Good morning to everyone, good to see you here this morning. Thanks Mark for leading us again. 

We normally would be going through First Thessalonians; we really just have one message left in that epistle. I'm going to tie that into Romans eight when we get there with the eternal security. But we started last week or continued last week actually in our communion service working through the book of Romans. For the sake of continuity, we're going to continue with our study in Romans seven this morning and probably the next couple of weeks, and then we'll get back to First Thessalonians and go to the second Thess. If you didn't hear the message and you weren't here last week, I encourage you to listen to that on the website. We really laid a foundation and context and flow for this passage of Romans five to eight, specifically six one to eight thirteen. And it's really important for your understanding as we move into the meat here of Romans seven. 

But we're in the midst of a study of this section of Romans where Paul addresses sanctification. In the first three chapters of the epistle, Paul lays down the truth of the condemnation of all men, the sinfulness of men and the judgment that they deserve. In 321 to chapter five, we see the doctrine of justification by faith, the glorious truth that God has made a way for sinful man to come back into a right relationship with him. This is not by something that we do, not by works or religion or sacraments, but it's based solely and completely on what Christ has done on the cross in our place. He died in our stead. He took the wrath of God that we deserve for our sins. He was buried. He rose victorious over sin and death and hell on the third day. And God raised him from the dead with power, showing that he was fully satisfied with Jesus' payment for the sins of the world. 

Romans 4 teaches us so clearly that we can have his righteousness imputed to our account and our sins imputed to him solely by faith, faith alone in what Jesus accomplished on the cross. Now, when we come into Romans 5, 12 to 21, we see Paul lay the foundational truths of the contrast between the man in Adam and the man in Christ. In this, we move from the positional truth of justification to the actual work that God does in us when we believe Jesus. The key term is regeneration. It's the new birth that Jesus talked about with Nicodemus. 

We see that in Christ, in our union with him in his death, burial, and resurrection, we have become new men with a new heart, a new quickened spirit, and the great and awesome truth that Jesus, in fact, according to John 14, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have come to make their home in us. This regeneration, this impartation of the very life of God, his power working in us is the basis for our sanctification. A biblical definition of sanctification is an outward conforming to an inward reality. 

We've been regenerated on the inside, made new, given a new heart, and sanctification is an outward conforming to that truth of who we are in Christ. Romans 6-8 is an explanation of why we must now live a new life because I, the old man in Adam, was crucified, Romans 6-6. I died to the controlling power of indwelling sin, to the threat of death and the law which held us in bondage. We are no longer in the flesh but in the spirit, Romans 8. We now live not by the letter but by the power of the Holy Spirit in us by faith. 

These are grand truths, practical, life-changing truths that we're studying in this most important section of the book of Romans, and now we find ourselves in a most interesting portion in Romans 7. In our message this morning, we're going to hone in on verses 7-12 and begin to look at Paul's focus in the latter part of chapter 7 on indwelling sin. Let's look at Romans 7-7 together, please. 

What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not. On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law, for I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, You shall not covet. But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire, for apart from the law, sin was dead. 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. 

I've given you four points on your outline. First, we're going to look again at context and flow, second the doctrine, third the question, and fourth the answer. Last week we spent a considerable amount of time developing the context and flow of Romans 7, but I want to just review that a bit. I think the most important thing for us to keep in mind is the intent of Paul and how these three chapters work together as a unit of thought toward that very intent. His main intent, as we have seen in our studies, is to show the reality of our freedom from the controlling power of indwelling sin because of our union with Christ, because of our death with him on the cross. 

And this is really the key to understanding his words here. The problem for the man in Adam is indwelling sin. Every man born in Adam is born a sinner with indwelling sin dominating and controlling him. Paul says in Romans 5, 19 that each person born in Adam is made a sinner. It is who he is. It is his condition on the inside, dominated and controlled by indwelling sin. Romans 8 tells us that this man, the man in the flesh, the carnal mind, is at enmity with God and cannot please God. This is the state and condition of every man, woman, and child in this world until they are born again through faith in Jesus Christ. 

So the issue is not society. It's not culture. It's not nurture. These things, which really comprise often Satan's system in the world, keep a man made of sinfulness and draw him into that. But the real issue is nature. The man in Adam cannot be fixed. His real problem cannot be addressed through external means, whether that be religion or psychology or a social justice agenda. The true problem of man is an individual one, and it's found on the inside of man. He is corrupt on the inside, a sinner by nature. And indwelling sin is the force that must be dealt with to remedy his condition. 

So we see Paul address this issue consistently throughout Romans 6-8. The entire section is teaching us, working together as a unit of thought, to show us that indwelling sin is the problem and that the answer is to be delivered from that power in us by death. We saw last time that freedom from the power of indwelling sin requires not only our death to sin, which is Romans 6, but also our death to the law, Romans 7, 1-6, and our death to the flesh, now living in the Spirit, Romans 8, 1-13. 

Paul introduces this thought clearly concerning the law back in Romans 6-14, where he says, For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law, but under grace. The dominion of sin, as we have seen, is clearly tied to the law, and we're going to explore that even more today in Paul's personal testimony in verses 7-12. But I want to remind you and ask you to keep at the forefront of your mind the flow of Romans 6-8, and the central topic of indwelling sin and our freedom from its controlling power. 

Romans 6-14 introduces this tie of sin and law, and Paul picks up on that in 7, 1-6, which is really the heart of the teaching of Romans 7 for us, for believers. Look at verse 4, back in Romans 7-4. After Paul gives us this marriage illustration, he writes, Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another, to him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God. 

Then he says in verse 5, For when we were in the flesh, when we were in Adam, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. But now, there's that but mark, but now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter. 

Paul's clear statement here is that we must die to the law, we must be released from the realm of the dominion, the bondage of the law in our lives, in order to be freed from indwelling sin so that we might bear fruit to God, live in holiness by the power of the Holy Spirit. So the primary teaching for us as believers for the church here concerning sanctification is found in verses 4 and 6. We in Christ, by death, have been delivered from the law, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter. It's so clear. 

And verse 4 tells us that this is necessary, that this is God's way, so that, for the express purpose that, we might now bear fruit to God, not to the flesh, not to sin, but to God. We had to die, who we were, the old man in Adam, the old man, Romans 6, 6, was crucified with him, in order that the body, this physical body in our members, controlled by indwelling sin, would be rendered powerless. The problem for the man in Adam is indwelling sin controlling him. How do we defeat that controlling power? We die. We die to sin, we die to the law. This is the truth teaching for us, and what we must hold on to, and believe, and apply. 

It amazes me to hear so many preachers and teachers, some really good Bible teachers whom I appreciate so much, take this text and say, well, this refers to the ceremonial law or the social laws of Israel. The moral law is still binding on the believer. I don't even know what that means. And it certainly is not what the text says. It says that we serve by the Spirit and not by the letter, and then Paul gives us an example in our text of what law he's talking about. Thou shalt not covet. This is one of the Ten Commandments representing the moral law of God. 

The point is that the law is not the way to holiness. It's not how we live, how we serve God. In this new covenant, God has made a better way, a new way for us to serve Him, to live in holiness, and it's by the power of the Holy Spirit living in us as we abide in Christ and walk by faith. Take it for what it says. We died to the law. 

When we bring in the flow and the context from 614, we see that the law and sin are linked together. In fact, Paul says the strength of sin is the law in 1 Corinthians 15, 56. In order to be freed from indwelling sin's power in our lives, we must be delivered from the law. And we have been, my friends. We died to it. So this is the flow and context of our text, and please keep in mind the intent is so important. How all three of these chapters work to the same intent, our freedom from indwelling sin and our new life by the Spirit. 

So, the main teaching of Paul for the believers is really summed up in verse 6 of chapter 7, and we saw last time that the flow is really picked up from here in 8.1. Paul goes from 7.6 to 8.1 for the believer. What we've seen in 7.7 to 25 is really a parenthesis. It's an aside, and here's the really important thing to see in our text in the structure and method of Paul and his writing. 

Please pay attention to this. Verse 5, Romans 7.5, when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. Let me say this, without verse 5, there is no 7 to 25. The context of verse 5 is this, when we were in the flesh, when we were in Adam, the man in verse 5 is lost in Adam in the flesh, dominated and controlled by indwelling sin. 

Now we've seen a pattern in Paul's writing specifically in this whole section. Paul teaches a truth. He teaches an important doctrine, and then he anticipates objections or questions to that teaching. Then he answers those objections in order to remove the barrier to faith in the doctrine. Paul teaches the doctrine, anticipates objections, he raises those objections, and then he clears them up so they're no longer an impediment to believing what he's teaching. 

We saw this in Romans 6. He gives this amazing teaching in 5.20 to 5.21, the law entered so that sin would abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more. And then there's this objection. You've all heard it when you've preached the gospel, right? If grace abounds, where sin abounds, then shouldn't we sin all we want? Shouldn't we continue perpetually in sin so as to increase God's grace? That's the question of 6.1, shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? What's Paul's answer? No way. 

No way. Certainly not. May it never be. But Paul spends verses 2 to 11 answering the question. We see the same thing in 6.14 and 15. Doctrine giving rise to the question in verses 15 to 23, answering the question. We have this consistent pattern in Romans 7, and this is key to a right interpretation here. 

First, we see the doctrine, the teaching. That's what we just looked at in verses 4 to 6. And I want you to notice that it's verse 5 that gives rise to the questions, that gives rise to the objections that he anticipates. When we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. What does Paul say in this verse about the man in the flesh, the man in Adam? He says the sinful passions, the sin that dwells in the man in Adam is aroused by the law. 

I talked about that with a simple illustration last week. You put a two-year-old in my house in January, sit them by the wood stove with some toys. They might play for hours and never even look at the wood stove, but as soon as you say, don't touch that stove, it's hot. Something rises up in them, and they immediately want to touch that stove. The law works with sin, is what Paul says, and arouses these desires. He says the sinful passions, the sin that dwells in the man and Adam is aroused by the law. 

So the Jew is immediately going to say, what Paul? What are you saying? Is the law sin? And what question do we see in verse seven? Paul is anticipating the objection to his teaching. Is the law sin? Certainly not. And he spends through verse 12 answering this question to make clear what he is saying and what he is not saying. You see that? 

I'd love to just belabor this for about an hour, because verse five is the key. When we were in the flesh, sinful passions were aroused by the law. In the Jews' mind, and even the religious Gentile, he's tying God's law to sin. They're saying, whoa, wait a minute, Paul. What are you saying? Are you saying that the law is sin? That's the question in verse seven. 

Now, what else does Paul say in verse five? These sinful passions aroused by the law, working with the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit unto death. The second question is raised. Paul, are you saying it's the law that brought death to me? Look at verses 12 and 13. Therefore, the law is holy, the commandment holy and just and good. The law is good. Has then what is good become death to me? 

I don't know how you can argue this, my friends. I'm just amazed at the structure of Paul's writing. And clearly, the questions come out of verse five. Is the law sin? Is the law what brought death to me? Paul links the law to sin, the law to death in verse five, in the man and Adam, in the flesh. This inflames the Jew, the religious man, and he objects. Paul, are you attacking the law of God? Are you saying that the law is sin? Are you saying that the law is what brought death to me? 

If Paul's going to get his main point, his teaching in verses four and six across, then he must answer these objections. He must take them out of the way, clear up what he is saying so that they might see and receive the truth of verse six and go on to chapter eight. 

So Romans 7, 7 to 25 is not related to verse six. It clearly comes out of and is set in the context of verse five, the man and Adam, the man in the flesh. The answers, the context, the content of verses seven to 25 must then concern the man and Adam, the man in the flesh. That man controlled and dominated by indwelling sin and bearing fruit through his members unto death. 

This is where you start to grumble. Look at the text. Look at the structure. Look at the intent. Look at the whole section. That's why we've been doing this for weeks, trying to come to this point. My brothers and sisters in Christ, this is exactly what we're going to see in the very words of Paul. 

Present tense in the Greek, denoting continuous action. The things I want to do, I do not do. You know what that says in the Greek? I never, ever, ever do the things I want to do. I continually, perpetually always do the things I don't want to do. If that's the height of maturity in the Christian life, then this salvation is a failure. It's not what God wants. It's not the point. The point is to show indwelling sin as the problem and to exonerate the law of God as we will see. 

I want to make clear the intent of Paul in this section. He's answering these objections, these questions that come out of his statement concerning the lost man in verse five and what's true of him. What's the essence of his answer? What we will see is that Paul wants to make clear that although the law is the strength of sin, although it arouses the sinful desires in the flesh and the law does hold us in bondage unto death, he wants to make abundantly clear that the law is not the problem, that the law is holy and righteous and good. 

It's a reflection of God's character and nature. There's nothing wrong with the law. This is Paul's point one of his answer. Point two is the crucial one. The problem is indwelling sin. The problem is indwelling sin in the man and Adam. That is Paul's tremendous point in this section. It is the sin that dwells in the man and Adam that must be dealt with, and that is his consistent message throughout these chapters. 

So Paul is defending, exonerating the law of God, and highlighting indwelling sin as the problem for the man and Adam in Romans 7, 7 to 25. If we understand this context and intent, then we will come to a right conclusion and interpretation of this section of Scripture. If we do not, if we interpret by experience, well, I can relate to that, right? That sounds like me. If I interpret by feeling when I read these words, or if we let theological presuppositions guide us, like the lost man can't want to do good, can't delight in the law of God, do you think Paul, the Pharisee, delighted in the law of God? It was his everything. It was his life. 

It was his way to salvation. It was his way to please God. It encompassed his life, but he couldn't keep it. If we do this, then we will come to wrong conclusions, and we will run the risk of undermining the teaching of Paul throughout this whole section. If we divorce Romans 7, 7 to 25 from the broad intent of this whole three-chapter unit, then we will gut the teaching of Romans 6 and 8, and 7, 1 to 6. 

I hear people do it all the time. Well, you know, Paul couldn't do it. How can I do it? He says, I'm a slave to sin, verse 14. What is Romans 6 all about? Is Romans 6 saying I'm free from the controlling power of sin, and Romans 7, 14 saying I'm a slave in bondage to the power of sin? Is the end of Romans 7 saying that this principle in my members holds me in bondage to the law of sin? Then we go to Romans 8, and it says, I've been made free from the law of sin. What's going on here? 

We must be careful. We must pay attention to the words that form the meaning in their context and set the intent of the author. That's our introduction. We see the context and flow. We see the doctrine. We see the question and how it relates to verse 5. 

Now, let's consider Paul's answer for our last point this morning, verse 7 again of Romans 7. What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not. On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law, for I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, you shall not covet. But sin taking opportunity by the commandment produced in me all manner of evil desire. It's just what he says in verse 5. 

For apart from the law, sin was dead. I was alive once without the law. When was Paul alive without the law? When he was a Pharisee, when he was trying to earn his righteousness by the law, when he didn't understand the true intent of God's law. But when the commandment came, when he did understand it, sin revived and I died. And the commandment, which was to bring life, he thought it 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. 

Paul develops his teaching from verse 5 in this section. He asks the question that arises, is the law sin? And he gives the same strong negative answer, no way, certainly not, may it never be. He says, on the contrary, I would not have even known sin if it weren't for the law. 

Now, here we come to an important truth, the purpose of the law, the reason God gave it. We must understand this. You know, the religions of our world, even those who claim the name of Christ, the Mormons, the Jehovah's Witnesses, the mainline denominations, Catholics, Lutherans, all teach that the law was given for us to keep in order to earn our own righteousness to please God to guide us in holy living. And even some true believers, teachers and preachers, fall into this trying to bind believers with the moral law and somehow use it in sanctification. But this is wrong-headed thinking. It's not found in the scriptures, for God's word is abundantly clear that the law was given to show us our sin and to lead us to faith in Christ so that we might live by the power of the Spirit and not by the letter. 

This is no thin doctrine, my friends. We've seen it again and again in the book of Romans. Let's take a little tour. Go to Romans 3.19 with me, please. Romans 3.19, Paul says, Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, in order that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore, by the deeds of the law, no flesh will be justified in his sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. 

Romans 4.2, For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Now, to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace, but as debt. But to him who does not work, but believes on him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness. 

4.14, For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made of void and of no effect, the promise made of no effect, because the law brings about wrath. We looked at 2 Corinthians 3 last week. Paul calls the law written and engraved on stones, a ministry of condemnation and a ministry of death. That's its purpose. 

For where there's no law, there's no transgression. Verse 16, Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed. Romans 5.20, Moreover, the law entered. Why did the law enter? That the offense might abound. For where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Romans 6.14, For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you're not under law, but under grace. Then 7.4-6 we looked at. But perhaps the clearest scripture on this truth is Galatians 3. I'd like for you to turn to Galatians 3 with me, please. You might say, well, that's true for justification. That's the scriptures we just looked at. But for sanctification, we need the moral law of God. If you go to 3.1, he says, O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? This only I want to learn from you. Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith? 

Are you so foolish, look at verse 3, having begun in the Spirit, that's justification, having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect, that's sanctification, by the flesh? Have you suffered so many things in vain if indeed it was in vain? Therefore he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does he do it by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith? Sanctification is just as much by grace through faith as justification. 

Look at Galatians 3.10. For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse. For it is written, cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no one is justified by the law on the side of God is evident, for the just shall live by faith. Paul just explained back up in 19 to 21 that his life now is that he tore down the law, and if he builds it again he makes himself a transgressor. The life he now lives, he lives by faith in the Son of God. He's been crucified with Christ. 

I do not set aside the grace of God for if righteousness, righteous living, walking, comes by law, then Christ died in vain. The just shall live by faith. Verse 12. Yet the law is not of faith, but the man who does them shall live by them. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us. For it is written, cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree, that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. 

And this I say, that the law, which was 430 years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect. For if the inheritance is of law, it is no longer of promise, but God gave it to Abraham by promise. 

Now we have a direct question in verse 19. What purpose then does the law serve? What's the answer? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made. It was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator. Now a mediator does not mediate for one only, but God is one. He says, is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not. For if there had been a law given, which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. 

But the scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. If there could have been a law given, some standard that God could have given to us that we could have met, then righteousness would have come through the law. Jesus wouldn't have had to die. But the problem is we can't keep the law. The law is not the problem; indwelling sin is the problem. In verse 23, Galatians 3, but before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith, which would afterward be revealed. 

Therefore, this is the key verse. Therefore, the law was our tutor, our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. I don't know how many more ways Paul can say it. We're not under the law. Remember, Paul told us Romans 5 that from Adam until Moses there was no law. About 2,000 years of human history where there was no law, and yet death reigned in the men and Adam because of Adam's sin. 

Then in the time of Moses, God gave the Old Testament law to Israel. Why? Why did he give it? Well, the scriptures we just looked at, along with the text we're studying this morning, give a clear, consistent answer. God gave the law in order to show us our sinfulness, in order to make sin exceedingly sinful, so that we might realize our lost state and seek the only Savior from sin, Jesus Christ. 

Paul writes that the laws are tutor to lead us to faith in Christ, but after we believe Jesus, we're no longer under the tutor. If we believe Jesus, the law has served its purpose in our lives. Its intent is to show us how sinful we are and thus help realize our need. It was never given in order to produce righteousness or holiness in our lives. It cannot. Not because the law is faulty, but because of the sin in man. 

The law bids us fly, but does not give us wings, right? It shows us the perfect righteousness of God, but it gives us no power to live it out in our lives. So what we see in the New Covenant teaching, what we see in Romans 6 to 8, is why we can live a new life and how God intends we should do that. It doesn't mean that sin's okay. Quite the contrary. It's when we misinterpret these things that we make sin okay. Galatians 3.21, is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not. For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. 

But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. The fact is, the law is a curse on men. A curse of condemnation, because we cannot keep it. But Jesus has delivered us from the curse of the law, and now we are free from the bondage, the condemnation of the law, having been delivered from what we were held by. 

That's why Romans 8.1 says, there is therefore, building out of 7.6, there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. He says we were crucified, we died, that we might be married to another Jesus, so that, and I want to emphasize these purpose words; I keep telling you that, I just want to yell it from the rooftop, so that, for the purpose that, we might live by the power of the Holy Spirit, and not by the oldness of the letter. 

It was necessary to be delivered from the law in order to be delivered from indwelling sin, in order to live a new and righteous life for the glory of God. So we see Paul make clear the purpose of the law again and again, even here in our text. I would not have known sin if it were not for the law. What law, Paul? What's the law you're talking about? Thou shalt not covet. 

Certainly, the law that Paul is talking about is the moral law of God, as well as the entire law of Moses. And coveting gets right to the heart of the matter, doesn't it? It's an inside job. In Philippians 3, Paul talks about how he was, you know, a Jew among the Jews, a Hebrew of the Hebrews, and he was circumcised the eighth day, born of the tribe of Benjamin, and according to the law, the righteousness that's in the law, he was blameless, external. 

He kept the law like the rich young ruler when Jesus talked to him. I've kept all these things since my youth. And then Paul says when he realized his sin and he turned to Christ in faith, he no longer had a desire for righteousness by the law, but he wanted the righteousness that comes through faith in Jesus Christ. Such a clear passage of his testimony. 

When Paul was Saul, a lost religious man in Adam, he was so zealous for the law. He thought that he was righteous, outwardly observing the law of God, pleasing God, and doing all the things he was supposed to do. In fact, he delighted in the law of God. His righteousness was in the law, an outward observance, a legalistic, self-righteous religious pursuit. 

But at some point, he realized what Jesus taught in the Law Sermon on the Mount. If a man lusts after a woman in his heart, he's committed adultery. If he's angry with his brother without cause, he's committed murder. Your righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees and the Pope and Mother Teresa. You must be perfect as God in heaven is perfect in order to come into the kingdom. 

The law is much more far-reaching than the religious men of Jesus' day and the religious men of our day understand. The standard is much higher. It is perfection. If you want to be justified by the law, just keep it perfectly. And Paul's testimony here in Romans 7 is that when the law, thou shalt not covet, really hit him, when God gave him understanding of the inside corruption of who he was in Adam, he understood the depth and profundity of his sin and the fact that he was dead in trespasses and sins. 

This was the function of the law and God's intent in giving it and in the personal experience of Paul and every man who's come to faith in Christ. Now watch the words closely with me again and see Paul defend the law and highlight indwelling sin as the problem. Romans 7, 7. What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not. On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law, for I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said you shall not covet. 

But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law, sin was dead. I was alive once without the law. When was Paul alive without the law? When he was a Pharisee, when he was trying to earn his righteousness by the law, when he didn't understand the true intent of God's law. But when the commandment came, when he did understand it, 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. 

Paul develops his teaching from verse 5 in this section. He asks the question that arises, is the law sin? And he gives the same strong negative answer, no way, certainly not, may it never be. He says, on the contrary, I would not have even known sin if it weren't for the law. 

Now, here we come to an important truth, the purpose of the law, the reason God gave it. We must understand this. You know, the religions of our world, even those who claim the name of Christ, the Mormons, the Jehovah's Witnesses, the mainline denominations, Catholics, Lutherans, all teach that the law was given for us to keep in order to earn our own righteousness to please God to guide us in holy living. 

And even some true believers, teachers and preachers, fall into this trying to bind believers with the moral law and somehow use it in sanctification. But this is wrong-headed thinking. It's not found in the scriptures, for God's word is abundantly clear that the law was given to show us our sin and to lead us to faith in Christ so that we might live by the power of the Spirit and not by the letter. 

And this is no thin doctrine, my friends. We've seen it again and again in the book of Romans. Let's take a little tour. Go to Romans 3.19 with me, please. Romans 3.19, Paul says, Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, in order that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God. 

Therefore, by the deeds of the law, no flesh will be justified in his sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. Romans 4.2, For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. 

Now, to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace, but as debt. But to him who does not work, but believes on him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness. 

4.14, For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made of void and of no effect, the promise made of no effect, because the law brings about wrath. We looked at 2 Corinthians 3 last week. Paul calls the law written and engraved on stones, a ministry of condemnation and a ministry of death. That's its purpose. 

For where there's no law, there's no transgression. Verse 16, Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed. Romans 5.20, Moreover, the law entered. Why did the law enter? That the offense might abound. For where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Romans 6.14, For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you're not under law, but under grace. Then 7.4-6 we looked at. But perhaps the clearest scripture on this truth is Galatians 3. I'd like for you to turn to Galatians 3 with me, please. You might say, well, that's true for justification. That's the scriptures we just looked at. But for sanctification, we need the moral law of God. If you go to 3.1, he says, O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? 

This only I want to learn from you. Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish, look at verse 3, having begun in the Spirit, that's justification, having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect, that's sanctification, by the flesh? Have you suffered so many things in vain if indeed it was in vain? Therefore he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does he do it by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith? 

Sanctification is just as much by grace through faith as justification. Look at Galatians 3.10. For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse. For it is written, cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no one is justified by the law on the side of God is evident, for the just shall live by faith. 

Paul just explained back up in 19 to 21 that his life now is that he tore down the law, and if he builds it again he makes himself a transgressor. The life he now lives, he lives by faith in the Son of God. He's been crucified with Christ. 

I do not set aside the grace of God for if righteousness, righteous living, walking, comes by law, then Christ died in vain. The just shall live by faith. Verse 12. Yet the law is not of faith, but the man who does them shall live by them. 

Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us. For it is written, cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree, that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. 

And this I say, that the law, which was 430 years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect. For if the inheritance is of law, it is no longer of promise, but God gave it to Abraham by promise. 

Now we have a direct question in verse 19. What purpose then does the law serve? What's the answer? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made. It was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator. Now a mediator does not mediate for one only, but God is one. 

He says, is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not. For if there had been a law given, which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. But the scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. 

If there could have been a law given, some standard that God could have given to us that we could have met, then righteousness would have come through the law. Jesus wouldn't have had to die. But the problem is we can't keep the law. The law is not the problem, indwelling sin is the problem. 

In verse 23, Galatians 3, but before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith, which would afterward be revealed. Therefore, this is the key verse. Therefore, the law was our tutor, our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. 

I don't know how many more ways Paul can say it. We're not under the law. Remember, Paul told us Romans 5 that from Adam until Moses there was no law. About 2,000 years of human history where there was no law, and yet death reigned in the men and Adam because of Adam's sin. 

Then in the time of Moses, God gave the Old Testament law to Israel. Why? Why did he give it? Well, the scriptures we just looked at, along with the text we're studying this morning, give a clear, consistent answer. God gave the law in order to show us our sinfulness, in order to make sin exceedingly sinful, so that we might realize our lost state and seek the only Savior from sin, Jesus Christ. 

Paul writes that the laws are tutor to lead us to faith in Christ, but after we believe Jesus, we're no longer under the tutor. If we believe Jesus, the law has served its purpose in our lives. Its intent is to show us how sinful we are and thus help realize our need. It was never given in order to produce righteousness or holiness in our lives. It cannot. Not because the law is faulty, but because of the sin in man. 

The law bids us fly, but does not give us wings, right? It shows us the perfect righteousness of God, but it gives us no power to live it out in our lives. So what we see in the New Covenant teaching, what we see in Romans 6 to 8, is why we can live a new life and how God intends we should do that. It doesn't mean that sin's okay. Quite the contrary. It's when we misinterpret these things that we make sin okay. 

Galatians 3.21, is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not. For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. The fact is, the law is a curse on men. A curse of condemnation, because we cannot keep it. 

But Jesus has delivered us from the curse of the law, and now we are free from the bondage, the condemnation of the law, having been delivered from what we were held by. That's why Romans 8.1 says, there is therefore, building out of 7.6, there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. He says we were crucified, we died, that we might be married to another Jesus, so that, and I want to emphasize these purpose words; I keep telling you that, I just want to yell it from the rooftop, so that, for the purpose that, we might live by the power of the Holy Spirit, and not by the oldness of the letter. 

It was necessary to be delivered from the law in order to be delivered from indwelling sin, in order to live a new and righteous life for the glory of God. So we see Paul make clear the purpose of the law again and again, even here in our text. I would not have known sin if it were not for the law. What law, Paul? What's the law you're talking about? Thou shalt not covet. 

Certainly, the law that Paul is talking about is the moral law of God, as well as the entire law of Moses. And coveting gets right to the heart of the matter, doesn't it? It's an inside job. In Philippians 3, Paul talks about how he was, you know, a Jew among the Jews, a Hebrew of the Hebrews, and he was circumcised the eighth day, born of the tribe of Benjamin, and according to the law, the righteousness that's in the law, he was blameless, external. 

He kept the law like the rich young ruler when Jesus talked to him. I've kept all these things since my youth. And then Paul says when he realized his sin and he turned to Christ in faith, he no longer had a desire for righteousness by the law, but he wanted the righteousness that comes through faith in Jesus Christ. Such a clear passage of his testimony. 

When Paul was Saul, a lost religious man in Adam, he was so zealous for the law. He thought that he was righteous, outwardly observing the law of God, pleasing God, and doing all the things he was supposed to do. In fact, he delighted in the law of God. His righteousness was in the law, an outward observance, a legalistic, self-righteous religious pursuit. 

But at some point, he realized what Jesus taught in the Law Sermon on the Mount. If a man lusts after a woman in his heart, he's committed adultery. If he's angry with his brother without cause, he's committed murder. Your righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees and the Pope and Mother Teresa. You must be perfect as God in heaven is perfect in order to come into the kingdom. 

The law is much more far-reaching than the religious men of Jesus' day and the religious men of our day understand. The standard is much higher. It is perfection. If you want to be justified by the law, just keep it perfectly. And Paul's testimony here in Romans 7 is that when the law, thou shalt not covet, really hit him, when God gave him understanding of the inside corruption of who he was in Adam, he understood the depth and profundity of his sin and the fact that he was dead in trespasses and sins. 

This was the function of the law and God's intent in giving it and in the personal experience of Paul and every man who's come to faith in Christ. Now watch the words closely with me again and see Paul defend the law and highlight indwelling sin as the problem. Romans 7, 7. What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not. On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law, for I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said you shall not covet. 

But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law, sin was dead. I was alive once without the law. When was Paul alive without the law? When he was a Pharisee, when he was trying to earn his righteousness by the law, when he didn't understand the true intent of God's law. But when the commandment came, when he did understand it, 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. 

Paul develops his teaching from verse 5 in this section. He asks the question that arises, is the law sin? And he gives the same strong negative answer, no way, certainly not, may it never be. He says, on the contrary, I would not have even known sin if it weren't for the law. 

Now, here we come to an important truth, the purpose of the law, the reason God gave it. We must understand this. You know, the religions of our world, even those who claim the name of Christ, the Mormons, the Jehovah's Witnesses, the mainline denominations, Catholics, Lutherans, all teach that the law was given for us to keep in order to earn our own righteousness to please God to guide us in holy living. 

And even some true believers, teachers and preachers, fall into this trying to bind believers with the moral law and somehow use it in sanctification. But this is wrong-headed thinking. It's not found in the scriptures, for God's word is abundantly clear that the law was given to show us our sin and to lead us to faith in Christ so that we might live by the power of the Spirit and not by the letter. 

And this is no thin doctrine, my friends. We've seen it again and again in the book of Romans. Let's take a little tour. Go to Romans 3.19 with me, please. Romans 3.19, Paul says, Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, in order that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore, by the deeds of the law, no flesh will be justified in his sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. 

Romans 4.2, For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Now, to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace, but as debt. But to him who does not work, but believes on him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness. 

4.14, For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made of void and of no effect, the promise made of no effect, because the law brings about wrath. We looked at 2 Corinthians 3 last week. Paul calls the law written and engraved on stones, a ministry of condemnation and a ministry of death. That's its purpose. 

For where there's no law, there's no transgression. Verse 16, Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed. Romans 5.20, Moreover, the law entered. Why did the law enter? That the offense might abound. For where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Romans 6.14, For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you're not under law, but under grace. Then 7.4-6 we looked at. But perhaps the clearest scripture on this truth is Galatians 3. 

I'd like for you to turn to Galatians 3 with me, please. You might say, well, that's true for justification. That's the scriptures we just looked at. But for sanctification, we need the moral law of God. If you go to 3.1, he says, O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? 

This only I want to learn from you. Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish, look at verse 3, having begun in the Spirit, that's justification, having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect, that's sanctification, by the flesh? 

Have you suffered so many things in vain if indeed it was in vain? Therefore he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does he do it by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith? 

Sanctification is just as much by grace through faith as justification. Look at Galatians 3.10. For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse. For it is written, cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. 

But that no one is justified by the law on the side of God is evident, for the just shall live by faith. Paul just explained back up in 19 to 21 that his life now is that he tore down the law, and if he builds it again he makes himself a transgressor. The life he now lives, he lives by faith in the Son of God. He's been crucified with Christ. 

I do not set aside the grace of God for if righteousness, righteous living, walking, comes by law, then Christ died in vain. The just shall live by faith. Verse 12. Yet the law is not of faith, but the man who does them shall live by them. 

Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us. For it is written, cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree, that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. 

And this I say, that the law, which was 430 years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect. For if the inheritance is of law, it is no longer of promise, but God gave it to Abraham by promise. 

Now we have a direct question in verse 19. What purpose then does the law serve? What's the answer? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made. It was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator. Now a mediator does not mediate for one only, but God is one. 

He says, is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not. For if there had been a law given, which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. But the scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. 

If there could have been a law given, some standard that God could have given to us that we could have met, then righteousness would have come through the law. Jesus wouldn't have had to die. But the problem is we can't keep the law. The law is not the problem; indwelling sin is the problem. 

In verse 23, Galatians 3, but before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith, which would afterward be revealed. Therefore, this is the key verse. Therefore, the law was our tutor, our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 

But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. I don't know how many more ways Paul can say it. We're not under the law. Remember, Paul told us Romans 5 that from Adam until Moses there was no law. About 2,000 years of human history where there was no law, and yet death reigned in the men and Adam because of Adam's sin. 

Then in the time of Moses, God gave the Old Testament law to Israel. Why? Why did he give it? Well, the scriptures we just looked at, along with the text we're studying this morning, give a clear, consistent answer. God gave the law in order to show us our sinfulness, in order to make sin exceedingly sinful, so that we might realize our lost state and seek the only Savior from sin, Jesus Christ. 

Paul writes that the laws are tutor to lead us to faith in Christ, but after we believe Jesus, we're no longer under the tutor. If we believe Jesus, the law has served its purpose in our lives. Its intent is to show us how sinful we are and thus help realize our need. It was never given in order to produce righteousness or holiness in our lives. It cannot. Not because the law is faulty, but because of the sin in man. 

The law bids us fly, but does not give us wings, right? It shows us the perfect righteousness of God, but it gives us no power to live it out in our lives. So what we see in the New Covenant teaching, what we see in Romans 6 to 8, is why we can live a new life and how God intends we should do that. 

It doesn't mean that sin's okay. Quite the contrary. It's when we misinterpret these things that we make sin okay. Galatians 3.21, is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not. For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. 

But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. The fact is, the law is a curse on men. A curse of condemnation, because we cannot keep it. But Jesus has delivered us from the curse of the law, and now we are free from the bondage, the condemnation of the law, having been delivered from what we were held by. 

That's why Romans 8.1 says, there is therefore, building out of 7.6, there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. He says we were crucified, we died, that we might be married to another Jesus, so that, and I want to emphasize these purpose words; I keep telling you that, I just want to yell it from the rooftop, so that, for the purpose that, we might live by the power of the Holy Spirit, and not by the oldness of the letter. 

It was necessary to be delivered from the law in order to be delivered from indwelling sin, in order to live a new and righteous life for the glory of God. So we see Paul make clear the purpose of the law again and again, even here in our text. 

I would not have known sin if it were not for the law. What law, Paul? What's the law you're talking about? Thou shalt not covet. Certainly, the law that Paul is talking about is the moral law of God, as well as the entire law of Moses. And coveting gets right to the heart of the matter, doesn't it? It's an inside job. In Philippians 3, Paul talks about how he was, you know, a Jew among the Jews, a Hebrew of the Hebrews, and he was circumcised the eighth day, born of the tribe of Benjamin, and according to the law, the righteousness that's in the law, he was blameless, external. 

He kept the law like the rich young ruler when Jesus talked to him. I've kept all these things since my youth. And then Paul says when he realized his sin and he turned to Christ in faith, he no longer had a desire for righteousness by the law, but he wanted the righteousness that comes through faith in Jesus Christ. Such a clear passage of his testimony. 

When Paul was Saul, a lost religious man in Adam, he was so zealous for the law. He thought that he was righteous, outwardly observing the law of God, pleasing God, and doing all the things he was supposed to do. In fact, he delighted in the law of God. His righteousness was in the law, an outward observance, a legalistic, self-righteous religious pursuit. 

But at some point, he realized what Jesus taught in the Law Sermon on the Mount. If a man lusts after a woman in his heart, he's committed adultery. If he's angry with his brother without cause, he's committed murder. Your righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees and the Pope and Mother Teresa. You must be perfect as God in heaven is perfect in order to come into the kingdom. 

The law is much more far-reaching than the religious men of Jesus' day and the religious men of our day understand. The standard is much higher. It is perfection. If you want to be justified by the law, just keep it perfectly. And Paul's testimony here in Romans 7 is that when the law, thou shalt not covet, really hit him, when God gave him understanding of the inside corruption of who he was in Adam, he understood the depth and profundity of his sin and the fact that he was dead in trespasses and sins. 

This was the function of the law and God's intent in giving it and in the personal experience of Paul and every man who's come to faith in Christ. Now watch the words closely with me again and see Paul defend the law and highlight indwelling sin as the problem. 

Romans 7, 7. What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not. On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law, for I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said you shall not covet. 

But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law, sin was dead. I was alive once without the law. When was Paul alive without the law? When he was a Pharisee, when he was trying to earn his righteousness by the law, when he didn't understand the true intent of God's law. 

But when the commandment came, when he did understand it, 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. 

Paul develops his teaching from verse 5 in this section. He asks the question that arises, is the law sin? And he gives the same strong negative answer, no way, certainly not, may it never be. He says, on the contrary, I would not have even known sin if it weren't for the law. 

Now, here we come to an important truth, the purpose of the law, the reason God gave it. We must understand this. You know, the religions of our world, even those who claim the name of Christ, the Mormons, the Jehovah's Witnesses, the mainline denominations, Catholics, Lutherans, all teach that the law was given for us to keep in order to earn our own righteousness to please God to guide us in holy living. 

And even some true believers, teachers and preachers, fall into this trying to bind believers with the moral law and somehow use it in sanctification. But this is wrong-headed thinking. It's not found in the scriptures, for God's word is abundantly clear that the law was given to show us our sin and to lead us to faith in Christ so that we might live by the power of the Spirit and not by the letter. 

And this is no thin doctrine, my friends. We've seen it again and again in the book of Romans. Let's take a little tour. Go to Romans 3.19 with me, please. Romans 3.19, Paul says, Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, in order that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God. 

Therefore, by the deeds of the law, no flesh will be justified in his sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. Romans 4.2, For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. 

Now, to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace, but as debt. But to him who does not work, but believes on him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness. 

4.14, For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made of void and of no effect, the promise made of no effect, because the law brings about wrath. We looked at 2 Corinthians 3 last week. Paul calls the law written and engraved on stones, a ministry of condemnation and a ministry of death. That's its purpose. 

For where there's no law, there's no transgression. Verse 16, Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed. Romans 5.20, Moreover, the law entered. Why did the law enter? That the offense might abound. For where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Romans 6.14, For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you're not under law, but under grace. Then 7.4-6 we looked at. But perhaps the clearest scripture on this truth is Galatians 3. 

I'd like for you to turn to Galatians 3 with me, please. You might say, well, that's true for justification. That's the scriptures we just looked at. But for sanctification, we need the moral law of God. If you go to 3.1, he says, O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? 

This only I want to learn from you. Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish, look at verse 3, having begun in the Spirit, that's justification, having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect, that's sanctification, by the flesh? 

Have you suffered so many things in vain if indeed it was in vain? Therefore he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does he do it by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith? 

Sanctification is just as much by grace through faith as justification. Look at Galatians 3.10. For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse. For it is written, cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. 

But that no one is justified by the law on the side of God is evident, for the just shall live by faith. Paul just explained back up in 19 to 21 that his life now is that he tore down the law, and if he builds it again he makes himself a transgressor. The life he now lives, he lives by faith in the Son of God. 

I do not set aside the grace of God for if righteousness, righteous living, walking, comes by law, then Christ died in vain. The just shall live by faith. Verse 12. Yet the law is not of faith, but the man who does them shall live by them. 

Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us. For it is written, cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree, that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. 

And this I say, that the law, which was 430 years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect. For if the inheritance is of law, it is no longer of promise, but God gave it to Abraham by promise. 

Now we have a direct question in verse 19. What purpose then does the law serve? What's the answer? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made. It was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator. Now a mediator does not mediate for one only, but God is one. 

He says, is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not. For if there had been a law given, which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. But the scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. 

If there could have been a law given, some standard that God could have given to us that we could have met, then righteousness would have come through the law. Jesus wouldn't have had to die. But the problem is we can't keep the law. The law is not the problem; indwelling sin is the problem. 

In verse 23, Galatians 3, but before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith, which would afterward be revealed. Therefore, this is the key verse. Therefore, the law was our tutor, our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 

But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. I don't know how many more ways Paul can say it. We're not under the law. Remember, Paul told us Romans 5 that from Adam until Moses there was no law. About 2,000 years of human history where there was no law, and yet death reigned in the men and Adam because of Adam's sin. 

Then in the time of Moses, God gave the Old Testament law to Israel. Why? Why did he give it? Well, the scriptures we just looked at, along with the text we're studying this morning, give a clear, consistent answer. God gave the law in order to show us our sinfulness, in order to make sin exceedingly sinful, so that we might realize our lost state and seek the only Savior from sin, Jesus Christ. 

Paul writes that the laws are tutor to lead us to faith in Christ, but after we believe Jesus, we're no longer under the tutor. If we believe Jesus, the law has served its purpose in our lives. Its intent is to show us how sinful we are and thus help realize our need. It was never given in order to produce righteousness or holiness in our lives. It cannot. Not because the law is faulty, but because of the sin in man. 

The law bids us fly, but does not give us wings, right? It shows us the perfect righteousness of God, but it gives us no power to live it out in our lives. So what we see in the New Covenant teaching, what we see in Romans 6 to 8, is why we can live a new life and how God intends we should do that. 

It doesn't mean that sin's okay. Quite the contrary. It's when we misinterpret these things that we make sin okay. Galatians 3.21, is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not. For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. 

But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. The fact is, the law is a curse on men. A curse of condemnation, because we cannot keep it. But Jesus has delivered us from the curse of the law, and now we are free from the bondage, the condemnation of the law, having been delivered from what we were held by. 

That's why Romans 8.1 says, there is therefore, building out of 7.6, there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. He says we were crucified, we died, that we might be married to another Jesus, so that, and I want to emphasize these purpose words; I keep telling you that, I just want to yell it from the rooftop, so that, for the purpose that, we might live by the power of the Holy Spirit, and not by the oldness of the letter. 

It was necessary to be delivered from the law in order to be delivered from indwelling sin, in order to live a new and righteous life for the glory of God. So we see Paul make clear the purpose of the law again and again, even here in our text. 

I would not have known sin if it were not for the law. What law, Paul? What's the law you're talking about? Thou shalt not covet. Certainly, the law that Paul is talking about is the moral law of God, as well as the entire law of Moses. 

And coveting gets right to the heart of the matter, doesn't it? It's an inside job. In Philippians 3, Paul talks about how he was, you know, a Jew among the Jews, a Hebrew of the Hebrews, and he was circumcised the eighth day, born of the tribe of Benjamin, and according to the law, the righteousness that's in the law, he was blameless, external. 

He kept the law like the rich young ruler when Jesus talked to him. I've kept all these things since my youth. And then Paul says when he realized his sin and he turned to Christ in faith, he no longer had a desire for righteousness by the law, but he wanted the righteousness that comes through faith in Jesus Christ. Such a clear passage of his testimony. 

When Paul was Saul, a lost religious man in Adam, he was so zealous for the law. He thought that he was righteous, outwardly observing the law of God, pleasing God, and doing all the things he was supposed to do. In fact, he delighted in the law of God. His righteousness was in the law, an outward observance, a legalistic, self-righteous religious pursuit. 

But at some point, he realized what Jesus taught in the Law Sermon on the Mount. If a man lusts after a woman in his heart, he's committed adultery. If he's angry with his brother without cause, he's committed murder. Your righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees and the Pope and Mother Teresa. You must be perfect as God in heaven is perfect in order to come into the kingdom. 

The law is much more far-reaching than the religious men of Jesus' day and the religious men of our day understand. The standard is much higher. It is perfection. If you want to be justified by the law, just keep it perfectly. And Paul's testimony here in Romans 7 is that when the law, thou shalt not covet, really hit him, when God gave him understanding of the inside corruption of who he was in Adam, he understood the depth and profundity of his sin and the fact that he was dead in trespasses and sins. 

This was the function of the law and God's intent in giving it and in the personal experience of Paul and every man who's come to