Sermon Tone Analysis

Key Take Away:

While the Law is good and from God, it gives birth to more sin because of our rebellion.

Introduction:

A brief summery of everything we have covered in Romans to this point:

Chapter 1 of Romans:

God has righteous wrath on the ungodly.

Chapter 2 of Romans:

The law cannot save anyone for it only serves to condemn people.

Chapter 3 of Romans:

God alone is righteous meaning there is no one righteous apart from God but is attained throughout the work of Jesus in those who have placed their trust in Christ.

Chapter 4 of Romans:

Grace is obtained only through saving faith in Jesus Christ; we cannot earn salvation through our own actions.

Chapter 5 verses 1-11 of Romans:

Saving faith causes us to rejoice in the things of God because we are now at peace with God.

Chapter 5 verses 12-21 of Romans:

Through Adam we suffer death but through Christ, we celebrate eternal life.

Chapter 6 of Romans

God has bought us out of our slavery to sin so that we can be faithful servants of His.

Chapter 7 verses 1-6

God has set us free from the law to live freely in Him.

1.

The Law Reveals Our Need for Salvation.

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7 What should we say then?

Is the law sin?

Absolutely not!

On the contrary, I would not have known sin if it were not for the law.

For example, I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, Do not covet.

8 And sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind.

For apart from the law sin is dead.

9 Once I was alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life again 10 and I died.

The commandment that was meant for life resulted in death for me.

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

12 So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good.

13 Therefore, did what is good become death to me? Absolutely not!

On the contrary, sin, in order to be recognized as sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that through the commandment, sin might become sinful beyond measure.

[1]

Exposition v 7:

Key truth: The law is not sinful instead it shines light on sin.

Key truth: The law is not sinful instead it shines light on sin.

Exposition v 8:

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), .

“Seizing an opportunity...produced in me coveting of every kind.”

The law is not “sin,” nor the originator of sin, but the occasion or operating base that sin has used to accomplish its evil and deadly purpose.

Another example:

From a human perspective law is mistakenly viewed as a restriction that in turn causes resentment and gives rise to rebellion.

“apart from the law sin is dead.”

That sin was “dead” does not mean that it did not exist but that it was not as “active” or “powerful” before the law as after.

Another example

Apart from law sin is dead in the sense that undefined, it technically does not exist (cf.

4:15).

No matter how swift and straight the arrow, without a target there can be no bull’s-eye.

15 because the law produces wrath.

And where there is no law, there is no transgression.

Check out the account from and :

Without God’s command to not eat from the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, they could not have disobeyed God.

Likewise, the law shows us where we are sinning against God.

If we do not know the law of God, then when we break it we still sin but we are not aware of the transgression.

It is why the Law is good.

It shows our need for Jesus!

Exposition v 9

When the apostle says, “I was alive apart from the law”, the word “alive” cannot be used here in the sense of life eternal or life unto God.

He is speaking of the unperturbed, self-complacent, self-righteous life which he once lived before the turbulent motions and conviction of sin, described in the two preceding verses, overtook him

cannot be used here in the sense of life eternal or life unto God.

He is speaking of the unperturbed, self-complacent, self-righteous life which he once lived before the turbulent motions and conviction of sin, described in the two preceding verses, overtook him.

a living without an awareness of the seriousness of sin and its consequences.

It would be best understood that alive equals unmoved by sin because of being unaware of the issue of sin.

While the commandment, the law, brings to light the dire situation of our sin meaning we realize we are truly without hope apart from the work of Christ.

Exposition v 10

The purpose of law in man’s original estate was not to give occasion to sin but to direct and regulate man’s life in the path of righteousness and, therefore, to guard and promote life.

Accordingly, “I died” will describe that situation according to which the law, by turning “sin” into “transgression,” confirms, personalizes, and radicalizes the spiritual death in which all find themselves since Adam.

Israel, in this sense, “died” when the law was given to it.

Exposition v 11

Probably Paul thinks of the way that the “promise of life” held out by the law “deceived” Israel into thinking that it could attain life through it.

But the attempts of Israel to find life through the law brought only death—not because obeying the law itself is sinful, or worthy of death, but because the law could not be fulfilled.

Exposition vv 12-13

Absolutely nothing in the law given by God is bad or evil.

It is holy (to being dedicated or consecrated to the service of God)

to being dedicated or consecrated to the service of God

God uses the law which he gave, so that we might see our need for a savior resulting in salvation through Christ Jesus.

Look at v 13 with me:

The key to understanding this whole reality is to grasp the reality that God’s commands are there to show us our desperate need for the work of Jesus Christ.

It demonstrates to us that we are incapable of earning on our merit salvation.

Instead, we are dependent upon Jesus to make payment for our sins.

Sin is always bad; but it becomes worse—even more “sinful”—when it involves deliberate violation of God’s good will for his people.

The law, by making sin even worse than before, reveals sin in its true colors.

Application:

Through reading and understanding the Law of God we realize our desperate need for Jesus to redeem us for we are in great debt to God for we have sinned greatly against him.

We must understand that Paul was not joking when he said.

Therefore, we are to repent and turn to Jesus for salvation.

Not only do we see that the Law reveals our need for salvation

2. The flesh rejects our desire to live according to the law.

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Paul’s essential teaching about the inability of the Mosaic law to rescue sinful people from spiritual bondage is the same whether that bondage is the condition of the unregenerate person—who cannot be saved through the law—or that of the regenerate person—who cannot be sanctified and ultimately delivered from the influence of sin through the law.

We see an interesting comparison, really a contrast of thoughts between when Paul writes to the Philippians and in our passage tonight.

Look at it with me in :

3 In addition, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord.

To write to you again about this is no trouble for me and is a safeguard for you.

2 Watch out for the dogs, watch out for the evil workers, watch out for those who mutilate the flesh.

3 For we are the circumcision, the ones who worship by the Spirit of God, boast in Christ Jesus, and do not put confidence in the flesh—4 although I have reasons for confidence in the flesh.

If anyone else thinks he has grounds for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised the eighth day; of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; regarding the law, a Pharisee; 6 regarding zeal, persecuting the church; regarding the righteousness that is in the law, blameless.

Paul says in Philippians according to the flesh:

Reason for confidence in the flesh

Circumcised on the eight day (the best time to do so)

Belongs to the nation of Israel