7th Chapter
of Romans
Romans 7:1 (all verses are from the New International Version)
Do you not know, brothers--for I am speaking to
men who know the law--that the law has authority over a man only as long as he
lives?
EXAMPLE FROM MARRIAGE
Paul is now appealing to those who say they know the law.
An understanding of God's law is necessary to come to the spiritual conclusions
Paul delineates here: that we are dead to the law, and therefore dead to
sin, if we are in Christ!
I am surprised by so many people who want to follow the law
(particularly Adventists) yet do not understand the purpose of the law. They
are similar in their misguidance as these Jews were. Even lawyers without any
knowledge of Christ can correctly tell you the purposes and limits of the law!
Paul uses the example of the contract of marriage, one that
I have alluded to previously; to illustrate the limited dominion the law has
over any person. Since marriage is a contract between two souls, mirroring the
contract we have in Christ, it provides plenty of illustration to help us
understand what God has done for us in releasing us from the law. It also
illustrates the temporary dominion the law has over someone, since the law
itself is temporary.
The law, being as temporary as marriage, only affects
(is binding on, Lord's
over) a person as long as they are alive. That means the law is only in
effect for reasons that are temporary themselves. We know from chapter 5 that
the law was put in effect to increase sin (Rom_5:20), that we may be able to appreciate God's grace. Thus the
law's purpose was for a temporary condition, the condition of being in sin.
Since in Christ sin is no longer our master (Rom_6:17-18), then we
are no longer under the need of law! We are under grace (Rom_6:14)! This is
because we have died in Christ. Since we are dead to sin and alive to Christ (Rom_6:11), we are
legally dead to the law as we will see in the following verses. Paul will
compare that to what happens to those who die in marriage.
I used this argument for the first time a few weeks ago
with an Adventist and he was not able to say anything in return since it is so
clearly delineated in these verses. I then combined what the Spirit expresses
here with Col_2:16-17, which says we ought not to be judged by these
celebrations of the Law since they are a shadow of the reality that has come:
Jesus Christ!
An interesting side note we can almost detect here, but not
quite explicitly, is how Paul constructs the argument of the law only having
dominion during a person's life. In the next few verses he explicitly mentions
the death of the husband causing the release of the wife from the marriage
contract. He also mentions how if the wife lives with another man while her
husband is alive she will be called an adulteress. Who do you think he may be
thinking of as the husband and wife in this example?
Romans 7:2
For example, by law a married woman is bound to
her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released
from the law of marriage.
The Lord Jesus died to the Law on Calvary
A married person only remains married as long as he is
alive. Marriage is "till death do you part". The contract of
marriage, or any other contractual law for that matter, is only in effect while
you are alive. The example of the head of the woman given here is Jesus in
contrast to Sin: one or the other being our choice for headship.
Either Jesus or sin has to die in order for us to be
released. Let's follow the route of Paul's thinking though, before we talk
about dying to sin, since Paul himself will bring that one up later in verses 4
and following.
Remember Paul is speaking to Jews. These Jews were claiming
they were under the Law of Moses. That was their salvation. Their hope was in
the Law more than in God! Who were they supposed to be in contract with? God
Himself! They said God gave them that Law! So what do you think Paul is trying
to say when he chooses to illustrate the law with a marriage covenant and
chooses to use the husband as the one dying to that covenant? Do you think He
is talking about Jesus here?
Bearing in mind Paul's purpose
in this paragraph of showing that Christians are no longer under Moses' law,
the thrust of his words is simple and dramatic. In the Old Testament, God
represented himself as being a husband to Israel and the relationship between
them and God as a marriage contract (Jer_31:32). That marriage contract is no longer in force, for God
died to Israel in the person of his Son upon Calvary! That really nullified the
relationship between God and Israel. Thus, God is represented as a husband
whose death has broken the ties that bound him to the wife Israel, not merely
leaving Israel free to be united to another (Christ), but also leaving the old
ties (the law of Moses, etc.) without any meaning or validity at all! - Coffman
Wow! God's plan is brilliant! He could have accused Israel
of infidelity and break the covenant based on that, but He chose to humbly die
to the covenant in Jesus! This is why Jesus said He had fulfilled the Law, not
abolished it, but fulfilled it with his death on the cross! Therefore, no one has any business following
the Law now since it was something drawn up for two other entities: God and
Israel!
It is also important to understand that this passage is not
teaching the intricacies of what marriage is and what constitutes a breaking of
that covenant. Paul is not interested in that topic nor is he making any claims
to a totality of doctrine within these verses. He is just using marriage as an
example of covenant law - particularly as it relates to Israel and the Lord and
the Law of Moses.
Regarding divorce, the Holy
Scriptures teach that marriage is dissolved: (1) by death; (2) by adultery; and
(3) by desertion, the latter not being strictly considered as ANOTHER ground
beyond that given by Christ, but rather as prima facie evidence of the
existence of ground (2), that of adultery. Paul did not here mention any
exceptions, his analogy depending upon death as the terminator of Israel's
marriage with God, and thus making the mention of any exceptions
unnecessary. --Coffman
Some who lack the maturity and skills for textual
interpretation will try to say that, since Paul did not mention the clause
Jesus mentioned for divorce in Mat_19:9, then therefore this clause is no longer in effect. Such a
claim is without any foundation of textual interpretation and common sense. In
any case, it would be justified to always follow Jesus instead of anybody else
when in doubt. The "Jesus Only" group also makes the same immature
conclusion when advocating baptism in the name of Jesus only, since they claim
that's what the apostles did. Of course, they completely disregard Mat_28:19-20.
Romans 7:3
So then, if she marries another man while her
husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies,
she is released from that law and is not an adulteress, even though she marries
another man.
Paul indirectly refers to Israel's adultery in choosing to
follow the Law as opposed to the Lord, and for having committed idolatry in
various ways in the past. Again the inconspicuous argument is made that if
Israel's husband had died, now Israel is free from the Law. Free to join
another - that is Christ! Paul is teaching that the Law was an intermediary
solution to the sin problem in man. Now the real answer, Jesus Christ, is here!
Now Israel is free to join Jesus without being an adulteress!
The death of Christ (God come in
the flesh) meant that all things whatsoever that pertained to God's
relationship with Israel (viewed scripturally as a marriage contract),
including the law of Moses, circumcision, the sacrifices, and the whole
theocratic system perished on the cross of Jesus and were buried in the new
tomb of Joseph of Arimathea; and don't forget to
include the Sabbath day in all that. Thus, not even Israel, much less
Christians, had any further spiritual benefit to be procured through keeping
the religious regulations of the Old Testament. God was free of all prior
obligations resulting from the covenants with Israel, free to be married to
another; but this meant that Israel was also free of any further obligation or
benefit in the law. The great promise to Abraham was not annulled, but was
shown to have been upon a higher level and ultimately designed to include all
the families of the earth, Jews and Gentiles alike, as the one new man "in
Christ," and therefore Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise.
-- Coffman
Paul's point in presenting this anecdote is to drive the
point that the Jews no longer have any responsibility to the Law of Moses.
Another interesting anecdote in this verse is the Greek
word used here for "called", which means "a divinely intimate
oracle, or bearing a title in the legal sense". So in God's eyes and
judgement, anyone who breaks the marriage covenant, or any covenant for that
matter, particularly one between God and man, is seen by God as an adulterer.
So if you establish a covenant with God but then seek to join yourself with
your old life, with sin (Satan) being your Lord, then you are an adulterer
before the Lord. This is what Israel was charged with many times in the Old
Testament for running after idols and other "gods".
Romans 7:4
So, my brothers, you also died to the law through
the body of Christ, that you might belong to another,
to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God.
We died to the Law to belong to Jesus
The next set of arguments begins with the word
"likewise", which means "in the same way". In the same way as what? Well Paul finished giving us an
example of the Law's temporary scope from marriage, particularly citing the
husband as the one dying and therefore letting the bride be
free to belong to another. Now he reverses that in this verse. Now he presents
the argument from the perspective of the bride: those who are united to Christ
in baptism have died to the law through the body of Christ. Since we die with
Jesus when we are baptized we also are released from the law since we are
claiming the substitutionary death of Jesus in our place when we are baptized.
We therefore enter the status of being "dead to the law" as well as
"dead to sin" as Jesus is dead to Law and to sin Himself.
When you die to sin, sin cannot have any more authority
over you. You are released (loosed) from its power of authority since you have
joined Jesus in His manner of death and Jesus triumphed over the law on the
cross (Col_2:14-16). Jesus cancelled the written code, disarming their power
and authority over you! When you join Jesus in the manner of His death through
baptism then the Law has no effect over you either! Amen! You are not merely
divorced from sin and from the law - you have personally died to the Law! You
are no longer a viable entity to the law or to sin! Your new husband has
authority as your head now (Eph_1:22-23). You are no longer bound to sin, to obey its desires! You
are now bound to the body of Jesus Christ, to obey His desires and to glory in
God!
If you have not died to your former husband, sin, and try
to please another, Jesus, you are an adulteress! You are unfaithful. However,
is you are truly dead to sin; dead to the law, then
you are faithful to Christ alone.
Remember, you cannot serve two Masters (Mat_6:24)! Only by
dying to the law can you be free to join your True Master.
We were then united to the body of Jesus by baptism to die
to the law so that we can truly belong only to Jesus. Only having died to sin
can you bear fruit for God, as the Spirit reveals here. As Jesus says: only
when the seed dies can it bear fruit:
Joh_12:24 NIV I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the
ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces
many seeds.
The new life to be lived is a life that bears fruit. Only
in Jesus can we bear fruit since only in Jesus are we truly alive!
Joh_15:1-8 ESV "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. (2)
Every branch of mine that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every
branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. (3)
Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to
you. (4)
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself,
unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. (5) I
am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is
that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do
nothing. (6) If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown
away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the
fire, and burned. (7) If you abide in me, and my words abide in
you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. (8) By this my Father is glorified, that
you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples."
The only fruit borne by those who walk according to the
flesh is sin; and sin gives fruit to death (Jam_1:14-15). This is why the wages of sin is death (Rom_6:23). The fruit
we can bear for God when we are in Jesus is the fruit of the Spirit:
Gal_5:22-26 ESV But
the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things
there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have
crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking
one another, envying one another.
Romans 7:5
For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at
work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death.
SIN MADE ALIVE IN THE FLESH BY THE LAW
Our sinful passions were exacerbated by the law. Notice how
Paul speaks of our former influence of sin in the past tense. Sin was
at work in you before God was at work within you. Now it is God working
in you, not sin, since you have been incorporated in Christ. It is important to
remember we were affected by sin this way; not now that we are in
Christ! These passions dominated the members of our body (limbs, eyes, tongue,
parts of the body) to bear fruit for death - sin. The evidence of their work
was in your thoughts, attitude and actions. Your actions were the fruit of the
sin already infecting your thoughts and attitude. Now that we have been healed
in Christ we bear fruit for God (Gal_5:22-23). Our attitude has been made new (Eph_4:23) and our
thoughts are in line with Christ. We bear fruit for God as we do His work, the
work He planned for us to do since the beginning (2Co_9:8; Eph_2:10)!
Previous to your union with Jesus in baptism you had no
choice but to succumb to these passions - they were your master! The passions
were accentuated by the law (1Co_15:56). Your knowledge of the law just made you want to sin even
more! That is because you were carnal (fleshly). You
defined yourself by the only standards you knew - those of the world. All that
you learned was from your parents and those around you. Unless you were raised
in the Gospel ways your moral foundation was meant for destruction and failure.
Now we identify with the standards of God. Our identity has been changed and we
are new! The law no longer has any effect (dominion) over us!
Notice also that "living in the flesh" also meant
living under the Law. That also proves the Law was not spiritual - it had no
power to forgive sins or to impart the Holy Spirit or to justify anyone, unlike
our covenant with Jesus. Living in the flesh means living according to the
principles of the world, whether by the Jewish system or the pagan system. Both
are legalistic. The other extreme, liberalism, is also from the flesh. In the
absence of any law your own passions reign. The only hope is to die to this
system and be born under a different one. How in the world can a person do
that? Jesus provided the way!
This is why Jesus said one has to be born again (Joh_3:3). The first
birth (whether Jewish or pagan) was not good enough. It is a carnal birth and
the flesh is mastered by the sin that came unto the world through Adam. Only
the new birth through Jesus, who brought us the Spirit, can bring us life
eternal. Jesus came to destroy the work of the devil which is sin:
1Jo_3:8 NIV He who
does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from
the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's
work.
Romans 7:6
But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have
been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and
not in the old way of the written code.
Having been released from that law unto
death now you have a choice to give the members of your body over for kingdom
service. This is how you bear fruit for
God! How were you released from the Law, from the principles of the world and
your fleshly passions?
You were released from these passions that dominated you by
dying to self in the watery grave of baptism. Therefore, in Christ, you are no
longer captive to sin, but you are free from it! You are free to choose to
serve God with the members of your body!
No longer are we to serve God using the Law (mechanical
obedience to the old written code) but through our transformed life in Christ
(spiritual and heartfelt obedience by faith). You are no longer in that prison
of sin! Often Satan tries to perpetuate that illusion of captivity through your
guilt (worldly sorrow). This mentality is what is present when you serve under
law, since law cannot grant grace - it only condemns:
1.
You are no good
2.
You never amounted to
much
3.
You are clumsy
4.
You are lazy
5.
You haven't born any
fruit
6.
You don't know what to
do
Either this or a desire to be freed from law (liberalism)
will reign in the members of the flesh. Of course, trying to free yourself will
only incarcerate you further in your own sin! Your own mind becomes a prison!
Often these thoughts we have stem from true conviction that begins in the mind,
but never materialize into corrective action unless you dethrone Satan.
In Christ:
1.
You are a Son of the
King
2.
You are everything to
God
3.
You are ready made
4.
You have power
5.
You bear fruit in Him
6.
You know exactly what
to do
We serve in the new life of the Spirit! Remember that new
life begins by the renewing of the mind:
Rom_12:1-2 ESV I
appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your
bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but
be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern
what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Only by the power of godly positive thinking are you able
to worship God in Spirit and in truth and be freed from the captivity of your
passions and desires that produce sin!
Joh_4:23-24 ESV "But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true
worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is
seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and
those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."
The new life of the Spirit is about being transformed in
your mind by godly and heavenly pursuits! This is how you will be able to serve
in the kingdom and bear fruit for God with the members of your body.
2Co_5:14-17 ESV For the love of Christ controls us, because
we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have
died; 15 and he died for all, that those who live
might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was
raised. 16 From now on, therefore, we
regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ
according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he
is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
Notice how Paul begins this sentence in the verse above:
"We have concluded this..." It needs to be your conviction no
matter how you are meant to feel. We are not to be guided by feeling but by
conclusions drawn in faith! This is how
we need to think and therefore treat one another: as new creations because that
is what we are in Jesus!
Romans 7:7
What shall we say, then? Is the law sin?
Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the
law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not
said, "Do not covet."
Through the Law we are made aware of sin
A natural reaction to learning that the law causes sin to
increase is to think the law is evil - that the law itself is sinful. Is that
correct? By no means! Just because the law points out sin does not mean it is
sin. Besides, God made the law and we know God does not make sin (Jam_1:13).
The purpose of the law is to come to know what sin is
without a doubt. The law shows us the holiness of God and our own shortcomings.
It shows us how much we have to depend on God and it shows us His grace!
The Purpose of the Law:
1.
To Make us aware of
sin
2.
To show the holiness
of God
3.
To show our
shortcomings
4.
To show us the great
measure of grace given to us
5.
To show our dependency
on God
Unless the commandment taught: "Do not covet
(lust, desire or longing
for the forbidden)", we would not know what coveting is all about
and how it destroys ourselves and others - how it destroys relationships and
trust.
So we can see that the problem does not lie within the law
itself, but with our inability to keep it. That's what these next few verses
are about. The Law was not able to help us how Jesus helps us. The Law is not
perfect in giving grace as Jesus does:
Heb_8:7-13 ESV For if that first
covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a
second. 8 For he finds fault with them when he
says: "Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new
covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 9 not like the covenant that I
made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring
them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in my covenant, and so
I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord. 10 For this is the covenant that I will
make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds,
and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall
be my people. 11 And they shall not teach, each one his
neighbor and each one his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they shall all
know me, from the least of them to the greatest. 12 For I will be merciful toward their
iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more." 13 In
speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is
becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.
So anyone who tries to follow the Law to be justified by it
in God's sight has fallen from the grace of God since they seek justification
by Law (Gal_5:4). This includes 7th Day Adventism, any form of Judaism or
any group that teaches justification or sanctification by following rules,
whether man-made or from the Law of Moses. If you follow that you are alienated
from Christ!
Romans 7:8
But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the
commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from law,
sin is dead.
"As soon as I knew what coveting was all about, the
sinful desires overpowered my reason and produced in me all kinds of coveting.
Coveting was multiplied in me as soon as I realized that it was wrong and
forbidden!" - paraphrased
The very commandment that shows that it is wrong to long
for the forbidden makes us long for the forbidden! Notice that it was not the
commandment that causes this in us, but sin, taking opportunity through the
commandment. Sin takes advantage of the weakness of the flesh, aroused by the
passions of what it cannot have to intensify those passions! Our only salvation
is to die to the flesh! If the body is physically dead, of course, it cannot
produce these things in you. We are not to take our own physical lives but
Jesus provided the way for us to die to the flesh in Him.
When I am in Christ sin cannot produce anything in me since
I am dead to the law and therefore, dead to sin.
Jam_1:14-15 ESV But
each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived
gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
Dead to the passions and desires within me I then can use
the members of the body to serve God and bear fruit for Him!
Apart from the law, sin is dead
Sin and the Law are allies in causing us to fall. Human
weakness is exemplified in the issuance of law. It exemplifies our need for
grace and our dependency on God for righteousness. It causes us to see that
without God we are destined to perish. Without the law present, there would be
no sinful action! Jesus removed the law on the cross that we may now have life
in Him!
Rom_4:15 ESV For the
law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression.
1Co_15:56 ESV The
sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
Col_2:13-15 ESV And you, who were dead in your trespasses and
the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having
forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal
demands. This he
set aside, nailing it to the cross.
15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities
and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.
Romans 7:9
Once I was alive apart from law; but when the
commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died.
Either you or sin is alive, but both cannot be alive at the
same time. Once sin comes alive in you it kills you like a parasite kills its
host. What gives it power? The Law! The Commandment!
1Co_15:56
ESV The sting of
death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
When you are a child sin has no power over you since you
are innocent to the commandment. But once reasoning sets in and you begin to
learn the commandment, the law, and become aware of good and evil, then you,
like Adam and Eve, die the day your eyes are opened (Gen_3:5-7).
Your covetousness, greed and fleshly passions cannot
withstand the temptation.
Romans 7:10
I found that the very commandment that was
intended to bring life actually brought death.
The commandment brings only death
The commandment only promised life if you could obey it
without fault. We know we cannot do that. Although life is promised for all
those who obey, we know we are imperfect and therefore cannot rely on the
commandment. We cannot have life on a merit based system.
1Co_15:56
ESV The sting of
death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
Deu_11:26-28 ESV
"See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: 27 the
blessing, if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I
command you today, 28 and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the LORD
your God, but turn aside from the way that I am commanding you today, to go
after other gods that you have not known.
Romans 7:11
For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the
commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death.
Sin is the culprit, not the commandment!
Sin is what deceives us. It promises you things that it
cannot fulfill. Any sin promises to be the answer to your fulfillment. Any sin
promises to be the answer to your dreams, the solution to your problems; the
rest for your weariness. It is all a deception. Sin is a lie. All sin is an
illusion - a trap. It promises something it cannot deliver, only to trap you
and make your situation exactly the opposite of what you want. Instead of
fulfilling you it traps you and locks you up. God knows this and that is why
sin is shown by the law to be utterly sinful. Sometimes we are not awake to
this and God has to use situations in your life to wake you up. Sometimes you
may think you cannot bear the testing and the trials you undergo, but they are
all there to help you see what sin really is and to stay away! Remember, you
can stay away in Christ!
The commandment is not deceiving. It is simple and holy and
good. The fruit of the goodness and holiness of the commandment is the Gospel
of Jesus Christ. By fulfilling the law Jesus delivered us from it through the
Gospel. The only answer to anyone's sin problem (and therefore all human
problems) is the Gospel.
Sin blocks the Gospel from doing its work. Sin blocks
godliness. When you are in sin you block all godly advice. In Jesus this is not
to happen. In Christ we want to welcome godly advice because our eyes have been
opened to the way of the flesh and we no longer desire that way, do we? Sin is
the culprit! What deceives is sin, like James explains:
Jam_1:14
ESV But each person
is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.
Jeremiah explains why:
Jer_17:9
ESV The heart is deceitful
above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?
And now we begin to discern there is a dichotomy (2 powers)
in the human being.
Throughout the next section of chapter 7 this dual nature
is extrapolated for us to understand and guard ourselves against the deception
of the sin which works in the flesh.
"In
the flesh"
This synecdoche (when a part of something is used to
represent the whole of something) stands for a life that follows the passions
and desires of the heart. Sometimes it may be used in reference to the human
body and the limitations it wields over us, but mostly, especially in this
chapter, this synecdoche is used in reference to living like the world does -
according to the passions and deceptions of the flesh (heart).
Romans 7:12
So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is
holy, righteous and good.
Paul is careful to tell the Jews in Rome that he is not
bashing the Law, the commandments, but concludes that the problem is sin taking
opportunity through the commandment. The Law is:
1.
Holy - pure and blameless. It is sacred and set apart. This is
how the Law shows us the holiness or purity of God. It came from God so it has
to be holy, righteous and good!
2.
Righteous - It is just and equitable. Doesn't show partiality
(favoritism). It points out what is right.
3.
Good - It is beneficial in what it dies for us - to make us
realize how short we fall before the glory of God (Rom_3:23).
Romans 7:13
Did that which is good, then, become death to me?
By no means! But in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it produced death
in me through what was good, so that through the commandment sin might become
utterly sinful.
The conclusion is repeated: Sin is the culprit. Sin
produced death through what was good - the Law. The Law became the vehicle for
sin to do harm. Sin took advantage of the Law's weakness in only being able to
point out sin and not show mercy. Sin also took advantage of our deceitful
heart and our weak flesh, which makes us covet and want things that are harmful
for us.
However, the Law did the job it was assigned to do. It was
not that the Law failed - it did its job perfectly: it shows that sin is what
it is - sin. Now through the commandment sin becomes utterly sinful;
sinful beyond measure for those who truly see the holiness of God in the
commandment!
Once we know how sinful sin is, and how obvious it has
become through the commandment, we can deal with it more effectively! Now that
we can see it for what it is in Christ we know we can depend on God's grace
even more so and continue dying to self as we let grace teach us to say
"no"!
Romans 7:14
We know that the law is spiritual; but I am
unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin.
THE GREAT HUMAN PARADOX - THE DUAL NATURE OF MAN
As if to drive his point home with the Roman Jews, Paul now presents to them a mini-skit. He steps out of character for a moment, speaking as a carnal man, sold under sin. We understand this to be so since Paul must finished telling us that we are not slaves to sin in Christ (Rom_6:17-22), and Paul obviously belonged to Christ! So what is Paul doing, saying he is "sold under sin"? That's the unregenerated person's point of view he is assuming now in the next few verses - until verse 24, where he utters: "who will save me from this body of death?"
the law is spiritual...
Man is a spiritual soul trapped in a fleshly body. Granted,
the body has a spirit that animates it, but it is the soul of a man that
contains his identity, his eternal reflection (image) of God. Throughout the
ages it has been Satan's agenda to identify man with his flesh - to hijack his
identity and therefore lord over the soul of man. Since man is flesh, he
succumbs to that which he knows best, and therefore obeys, unless he pledges
allegiance to another - His true Lord.
Paul's words expressed in the next few verses are
reminiscent of his former life without Christ. Now in Christ he can see clearer
how his mind was sold under sin even though he thought he was pleasing God as a
Jew. He speaks in the first person to empathize with the people he is
addressing. Obviously, in Christ, we are not carnal, nor sold under sin, nor
torn between good and evil. A regenerated person willingly obeys and loves God!
A Christian strives for excellence because he has died to sin and to the world!
Of course, as I say this I am testing the commitment of all Christians here. If
you still identify with the flesh, and are seeing yourself as sold under sin
then you are still under the control of the evil one. Be careful that you don't
end up a prisoner forever!
2Pe_2:20 NIV If they
have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the
end than they were at the beginning.
Notice how this verse implies that in Jesus we are free
from the entanglement of the world. In Jesus we overcome the world and
therefore the evil one!
1Jo_4:4 NIV You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them,
because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
Satan is the father of Identity Theft
Satan hijacked man's identity as a son of God in the Garden
a long time ago, when he caused man to doubt God's sincerity and motives with
man... "…did God really say?"... (Gen_3:1)
The wedge he drove between us and God caused man to begin
to identify with someone and something other than God; and Satan, the Master
con-spirit, settled in as lord making us slaves to our passions and desires of
the flesh.
This world is full of people who still don’t know what
their true identity is, in more ways than one. Some have not even come to terms
with the identity God has given them on this earth: whether it is as a man, a
woman, a husband or a wife, as a child or as a slave (laborer). Each of those semi-identities
helps us understand our true identity in Christ.
Do you think people who are having trouble with their
sexual identity will be able to accept their identity in Christ? Or what about
those of you who have not let go of the worldly model of a man or a woman? Do
you think you can serve God in Christ if you are still not able to be a true
man or a true woman of God?
Jesus was willing to identify Himself with us which is why He became a man and forever changed Himself to
be associated with us! This is similar to how husband and wife undergo a deep
identity change when they marry.
Is it your union to Jesus that drives your identity change?
What you focus on will determine your identity.
While we are young we may be trying to search for our
identity and make a great many mistakes identifying with the wrong crowd,
customs and ideas. I know at times I wanted to wear an earring, or use a lot of
jewelry, or buy expensive clothes, or even get into drugs just to identify with
something or someone. Our identity should be determined by the internal worth
God has given us in Jesus, not by what we think is worthwhile externally. All
the external things in this world will perish, but it is our soul that will
endure. Whether you endure in life or in death is up to the identity you have
chosen for yourself. Understand that identity is something forged over time,
guided by the direction you set for yourself in your heart during this life on
earth:
Mat_6:21 ESV For
where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
If I identify with the world and its desires (1Jo_2:15), I will be
materialistic: loving things and using people. Eventually I will perish along
with all the material things that are temporary. If I identify with Jesus, I
will be spiritual: using things and loving people. My soul will endure forever
with Jesus in His Heaven!
Understand that Satan is still trying to con you into a
fading image of reality but Jesus has enabled you to switch to being a kingdom
citizen, a royal priest, sons of the Most High God (1Pe_2:9)!
Remember your life here is but a vapor (Jam_4:14). Use it
wisely to serve in the capacity (identity) God has granted you to glorify Him
forever (Eph_1:11; Eph_2:10).
My identity is who I believe I am and what I do about it.
It is something only God and I know for sure. To a great degree, what others
may know about me is mostly presumption. It is what I have chosen to disclose,
either by works or speech and there is a great deal of interpretation in how
people read what you disclose. Only God is qualified to judge us and He will
judge us by our works (Jer_17:10). We do as we have set in our minds to do – according to
who and what we believe we are:
We see things not only as they are, but as we are
"...to the pure all thinks are pure..." (Tit_1:15).
Since sometimes we confuse identity with reputation, we end
up trying to please people or ourselves and that is a disaster. Usually what
others see and understand about you is how they will judge you. What you show
them to be is what they will reciprocate.
This is why most people labor and toil to protect their
identity here on earth on several fronts:
Personal Reputation -
how you see yourself
Social Reputation -
how others see you at school, work, church and play
Financial Reputation -
a way others measure your sense of responsibility
Restore
your Identity in Jesus
To restore your identity in Christ you must first abandon
the old one. You cannot have two identities. One of those identities has Satan
(sin) as ruler. You must abandon it for you cannot serve two masters (Mat_6:24)!
Question: How do you rid yourself of a debt you cannot pay
off here on earth? Only by dying! Dying is the only way to free yourself from a debt-ridden identity! Of course I am talking
about the humungous spiritual debt our sin has racked up before God. There is
no real way of paying that debt unless we have died to the nature of sin – the
flesh; unless we are dead to sin. Thanks be to God He
has provided a way for that debt to be eliminated in Jesus!
You have to realize your real identity is spiritual. We are
spirits (souls) in a material (temporary) world. The fleshly part of us is
temporal. The spiritual part of us is eternal. It is the temporal part of us
that has gotten us in trouble. Why pay eternally for a temporal problem? Why
identify with something that will soon come to an end? Why identify yourself
with what is not really you?
What would you tell a dog who wants to learn how to meow?
What would you tell a cow who wants to learn how to gallop? What do you tell a
man who wants to dress up like a woman? Stop that foolishness! Right??!!
In the same manner, I beg you to find your true self in
Christ. Only He who made you in the womb knows your true potential and your
true destiny. He wants to make that destiny a glorious one forever!
Mat_10:39 NIV Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his
life for my sake will find it.
God has provided a way for us to exchange identities. In
Romans chapter 6 he talks about where and when we can choose to die to the old
self, the fleshly ways; being made new in Christ – being born again to a new
life! All that God has said is to be baptized (immersed in water) in Jesus’
name. That means that you are doing it because you believe what God has said
He’s going to do for you when you get baptized. All that is required is that
you die to your old life. This is called repentance. That means a change of
face; an about face. You can do this today! This new life is for now, not
later! Decide today to get rid of the debt of sin that is holding you from
eternal bliss with God in Heaven forever! Begin walking in newness today,
newness of life in Jesus with the peace that surpasses all understanding (Phi_4:7).
Romans 7:15
I do not understand what I do. For what I want to
do I do not do, but what I hate I do.
We cannot understand ourselves!
The heart, the seat of your identity (Pro_27:19), is beyond
understanding (Jer_17:9) and flawed! Yet God has put in that heart, a sense of
eternity (Ecc_3:11). This is truly a paradox!
We are often caught between the desire to pursue eternity
and the desire for material gain and satisfaction of the flesh. This is why we
find ourselves doing the things we hate - the things we know will keep us from
that eternity. Only in Christ can we be liberated to discover the true
potential and power we have in Jesus and truly overcome the world inside us and
around us!
Joh_16:33 NIV "I
have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you
will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
1Jo_5:4-5 ESV For
everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory
that has overcome the world--our faith. 5 Who is it that
overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
Seek first His Kingdom and righteousness (Mat_6:33), seek first
to know Jesus - you will never understand your own feelings nor your actions at
times. Satan will use your pursuit of understanding yourself as a distraction
from Heaven.
Romans 7:16
And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree
that the law is good.
When you have done something you know is wrong and that you
didn't really want to do you are agreeing with God that the Law is good. In
your mind and in your heart you know you are wrong and that you need to change.
Your conscience testifies against you before God!
Rom_2:14-15 ESV For
when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires,
they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the work of the law is
written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their
conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them
Even worldly consciences agree that God's law is good,
especially when they benefit from it!
The very fact that I am unhappy about my own deeds confirms that the law is just and good. Is the law sin? Certainly not; it is confirmed by conscience. - Barrett
Romans 7:17
As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but
it is sin living in me.
Sin will be working in our flesh as long as we live
This is why we need to walk in the light and continually be
bathed in the blood of Jesus that cleans us (1Jo_1:7)! This is why sinless perfection is a product of an
overactive imagination - it is not possible as long as we are in the flesh.
The sin still dwells in the flesh, as he will specify in
the next verse. Remember you are free from sin, not free of it! It still has
power over the fleshly members since the Law gives it that power (Rom_7:8-9).
Only one who has been freed from sin is able to divorce
himself from the consequences of what the fleshly deeds have accumulated:
death. In Christ we are able to choose to walk in obedience even though the
fleshly members bear guilt over sinful deeds.
Paul, through the Holy Spirit, separates us (our nature)
into flesh and spirit (mind). Notice how he is identifying himself here with
the spirit, since he says: "...it is no longer I who do it, but
sin..."
When the Christian sins the devil uses that opportunity to
bury you under the guilt of association of the flesh, hoping to perpetuate your
identity with the flesh and therefore cause you to be entangled all over again
in the sin, leaving you worse off and possibly without any hope of redemption.
That is his goal.
2Pe_2:20 NIV If they
have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the
end than they were at the beginning.
We need to remember we have an advocate in Christ:
1Jo_2:1 NIV My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not
sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our
defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.
1Jo_2:12 NIV I write
to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his
name.
Of course, the forgiveness is conditional upon us walking
in the light - being transparent and confessing our sin, which shows how we
don't want to identify with it but reproach it and renounce it. If we hide it then
we are identifying with it and we will not find forgiveness.
1Jo_1:6-7 ESV If we
say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness,
we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in
the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the
blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
Romans 7:18
I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in
my sinful nature.[3] For I have the desire to do what is good,
but I cannot carry it out.
The flesh holds nothing good - it is flawed!
The NIV greatly reflects the erroneous Calvinistic thought
of total depravity in their use of "sinful nature" as opposed
to "flesh". According to Calvin:
TOTAL DEPRAVITY OR INABILITY (= "T" of TULIP)
is the assertion that the entire or TOTAL human being--body
and soul, intellect and will, etc.--is fallen and that everyone is born
spiritually dead, helpless, and passive; indeed, everyone is worse than
volitionally dead or unable to desire spiritual good but is actually enslaved
to sin, positively and actively hostile to the things of the Spirit. This is
not at all what we find the Spirit teaching us in this chapter.
We are not born depraved, as Paul has said previously, but
we certainly find ourselves in a pickle because we are in the flesh. However,
the whole point of chapter 6 and chapter 8 is that we overcome the flesh in
Christ. Sin is no longer our master (Rom_6:14), we have overcome the world (1Jo_5:4).
Paul now seeks not to identify himself with what he sees:
the flesh. God teaches us to reason that there is nothing good in the flesh.
The Law proved that the flesh is utterly sinful!
1.
It does not have the
ability to obey God fully (Rom_7:5)
2.
It cannot inherit the
kingdom of God (1Co_15:50)
3.
It cannot please God (Rom_8:8)
Gal_6:8 NIV The one
who sows to please his sinful nature (flesh), from that nature (flesh) will
reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will
reap eternal life.
If we live according to the flesh we choose to die - we
give up on our real legacy and inheritance. When we died with Jesus we took
hold of our true legacy in Christ - eternal life!
Even though we have the desire to do what is right, we
cannot be perfect for the moment. Our flesh is what limits us, which is why God
makes up for it in the righteousness of Jesus Christ for those who are in Him!
Remember what He told Paul:
2Co_12:9 NIV ..."My
grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."