The Inability of the Law - Romans 7:14-25
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction
Introduction
Last Week (Ministry of the Law)
The Law reveals sin (v. 7).
The Law arouses sin (vv. 8–9).
The Law kills (vv. 10–11).
The Law shows the sinfulness of sin (vv. 12–13). (Wiersbe, Warren W. The Bible Exposition Commentary. Vol. 1. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996. Print.)
Looking at Sanctification (set apart, Christlike)
Can the Law change my heart/actions?
NO.
13 Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure.
English Standard Version Chapter 7
a Inference Did that which is good, then, bring death to me?
b Answer By no means!
Supplied It was
d Topic (f) sin,
f Action producing death in me through what is good,
e Purpose (f) in order that sin might be shown
Supplied to be
g Purpose sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure.
English Standard Version Chapter 7
14 a Reason For we know that the law is spiritual,
b Contrast (a) but I am of the flesh,
c Expansion sold under sin.
The Law cannot change you (14)
The Law cannot change you (14)
14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin.
Law is Good (12)
12 So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.
Holy - holy (pure) adj. — having the characteristics of moral or ritual purity; context often emphasizes one over the other. (Sense)
Righteous - just adj. — being legally or ethically right, proper, or fitting; especially as free from favoritism, self-interest, bias, or deception. (Sense)
Good - good adj. — having desirable or positive qualities; especially those suitable for a thing specified. (Sense)
Spiritual - spiritual (mature) adj. — of or characterized by the Holy Spirit; especially of the mature, Christian life and its relation to the Spirit. (Sense)
Flesh
sinful ⇔ fleshly adjs. — characterized by sin and rebellion to God; conceived of by physical aspect of a person. (Sense)
② pert. to being human at a disappointing level of behavior or character, (merely) human, in ref. to the state or condition of a human being, with focus on being weak, sinful, or transitory, in contrast to or in opposition to that which is spiritual: human Ro 7:14.—σάρκινος as v.l. (for σαρκικός) 2 Cor 1:12.—DELG s.v. σάρξ. TW. Spicq.
The Law can only show us what is right/wrong, but cannot change our hearts.
Adding more rules/laws will not change the hearts of those it is applied to.
Self, family, society, and nation.
The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Six: Christians and the Law (Romans 7)
Our nature is carnal (fleshly); but the Law’s nature is spiritual. This explains why the old nature responds as it does to the Law. It has well been said, “The old nature knows no Law, the new nature needs no Law.” The Law cannot transform the old nature; it can only reveal how sinful that old nature is. The believer who tries to live under Law will only activate the old nature; he will not eradicate it.
The Law cannot enable you to do good (15-20)
The Law cannot enable you to do good (15-20)
15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
Law is Good, I am Sinful (15-16)
15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good.
Paul is assessing his own actions and sees that he is doing what is wrong.
The Law is good and I am sinful.
Paul is addressing the reality of the life of a believer.
In the Flesh (17-20)
17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
As long as we are in the Flesh, Sin is present (17-18a)
17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.
Sin Dwells within me.
dwells - to dwell (abstract) v. — to exist or be situated within. (Sense)
nothing good - good (moral concept) n. — moral excellence or admirableness. (Sense)
In my flesh - sinful humanity ⇔ flesh n. — the physical aspect of a person in distinction to the immaterial soul; often understood as the seat of sin and rebellion to God. (Sense)
The physical aspect of human beings, which distinguishes them from God and is therefore frequently used in the NT as a symbol of human sinful nature in contrast with God’s perfection.
Paul is making a clear point of being in the flesh.
Inner Struggle (18b-20)
18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
Key 18b
“For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.”
I have the desire - to desire v. — to feel or have a desire for; want strongly. (Sense)
What is Good - good (moral concept) n. — moral excellence or admirableness. (Sense)
Not the ability - ① to bring about a result by doing something, achieve, accomplish, do (BDAG)
Expound (19)
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 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. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.
Implication (20)
20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
Sin that dwells in me
It is sin in my flesh that draws me to sin.
The Law cannot set you free (21-25)
The Law cannot set you free (21-25)
21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
The reality of our inner struggle (21-23)
21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.
Right and Evil - Key (21)
Law - principle ⇔ law n. — a rule or law concerning a natural phenomenon or the function of a complex system. (Sense)
Evil - evil (behavior) n. — morally objectionable behavior. (Sense)
close at hand - to be on hand v. — to be readily available for use or service. (Sense)
Expounding (22-23)
Law of God (22)
I delight - to delight (take) v. — to take a high degree of pleasure or mental satisfaction in. (Sense)
Law of God - law (collection) n. — a whole collected body of law; sometimes one or more of the five books of Moses and other times simply an unspecified set of laws. (Sense)
Inner being - soul ⇔ inner person n. — the soul understood especially as immaterial (as opposed to the material body). (Sense)
Another Law (different principle) (23)
Waging war - to be absolutely opposed ⇔ be at war v. — to oppose and seek the utter destruction of; conceived of waging war. (Sense)
Law of my Mind - mind n. — that which is responsible for one’s thoughts and feelings; especially the seat of the faculty of reason. (Sense)
Making Me Captive - to take control of ⇔ take captive v. — to assume power to influence, direct, or determine over someone; conceived of as taking someone captive (like a prisoner of war). (Sense)
Desperate Plea (24)
24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
Wretched - wretched (quality) adj. — of very poor quality or condition; perhaps inciting pity. (Sense)
Rescue - to rescue v. — to free from harm or evil, and in some cases from imprisonment. (Sense)
Thanksgiving (25)
25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
Thanks - thanks n. — an acknowledgment of appreciation (to a divinity). (Sense)
When we were in Sin and Guilty, God stepped in and offered Justification through Jesus Christ
God worked out Justification.
God will work out Sanctification.
Just as we could not Save ourselves without God, We cannot Sanctify ourselves without God.
Implication (25b)
Serve - to be dominated by ⇔ be a slave to v. — to be or become entirely dominated by some influence or person; conceived of as being the legal property of another. (Sense)
The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Six: Christians and the Law (Romans 7)
If we depend on the energy of the flesh, we cannot serve God, please God, or do any good thing. But if we yield to the Holy Spirit, then we have the power needed to obey His will. The flesh will never serve the Law of God because the flesh is at war with God. But the Spirit can only obey the Law of God! Therefore, the secret of doing good is to yield to the Holy Spirit.
Takeaways
Takeaways
The Law cannot change you (14)
The Law cannot enable you to do good (15-20)
The Law cannot set you free (21-25)
We cannot become more Christlike on our own through the Law. It is only accomplished through the Holy Spirit (chapter 8)
Pray our daily dependence on God.
Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.