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how might jewish audiences in rome have understood paul's discussion of the law and sin?

The passage, plainly, with room to sit with it.

Romans 7:7

What shall we say then? 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.”

The Apostle Paul writes to a mixed audience of Jewish and Gentile believers in Rome, likely in the mid-1st century CE. In this part of his letter, he is wrestling with the purpose of God's Law (Torah) and its relationship to sin, especially for those who now follow Christ.

How does understanding the law's role as a revealer of sin rather than its cause challenge or affirm your own understanding of right and wrong?

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Read alongside it

  • Romans 3:20

    This verse reinforces the idea that the law reveals sin, rather than justifies.

  • Galatians 3:19

    Paul asks why the law was given, concluding it was 'added because of transgressions'.

  • Psalm 119:105

    This psalm describes the law as a lamp and a light, guiding and revealing God's ways.

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