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how do other new testament authors approach the law's relationship to sin and salvation?

Adds the setting and its conversation across both testaments.

Romans 7:7-12

“What then shall we say? Is the law sin? May it never be! However, I wouldn’t have known sin, except through the law. For I wouldn’t have known coveting, unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.” But sin, finding occasion through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of coveting. For apart from the law, sin is dead. I was alive apart from the law once, but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. The commandment, which was for life, was found to be to me unto death. For sin, finding occasion through the commandment, deceived me, and through it killed me. So that the law is holy, and the commandment holy, righteous, and good.”

The Apostle Paul, writing to believers in Rome in the mid-1st century CE, is addressing a crucial question about the role of the Law (Torah) in salvation, particularly for those who have come to faith in Jesus. He is explaining that the Law itself is not sinful, but rather it highlights and exposes the pervasive nature of sin.

In what ways do our personal codes of conduct, or society’s laws, unintentionally reveal our deeper inclinations?

Then — the setting

Paul wrote Romans in the mid-50s CE from Corinth, addressing a diverse church in the heart of the Roman Empire, composed of both Jewish and Gentile believers. A central challenge for these early communities was understanding how Jewish traditions, especially the Torah, related to faith in Jesus for both groups. Paul is working to articulate salvation by grace through faith, while simultaneously affirming the divine origin and goodness of the Law, preventing misunderstanding that would brand God's Law as inherently bad.

Across the Testaments

In the Old Testament, the Law (Torah) was given by God to Israel as a gift, intended to guide them in righteous living, establish their covenant relationship, and set them apart. It was a means to life and blessing (e.g., Deuteronomy 30:19). Paul, in the New Testament, does not negate the Law's divine origin or goodness but shifts its primary function in the context of sin and salvation. He argues that while the Law reveals sin and its consequences, it cannot provide the means for overcoming sin or achieving righteousness. The New Testament, through authors like Paul, introduces Jesus as the fulfillment of the Law and the means by which righteousness and new life are offered through faith, a theme anticipated in Old Testament prophets who spoke of a new covenant where God's law would be written on hearts (e.g., Jeremiah 31:33).

Keep thinking

Read alongside it

Galatians 3:23-25
Paul describes the Law as a 'guardian' leading to Christ, suggesting its temporary, preparatory role.
Hebrews 8:6-13
This passage speaks of a 'new covenant' making the 'first' (Law) obsolete, focusing on an internal transformation.
James 2:8-12
James emphasizes fulfilling the 'royal law' of love for neighbor, contrasting it with partiality and judging by the Law.

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