Paul shifts gear in Romans 7 as he tackles how we can escape the penalty of sin. In verses 1 to 12 Paul presents sin as a contract. This contract simply can't be broken because God's righteous demand is that the penalty of sin can only be paid with blood. But this is how we break the contract: either the blood of Christ that leads us to heaven, or our own blood that leads to hell.
In the second half of the passage, verses 7 to 12, he tells us that it is the law that points us to our sin. Sin is subtle and caused Paul to sin by his following of it. his problem was he was depending on the law for his salvation and this led him away from God and thereby to sin. We are cautioned to avoid sin and any attempt to think our works and good merits will contribute anything to our salvation. To break the contract with sin we need to trust in the sacrificial blood of Jesus.
Romans - The heart of the Gospel is a teaching series from Annalong Presbyterian Church. Find out more at www.annalongpc.org/sermons.
