The Law arouses sinful passions. Grace encourages loving with Jesus.

Romans 7:5 For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death. Paul’s Jewish readers needed to understand how the Law works and why they needed to be set free from the Law. From their perspective, the Law was the source of their identity, their confidence before God was that they were the custodians of the Law. What could be a higher blessing or privilege than to be identified with the Law? Why would they wish to be separated from it and delivered out from under its jurisdiction? In this verse, Paul explained that the first problem with still being under the Law is the Law’s power to arouse sinful passions of the flesh. One day as exited the jetway in Chicago, I noticed a sign on the wall, “Wet paint, do not touch.” I was the last person off the plane, and almost without thinking, I lightly put my index finger on the wall. Yep, it was wet! I’m fairly certain, if there had been no sign, I wouldn’t have touched the paint. I’m embarrassed to tell you this story, but it illustrates the power of the Law as Paul explained it in this verse.  There was a desire at work in the members of my body that I wasn’t even aware of until the Law came. In less than 2 seconds, I became a law-breaker, lawless, a sinner.  The Law of God addresses much more significant issues than touching wet paint. We could go down the list of those ten commandments, and we would discover that indeed, we can only bear fruit for death. As long as the Law has jurisdiction over us, we cannot bear fruit for God. That’s why God, who is rich in mercy, and because of His great love granted us favor by uniting us with His Son in His death. When He died to sin, we died to sin. The old Adam was crucified, and we have been raised to walk in newness of life with Jesus. Praise His holy name. To God be the glory. Now Jesus, living His life of love in us, can produce His love in us, and we bear fruit for God. This doesn’t happen by mistake. It happens intentionally as we present the members of our bodies to Jesus, give Him access to all that we are so we can fervently love from the heart. What a privilege and joy to live life with such purpose and freedom! How encouraging. Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com