Romans 7 (Part 1)

Key words in Romans is

-Righteousness and Sin

- Law and Grace

Review of Chapter 6 says we are not only saved from the penalty of sin but also from the power of sin.

Chapter 7 goes on with illustrations to that fact.

Take note of the first 6 verses of 7 is finish his thoughts the believers new relationship with sin.

Before we came to Christ our relationship to sin was one of Enslaved to it. Slave has no rights. Slave only has an option and that is to obey.

After we gave our life to Christ our current relationship to sin: set free - our obligation and slavery to sin is broken.

This was that accomplished?

Romans 6:6–7 ESV

6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin.

Freedom from sin doesn't mean that we are sin free. We still mess up. But we don’t have to.

Verse 7 talks about our relationship with the law.

Some would have said “so Paul why you making the Law a villain? So Paul address this concern.

Sin is the Villain!

Romans 7:9–13 ESV

9 I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. 10 The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. 11 For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. 12 So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. 13 Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure.

What does Paul refer to by the phrase “that which is good”? The Law

Can the law become the cause of spiritual or eternal death? No

What is the cause for death then? Sin

The bright light that revealed a world of filth was not itself evil for having done so.

I got pulled over by the police.

If there is a speed limit of 25 and there are no signs on the road to say what the limit is and I’m going 35, am I still speeding? Ignorance of the law is not forgiveness of the law.

If I would have gotten a ticket would it be the sign’s fault? The police officers fault? The law makers fault?

What the first thing you do when you see a police officer behind you? You check your speedometer.

God’s law makes people realize that they are sinners doomed to die, yet it offers no help. Sin is real, and it is dangerous. Imagine a sunny day at the beach. You plunge into the surf, then you notice a sign on the pier: No Swimming. Sharks in Water. Your day is ruined. Is it the sign’s fault? Are you angry with the people who put it up? The law is like the sign. It is essential, and we are grateful for it—but it doesn’t get rid of the sharks.

Romans 7:14–25 ESV

14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. 15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

14. How do we understand this passage? Is it Paul describing his former life, his current life, or someone else’s life?

He's not talking about carnality in unbelievers in the world, but he's talking to the reality that each and every one of us-- every single person, no matter how far on in the sanctification process you are-- have carnality within our lives. Paul is writing an autobiography here. He's speaking of himself-- that there is a carnal nature within himself.

Dear Lord, So far I've done all right. I haven't gossipped, haven't lost my temper, haven't been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish, or overindulgent. I'm really glad about that. But in a few minutes, God, I'm going to get out of bed. And from then on, I'm going to need a lot more help.

Romans 7:17–18 ESV

17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.

Can sinful activity come from our spiritual nature (Romans 7:17-18)?

Romans 7:19 ESV

19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.

What does he want to do in Romans 7:19? Does he do it?

Robert Lewis Stevenson wrote a book in the 1800s that has become very, very famous and been made into several movies since then called Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It's a story of a medical doctor named Dr. Henry Jekyll, who develops a potion that lets him become another man, Edward Hyde. Dr. Jekyll himself is a very nice, compassionate, even-tempered individual, whereas Mr. Hyde is this cold blooded killer. So the story revolves around this battle between two different characters trying to control one body. Somebody asked Robert Lewis Stevenson, "Where did you get your inspiration for your characters?" He said, "I looked inside myself." He said, "I find there's always a struggle with the beast that lives within me." Now, this struggle between two natures is the struggle that every child of God-- even the best of the children of God-- are familiar with. Even Paul the Apostle struggled. Even Paul said, "Oh, wretched man that I am. Who will deliver me from this body of death?" I don't do what I know I should do. I do what I know I shouldn't do. And even he struggled.

Tommy Lasorda. The famous, one-time manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

He was talking about his own personal struggles that he's had in his life, and he said,

1) "I took a pack of cigarettes from my pocket, and I stared at it, and I said, who's stronger-- you or me. And the answer was me, so I stopped smoking.

2)

3) And then I took a vodka martini, and I said do it who's stronger-- you or me. Again, the answer was me, and I quit drinking martinis.

4) Then I decided to go on a diet. And I looked at a big plate of linguine with clam sauce and I said who's stronger-- you or me. And a little clam looked up at me and answered, 'I am.'" And Tommy Lasadora said,"I just cannot beat linguine with cream sauce."

C.S. Lewis once said, "no one knows how bad he is until he's tried to be good."

What conclusion does he make about his wrong deeds (Romans 7:20)?

Romans 7:20 ESV

20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

Romans 7:24 ESV

24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

Near the city of Tarsus--

where Paul the Apostle was raised, in Tarsus. Near the city where Paul grew up,

there was an ancient tribe that used to punish its murderers in a very interesting way.

It would take the corpse of the murdered victim and tie him to the body of the murderer

That's how they'd punish him. They'd tie-- as close as they could tie-- the body of the one they murdered to the living murder.

And what would that do? It would kill that person. Kill the murderer. Why? Because the body that it's strapped to is decaying,

gets really gnarly, and smelly, and all of that disease and bugs will transmit from the dying

corpse to the living body. And through that decay will infect

and eventually, over a period of days, kill him. It could be that that is the thing that Paul has in his mind

when in verse 24 he says, "oh, wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death?"

That he has that punishment in mind.

Romans 7:25 ESV

25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

The answer to how are you freed from this state? How do you experience relief? How do you experience joy? How do you get rid of the guilt and the shame? How do you get rid of those thoughts that you just can't do it anymore? How do you get rid of those feelings that you're not good enough, you're not strong enough, that you should just quit? Jesus.

Jesus is the answer. He's always the answer. In him, we find the power to live a sanctified life, not just for cleansing, but also for identification. See, the secret is that once we begin to live that life and find the source of that power, we begin to walk in the power of the spirit.

Every day, we make a number of choices. What to wear, what to eat, what to say, where to go, when we drive, we make the decision of when to stop and when to hit the gas pedal. But we also make choices that have spiritual rewards or consequences within our lives. What to read, who to talk to, what to say to people. We decide if we're going to forgive or if we're going to harbor bitterness and hold on to it, let it fester. We decide if we're going to pray for somebody or gossip about them. We decide if we're going to obey what God has told us to do, or if we're going to disobey what he's told us to do. But the wonderful thing is that the flesh is automatically overpowered when we begin to walk in the spirit. When we begin to focus on doing what God has called us to do, when we rise into the spirit empowered life that God wants for us, the mediocrity of carnality naturally fades away. The pain and the struggle, the doubts that we have-- doubting our salvation, doubting our strength, doubting our weakness when we realize we have no strength, but Jesus is our strength-- we begin to rise, and sin begins to fall.

the Father looks at us in Christ, he still loves us in spite of our failures. In spite of our inconsistencies. In spite of our struggles and our broken commitments and our empty boasts. When we really enter into this union with Jesus, we find a new power that we didn't previously have, the power of the Holy Spirit. And it's only through the Spirit's power that the flesh can be overcome.

Understand this, you're in process, and that's OK. It's OK to be in process. You don't have to have it all together. Maybe it's OK if you're not OK.