Romans 7:1-12
Notes
Transcript
Church as we move into Romans 7, it is important to note that Paul is writing to a group a Jews who live in Rome
Paul like most of his letters he is writing to a group of believers in Rome
He is explaining the Gospel and how important the Gospel is and how different the Gospel is from their old way of thinking
1 Or do you not know, brethren (for I am speaking to those who know the law), that the law has jurisdiction over a person as long as he lives? 2 For the married woman is bound by law to her husband while he is living; but if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning the husband. 3 So then, if while her husband is living she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man. 4 Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.
You cannot belong to sin and expect to walk with Jesus
You cannot belong to sin and think you and Jesus are best friends
Paul is saying that you must die as Christ die and that breaks the law
We see else where in the Gospels about dying to yourself
23 And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.
We can’t live for ourselves anymore because we have Christ living inside us
you must die to yourself to the old self
It would seem like a good question
But are you willing to deny yourself your wants and desires and dreams
Are you willing to pick up an instrument of death and go off to die when and if need be
Then Paul goes back to explaining the Law to Jewish believers who would have understood it
and then under the law you are free from the law
And then once you are free from the law you are able and willing to join yourself to anyone else you want
See how Paul using something they would have understood to explain our need and the importance of the Gospel
Church because of the death of Christ we are free from the law to join in that death with Christ
And Paul has said if we join with Christ in death and then we most assuredly will be joined with Him in His life
Paul is urging the Jews in Rome to die to the sin in their lives and accept what Jesus did on the cross to be set free from sin
Let me clear there are somethings in our lives
I am betting there are somethings in your life that need to die
I know for a fact there are somethings in my life that need to die if I expect Christ to continue to grow
Paul continues on with the law
5 For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death. 6 But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.
Sin always leads to death but Christ gives us life and gives us life abundantly
We serve in the newness of Christ
It is Christ that comes inside us and lives
That same power that Raise Jesus from the dead now lives inside us
Church we are to step into that and live in that
Its no longer the old self that lives but Christ that lives inside you and I
It is no longer the old Jeremy that lives but it is the New Jeremy in Christ
We not longer are living under the law but Grace
Grace is that power that gives us to flee from sin because we know it is good to flee from sin
Its like before Jesus we had blinders on and we didn’t know that we were blindly being lead to death because of sin and Jesus came in and set you and I free and the blinders are now off
We see the cliff coming ahead and we can do something about it
Church we can do something about it
We can live in the grace of God that gives us the power to flee from that sin
Church I think sometimes that is why it is so frustrating when you start to argue with lost people
I am not being mean but sometimes if you are in a argument with them over sin
Church understand they still have their blinders on and they don’t see
They don’t see they are heading straight for a cliff and eternal death
Our job is to present the information, pray for them, love them and live it our in front of them
Church we must be speaking the truth of Christ and salvation to a lost world
Church we must be praying for them
When was the last time we prayed for lost people by name
Church scripture says we are to love them like we love ourselves
If as believers in Christ you did something about the blinders
You accepted the gift of salvation through Christ
We are to love the people so much we are willing to share with them and explain it to them
Then church we are to live it in front of them
Which means church we need to be living for the Glory of Christ and not ourselves
We need to focused on Christ and not ourselves
Church we can’t live like the world and tell people about the Gospel message and expect them to change
We need to be living the Gospel out in front of them
7 What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “You shall not covet.”
See because they knew the Law
Paul is going to show them through the Law the Gospel
Before the law we didn't know any better
We know the purpose of the law
earlier Paul says
20 The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,
Earlier Paul said that we shouldn’t continue to sin so that grace would increase just because the law increased sin
We shouldn’t blame the law for revealing sin to us
Its no the laws fault we sin
It is our fault
Before the law we didn’t know what the issue was
I often joke the only way to get sick is to go the doctor and have them tell you
That until that happens you aren’t sick
We know that is not true
Just because you don’t go to the doctor and are told you are sick doesn’t mean you are sick
See church there was always a problem between us and Go
Before the law came we just didn’t know what it was
But the Law came
God set the nation of Israel free from captivity and gave them they Law
8 But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead. 9 I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died; 10 and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me; 11 for sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.
The Law only revealed to us the true problem
With the law we know the issue
Its like the blinders have been taken off yet you are still heading towards the cliff
Now you know you are heading towards the cliff
It is no longer I desire something
It is no longer I kinda want something I see my neighbor having
It is and has always been conveting
Church are you starting to understand what Paul is saying
That of course the law is good
It is from God of course it is good
Paul is explaining that before the law we didn’t know what to call our problem or even that we had a problem
We still had a problem
We were still sick and we didn’t even know it
The Law came and identified or diagnosed the problem as sin
Sin was always the problem
12 So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. 13 Therefore did that which is good become a cause of death for me? May it never be! Rather it was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by effecting my death through that which is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful.
Of course the Law is good
It diagnosed the problem for us
Sin was always the problem
Now that the blinders have been removed and you know you are heading towards a cliff
Now you can do something and to turn from the cliff
Before the Law we didn’t know
With the Law we know the issue is
Jesus fixes that issue with being set from sin
And church Paul has talked the entire book about how Jesus came and fixed that problem
Jesus took care of the sin problem by setting you and I free
By paying for your debt of sin
Church you just need to accept that gift
You accept it by saying yes I am a sinner
Yes I am need of a savior
I don’t want to sin anymore
Jesus be lord of my life
Church that is how you accept the free gift that is salvation in Jesus
CLOSING
As the musicians come forward this morning
We will enter into our time of invitation
It is not meant to guilt you or shame you but to simply present the information
And maybe this morning you realize the life you are living is heading straight towards that cliff
The blinders have been removed and this morning maybe you need to do something about heading towards that cliff
Would you this morning accept what Jesus did for you
If you want to do that we want to help you with that
There will be people down front to help you with that
Or maybe church as we said earlier there are somethings that need to die in your life so you can continue to grow in Christ
The altar is a good place to do that at
Maybe you need to spend sometime in prayer this morning
The altar is open
