Romans 7:7 (parsed)

The Law and Sin

If it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin.

My parents were not religious. They never taught me anything about any law. If I did anything that they did not like I got the switch. Even then they did not tell me why I was being punished. I was supposed to figure it out for myself.

I lived in ignorance of the law so in that sense I was lawless, living without law.

Romans 4:7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered;”

If I did not get caught then my lawless deeds were never connected to sin.

In drivers education we had a manual that stated the state’s rules that needed to be studied to pass the exam. The funny thing about that education was there was no education for what the penalty would be if we violated the law. I would have to be caught speeding before I would discover the fine.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Since I was lawless, I didn’t know sin. The offer of a free gift held no meaning for me.

Then during the Vietnam war I had to swear an oath to uphold the constitution. No sweat, I didn’t remember anything about the law in my reading about the constitution. But then I was forced to read and comply with the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), enacted by Congress, which contains the substantive and procedural laws governing the military justice system. The President prescribes procedural rules and punishments for violations of crimes in the Manual for Courts-Martial. That taught me what was expected of me as a soldier.

It did not cover civil law except to say there were civil laws that I should obey. UCONN.edu estimates that there are 300,000 federal laws that any individual might violate and that does not even include state and city ordinances. The more I know about the law, the more ignorant I become. So maybe lawless really means ignorant. As a judge once told me, “Ignorance of the law is no excuse.”

Romans 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

Now the law of the Spirit of life sounds like something I should study.

John 9:39 Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.”

There will be those who just don’t understand.

John 9:13-18 English Standard Version

13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. 14 Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. 15 So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” 16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them. 17 So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.”

18 The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight.

If I were to say “I was blind but now I see.” there is no one to testify to you that I was blind. I speak of spiritual blindness of course and for anyone that is spiritually blind they will not “see” what I am saying. For those that have spiritual sight they have the Holy Spirit to show them the truth.

Anyone can copy and paste scripture into a document and lay claim that this is God’s chosen word. The spiritually blind will never “see” the truth in the matter. Those who are not blind will see for themselves if God is speaking truth to them.

The opening verse will cause some to say God causes maladies while those with spiritual eyes might see how grace works. Or they might see what God needs them to see. God’s will is done regardless of good intentions.

What I like in John 9:13-18 is the religious leaders of the day were exposed for having differing opinions and the ensuing schism.

Luke 11:17 But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls.”

There is another way of looking at this.

Proverbs 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

The spiritually blind will not see themselves in scripture.