The law did not convict Paul as a Pharisee because he never truly understood it — he was so wrapped up in his religious position that the law's words never searched his heart.
Les Feldick says Paul was part of the Judaistic society and thought he knew the law from cover to cover, but it went over his head as "just so many words" (Clip 1). He counted himself a faithful Pharisee, zealous for the traditions, so the law did not touch his conscience. It was not until the commandment "Thou shalt not covet" came home to him that sin revived and his self-confidence died.
Romans 7:7-9 — Paul says he did not know lust until the law said, "Thou shalt not covet," and that he was alive without the law until the commandment came and sin revived.
The apostle Paul declares that the law is not sin, but it was the means by which he came to know sin (Romans 7:7). He writes, "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." In the next verses he describes his pre-conversion condition: "For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died" (Romans 7:9). Paul's own testimony shows that before the commandment came to his conscience, he considered himself alive — the law had not yet done its convicting work. Scripture also states the law's ultimate 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" (Romans 3:20). The law was never given to make a person righteous; it was given to expose sin.
Les Feldick explains that Paul was not ignorant of the law in an academic sense. He was trained at the feet of Gamaliel and lived in a society where the law had been enforced for fifteen hundred years. But Les emphasizes that Paul read the law without understanding it: "He thought he knew the law from cover to cover... but you know what? He had never understood what they said. It was just so many words" (Clip 1). Paul was part and parcel of a Judaistic society that had watered down the law with man-made rules and traditions, becoming what Les calls "the Jews' religion" rather than the true searching demands of God (Clips 2, 6). Les also points out that the specific commandment that finally convicted Paul was not one of the more obvious outward sins but the inward commandment, "Thou shalt not covet." He teaches that coveting is the trigger behind every violation of the Ten Commandments — you cannot kill, steal, commit adultery, or destroy someone's character without first coveting something (Clip 0). This is why Paul used coveting as his primary example: it reaches the heart that outward religious behavior had kept hidden. When that commandment came with force, Paul's old self-confidence died, and he saw himself as the lawbreaker he truly was.
Paul was not without knowledge of the law — he had been trained at Gamaliel's feet and lived in a society where the law had been enforced for fifteen hundred years. Yet Les Feldick explains that Paul read the law as "just so many words" (Clip 1). Because he was part of the Judaistic society, he thought he knew it, but he never understood what it demanded. He was "alive without the law" in the sense that his reading never exposed his heart.
Les Feldick points out that coveting is the internal trigger behind every outward violation of the Ten Commandments. You cannot kill unless you covet, steal unless you covet, commit adultery unless you covet, or destroy someone's character unless you covet (Clip 0). This explains why Paul used coveting as the primary example of how the law exposed him: it reached the inner lust that his Pharisaic behavior had concealed.
Paul's point is not that the law is sin. The law's role is to give the knowledge of sin and to condemn; it has no power to save (Romans 3:20; Clip 7). Les says the problem was that Paul's "Jews' religion" had been watered down with man-made rules and traditions, so the law was just another set of regulations rather than a mirror of the heart (Clips 2, 6). When Paul speaks of the law here, Les clarifies that he means the moral law, the Ten Commandments, by which no flesh is justified (Clip 4).
Coveting as the Trigger for All Lawbreaking
Les teaches that every broken commandment begins with coveting, which is why Paul used the commandment against coveting as the law's most searching test of the heart.
Paul's Blindness to the Law
Les explains that Paul heard and read the law but never understood it; it was "just so many words," so he could say he was alive without the law even while living under it.
Rabbinic Watering-Down of the Law
Les points out that the law of Paul's day had become hundreds of man-made rules, so Paul's obedience was to a religious system rather than to the law's true demands.
Coveting and Paul's Inner Conflict
Les connects Paul's statement, "I had not known lust except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet," to the daily reality of how every commandment is broken through coveting.
The Moral Law of the Ten Commandments
Les explains that when Paul speaks of the law here, he means the moral law, the Ten Commandments, by which no one is justified.
Why Even "Good People" Can't Escape God's Judgment — Romans 2
Verse 22, "...Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery?" Well man, all you have to do is go back to the Old Testament. What was the behavior of many of those priests? Hey, they were awful. The sons of Eli, even the people of Israel knew it. They said, they�re not godly like you are. And here again, Paul is referring back to those situations. Verse 23, "...
Steeped in the Jews' Religion
Les shows that Paul was more zealous for the traditions of Judaism than his peers, which made him feel spiritually secure rather than convicted.
The Law Condemns, It Does Not Save
Les emphasizes that the law does nothing but condemn; there is no power in the law to save, only to bring the knowledge of sin.
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.
This verse names the commandment that finally made Paul aware of sin — "Thou shalt not covet."
Romans 7:9: For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.
This verse describes Paul's pre-conversion condition: he thought he was alive until the law confronted him.
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 verse states the law's purpose: to produce the knowledge of sin rather than justification.
Paul was not saying he never knew the law. Les Feldick explains that he lived in a society where the law was enforced, but he read it without understanding; it was "just so many words." His Pharisaic religious confidence made him feel alive, even while he was blind to what the law demanded.
Coveting is the inner desire behind every outward sin. Les teaches that no one can kill, steal, commit adultery, or even take God's name in vain without first coveting. When the law said, "Thou shalt not covet," it reached the one place Paul's outward religion had never exposed — his heart.
No. Les Feldick emphasizes that the law has no power to save anybody; it only condemns and brings the knowledge of sin. Paul was not justified by keeping the law — the law was the mirror that finally showed him his need.
Watch the Teaching: Why the Law Can't Save You — Romans 7:5-14 Explained