Sermon Tone Analysis

Romans 7:1

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SLIDE 3

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SLIDE 4

Romans 7:

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INTRO:

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We are currently embroiled in the middle of a challenging message, explaining to us, the rule of the law, the rule of grace, the valuable and negative experiences of death… and the tyranny of sin. .

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Once again, the book of Romans has us wading deep into some challenging doctrine.

This is the stuff, that we preachers are encouraged to brush over.

This doesn’t make for an engaging sermon.

This is not heavy on practical personal application.

The witty illustrations are few and far between.

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And yet.... -here we are.

We have 3 solid chapters of heavy doctrine… and I think you can handle it.

In fact, I think many of you here relish in this kind of stuff… so… without apology, we are moving forward…

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Here’s what we’ve tackled so far…

For the believer who acknowledges Jesus as Messiah… the law has taken on a new life.

*On our behalf… The Law if fulfilled.

-Before the cross, it was unfulfilled… in that, it could not save or make anyone righteous… and as it revealed our inability to be holy… it caused us to look forward to a Messiah who would save us from our sins.

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*Now that Jesus has completed His mission, we are able to go back to the law and the prophets, and see how they so frequently point to, and speak of Jesus.

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The law demands that we meet its righteous requirements.

Humanity, broken by sin will always discover... that this is impossible.

But Jesus has met those righteous requirements on our behalf… therefore, the law is no longer our means to gain righteousness before God.

Our righteousness before God is not gained or earned.

It is simply given freely because of Jesus.

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Because of all this… we are no longer governed before God as those who are under the law.

We are those who are led by the Spirit… and those who are led by the Spirit are not under the law.

Instead, we are governed by grace.

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The lesson continues in chapter 7.

In chapter six, this law discussion focused much on the tyranny of sin..

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But chapter seven shifts that focus, speaking at length of the powerlessness of the law.

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As we move into the first six verses, we learn that the Christian has died to the law… so that they can be set free to experience a new and fruitful relationship with Christ.

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SLIDE 5

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Paul sets his lesson up by stating something absurdly obvious.

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If you’re dead… the law is no longer binding.

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Dead people don’t have to worry about the speed limit.

Dead people aren’t breaking any embezzlement laws.

Dead people are not required to pay taxes.

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If a living person commits a crime… law enforcement will pursue them… but, if they die before they are caught… well, they stop pursuing you.

-You are no longer at risk of prosecution.

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So… this is the principle.

- The law rules a person only while they live..

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As we move into verses 2-3… we are not getting a lesson on divorce and remarriage.

There are other places in the Bible where that message is given directly..

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IN this case… we are simply being given an illustration that serves the lesson that Paul is teaching.. .

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SLIDE 6

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Paul uses the seventh commandment… “thou shalt not commit adultery.”

to illustrate this point.

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Biblically speaking, there is a law that governs the marriage relationship, and God is very serious about it.

- But here, the point is being made… that death ends the obligation to that law.

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Simply stated, one relationship is terminated, because of death… so that another relationship may begin.

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Now.. moving into verse 4, we are given the application.

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SLIDE 7

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Paul intentionally uses the same language… literally… the same word to speak of the relationship that the woman has with her new husband… and the relationship that we now have with grace.

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The repeated verb is “JOINED TO”..

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The end of verse 3… THE WORD IS TRANSLATED: marries.... and in vs. 4, it’s translated, ‘belong to’.

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A few things to take note of here… -When it says, “you also have died to the law”… that word died: IS LITERALLY TRANSLATED: “have been put to death”… which means, this wasn’t your action… it was thrust upon you by an outside force.

In terms of the law, someone else, has put you to death.

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IF you dig into the grammar, you find out, that God is the one who has done this work of “putting us to death” in terms of the law.

Now… that might be a difficult thing to grasp.

Why would God put us to death? - Well, even though it sounds like a bad thing… the unique application of this death… is actually, an amazing work of grace.

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Just like anything else that falls under the umbrella of grace… we can’t do it on our own… and we can’t attain it in our own strength.

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Because of the conquering work of Jesus on cross… God has intervened on behalf of every soul who receives His forgiveness… AND… according the wording here… HE HAS “PUT US TO DEATH” to the law.

He has brought us to a place, where the demands of the law are no longer binding.

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How have we been put to death?

-it says here… through the body of Christ.

- Paul explains this to us with familiar passage in

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SLIDE 8

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Verse 4 goes on to tell us why God did this.

“so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead....”

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Now… maybe you’ve noticed an inconsistency with Paul’s illustration compared to Paul’s application.

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IN HIS ILLUSTRATION: He’s speaking of the wife whose husband dies.

The one who goes on living, is set free to marry another..

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In his application: IT’S NOT THE LIVING ONE THAT IS SET FREE TO BE JOINED TO A NEW RELATIONSHIP… Nope.

It’s the dead one.

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The law is not dead.

It is alive and well.

IN FACT… The law is God’s standard by which He will judge all humanity.

Nothing has changed.

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When we are judged… our advocate, Jesus, will be pronounced innocent because He fulfilled the requirements of the law… And because we are those.... who, according to … no longer live… .

- But are living because He lives in us.. - We are righteous, because HE is righteous..

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But the rest of the world… will be judged according to this standard… And they will realize before that terrible throne of judgment… that they have fallen short in their own efforts to fulfill His requirements.

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The law is still alive… - Therefore, if we are to be set free from it.

it is us… WHO NEEDS TO DIE… We are present, on that cross in the sense that we bear responsibility for what happened there.

Never the less… we live.

And as those who live, we try to live by faith, the life of Jesus.

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The example differs… but the message is the same.

-The key point: is that death ends the first relationship and makes possible the second.

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Now… moving to the end of verse 4… WE FIND OUT WHY. - What are we… who have been set free from the requirements.... from the curse… from the powerlessness of the law … now called to do?

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Vs. 4 tells us… that we belong to Christ… “In order that we may bear fruit for God.”

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So… vs. 1 - we are given the principle.

The Law rules a person only while they live.

IN vs. 2-3 - WE are given an illustration.

In death, we are set free from one relationship, so that we may begin a new relationship.

IN v.s 4… WE are given the application of this principle in the life of the believer..

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Now, as we move into verse 5… our incredible need for this new relationship is explained.

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SLIDE 9

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Here, we begin to see how vitally important the death, resurrection and new marriage of verse 4 is.

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In contrast to being alive in Christ, Paul shows us what being alive in the flesh leads to.

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This is what people apart from Jesus are living for… they are living to fulfill the sinful passions which are continually aroused within them.

These overwhelming appetites, with self at the center… do not produce fruit unto God.. , but in contrast to vs. four… these folks are producing fruit for death.