Chapter # 7 Paragraph # 2 Study # 1
October 16, 2016
Humble, Texas
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• I. The First Issue: How Should We View "The Law"?
  • A. The "First Principle": Drawing definitive conclusions.
    • 1. Paul begins 7:7 with a significant question.
      • a. The "therefore" means that we are to keep in mind what he has just written.
      • b. The "What shall we say?" means that we are to draw conclusions from what we are being told.
        • 1) In reality, it is only by drawing conclusions that we can move further into "understanding".
        • 2) As long as we hold ourselves aloof from drawing conclusions, we keep ourselves from being able to function by faith: faith requires that we have "understanding" and such "understanding" comes only as a consequence of moving through the "line upon line, precept upon precept" process and such movement can only occur by drawing conclusions along each step of the way.
      • c. This is the most dangerous phase of the development of the way we are going to live because a false conclusion will skew everything that rests upon it.
    • 2. This significant question strongly implies that we might draw a false conclusion.
  • B. The "Second Principle": Clarifying the Conclusion.
    • 1. Paul taught that the conflicts of the sins of The Sin are "through The Law".
      • a. This is a concept of some form of instrumentality.
      • b. The particular form is the subject of much of the remainder of the chapter, but that the issue is instrumentality is the reason for Paul's insistence that we draw a conclusion.
    • 2. Does this mean, then, that there is an inherent, evil characteristic in this "Law" that serves as a tool of "The Sin"?
      • a. As is always the case, it is not the "instrument" that possesses the attributes of the one who wields the instrument.
      • b. A most fundamental guiding principle exists: God is not tempted by "evil" and He does not tempt any man with "evil".
      • c. Thus, the answer is a resounding "Absolutely Not".
  • C. Therefore, we have to look for a legitimate answer to the question that has been raised.
    • 1. There is a strong alternative to the suggestion that "The Law" has an evil inherent within it: "But...".
    • 2. Paul uses exactly the same grammatical formulation of 7:5 (dia plus a genitive), but without the definite article prior to the word "sin".
      • a. This means that Paul is going to put forward God's actual intention in giving any form of "law".
      • b. Thus, rather than having to settle for the "conclusion" that "The Law is sinful", he is going to argue for a strong alternative.
    • 3. The alternative "conclusion" that we must make in order to move along in a legitimate "understanding" upon which "faith" is founded.
      • a. It begins with "knowing" as a process of "coming to recognize" something.
      • b. He declares that getting to the point of recognizing "The Sin" is crucial.
        • 1) The former statement of Romans 5:13 comes into play at this point.
          • a) Sin's presence in the world is essentially destructive.
          • b) But without "law" there is no "imputation" of sin even though the consequences fall according to Paul's Romans 6 principle that one participates in the consequences of sin even when there is no "imputation".
        • 2) Thus, to escape those consequences, one must "know" their root.
      • c. Then he declares that the "revelator" is "law" when it is used according to divine intent.
        • 1) The "sinful" problem: inner lusts in conflict with each other.
        • 2) "The Law's" solution: "Say" that one is prohibited from "lusting".
        • 3) As soon as this "saying" occurs, one is immediately aware of "lust" and the beginning of the "revelation" has begun.