Why Do I Fall?

Dennis Ellingburg

Romans: For the Gospel • Sermon • Submitted 2 years ago

Romans 7:7–12

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I remember laying in my bed, staring at the ceiling. Like so many nights before, I found myself crying out the God, convicted over sin, and praying that he would forgive me. I didn’t know why I did it. Why I failed in that way, why I committed that sin again. I just knew that I was broken.

All of us have experienced this at some time or another, and if we’re honest we still do. Whether it’s a white lie told, losing our temper with a loved one, or watching an online video we knew we shouldn’t have, we’ve all been guilty of sinning in one way or another.

And we’ve also all experienced the incrimination, the shame, and the guilt that the follows. Over the next several weeks, Paul is looking practically with the effects of sin in the lives of believers and unbelievers alike and we will delve into the truth about sin, and the freedom of Christ.

Paul in our text is still discussing the law and it’s place in a fallen world. Today, he’s

Sin’s Deadly Effect: It Corrupts (v. 7)

Romans 7:7 ESV

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.”

The first reason why sin leads to our falling in our day to day lives. According to Paul, sin seized the opportunity to produce more sin. Sin's deadly work is to corrupt and to effectuate more sin. Sin always begets sin and corrupts even the law of God.

There’s a song by the gospel group the Cathedrals that sums it up perfectly:

Sin will take you farther than you want to go, Slowly, but wholly, taking control, Sin will leave you longer than you want to stay, Sin will cost you far more than you want to pay. So with pleasure and promises, Sin took control, Leaving me dying, with nothing to show, Gone were my loved ones, and my dearest friends.

But, there’s a promise written here. Paul, in pointing to sin’s corruption, also points to the

The Law’s Perfect Purpose: It Exposes

Notice what Paul says, “If the law had not said, ‘You shall not covet.’” It was the law’s purpose of exposing sin that sin seized on. When we sin, we sin in contradiction to the law. The law exposes sin for what it is.

Sin’s Wicked Lie: It Contradicts (v. 8)

Sin corrupts, and it does it by causing us to question the goodness of God and his law.

Romans 7:8 ESV

But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead.

Notice what sin does, sin seizes the opportunity and produces exactly what the law seeks to destroy. Sin’s work is insidious.

This is seen in the Garden. Eve, when faced with the truth of God is directed to question the goodness, provision and mercy of God.

Cranfield agrees:

We shall not do justice to Paul’s thought here, if we settle for a merely psychological explanation along the lines of … the proverbial wisdom that speaks of forbidden fruits as sweetest. It is rather that the merciful limitation imposed on man by the commandment and intended to preserve his true freedom and dignity can be misinterpreted and misrepresented as a taking away of his freedom and an attack on his dignity, and so can be made an occasion of resentment and rebellion against the divine Creator, man’s true Lord. In this way sin can make use of the commandment not to covet as a means of arousing all manner of covetousness.

Sin seeks to destroy the work of God. In my bed, sin says, “It wasn’t that bad, if you told the truth you would have hurt them.” Or “It’s ok, you’re lonely and you didn’t hurt anyone.” Or, “They deserved it, you had every right to get angry.”

All of these are insidious and hellacious lies meant to sear the conscience against the conviction of God.

It was only after the Israelites had heard the commandment not to make any idols for themselves (Exod 20:4) that they had Aaron fashion a golden calf for them to worship (Exod 32). In just this way the law, abused by the sinful tendency already resident in every person, has been instrumental in stimulating all kinds of sinful tendencies.

- Douglas Moo

The Law’s Perfect Response: It Corrects.

But the law corrects the lies of Satan. When Satan says, “It’s ok, the law says woe to you!” We must look into the perfect law before we fall. Only by loving and living the word of God do we have any hope to overcome the sin that invades us.

Sin’s Disastrous End: It Kills (v. 9-11)

Romans 7:9–11 ESV

I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.

The final lie of sin is this, “You will not surely die, for God knows...”

This is the lie. When faced with temptation sin says to us we can get away with it.

My friends may be alcoholics, but I’m ok.

I know the Bible says that sex outside of marriage is all right, but my situation makes it different.

I know lying is wrong, but I have a good reason.

I know I shouldn’t be doing this, but my circumstances...

This is the lie of sin: that it will not lead to death.

But sin ALWAYS kills. Like a parasite that strips its host of health, sin will ultimately kill us spiritually, then physically, and finally eternally.