Bible - epistles

Is the Law Good or Evil ? In the New Testament, the Pauline epistles play an important role in the development of Christianity and the Christian church. Arguably, the most important letters of Paul are that of the ones for the Christians of Rome. The letters to the Romans are slowly revealing the thought process of the apostle. In the letters to the Romans, the apostle discusses God's righteousness and forgiveness to all those who believed, the relationship between human, God, and the church, and "the question of the relation between the Gospel and the Law" (Wand 94).

In Romans 7:1-25, Paul discusses to the Romans about the Law, referring to the Ten Commandments.

What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet, if it had not been for the law, I should not have known sin. I should not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, "You shall not covet."

Paul Walker

Paul Stang

[Portrait of Les Paul, Fat Tuesday, New York, N.Y....

But sin, finding opportunity in the commandment, wrought in me all kinds of covetousness. Apart from the law sin lies dead. I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died; the very commandment which promised life proved to be death to me. For sin, finding opportunity in the commandment, deceived me and by it killed me. So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good (Romans 7:7-12).

Clearly in this passage, Paul is blaming sin on the Law. Paul states that without the Law there would be no sin and that the Law brought about sin. "In other words, it is law that makes us both conscious of, and responsible for, sin" (Knox 59). If there had been no law then there would be...