The Weakness of the Law Part II
Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 15 viewsNotes
Transcript
Rom 7:
13 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.
14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin.
15 For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.
16 If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good.
17 But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.
18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.
19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.
20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.
21 I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good.
22 For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man.
23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
25 I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.
In part one we looked at the structure of this chapter in order that we might determine the main flow of thought from chapter 7-8. I believe this is so important to our understanding of this passage.
This passage has been interpreted in so many different ways. It has been understood as being a description of a lost person. It’s been understood as being a description of Old Testament believers (because of the exclusion of any reference to the Spirit). It has been interpreted as a picture of the normal Christian life with all its struggles. Before I tell you my understanding of it I would like to start by saying that we can get this wrong and still live a fulfilled and fruitful Christian life. No one has a perfect understanding of everything, everyone has holes in their knowledge and grasp of the Bible. This is a complex passage.
There are commentators, scholars, and preachers who hold all the different interpretations of the passage who are wiser, more intelligent, more educated and more spiritual than I am and yet I disagree with them. This is the wonderful thing about our faith. In fact I mention this because I believe that this is an illustration of the truth which is discovered in these chapters. I am under grace, grace which allows me the liberty to pursue truth even though I will get it wrong sometimes.
And praise God that He has seen fit, through the work and sacrifice of godly men to provide for us a copy of the inspired Word of God in a language that we can read and understand. And by sacrifice i mean the ultimate sacrifice of their lives. We are blessed that we do not live in an age when the Bible was only in languages that could not be understood by the common man. Only the clergy had access to the scriptures and where educated to be able to read and understand.
We talk about this at out Tuesday morning Bible study this week. Not only do we have the Bible in english but we have several versions which we can compare with each other. We have concordances and commentaries and archives of sermons. We have more at our fingertips that any other generation for study of the scriptures. So what is hindering us? I encourage you study the Word, seek truth. It’s daunting with all the information, truely. And we must be discerning and prayerful and have a pure heart desire for truth and a love for truth more than we have a love for our own ideas. But with this and the leading of the Spirit of truth God will give us understanding.
Now back to my understanding of this passage. I believe the main flow of thought and therefore what we could consider the normal Christian experience that is revealed in this passage is seen in verses 1-6 and flows through to 8:1.
6 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.
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh,
4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Rom 8:1-
The Letter of The Law
The Letter of The Law
The Jews in their attempt to live according to the letter of the Law completely missed the spirit of the Law. Look at the teaching of Jesus in
Matt 5:17-22
17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.
18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.
19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20 For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’
22 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.
Matt 5:27-
27 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’
28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
So then if we read the teachings of Jesus here where He says, “except your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes an Pharisees you will by no means enter into the kingdom of heaven” and we think wow that means I must double my efforts, so not only will not murder I will not ever be angry, not only will I not commit adultery but I will never lust. If that is your understanding then you have missed the point of what Christ has said and you have just become a Pharisee of the Pharisees. There is no one who has lived this higher righteousness except one man, Jesus himself, and unless His righteousness becomes your righteousness then you will by no means enter into the kingdom of heaven.
But there is an equal and opposite mistake that can be made here. We could say, Through faith Jesus’ righteousness has become my righteousness so my actions don’t matter anymore. Lets look back in Rom 7
6 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.
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.”
We have been called to a higher calling than the letter we are to serve in the newness of the Spirit. We have delivered from the Law and the condemnation of it so that we are under grace not the law. That grace allows us the liberty to pursue the high righteousness of Jesus even though I have not attained it and cannot apprehend.
So then what is this section in I believe that it a demonstration of the weakness of the Law to make us righteous. Paul is using his own experience to show that the letter of the law is weak and not only can it not save us is also cannot sanctify us (which is another way of saying it cannot make us perfect or good)
The Spirit of the Law
The Spirit of the Law
So what is meant when we talk os the Spirit of the Law? If we look at the teaching of Christ we could determine that the Spirit of the Law is just a more stringent version of the Law. But again we we take Jesus’ teaching to just be an extension of the Law then we have missed the point. It’s not just more written law it is a deeper understanding of the Law. What Christ is teaching is the spirit of the Law. He shows us that the law is not just about keeping a set of rules on the surface, it’s about a changed heart. The heart motive just as important as the law itself.
So what is the heart, or the spirit of the Law?
34 But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together.
35 Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying,
36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”
37 Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
34 Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
35 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.
36 But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.
37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.”
39 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
keeping the letter of the Law fails because of my own sinful flesh how will I keep the spirit of the Law?
If keeping the letter of the Law fails because of my own sinful flesh how will I keep the spirit of the Law?
Who Will Deliver Us
Who Will Deliver Us
As we get to the end of ch 7 Paul has given this example of the weakness of the Law which is his own flesh It’s as if he is overwhelmed at the frustration of trying to keep the law and failing. he cries out...
24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
Rom 7:
And then he give the answer immediately in vs 25...
25 I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.
Jesus is the only one who can deliver us from this nightmare. As you read the sermon on the mount in ,, and 7. Jesus is the one. His the only one who has kept the letter and the spirit of the Law. Not only did He never murder, he never was angry without cause. Not only did he never commit adultery he never lusted in His heart. He loves the Father with all his heart soul and mind, Jesus truly loved His neighbour as Himself .
So then, Paul says, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.
As for me, right now,
How do we get from this condition to where Paul declares
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
Rom 8:3
3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh,
4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.