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15 For the law produces wrath;(A) but where there is no law, neither is there violation.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. 4:15 Law has the negative function of bringing the deep-seated rebellion against God to the surface in specific sins; see note on Rom 1:18–32.

Acquaintance with Sin Through the Law. [a]What then can we say? That the law is sin? Of course not![b] Yet I did not know sin except through the law, and I did not know what it is to covet except that the law said, “You shall not covet.”(A)

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Footnotes

  1. 7:7–25 In this passage Paul uses the first person singular in the style of diatribe for the sake of argument. He aims to depict the disastrous consequences when a Christian reintroduces the law as a means to attain the objective of holiness pronounced in Rom 6:22.
  2. 7:7–12 The apostle defends himself against the charge of identifying the law with sin. Sin does not exist in law but in human beings, whose sinful inclinations are not overcome by the proclamation of law.

13 Did the good, then, become death for me? Of course not! Sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin, worked death in me through the good, so that sin might become sinful beyond measure through the commandment.(A)

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