weapon. The villain isn't the Law. The villain is sin that EXPLOITED the Law. The good thing became the tool of the bad thing.

The phrase "sin, that it might appear sin" (hē hamartia, hina phanē hamartia — sin, in order that it might be shown/appear as sin) reveals the PURPOSE of the Law-sin interaction: sin used the Law to produce death SO THAT sin would be EXPOSED for what it really is. The Law doesn't just tell you what's wrong. It makes sin VISIBLE. The good commandment exposes the sin that was always there but wasn't SEEN until the commandment shone light on it.

The "that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful" (hina genētai kath' hyperbolēn hamartōlos hē hamartia dia tēs entolēs — that sin might become excessively/exceedingly sinful through the commandment) means the Law makes sin WORSE by making it VISIBLE: the commandment doesn't increase the QUANTITY of sin. It increases the VISIBILITY. Sin that was hidden becomes EXPOSED. Sin that seemed manageable is revealed as EXCEEDING sinful. The Law is the MRI that shows the tumor was always there — and worse than you thought.

Reflection Questions

• 1.What has God's standard revealed about sin in your life that was worse than you thought?
• 2.How does sin USING the good Law as a weapon describe the exploitation of good things?
• 3.What does sin becoming 'exceeding sinful' through the commandment teach about exposure versus increase?
• 4.What diagnostic tool (commandment, conviction, truth) has revealed the tumor that was always there?

Devotional

Is the good Law the cause of death? God FORBID. SIN is the cause — using the good Law as its weapon. The Law didn't kill. Sin exploited the Law to kill. The villain isn't the commandment. The villain is the sin that weaponized the commandment. The good thing became the tool of the terrible thing.

The 'sin, that it might appear sin' explains the PURPOSE of the Law exposing sin: the Law makes sin VISIBLE. Before the commandment, sin was present but HIDDEN — operating in the dark, doing damage without being SEEN. The commandment turns on the light. The sin that was always there is now EXPOSED for what it is. The Law is the diagnostic tool that reveals the disease.

The 'working death in me by that which is good' is the MECHANISM: sin uses the GOOD LAW as its instrument. The commandment that should produce life (if obeyed) is EXPLOITED by sin to produce death. The sin takes the good thing and turns it into a weapon against the person the good thing was designed to help. The exploitation is the tragedy: the medicine becomes the poison because the disease co-opts it.

The 'exceeding sinful' is what the Law reveals about sin's TRUE NATURE: before the commandment, sin seemed manageable — a minor problem, a slight tendency, a forgivable weakness. AFTER the commandment, sin is revealed as EXCEEDING sinful — worse than you imagined, deeper than you suspected, more lethal than you assessed. The Law didn't make sin worse. The Law showed sin was ALWAYS this bad. The exposure is the revelation. The 'exceeding' was always the reality.

What has the Law revealed about sin in your life — was it worse than you thought?

Commentary

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Cross References

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