The Law and Sin

What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, (A)I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if (B)the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”

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What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, if it had not been for the Law, I would not have recognized sin. For I would not have known [for example] about coveting [what belongs to another, and would have had no sense of guilt] if the Law had not [repeatedly] said, “You shall not covet.”(A)

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God’s Law Reveals Our Sin

Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful? Of course not! In fact, it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, “You must not covet.”[a]

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Footnotes

  1. 7:7 Exod 20:17; Deut 5:21.