ROMANS 7:13

“Therefore did that which is good become a cause of death for me? Far from it! Rather it was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by bringing about my death through that which is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful.”

If you want to read a really good commentary on Romans 7:7-13, I urge you to look up Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary on these verses. You may need to read it two or three times to grasp all he says there, but it’s worth the read. Towards the end of his words on these verses he writes, “The same heat that softens wax, hardens clay. Food or medicine when taken wrong, may cause death, though its nature is to nourish or to heal. The law may cause death through man’s depravity, but sin is the poison that brings death. Not the law, but sin discovered by the law, was made death to the apostle. The ruinous nature of sin, and the sinfulness of the human heart, are here clearly shown.” Hmmm, food for thought.

Paul continues his diatribe on the Law and sin in today’s verse. But he is pointing directly at sin as the culprit of our downfall, not the Law. I love how he ends this verse by saying, “sin would become utterly sinful.” My first thought was Well, duh! But then I decided I should not read that phrase so lightly. Let’s take a look at the word used here for “utterly.”

APPLICATION

Huperbolé occurs seven other times in the New Testament (1 Corinthians 12:31; 2 Corinthians 1:8; 4:7, 17 (2x); 12:7; Galatians 1:13). I encourage you to look at each of those verses to see how the word is used by Paul. It refers to “an extraordinary degree, or a surpassing quality. Whether it modifies power, suffering, sin, gifts, or glory, it stresses an intensity that cannot be explained by normal human categories.” (Topical Lexicon)

This word is used to express something that goes past the ordinary to the extraordinary. It is used to show the depth of sin, the power of grace, the weight of suffering, the excellence of love and the magnitude of the glory of God. We simply cannot put the divine expressions down adequately. Some things just won’t be understood this side of eternity.

But we can all agree that sin is utterly sinful. It is extraordinarily sinful. It exceeds our wildest imaginations and will lead us to an eternal death from which there is no escape unless…we turn to Jesus and confess those sins which the Law so adequately points out in our life. Make things right today with Jesus, if you haven’t already and flee from all appearances of sin in your life.

Oh, the greatness of Your love and grace and glory far exceeds the greatness of sin.

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