Romans 7
(No Longer Bound to the Law)
1 Now, dear brothers and sisters*—you who are familiar with the law—don't you know that the law applies only while a person is living?2 For example, when a woman marries, the law binds her to her husband as long as he is alive. But if he dies, the laws of marriage no longer apply to her.3 So while her husband is alive, she would be committing adultery if she married another man. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law and does not commit adultery when she remarries.
4 So, my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point: You died to the power of the law when you died with Christ. And now you are united with the one who was raised from the dead. As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God.5 When we were controlled by our old nature,* sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death.6 But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit.
(God's Law Reveals Our Sin)
7 Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful? Of course not! In fact, it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, "You must not covet."*8 But sin used this command to arouse all kinds of covetous desires within me! If there were no law, sin would not have that power.9 At one time I lived without understanding the law. But when I learned the command not to covet, for instance, the power of sin came to life,10 and I died. So I discovered that the law's commands, which were supposed to bring life, brought spiritual death instead.11 Sin took advantage of those commands and deceived me; it used the commands to kill me.12 But still, the law itself is holy, and its commands are holy and right and good.
13 But how can that be? Did the law, which is good, cause my death? Of course not! Sin used what was good to bring about my condemnation to death. So we can see how terrible sin really is. It uses God's good commands for its own evil purposes.
(Struggling with Sin)
14 So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin.15 I don't really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do what I hate.16 But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good.17 So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.
18 And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.* I want to do what is right, but I can't.19 I want to do what is good, but I don't. I don't want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway.20 But if I do what I don't want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.
21 I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong.22 I love God's law with all my heart.23 But there is another power* within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me.24 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?25 Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God's law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.
Jesus dropping the the F-BOMB sounds a little bit out of character for Him. Well, this bomb is more significant than that four letter word. Here, Paul writes to the Roman Church about Jesus bringing spiritual FREEDOM.
Crucified to Free:
As we have discussed before, the Romans knew a lot about religion, but little about Jesus and saving faith. They were still so wrapped up in rules and regulations that they were not comprehending the grace that Jesus, and only Jesus, could give.
When discussing this, Paul did what we should always do: POINT TO THE CROSS.
In verse 4, Paul's writing and mind started to point towards the hill and tree that our Lord died on. He does this to stress that Jesus died on the cross to free us from legalistic religion, and life. Jesus' blood freed us from sin. The Romans did not understand how sufficient the grace of God is, so they pointed to what they understood, but failed to obey: The Law.
We do this.
Since we, as sinners, cannot keep the law, we are damned to begin with. But, as Jesus spread His arms and opened His heart, He gave us the ability to walk outside the fence of legalism, and to walk without the jingle of the chains called sin.
That's how Jesus dropped the F-BOMB!
Law still useful?
Yes. God gave the commands, therefore, they are good and holy. Paul explains in verses 7-13 that the Law is not the issue, but sin is.
The law is to serve as a mirror. We are to in look into this mirror and examine ourselves. We are not to compare ourselves to a list of rules, but we are to compare ourselves to Christ who obeyed every commandment.
The reason we worship Jesus instead of regulations, is because we cannot keep the law and Jesus saves us from our filth that breaks the law. Therefore, we serve Him, not rules.
Sin Still The Issue
Apostle Paul finishes out this chapter with discussing his war with sin. Paul, like us, was sinful. He had fallen to the curse. He was not perfect. So, he is not talking non-sense. He has been there, and done that. He sums his battle up by saying that there is nothing good in him. That as sinful people, our issue is not the law or the world, but it is our wicked hearts that pervert the law and this world.
SUMMING IT UP
We are wrong. The law shows us what is right. Jesus is right. On the Cross, He gave us His righteousness so that we can be made right with the Father. This is not an excuse to go on sinning, but a reason not to.
BE FREED!
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