John Adams Was Right
Romans 7:7-12
7 What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. 9 I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. 10 The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. 11 For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. 12 So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.
THREE THINGS!
We have readings this weekend. Normally, we take off Saturdays and Sundays, but I have assigned us readings this weekend only, so as to finish Romans Part 1 before October begins.
Our new Romans books are in! Pick one up at Asbury, or email Sandie and she can mail you one.
All-Church Bible Study Wednesday (10/2), 6:30-8:00 PM. We’ll be looking at what is arguably the greatest chapter in the Bible—Romans 8. Please make every effort to attend—it’s important.
Paul has previously told us that the Law provokes sinful people to sin. If that is the case, then is the Law itself sinful? After all, Israel became more sinful after it received the Law:
9 I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. [7:9]
(Paul, as we shall see, is speaking here as Israel personified: “I.”)
No, the Law is not sinful—it was just twisted by sinful people. Even the holy Law can’t work with sinful people.
There is an important political point here.
It is important that we have good laws and even more important that we have a good system of governance—the Constitution. But even the Constitution itself is not sufficient to work with sinful people. John Adams wrote a letter to the Massachusetts Militia, and there is a particular section of that letter that is frequently quoted today:
Because We have no Government armed with Power capable of contending with human Passions unbridled by morality and Religion. Avarice, Ambition, Revenge or Gallantry, would break the strongest Cords of our Constitution as a Whale goes through a Net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. —John Adams, 11 October 1798
Adams’s point is that even the best laws cannot save a wholly wicked people. Pray for spiritual revival in America!