20250720 Romans 7:7-14 The Believer’s Relationship to the Old Testament Law
The Book of Romans • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Welcome to Vertical Church
Acts 2:42 (LSB)
And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers.
We began our church with the desire to fulfill the mandate of this verse. To devote ourselves to what the early church was devoted to.
Devoted to the teaching of the word of God
Devoted to genuine Christian relationships and the fulfilling of commandment of Christ to love the household of faith
Devoted to the proclamation of the gospel through the ordinances of believers baptism and communion
Devoted to the prayers through singing and public prayer
The 5 Solas - God alone is our source of Salvation
We believe Scripture alone is the Word of God
We believe that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.
WE believe that live and exist for the glory of God alone
We are called Vertical Church - we believe that all true worship and living is Vertical, God directed and God focused
With that in mind, Let us worship God
Call to Worship
What is your only comfort in life and in death?
That I, with body and soul, both in life and in death, am not my own, but belong to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ, who with His precious blood has fully satisfied for all my sins, and redeemed me from all the power of the devil;
and so preserves me, that without the will of my Father in heaven not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, that all things must work together for my salvation.
Wherefore, by His Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life, and makes me heartily willing and ready henceforth to live unto Him.
How many things are necessary for you to know to live and die in the joy of this comfort?
Three things: first, the greatness of my sin and misery; second, how I am redeemed from all my sins and misery; third, how I am to be thankful to God for such redemption.
Scripture Reading - Romans 7:7-14
7 What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! Rather, 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.” 8 But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, worked out in me coveting of every kind. For apart from the Law sin is dead. 9 Now I was once alive apart from the Law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died; 10 and this commandment, which was to lead to life, was found to lead to death for me. 11 For sin, taking 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 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 working out my death through that which is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful. 14 For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am fleshly, having been sold into bondage under sin.
Introduction: Romans 7:7-14 The Believer’s Relationship to the Old Testament Law
As we continue our study of Romans 7, the central theme is the believer’s relationship to the Law of God. In this chapter, and in the first four verses of chapter 8, the word “Law” (nomos) is used a total of 24 times. The Law of God is mentioned eight times in verses 1-6, six times in verses 7-13, six times in verses 14-25, and four times in the first four verses of chapter 8. It is impossible to read these verses and not see the constant focus upon “the Law.” In these verses, Paul is clearly defining the believer’s new relationship to the Law of God after his conversion to Jesus Christ.
This morning we will see that Paul, who was an expert in the Old Testament, will now take the teachings of Jesus and show us that while we are no longer under the Law but under grace, the Law reveals our sin, reveals our need for salvation, and reveals the wonderful grace and mercy and holiness of God through Jesus Christ.
Paul has taken us from condemnation, to justification to sanctification.
Romans Chapter 23: The Function of the Law (Romans 7:7–14)
Paul is dealing with the consequences of our justification and the fact that sanctification necessarily follows immediately upon our justification. In the midst of it he sets forth a rather lengthy discussion of the use of the law. In our last study we considered some aspects of how the moral law works in our lives, most importantly how it drives us to the gospel.
Grace and Law in the Old Testament
The Law was given directly to Moses and is found recorded in the Old Testament books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy.
The legal code issued by God can be divided into three sections.
The Moral Law
The Ceremonial Law
The Civil Law
4 “Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous will live by his faith.
9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word.
11 Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You.
97 Oh how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.
165 Those who love Your law have much peace, And nothing causes them to stumble.
1 You therefore, my child, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
15 and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to make you wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness,
The Old Testament Law makes us wise to salvation.
But how does it do this?
Through the Holy Spirit:
(1) The Law is like a mirror, revealing my sin
7 What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! Rather, 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.” 8 But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, worked out in me coveting of every kind. For apart from the Law sin is dead. 9 Now I was once alive apart from the Law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died;
v8 - coveting of every kind
Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains 25.20 ἐπιθυμέω; ἐπιθυμία, ας
ἐπιθυμίαb, ας f: to strongly desire to have what belongs to someone else and/or to engage in an activity which is morally wrong—‘to covet, to lust, evil desires, lust, desire.’
v8 - The little phrase “evil desire” is translated in a variety of ways. The Latin text uses the word from which the English term concupiscence comes. This word was involved in one of the great disputes between the Reformers of the sixteenth century and the Roman Catholic Church. Rome said that man was created with concupiscence, not with evil. They defined concupiscence as being of sin; it inclines to sin, but it is not sin. The Reformers replied that an evil desire that gives birth to evil action is already sin. Our sinful deeds flow out of our sinful desires, so we cannot excuse those evil desires as being less than sin. The Greek word used here is epathumia, which is the word for “passion” or “desire” with a prefix that intensifies it. Our specific sins make plain the root of those sins, which is our fallen nature.
R. C. Sproul, Romans, St. Andrew’s Expositional Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2009), 217.
v8 - sin is dead
We are not sinners because we sin, we sin because we are sinners.
Romans The Law and Sin
Throughout chapter 6 and into chapter 7 Paul uses images of death and life. Until the law came, sin was dead. It was not active. It was dormant until it was awakened by the presence of the law.
What did Paul covet?
Acts 7 - the righteousness of Stephen - humility, boldness, forgiveness
We see in Christ in Stephen and when we see Christ we see our shortcomings, we see our hypocrisy, we see our paltry self righteous faith in the true light of Christ and His true followers
We see our sin
The Holy Spirit can taken any command and any Law in the word of God and use it to reveal our sin.
That which we most condemn others for is often we we are also guilty of.
The word of God reveals our sin and points to God’s salvation.
But there is an enemy, an adversary, a liar who hates us and seeks to deceive us:
(2) Sin is like a swindler, promising riches but bringing death
10 and this commandment, which was to lead to life, was found to lead to death for me. 11 For sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.
The pleasure of sin
Romans The Deceit of Sin
Sin is attractive because it brings us pleasure. It brings pleasure but never happiness. That is the monstrous lie of the father of lies: “Do this, and you will be happy.” It is impossible for sin to bring happiness to a child of God, yet we do not believe it. “I will not be happy unless I do this” and “I will not be happy unless I have that”—this is how sin deceives us
(3) The Law is like God, it is holy
12 So, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.
Paul’s Conclusion: The Law is good, sin is deceptively deadly, I am utterly sinful
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 working out my death through that which is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful. 14 For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am fleshly, having been sold into bondage under sin.
Radical depravity, original sin, every aspect of our being is fallen
The holiness of Jesus who perfectly obeyed the Law
and willingly died for me
Now the eternal God who is your refuge, be a rock that is beneath you, the tower that is around you, the shelter that is above you this day and all the days until Jesus comes. Amen.
