Romans 8:3 (NIV)
For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened
by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to
be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh.
Several years ago, there was a beautiful hotel that was
built in Galveston, Texas, which jutted out over the water in the bay. It had
these large plate glass windows that allowed you to look out over the Gulf of
Mexico. And the balconies on each room made an ideal fishing pier! It seems
that right after this hotel opened, there was a fisherman who took his rod and
reel and tried to cast out into the water. Somehow, though, he managed in his
clumsiness to knock out some windows in the room below him.
The hotel very quickly put up signs in every room of the
hotel that read: "No fishing from balconies." Guess what happened?
People had never given much thought to fishing from their balconies, but they
suddenly thought that was a great idea! So everyone decided to try it! Even
people who could care less about fishing joined in. And they kept knocking out
windows. Until finally, one bright administrator came up with the idea of
removing the "no fishing" signs. Now guess what happened? People quit
fishing!
That story demonstrates one of the shortcomings of law.
Last week, I shared with you with positive things about law. God's law is holy
and just and good (Rom. 7:12). God's law shows us what sin is (Rom. 7:7).
However, there are at least two shortcomings of law. One
is that not only does the law reveal sin to us, it actually causes us to want
to commit sin. It leads us into more sin! Listen to Paul:
"But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment,
produced in me all manner of evil desire." (Romans 7:8)
The law says, "Do not covet". And the first
thing your sinful nature does is say, "Mmm. Covet. Now there's an
idea." The command that's meant to bring life, actually stirs up sin.
There is something about law that produces a rebellious spirit within us. What
happens when you see a sign on a door that says "Wet paint. Do not
touch"? You may have passed that door a thousand times over the past ten
years and never had the slightest desire to touch it. But now there's a sign
saying, "don't touch it" and what do you want to do? There is an
almost irresistible urge within you to reach out and touch it. Or tell Johnny
to stay away from the cookie jar, and you'll soon hear its lid rattling.
The other shortcoming of law is this: Law can tell me
what I'm doing wrong, but it can't make me better. "And the commandment,
which was to bring life, I found to bring death." (Romans 7:10)
God's law is intended to lead us to live godly lives, but
it doesn't succeed. God's law tells me what I ought to do. And it tells me what
the punishment is if I fail to obey. But keeping the rules doesn't necessarily
change what you're like on the inside. And, no matter how good you are, you'll
never succeed at keeping all the rules. It's not that there's anything wrong
with God's law. Rather, there's something wrong with us.
Fortunately, what the law is unable to do, God has
accomplished through another means: "For what the law could not do in that
it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness
of sinful flesh, on account of sin." (Rom. 8:3)
Give thanks for God's law, but give even more thanks for
His Son who does what law could never do -- make us right with God!
Dear Lord, we pray that we would be right with God. We thank You for the laws that You have given
us to guide us as we go. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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