Day 13: The Purpose Of The Law Is To Show Us Our Sin

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

»  Walk through the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20) and count the ones you have broken.

»  How do rules awaken my rebellious nature? Why is that true of both kids and adults?

»  Think of the last commandment you broke. Why did you break it? What were you hoping to gain? If you have not confessed to God, do it now.

»  Practice the memory verse.

QUOTE

“The law bids us, as we try to fulfill its requirements, and become wearied in our weakness under it, to know how to ask for the help of grace.”
- St. Augustine

SCRIPTURE

“I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death.”

- Romans 7:10-11

DEVOTIONAL

God forbid Adam to eat of the forbidden tree, not as a barrier to self- actualization, but as a gracious gift. The fruit of that tree was not a path to goodness, but a path to death, and God wanted to protect him from it. The Ten Commandments are, likewise, a gift, designed to show us how to live joyful lives of abundance while avoiding loss, pain, and death. The Law is righteous and good, however, because of my depravity, I am incapable of living a law-abiding life. The Law holds up a mirror so that I might see the ugliness of my inner, rebellious self and turn my heart toward the God whose grace alone can make me whole.

In Romans 7, Paul says, “I would not have known what coveting really was if the Law had not said, ‘You shall not covet.’” (v7). But knowing the law, and grasping what the law asks of me does not help me defeat my sin - it just reveals to me what I really am: a broken and desperate sinner. We need more than rules to set us free. The law is only God’s first gift to us; the second is His fulfillment of that same law on our behalf, and in our stead.

Of course, the Law does other things too. Obedience to the Law distinguishes the people of God from all other people on the earth, and it guides us into the righteous life God designed for us. But first the Law breaks us, shows us the endless depth of our depravity, and forces us to confront our desperate need of a Savior. God’s hope is that the ugly brutality of my brokenness will drive me to my knees in repentant dependance upon Jesus, and His redemptive work in me. There are only two kinds of people in the world: sinners who admit it and sinners who don’t.