ROMANS 7:9

“I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin came to life, and I died;”

There are some habits that we have that we want to keep. For instance, I have a habit of trying to walk each morning. I know it is good for me, and I actually enjoy it. But some mornings I want to break that habit and sleep in. Other habits that are not so good for me (overeating, too much tv, etc.) I need to break. I don’t want to give them life by repeating them. Those need to die on the vine.

Paul gets autobiographical in today’s verse and describes his own struggle with sin. What?! Paul sinned? Of course, he did. He points out in today’s verse how the Law exposed his rebellious heart and how sin took that opportunity (look back at the previous verse) to come to life in him. That rebirth of sin in his life could only lead to death. Sin lives – I die. Sin dies – I live. It’s that simple.

APPLICATION

Paul uses a Greek word in today’s verse that only occurs one other time in the New Testament (Luke 15:24). Here it is used to describe sin’s revived life. In Luke it describes the prodigal son by the father. The word is anazaó and means “to live again.” (NAS Exhaustive Concordance). We give sin new life, we revive it when we yield to its influence in our lives. When we expose ourselves to these bad choices, sin is ready to jump right in.

In Luke 15:24 Jesus is telling the story of the prodigal son. The awaiting father says this when his son comes home, “‘for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate.” That is a good sense of anazaó. Something the father thought was dead and gone had been made alive to him again. He regained his son.

The Topical Lexicon describes the use of anazaó this way. “In the New Testament it surfaces only twice, yet those two texts—Luke 15:24 and Romans 7:9—span the full spectrum of life’s restoration: from joyful renewal of a lost son to the startling resurgence of sin in the human heart. The verb thus becomes a lens through which Scripture illustrates both gracious revival and grievous reanimation.” Your choice, beloved. Allow sin to live or allow Christ to live through you. Choose wisely.

O Lord, You are faithful to show me my sins so I can confess those and live in You.

If the Lord should lead you to support our ministry, check out our ministry page at Trans World Radio (www.twr.org/carl-willis).