I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “YOU SHALL NOT COVET.” Romans 7:7b (NKJV)

As a new Christian I had so much to learn. Because I came to faith in my thirties, I had a lot of bad habits to get rid of. I was grateful that the Lord seemed to just miraculously take my foul language out of my mouth.

Running an errand for a church event with my Pastor’s wife, I used a word that she did not think was appropriate for a Christian.

With a great deal of grace she simply said, “I know what you mean but I wouldn’t use that word to describe it.” She held up a righteous rule to my unrighteous word and I saw it. I was convicted and stopped using that word.

I had heard the word my whole life. As a child I was not allowed to use it but as an adult, it was part of the common language of my friends and co-workers.

Much earlier than this the Lord Himself had been revealing other sins to me. He started with “all have sinned.” I understood that “I” was a part of the “all.” In pride, I challenged Him to show me. He did. Over and over again.

It is true that if a person never sees their sin, they will never see their need for a Savior. In our Christian culture we hate the words sin and law. But if it were not for the Law of God, Paul tells us we would not have seen our sin. Neither would we have seen our need for Christ.

In Galatians 3:24-25 Paul says, “Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.”

In our conversations with one another, in our attempts at evangelism, even in our everyday prayers the acknowledgement of sin and the law are essential to the Christian faith. The Bible clearly teaches us to confess and repent of our sin. Even after we are God’s children, our sinful ways are sin against the Almighty God.

We want His blessing. We want Him to enact the “wonderful plan He has for our lives” that we hear so much about. We want Him to love us unconditionally as so many have said He will.

But, as long as we want and hold onto our sin, He will not bless us. His Word says that His condition for blessing is obedience (Deuteronomy 11:26-28).

In His grace, our compassionate Father does not reveal all of our sin at once! That would be overwhelming. As He does reveal it, He expects us to turn from it.

Renewing our minds through the study of God’s Word and fellowship with His people will help us to see it when He exposes our sin. James tells us to confess to one another and pray for one another (James 5:16).

Christian, do not fear the Law of God as it reveals our sin. When talking to unbelievers use the Law of God so that the Lord might graciously show them their need for a Savior.

The Law of God is a powerful tool. How can you and I overcome our fear of using it?  (Hebrews 4:12)