LAW!

We climbed every dome we visited in Italy—my nephew, Jacob, and I. The St. Peters dome in Rome, the Cathedral dome in Florence, the St. Marks dome in Venice, and other sundry domes we spotted. Quite a healthy exercise, this dome-climbing business. Dingy stairwells, narrow stairs, damp and dark. But the end gain result was well worth the pain—a magnificent and unobstructed view of the particular city.

This picture was taken in the stairwell on our way up the dome of the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, the cathedral (Duomo) of Florence, the dome of which was engineered by Filippo Brunelleschi (1377–1446).

Clearly the curators of the place want the stairwells clean, especially its walls. “Vietato scrivere sui muri” the sign warns. Good intentions.

So also, nothing wrong with God’s law, His divine demand.

… the Law is spiritual ….
Romans 7:14

Good stuff, law!

… the Law is holy,
and the commandment is holy
and righteous and good.
Romans 7:12

But the effort to regulate is wasted, alas! No sooner had the command been issued, the laws began to be broken. All kinds of remarks—relevant, random, mundane—were stimulated by “vietato scrivere” in the stairwell.

Likewise, …

The Law came in so that
the transgression would increase ….
Romans 5:20

Law has a way of doing that, doesn’t it. Someone commands and the command gets broken.

(One way to get something done, a wag recommended, is to prohibit your children from doing it!)

But sin, taking opportunity
through the commandment,
produced in me coveting of every kind;
for apart from the Law sin is dead.
Romans 7:8

In fact, some wisecrack even issued a diktat of his/her own in his/her own Sharpie hand on the Duomo stairwell: “Do not write on the walls.” An echo? Another rule? A reinforcement of the printed message? All kinds of hermeneutical options!

But one thing is clear: the law has been broken. And, indeed, all of us have broken God’s divine demands.

… for all have sinned and
fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 3:23

And the result? The Law kills—i.e., the breaking of the law ultimately results in death.

… when the commandment came,
sin became alive and I died.
Romans 7:9

Sad. What promised to be a happy ending for “Hugo y Laura” (as declared on the wall of the stairwell) apparently turned out badly. Hugo, later, seems to have returned to Florence to withdraw his name from the duet. They, it appears, didn’t live happily ever after.

And we won’t either.

The breakage of God’s demands is sin and the consequence is eternal separation from holy God.

For the wages of sin is death ….
Romans 6:23a

Maybe that’s why another scribble-happy dome-visitor inscribed: “La vida duele”—the painful, hurting life!

There really is no hope! Not through law-keeping, for sure.

But there is another way—through God’s grace, His free gift,

… but the free gift of God is eternal life
in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:23b

Perfection may be impossible. But forgiveness is not. Somebody, praise God, paid the penalty for our sins. And through Him, Jesus Christ, we have forgiveness.

If we confess our sins,
He is faithful and righteous
to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9

And so we forgiven sinners continue in obedience.

But thanks be to God that …
you became obedient from the heart
to that form of teaching
to which you were committed ….
Romans 6:17

And don’t write on walls, please!