Read Romans 7:7–13
But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment,
produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from
law, sin is dead.
Romans 7:8
I was standing in Lincoln Park in Chicago, looking at the newly
painted benches, and I noticed a sign on each bench: “Do Not
Touch.” As I watched, I saw numbers of people deliberately reach out
and touch the wet paint! Why? Because the sign told them not to! If
a child is told not to go near the water, that is the very thing the little
darling will do! Why? Because “the sinful mind is hostile to God. It
does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so” (Rom. 8:7).
Believers who try to live by rules and regulations discover that
their legalistic system only arouses more desires and creates more sin
problems. The churches in Galatia were very legalistic, and they experienced all kinds of trouble. “If you keep on biting and devouring
each other,” Paul warned them, “watch out or you will be destroyed
by each other” (Gal. 5:15). Their legalism did not make them more
spiritual; it made them more sinful! Why? Because the law arouses sin
in human nature.
Something to Ponder
What are some forbidden things that tend to arouse your curiosity or
attract your interest?