The law's role is to expose the hidden sin nature of old Adam, not to save or reform it.
Les Feldick teaches that every person inherits a contrary nature from Adam, and this old Adam nature is what the law was designed to reveal. According to Romans 3:20, the law gives the knowledge of sin, and Romans 7:9 shows that when the commandment comes, sin revives and the person sees himself as dead. The law itself is holy, just, and good, but the old Adam it exposes is carnal, sold under sin (Romans 7:12,14).
Romans 7:9 — Paul describes exactly what happens when the law confronts the sin nature: sin revives and he dies.
Romans 3:20 — The verse Les repeatedly points to in showing that the law's sole purpose is the knowledge of sin.
Scripture does not use the modern phrase 'sin nature,' but it describes the same reality when Paul says, 'I am carnal, sold under sin' (Romans 7:14). Romans 7 reveals that the law is not sin, but it brings sin to consciousness: 'I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet' (Romans 7:7). Paul then records the result of being truly confronted by the law: 'For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died' (Romans 7:9). This does not mean the law is defective; rather, 'the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good' (Romans 7:12). Romans 3:20 states the law's divine purpose: 'Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.'
Les teaches that a person is not a sinner because of individual acts but is a sinner by birth as a child of Adam. Old Adam is so contrary that whatever God says to do, old Adam says the opposite, and whatever God says not to do, old Adam wants to do. This is why outwardly 'good' people can appear respectable and well groomed, like a beautiful, well-trained horse, yet still have a corrupt nature underneath (Clip 0). According to Les, the law has only one purpose in Scripture: 'for by the law is the knowledge of sin' (Clip 3). The Ten Commandments show that man is bent toward idolatry, envy, thievery, and every other thing the law prohibits. The law 'shows us what old Adam is really made of'; it compounds a person's sinfulness by revealing that everything he does is contrary to the will of a holy God (Clip 1). Paul's own testimony in Romans 7 is Les's great illustration. As a religious Pharisee, Paul considered himself above the law, so it did not convict him—it rolled off him like water off a duck. But when the commandment came, 'old Adam woke up.' The law that was holy, just, and good did not kill him; it exposed the old sin nature hiding beneath his religious self-righteousness (Clips 4, 5).
Les says the law only has one purpose in Scripture: by the law is the knowledge of sin (Romans 3:20). God gave the Ten Commandments to show how old Adam really operates—that he is bent to take God's name in vain, to worship idols, to be envious, and to steal. Instead of curing the old nature, the law reveals it and compounds human sinfulness by demonstrating that all a person's deeds are contrary to God's will. The law itself is holy, just, and good (Romans 7:12); the problem is the raw material it exposes.
Les explains that Paul, as a Pharisee, considered himself above the law. He was so religious and pharisaical that the law was not convicting him—it was rolling off him like water off a duck. But when the commandment came, old Adam woke up. What Paul had thought was a controlled, respectable religious life suddenly showed its true nature, and he died under the realization that he was carnal and sold under sin (Romans 7:9,14).
No. Paul asks, 'Is the law sin?' and answers, 'God forbid' (Romans 7:7). Les extends that answer to the Ten Commandments: the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, just, and good. It was not the law that made death for Paul; the problem was what the law uncovered in old Adam. The law is spiritual, while the person is carnal, sold under sin (Romans 7:14).
Paul singles out coveting because covetous desire is the doorway to every other violation of the Ten Commandments. Les asks whether there is anything within the Ten Commandments that a person can break without first coveting. When the commandment said 'Thou shalt not covet,' it gave Paul the proper definition of lust or sinful desire (Romans 7:7).
Les notes that Paul never forsook the morality of the law. Even while saying he became as without law to those without law, Paul makes clear that he was not without law to God but under the law to Christ (1 Corinthians 9:21). Being free from trying to be saved by the law does not license the old nature to do as it pleases morally.
Old Adam's Contrary Nature
Les explains that even outwardly good people are sinners by birth because old Adam wants to do the opposite of everything God commands; their public lives can be as impressive as a well-groomed show horse.
The Law Shows What Old Adam Is Made Of
Les teaches that the law reveals and compounds sinfulness, showing that a person's natural deeds are contrary to the will of a holy God.
The Law Uncovers Desire
Paul's dilemma of doing what he should not and not doing what he should is connected to the law revealing covetousness and desire.
The Law's Sole Purpose
According to Les, the only purpose of the Ten Commandments is to give the knowledge of sin and to show that man is naturally bent to violate them.
The Law Awakens Old Adam
Les uses Paul's experience to show that while he was a self-righteous Pharisee the law did not convict him, but when the commandment came, old Adam woke up.
The Law Is Holy, Just, and Good
Les explains that the law itself is not death; it is holy, just, and good, and old Adam had been keeping Paul blind to its true convicting purpose.
Coveting at the Root
Les points to 'Thou shalt not covet' as the commandment that exposes the inner desire behind every outward sin.
The Morality of the Law Is Not Abandoned
Les clarifies that Paul never discarded the morality of the law even though he was free from it as a means of righteousness.
Romans 3:20: Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
This is the verse Les repeatedly uses to show that the law was given to reveal sin, not to justify anyone.
Romans 7:7: What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.
Paul answers the objection that the law itself is sin and shows that the commandment defines lust and makes sin known.
Romans 7:9: For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.
Paul describes how the law awakened the dormant sin nature and brought him to a realization of spiritual death.
Romans 7:12: Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.
Paul affirms that the problem is not with the law itself but with the sin nature it exposes.
Romans 7:14: For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
This verse contrasts the spiritual law with the carnal, sin-sold nature of the person the law reveals.
1 Corinthians 9:21: To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law.
Les uses this verse to show that Paul's freedom from law did not mean abandoning God's moral standards.
No. Paul asks, 'Is the law sin?' and answers, 'God forbid.' The law is holy, just, and good (Romans 7:7,12). Les says the law's only purpose is to give the knowledge of sin; it reveals old Adam rather than being a sinful thing itself.
Being good on the outside does not remove the old Adam nature. Les compares such a person to a beautiful, well-trained horse at a show—it looks admirable, but underneath is an inherited sin nature that must be exposed. The law is what shows that person what old Adam is really made of.
Les explains that when the commandment came, old Adam woke up. Paul, who had been functioning as a self-righteous Pharisee and feeling above the law, suddenly experienced the convicting power of the law and understood that he was a sinner.
Watch the Teaching: Why the Law Can't Save You — Romans 3:19-20 Explained