⁷ What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “You shall not covet.” ⁸ But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead.

Paul knows his subject quite well—of course, we understand he was writing by the Spirit’s inspiration. The apostle Peter referred to him as having “the wisdom given to him” and placed Paul’s writings in the same category as “the rest of the Scriptures” (2 Peter 3:15-16). Inspiration does not mean God dictated the words, but that He used Paul and the other writers of Scripture in all their personalities, intellectual abilities and propensities to convey His revelation in written form; we believe these writings which we call “Scripture” are without error. Paul’s letters are just as true as if Jesus had spoken or written them Himself, because the origin in both cases is God. All Scripture is inspired by God (2 Tim 3:16). So when we refer to Paul’s logic, we are referring to the intellectual capacity God has used in this writing.

The apostle anticipates the next objection to his unfolding logic. If the Law aroused or inflamed the sinful passions of the flesh (see 7:5), then there must be something wrong with the Law, right? Wrong! The Law did exactly what God intended it to do. The fact that it aroused sinful passions does not lead to the conclusion that the Law is therefore sinful. “Me gnoite,” may that thought never be. Paul sets up the lead to this conclusion, and then shoots it down. As a master apologist, that is, defender of the faith, as he writes to the Christians in Rome, he doesn’t just assert correct doctrine, but he also shows why false doctrine is wrong. Or in this case, he exposes the false logic that the antagonist of Christianity uses in efforts to undermine Christian thought. A lesson we need to learn from Paul’s example is that we must not only know the truth, but understand the inconsistencies and false logic of errant doctrine.

Remember, sin was already in the world and causing death. The Law came like a light to clearly show sin to be sin, and offensive to God. God revealed Himself through nature so that He would be “clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse” (Rom 1:20). The Law clarified the specifics in order to remove any further excuse. The Law teaches about God’s holiness, and our unholiness, that we have fallen short of God’s glory (Rom 3:23).

Lord, because of Your holy Law, I know for sure that I am without excuse. So much more do I appreciate Your grace.