The Law cannot Save
Notes
Transcript
The Candle of Peace
The Candle of Peace
To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
O my God, I trust in You; Let me not be ashamed; Let not my enemies triumph over me.
Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed; Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause.
Show me Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths.
Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day.
Remember, O Lord, Your tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses, For they are from of old.
Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; According to Your mercy remember me, For Your goodness’ sake, O Lord.
Good and upright is the Lord; Therefore He teaches sinners in the way.
The humble He guides in justice, And the humble He teaches His way.
All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth, To such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.
Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives?
For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband.
So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man.
Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.
For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death.
But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.
What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.”
But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead.
I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died.
And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death.
For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me.
Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.
Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful.
Intro:
Intro:
AG:
TS: Knowing that his readers—especially Jewish ones—would have many questions about how the law relates to their faith in Christ, Paul sets out to explain that relationship (he refers to the law 27 times in this passage). In a detailed explanation of what it means not to be under law, but under grace (6:14, 15), Paul teaches that:
1) the law can no longer condemn a believer (7:1–6);
2) it convicts unbelievers (and believers) of sin (7:7–13);
3) it cannot deliver a believer from sin (7:14–25); and
4) believers who walk in the power of the Spirit can fulfill the law (8:1–4).
John F. MacArthur Jr., The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006), Ro 7:1–8:4.
RS:
Paul discusses how the law of God applies to and affects three kinds of people.
I. The Law Cannot Condemn Believers (7:1–6)
I. The Law Cannot Condemn Believers (7:1–6)
A. Their relationship to the law (7:1–3, 5)
1. They are like widows freed from their husbands (7:1–3).
Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives?
For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband.
So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man.
Marriage (from the law) is used to help us understand our relationship to the Law.
The point isn’t to teach about marriage, but use their understanding to make his point that:
There were lasting ties and legal obligations between husbands and wives
HOWEVER:
Once a spouse had died, the widow was free.
We aren’t divorced from the law, we are widowed!
As such, we are completely free from the Law
There are no required observances, ceremonies, regulations in order to be saved.
We are justified by faith!
2. They are like dead men freed from their lusts (7:1).MacArthur Study Bible NASB (Commentary)
Although Paul intends to include God’s written law, he is not referring to any specific law code, but to a principle that is true of all law—Greek, Roman, Jewish, or biblical. jurisdiction. No matter how serious a criminal’s offenses may be, he is no longer subject to prosecution and punishment after he dies.
B. Their relationship to the Savior (7:4, 6)
1. They have been raised by Christ (7:4)
Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.
God has made us dead to the law
They are released from the law.
We are free from the condemnation and penalty of the la
2. They are now to produce fruit through Christ (7:4b)
Thus spiritual people are delivered from the law.
Like the widow who is free to remarry, we are now united to Christ and free to live for Him.
For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death.
Paul is saying by our “death to the Law” we are now free from the lusts which once drove us
He is again making the point off sanctification
We are not free so that we may sin, we are set free so we can NOT sin
II. The Law Convicts of Sin (7:7–13)
II. The Law Convicts of Sin (7:7–13)
The law is used in a twofold manner.
A. The illustration usage (7:7)
What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.”
In the flesh, we would have continue to live in sin driven by our lusts.
Make no mistake, the Law is NOT SIN
It doesn’t tempt us to sin, it informs us off our sin!
God used the law to reveal the sinfulness of the flesh.
He informed us off just how wrong our natural inclinations are
Ever heard the phrase, “Ignorance of the Law is no excuse”?
That is what this is.
Our sin always had been wrong
We were ignorant of how wrong we were until God gave the Law.
B. The condemnation usage (7:8–9, 11–13)
But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead.
I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died.
Sin used the law to rekindle the sinfulness of the flesh. Thus natural people are doomed by the law.
Our rebellious spirit works against us!
We see the Law says “don’t” and our flesh screams that is exactly what we should do!!
This demonstrates how broken we are spiritually!
And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death.
For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me.
The Law didn’t bring sin, it is our sinful reaction to it!
Sin deceives us
It entices, it offers us what we are “missing”
It lures us like a blob of peanut butter on a mouse trap entices a mouse
It further gave a false sense of security:
I keep MOST of the law… I must be ok!
Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.
Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful.
MacArthur Study Bible NASB (Commentary)
Sin is the cause of spiritual death, not the good law. sin would become … sinful. An awareness of the true nature of sin and its deadly character, which brings the sinner to see his need of salvation—the very purpose God intended the law to serve
What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator.
Now a mediator does not mediate for one only, but God is one.
Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law.
But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
Conc.
Conc.
1) the law can no longer condemn a believer (7:1–6);
2) it convicts unbelievers (and believers) of sin (7:7–13);
References:
The Outline Bible (Section Outline Seven (Romans 7))
