Belonging To Christ, Not The Law

Two of my kids are at the age where foreign language has been introduced to their school curriculum, so they are both taking Spanish.

And them taking Spanish reminds me back when I took Spanish in High School.

Because, see if any of you can relate with this, when I took Spanish in High School I did just enough and worked just hard enough to make the grade,

But I never went all in and actually learned Spanish, you know?

I mean, I can’t read, write, or speak anymore Spanish now than before I took those High School classes, but if you were to check my High School report cards, they would show that I got A’s in Spanish.

I’m so glad that none of you Spanish speakers have access to my report cards, because, shamefully, I took three years of Spanish, and I got A’s in all of them,

Which may lead a Spanish speaker to believe they can walk up and have a conversation with me in Spanish.

Sorry guys, I’ve got nothing.

I start by telling that story because if you would have come up to me on graduation night and asked me if I was good at Spanish,

Like a bozo, I probably would have said, “Yeah, I got all As in Spanish!”

The writer of the book of Romans is the Apostle Paul.

And if you were to come up to Paul before He was saved by Jesus and ask Him if He was in a good relationship with God,

Paul would have said something like, “Oh yeah! I’ve got all As when it comes to having a relationship with God!”

Here’s my report card:

Philippians 3:5–6 ESV

5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

You see, looking back now that Paul is saved, he would say, “Like a bozo, I thought I had relationship with God because I had all As when it came to His law.”

But, the truth is, I didn’t know God at all.

In Romans 6, Paul has laid out for us how truly knowing God in salvation happens when one is made dead to sin and alive to God.

Truly knowing God in salvation is about no longer living under the dominion of law but under grace.

And the summation of this spiritual law is found in 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Because we are sinners, all we could do under the law is sin.

We needed to be transferred out from under the law and placed under the grace of God in order to know God and pursue righteousness.

When I truly understood what it meant to speak Spanish, I knew I couldn’t do it.

When Paul truly learned what it meant to be perfect compared to God’s law, He realized he could not do it. None of us can.

So, we must be saved out from under the law, and live under the eternal life giving grace of Christ Jesus our Lord.

But remember, Paul’s gospel was strongly opposed by most first century Jews, so He is now going to use Romans chapter 7 to make a case for a proper understanding of God’s law.

Why is it that getting an “A” in regards to following God’s rules is never going to be enough to be in true relationship with God?

And how does God’s law apply to our lives as believers today?

Romans 7:1–12 ESV

1 Or do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? 2 For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage. 3 Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress. 4 Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. 5 For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. 6 But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code. 7 What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. 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.

1. Belonging To Christ, Serve Him In The Power Of The Spirit

Paul addresses his fellow Jewish brothers understanding they are the ones who will struggle most to imagine that they somehow need to be freed from under God’s law.

And he says: do you not know that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives?

Remember, we just saw back in Romans 6:4, that all who are saved are in Christ, and we have died with Christ.

Jesus Christ upheld God’s perfect law throughout His life in a way we sinners never could.

So, when Jesus died on the cross, he died taking the punishment for breaking a law he never broke, but he was lovingly taking our punishment in our place.

The punishment for our sin against God’s law fell on Jesus so that we could be free from the punishment we deserve.

So, we spiritually died with Christ to the demands of the law.

And, we spiritually were raised with Christ to new spiritual life where we no longer are slaves to our sin.

So, Paul is saying, because of this reality, the law is no longer binding on those who belong to Jesus.

Consider the analogy of a marriage.

When two people are married, they are bound by law to one another as long as they both are living.

That is why the vows state: as long as we both shall live.

But, when one of the spouses dies, the living spouse is no longer bound by the law of marriage.

If a spouse were to go and live with someone else while their spouse is still alive, they would be called an adulterer.

But, if a spouse goes and lives with another after their spouse is dead, they are not called an adulterer, because they are no longer under that law of marriage.

In a similar way, you who are in Christ have died to the law through the body of Christ.

Before you knew Christ, it is as if you were married to the law.

You were bound to its requirements, and you were always falling short of those requirements, so you were guilty as a sinner.

But, when you were saved by grace through faith in Christ, you died to the law, in order that you can now be married to Christ, bound to Christ.

You now belong to Christ, as before, you belonged to the law.

You are now bound to your Lord who has freed you from sin and death and raised you to walk in newness of life.

In order that you may bear fruit for God!

Under the burden of the law, your sin left you dead in self,

Under the grace of God in Jesus Christ, you have been made alive to now bear fruit for God.

Verses 5 and 6 then summarize these two ideas in more detail.

Verse 5 - For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death.

While we were lost and our spiritual souls were dead, we were living in the flesh, our our sinful desires and passions.

So, God’s law just aroused those sinful passions all the more.

Like I said last week, you may kind of want to do something, but as soon as an authority says, “No! You are forbidden from doing that!”

What happens? Oh, you want to do it all the more!

So, all these aroused sinful passions were bringing forth death and leading us to death.

The wages of sin is death.

Verse 6 - But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.

As we spiritually have died to sin under the law and been raised with Christ, we now belong to Christ, so we are now free to serve in the new way of the Spirit and not the old way of the written code.

You see, I served the rules of the Spanish class in order to get an A on my report card, but I was never motivated by the spirit of the class which was to actually learn and use Spanish!

Paul served the rules of the law by being circumcised on the eighth day, and doing this action, and not doing that action, but He was never motivated by the spirit of the law which was to actually know God and love Him with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength.

But, now that we belong to Christ, we serve in the new way of the Spirit, not the old way of the written code.

The old way may give you an A on a Jewish report card, but only the new way of the Spirit makes your heart alive to knowing God, and being filled with the fruits of God’s Spirit.

Listen to:

Galatians 5:22–24 ESV

22 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.

In other words, when you belong to Christ, you are made alive by the Spirit of God to be motivated by the Spirit of God to actually know God and love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and bear the fruits of his good character and his good works.

If you are here and belong to Christ Jesus, are you serving Him in the power of the Spirit?

I’m not asking if you are checking off the spiritual boxes to make an A on the test.

I’m asking you if you are cultivating a daily trusting and loving relationship with your Savior in order to bear the fruit of His good character and His good works?

It’s a totally different motivation than trying to make an A on the test.

It’s being free of the law, and bound to Christ’s heart in order to do righteousness because you now have learned to love righteousness.

We just had valentine’s day, and Paul David Tripp, who is a Christian author, who uses this great illustration about giving his wife roses.

Imagine if your wife pointed out a dead rose bush in your front yard, and she tells you that she would really love for you to do whatever you need to do for her to have beautiful roses in her front yard.

Well, there are two ways you can go about doing this.

The first way is you can drive to the flower store and buy a dozen beautiful roses, and take them home, grab a stapler, and staple a bunch of roses on that dead rose bush.

When your wife sees it that day, she will have beautiful roses in her front yard. A+ right guys?

That’s what it is like trying to bear fruit for God under the law, no matter what you do, it’s not going to last, it is just going to lead toward death.

The second way is you can get a shovel and dig out that dead rose bush from the roots, and you can plant a whole new rose bush and water it and cultivate it until the fruit of good beautiful roses spring up naturally and last.

You see, being made alive to God in Christ is not about trying to staple on some outward good works in order to make an A in the class.

Being made alive to God in Christ is about God rooting out the old life of sin and self, and giving us a new heart that serves God and bears fruit for God because a true love relationship is being cultivated in which good character and good fruit flow naturally from a heart that is being cultivated in a love relationship with God.

Belonging to Christ, Serve Him in the power of the Spirit.

2. Understand Your Testimony In Relationship To God’s Law

Now remember, Jews grew up under the teaching of God’s law from the time they were born.

The law was everything to the Jewish religion.

So, it is no wonder the gospel of Jesus had a lot of Jewish opposition in the early years.

We could see why the opposition would say that Paul is speaking against God’s law saying that we must be free from it, and saying that is arouses sin!

So, Paul addresses this question in verse 7 - What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means!

If we have to be saved out from under the law, are we saying that the law is sin?

Paul, once again, uses his emphatic negative in order to answer - by no means!

At the end of the paragraph, we will read that God’s law is holy, righteous, and good.

But now, Paul is going to share his own testimony to show us how God uses his good law in our lives.

Back to verse 7- If it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin.

So, one purpose God has for the law is for it to show us our sin.

Imagine that you have this picture in your mind of how you want to physically look, but when you look in the mirror, you see the reality of where you do not meet the picture in your mind.

In the same way, God’s law is like a mirror for us to look into in order for us to realize that we fall far short.

And that is a good thing, because if you are never made aware of your sinfulness, then you will never fall under conviction in order to repent and believe the gospel.

Paul gives a great example of God’s law as a mirror at the end of verse 7 -

For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”

Now, I believe God had Paul use this commandment for a very specific purpose here.

Remember, Paul was an A+ report card guy when it came to the rules.

Paul could walk down the ten commandments and say:

Okay: Have no other gods before me. I’ve never bowed down to worship any other gods. Check.

Don’t make a carved image. Easy. Check.

Don’t take the Lord’s name in vain. Never used his name when I stubbed my toe. Check.

Remember the Sabbath, Oh yeah, I never work on the Sabbath. Check.

Honor your father and mother. Yep, never slapped them. Check.

Never murdered, never committed adultery, never stole from the store, never lied about my neighbor. Check check check.

Take me before the judge! I am innocent!

But hang on, commandment number 10: You shall not covet your neighbor’s house, wife, servant, animals, or anything else.

I can externally prove that I have never done those other things, but how do I prove without a shadow of a doubt that I have never coveted or been jealous of another?

Truth be told, if Paul was as big of a resume builder as he seemed to be before knowing Christ, no doubt he compared himself to others all the time which is a form of coveting and jealousy.

Paul is saying, I would have never seen that for the sin that it is if there was no law that said, “Do not covet.”

Of course, we know Jesus taught us that every law is a matter of the heart not just the outward action.

It’s not just do not commit adultery, but even if you have looked on a woman with lust in your heart.

It’s not just do not murder, but even if you harbor hatred toward another.

Verse 8 - Sin seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead.

Now, Paul is certainly not saying that if you don’t know the law, then you are good to go because sin only comes alive when you learn about the law.

Instead, remember, Paul is sharing a personal testimony about how the law works in our lives.

When Paul really started to consider that command, “Do not covet,” Paul began to see that his whole life had been centered around comparing himself to others and seeking to become the very best.

He wanted what everyone else had.

So sin seized an opportunity in the command, “Do not covet” to lead Paul into all kinds of covetousness.

But, God’s good law is what was used to finally make Paul aware of his sin and make him aware that his sin leads to death.

Until Paul came to that realization, he thought he was completely alive!

In his experience, he was not a sinner.

It was God’s law that finally led him to wake up to his own sinfulness.

If you are like me, your testimony is not that before coming to know Jesus, you lived out your days year after year in agony over your great sinfulness and not knowing what to do with it.

No, when we are separated from Christ and living life for sin and self, we are usually convinced that we are pretty good people.

We can certainly compare ourselves to others who are a lot worse that we are.

We are not worried about sin and don’t think of ourselves as sinners.

In this sense, we are alive because we like the sin and selfishness that we are living in and we are not bothered by it.

Sin was dead to us. We didn’t think about it.

But, it is when the Holy Spirit of God begins to work in our hearts, and put us in front of the mirror of God’s law that we come alive to the awareness of our sin leading to death.

Verse 9 - I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died.

Paul doesn’t mean that He was alive to God or that He was saved and had eternal life, surely not.

But, he was living his own life without any realization of his great sinfulness.

So, when God’s good law came to be seen in the right light, Paul realized just how alive sin was in his life and that he was spiritually dead.

This is what it means to come under conviction of the Holy Spirit for our sin, which leads us to repent and believe the gospel for salvation.

So, the law of God is good because it drives us to Jesus and the gospel.

If we could perfectly follow the law, we would have no need of the gospel.

Verse 10 - The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me.

It didn’t prove to be death to us because the commandment is not good.

It proved to be death to us because we are not good.

In our sin, we cannot keep the law.

Verse 11 - For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.

It wasn’t the law and the commandments that led you to sin and death, it was your sinfulness deceiving and killing you, and it is the law God uses to show us our sinfulness.

Verse 12 - So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.

I remember hearing a story once of the famous evangelist Billy Graham playing a round of golf with a few movie stars.

And after the round, one of the movie stars was asked what it was like to play a round of golf with Billy Graham.

The guy said that it was extremely uncomfortable and he couldn’t even focus on his golf game because he felt like he was being judged the whole time.

But, the man would admit later Graham actually was extremely friendly and didn’t discuss religion at all during the round.

It was simply being around someone who had a genuine relationship with God that made him uncomfortable.

You see, when we sinners experience the genuine presence of God and His law, we see ourselves as if in a mirror, for who we really are.

Pray

(Elder at couch)