Romans Lesson 10

Pastor Brian's Bible Study on the book of Romans

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Welcome to Life in the Word, our verse-by-verse study of God's Word. This is Pastor Brian McDaniel, and today we continue our study in the book of Romans. You know, as going through this, I was looking at these all these chapter divisions that are in the Bible, and they can be helpful, but at times they artificially break the text in ways that foster just jointness, I think. For instance, Romans 7 we're at today, and Romans 8 should be read as a unit rather than as independent sections. Looking at either chapter alone creates kind of an imbalance. But together they they present two sides of human experience, our struggle and our means of victory. It's about our position in Christ, who we are in Christ. Romans chapters six through eight, we're at now, the section we're in, is about practicality. These chapters emphasize how to live out your life for Christ in practical ways. And in chapter 6 that we looked at last week, Paul explained how Christ delivered us from sin when we died. We died to sin. But while we are alive in our bodies, we must continue to deal with our sin nature and its attempts to control our thoughts and actions. And to describe this tension between our old and new natures, Paul uses the analogy of slavery to sin versus slavery to God. Now he begins chapter seven by arguing the same point using a different analogy, the analogy of marriage. So let's look at chapter 7 of Romans verse 1. Excuse me. Now, dear brothers and sisters, you who are familiar with the law, don't you know that the law applies only while a person is living? So here Paul continues his thought from chapter 6, verse 14. Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God's grace. Now, obviously the law had authority only while someone is alive. A dead body cannot be expected to follow any loss, nor can it make restitution for sins committed. So Paul's rhetorical question in verse 1 creates a chilling afterthought. Death brings an end to the authority of the law, but what remains is judgment. Death removes a person from the frying pan of the law, but then drops him or her into the fire of judgment. For the believer who has died with Christ, the law can no longer condemn us. So now Paul uses marriage to illustrate our relationship to the law. When a spouse dies, the law of marriage no longer applies. For example, when verse 2, for example, when a woman marries, the law binds her to her husband as long as he is alive. But if he dies, the law of marriage no longer applies to her. Verse 3. So while her husband is alive, she would be committing adultery if she married another man. But if her husband dies, she is free from the law and does not commit adultery when she remarries. Whether by Roman or Jewish law a woman was bound to her husband for life. The only way she could be freed was through the death of her husband. And when this happened, she was perfectly free to marry again. So Paul compares life under the law with being married. Is that a appropriate comparison? I think so, because he uses the analogy of marriage to explain the transition from the old covenant, the law, to the new covenant, grace. Paul explains that believers die to the law through the body of Christ. And like a widow is legally free to remarry without being an adulteress, the believer is now free to belong to another, Jesus Christ, because their legal obligation to the law was severed by death. We died to sin. Basically saying that you cannot be married to two masters at once. You had to die to the old system to be fully joined to the new one. And remember who his primary audience is. It's Jewish Christians living in Rome. So how might Paul's audience have understood this and reacted? Well, I think Jewish believers in the first century, particularly those practicing Torah obedience, would likely have found Paul's marriage analogy shocking, confusing, or potentially heretical. As individuals rooted in the old covenant, they the idea they excuse me, the idea they had was that they were dead to the idea that they were dead to the law would have been a significant counterinitiative shift in perspective. So Paul now has to be very careful to explain this in a way that provides, shows them that the law was not evil, but its role in their lives had very much changed. And ultimately the intended reaction for his readers was for them to realize their salvation and daily life were anchored in the risen Christ who freed them from the condemnation of the law and allows them to bear fruit for God. Look at verse 4. So, my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point. You die to the power of the law. When you died with Christ, when you died with Christ, and now you are united with the one who was raised from the dead. As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God. So although Paul's application of the marriage analy is not altogether perfect, the meaning is clear. As death breaks the bond between husband and wife, so death, the believer's death with Christ, breaks the bond which formerly yoked him to the law, and now he is free to enter in union with Jesus Christ. See, when a person dies to the old life and now belongs to Christ, a new life begins. Those who don't follow Christ have only their own self-determination as their source of power. By contrast, God becomes the center of Christ's life. God supplies the power for the Christians daily living, and believers find that their whole way of looking at the world changes when they come to know and depend on Jesus. Look at verse 5. When we were controlled by our own nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death. So why does God's law arouse our sinful desires? Well, it does so by setting a holy standard. The rules act as a boundary that triggers our rebellious nature to desire what is forbidden, transforming internal desires into active sin. So if the believer causes so much difficult, if the law causes so much difficulty for the believer, why didn't God eliminate it? What useful purpose does it serve? Well, the law was not eliminated because, rather than hindering, it serves essential purposes for the believer. And it reveals God's righteous character to us. It defines sin and it guides sanctification. It acts as a guide, or let's call it a schoolmaster, to show the need for grace and to direct believers in living a life pleasing to God. Verse 6. But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit. But all they earn for their efforts is frustration and discouragement because they can never do any of those things perfectly. However, Christ's sacrifice has opened the way to God, and we can become his children simply by putting our faith in him. We need to take our eyes off our performance and put them on Jesus Christ. Jesus will free you to serve him out of love and gratitude. This is living in the Spirit. Believers are released from the law through death in Christ. So now, in the next verses, verses 7 through 13, Paul speaks of the purpose of the law. Verse 7. Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful? Of course not. In fact, it was the law that showed me my sin. It would never I would never have known what that coveting was wrong if the law had not said, you must not covet. So the law reveals our sin, right? The law is a mirror that reveals the inner man. And the law not only reveals sin, it activates sin, as verses 8 through 9 will show us. Verse 8. But sin used this command to arouse all kinds of covetous desires within me. If there were no law, sin would not have had that power. At one time I lived without understanding the law. But when I learned the command not to covet, for instance, the power of sin came to life and I died. I mean Romans 5.20 said, God's law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. And in 1 Corinthians 5.56, we read the law gives sin its power. You know, when young Saul realized that covetousness was, all he could do was covet. Right? You know, you know, uh the law says don't covet, but my nature says, hey, kind of sounds exciting, right? You know, in American history, we know that the Prohib Prohibition Act didn't stop drinking. It was a law. In many ways it made drinking alcohol more attractive to people because of our desire to break boundaries set by the laws. I mean, have you ever considered what would happen if one of the stores along Scottsdale Road here painted this sign on their front window? You are forbidden to throw stones through this window. I mean, how long do you think that window would last? Probably not more than twenty four hours, right? A waterfront hotel in Florida was concerned that people might try to fish from their balconies, so they put up signs on the balcony saying no fishing from the balcony. Then they had constant problems with people fishing from the balconies, with lines and sinkerweights breaking windows and bothering people in rooms below. They finally solved the problem by simply taking down the signs. And no one even thought to fish from the balconies. Because of our fallen nature, the law can actually work like an invitation to sin. And once God draws a boundary for us, we are immediately enticed to cross that boundary, which is no fault of God or his boundary, but the fault of our sinful nature inside of us. Verse 10. So I discovered that the law's commands, which were supposed to bring life, brought spiritual death. 11. Sin took advantage of those commands and deceived me. It used the commands to kill me, Paul writes. See, God's laws make people realize that they are sinners doomed to die, yet it offers no long-term remedy. I mean, sin is real and it's dangerous. Imagine a sunny day at the beach. You plunge into the water, then you notice a sign on the pier. No swimming, sharks in water. Well, your day's ruined. Is it the sign's fault? Are you angry with the people who put it up? The law is like the sign, it's essential, and we are grateful for it, but it doesn't get rid of the sharks. Verse 12. But still, the law itself is holy, and its commands are holy and right and good. So what makes the law holy? The law is holy because it expresses God's nature and will for people and showing them how to love God and treat each other. In the Garden of Eden, the serpent deceived Adam and Eve by taking their focus off the freedom God had given them and putting it on the one law, the one rule, the one restriction God had made, not to eat from that one tree. And ever since then we have all been rebels because sin looks so good to us precisely because God has said it was wrong. So what should we do when tempted to rebel? Well, we need to look at the law from a wider perspective. In the light of God's grace and mercy, if we focus on his great love for us, we will understand that he only restricts us from actions and attitudes that ultimately will harm us. That's what it's about. So next, in verses 14 through 25, Paul describes a war within him, a desire to do good, but a lack of power to perform it due to the law of sin in his body. So let me ask you, what makes us complacent about sin in our life? And I deal with people like this all the time. Complacency about sin in Christian lives often stems from a misplaced focus on prioritizing comfort and convenience, a misunderstanding of a grace as a license to sin, and spiritual apathy. I mean, constant exposure to sinful behavior in our culture also causes believers to lose their sense of sin's gravity, and some Christians adopt a live and let live attitude towards sin. But Luke 8.14 says, the seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and the riches and the pleasures of this life. Luke 21, 34 tells us, watch out, don't let your hearts be dulled by carousing and drunkenness and by the worries of this life. See, complacency to sin is often described as a silent killer of spiritual life. So how can we overcome becoming complacent about sin? Well, we need to become more disciplined in prayer, Bible study, fellowship, and with other believers, and have a renewed fervor for holiness. Look at verse 13. But how can that be? Did the law which is good cause my death? Of course not, Paul writes. Sin used what was good to bring about my condemnation to death. So we can see how terrible sin really is. It uses God's good commands for its own evil purpose purposes. It's sin, not the law that brings death, and it's only through the law that sin can be recognized as sin. Verse 14. So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me. I am all too human a slave to sin. You know, in Christ we are free from the penalty of sin, judgment, and the power of sin, hopelessness. But while still in the flesh, we are not free from the presence of sin, those temptations, and the possibility of sin in our lives, failures. We are at battle with our sin nature all the time. So let me ask you, does grace eliminate the law? No. Being under grace does not eliminate the law. It changes the purpose of the law in the believer's life, from a source of judgment to a source of guidance. 15. I don't really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do what I ate. I mean, think of the apostle Paul, this amazing man of faith, who was wow, he's incredible. He's almost untouchable by any other human being. He wrote most of the New Testament. But these verses that Paul writes right here about himself let us see that Paul is human. He struggles just as we do in his faith journey. And as long as believers live in this world as men and women of flesh and blood, we all will face a constant tension just like Paul did. The conflict between our sinful nature and our new spiritual life. Paul wrote to the Galatians, the sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. Look at verse 16. But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree with that the law is good. So Paul shares three lessons that he learned in struggling with his sinful desires. Number one, knowledge of the rules does not make it easier to obey them, makes it harder. Number two, self-determination and self-improvement cannot change our hearts. And number three, becoming a Christian does not stamp out all sin and temptation from a person's life. I mean, being born again happens in a moment of faith. But becoming like Christ is a lifelong process that we all have to go through. And in 2 Timothy 4, Paul compares Christian growth to a fight. The time of my death is near. I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me, the crown of righteousness. Paul's telling his readers to be faithful to their calling. He's encouraging them to continue living to glorify Christ no matter how difficult the fight seems. Keep on fighting. Keep on living your life as if you were preparing for death. And that's what we're doing. Thus, as Paul has been emphasizing since the beginning of this letter, no one in the world is innocent. No one deserves to be saved. Not the pagan who doesn't know God's laws, nor the person who knows them and tries to keep them. All of us must depend totally on what Jesus Christ has done for our salvation. Verse 17. So I am not the one doing wrong. It is sin in me that does it, living in me that does it. Verse 18. And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can't. 19. I want to do what is good, but I don't. I don't want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. Here Paul describes the person who knows what is good and might even desire to do it, but this person lacks the power. So how can any believer struggling with sin overcome our desires to fall into sin's trap? Well, only by the help of the Holy Spirit. We must never underestimate the power of sin. We must never attempt to fight it on our own strength. Instead, we must take hold of the tremendous power of Christ that is made available to us in the Holy Spirit. And one of the ongoing duties of God's Spirit is to convict us of our potential for wickedness. And when we're made aware of our sin, we have a responsibility, a responsibility to confess. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1 9. Look at verse 20. But if I do what I don't want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong. It is sin living in me that does it. Twice Paul says, I'm not the one doing wrong. Is he denying himself or personal responsibility for his sins? No. He's emphasizing the power of sin. He's not actually saying he does not do it, but that is not what his deep inner self renewed by Christ wants to do. He's dominated by sin as we all are. I mean, have you ever said the devil made me do it? It sounds like a lame excuse, but there is some truth to it. I mean, Satan manipulates and deceives all the time. As a crafty tempter, he arrogantly tried to tempt Jesus. He succeeded with Adam and Eve, and he tries with us. Without Jesus' help, sin is stronger than we are. And sometimes we are unable to defend ourselves against its attacks. That's why we should never try to stand up against it on our own. Jesus Christ, who has conquered Satan and sin once and for all, promises to fight by our side. So if we look to him for help when tempted by sin, we don't have to give in to sin. Verse 21. I have discovered this principle of life, that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. The law or principle at work here is the reality that's evil, that evil is within us. Even when we want to do good. In fact, it is it's when we most want to do good and we become most acutely aware of our propensity not to do so. It's like a swimmer. A swimmer has no idea how strong the current is until she swims, she tries to swim upstream. And when she faces the current, she finds this work at law. The current is against her. Verse 22. I love God's law with all my heart. Why would Paul love God's law with all his heart? Because it's the pathway of obedience to God that the entire Old Testament presents, and because he and we should long to know it and do it and thus please God. Verse 23. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to sin and is still within me. So here another power within me means the sin deep within us and our vulnerability to the power of sin. It refers to everything within us that keeps us more loyal to our old ways of selfishness rather than to God. The principle Paul recognizes that he is a man with two natures. One delights in the law of God, the other wages war against God's law. I mean, the Christian is subject to two forces simultaneously, and thus we live in a state of tension. Galatians 5 17 reads The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants, and the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other. You know, the seventh chapter of Romans is a passionate piece of. Writing. Paul wants us to feel the emotion he experiences in trying to live up to God's standards in his own strength. However, a believer who tries to please God in his or own her own strength will always come to disheartened, aching frustration. Always. I mean, this will happen to good Christians and even super Christians. Paul was perhaps the greatest Christian ever, and this was his experience. He had more theology and passion in his little finger than most of us have in our entire life. Excuse me. Despite this, he sometimes tried to live up to God's standards on his own, as we all do. And it would be a naive to say that Paul came to an understanding of how sin defeats us through the law, and he never came under bondage again. I would personally believe that with time he became less and less under bondage, but he probably never came to perfection like, you know, in his life. Like us, he struggled with sin his entire life because we have that sin nature within us. Excuse me. Verse 24. Oh, what a miserable person I am. Have you ever said that? Oh, what a miserable person I am. Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? The adjective miserable means a miserable, distressed condition. Paul has come to the end of himself. He's frustrated because he keeps sinning. He doesn't want to, but he does. And because such a cry takes us to the very place that the Lord began the Sermon on the Mount. Blessed, excuse me, fighting allergies. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven, Matthew 5.3. Blessed are the bankrupt. Blessed are the wretched, blessed are the miserable. So how does Paul handle coming to the end of himself? Beautifully. He now realizes that his helplessness and his need for God's help to overcome his sin nature. Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Verse 25. Thank God. The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is. In my mind, I really want to obey God's law, but because of my sinful nature, I'm a slave to sin. And we all feel great tension in our daily Christian experience. We face conflict because we agree that God's commandments are right and good. And here Paul anticipates something else. He knew so very well. The victory of the power of the indwelling spirit. The triumph we have in Christ is sweeter because the struggle is real. And because of Jesus Christ, we are assured of a great future. We will one day join him in eternity with a new body that is free from sin. But in the meantime, we must realize that while in our mind we are slaves to God's law, we still have a sinful nature that remains a slave to the law of sin. We know the war inside of us isn't over, and in the meantime, there are more lessons to learn and there's more freedom to experience. So what was Paul's primary purpose in writing this letter to believers? And I think there's a lot, but for me, Paul's challenging us not to deal with sin in our own strength. Because we do it all the time. I do it all the time. When we do, we're going to fail. We must always be ready to resist the desires of our old sinful nature. And we can resist sin only through the power of Christ within us. My friends, we must take sin seriously. Even though we know we have eternal life through Christ, take heart. The enemy has already been defeated. Hey, that's the end of chapter 7. I hope you were able to take some new thoughts out of that and some application to your own life. And we hope you will join us next week as we get into Romans chapter 8. Have a blessed week.