26/7/15
– Romans 7:1-25 “Conflict between old and new relationships”
Romans
7:1-3 –
1Know
ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law
hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? 2For
the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to [her] husband so
long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is
loosed from the law of [her] husband. 3So then if, while [her]
husband liveth, she be married to another man,
she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from
that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.
Just as a woman is
bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives, likewise mankind and the
law of sin and death. Man is bound by that law until he becomes dead to that
law, the law of sin and death.
Romans 8:2 – For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ
Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
But on the death of the
husband the wife is released from her husband’s authority by law. She is then
free to marry another man, something she couldn’t do while her husband still
lived, and still had authority over her. Likewise the
death of the old man sin nature meant death to the law that demanded penalty
for all sin, and the freedom to be married to another – Christ (see Vs 4 below).
Romans 7:4 – Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become
dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, [even]
to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto
God.
Therefore, when we are
dead to the law through the body of Christ – see Romans 6:6 – we are free to be
married to Christ who was raised from the dead. Thus
the Church (the body of genuine Christian believers) is known as the Bride of
Christ, and the rapture leads into the wedding feast of the Bride (Church) and
Bridegroom (Christ).
Revelation 19:7 – Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour
to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself
ready.
Ephesians 5:23-25 – 23For the
husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and
he is the saviour of the body. 24Therefore as the church is subject
unto Christ, so [let] the wives [be] to their own husbands in every thing. 25Husbands, love your wives, even
as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
Once we were in bondage
to the law. We had to die to that bondage before we could live again in bondage
to another – Christ. And then our fruit of the flesh becomes our fruit of the
Spirit of God (Galatians 5); we have literally changed sides, changed masters,
changed countries. We are now citizens of another country.
Philippians 3:20 – For our conversation (politeuma – citizenship or
politics) is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the
Lord Jesus Christ:
Romans 7:5 – For when we were in the flesh, the motions
(sufferings, enduring, can mean passions) of sins, which were by the law,
did work in (energeo – empowered, made to
operate, energised) our members to bring forth fruit unto death.
This states a constant
fact, that in the flesh our sinful passions worked continually in our bodies to
bring outcomes that led to death (clearly spiritual).
Proverbs 14:12 – There is a way which seemeth
right unto a man, but the end thereof [are] the ways of death.
While we were under
bondage to the flesh, the law energized, empowered, our passion, our desire,
for sinfulness because of the opposition of the law to that sin. These sinful
passions then stirred us up to bear fruit that seemed right to us at the time
but in fact led to death. That is, the law stirred up sin within us.
Romans 7:6 – But now we are delivered from the law, that
being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and
not [in] the oldness of the letter.
But (in contrast to
being in the flesh in Vs 5 above) now (our current condition, hopefully) being
freed from the law’s bondage (enslavement) having cast off the legal requirement
of the law of sin through death (Vs 1-4 above) so that we should be free to
serve other than the law (that is, the ‘marriage’ to the law is ended). We are
now in a new, spiritual
‘marriage’ to Christ through the Spirit) and the old law
‘marriage’ is over. We are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17); the old man sin nature of the flesh (governed by the ‘marriage’ to
the law) should now be in the past.
The letter here refers
to the letter of the law. Therefore, if we say we are Christians, then we
should get on with our new ‘marriage’, our new life, and move on from the previous
relationship. The past has gone, the new has come. Don’t keep living in the
past by continuing to serve the things of the past (sins) in the oldness of the
letter. Serve the new ‘marriage’ by obeying its requirements in the newness of our
spirits
This compares the new
spiritual man with the sinful old man of the flesh.
Romans 7:7 – What shall we say then? [Is] the law
sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the
law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou
shalt not covet.
The law itself is not
bad. The law itself is not sin! Keeping the law perfectly would bring holiness,
except that no-one can keep the law perfectly. The law itself is good. For
example, “You shall not covet.” It is good to have laws that protect our society
like this. But with a law comes a penalty for breaking that law, and that
penalty introduces sin. Thus sin is defined by the law
and the penalty it demands for the breaking of that law.
We wouldn’t have known
that our coveting was wrong, says Paul, unless the law told us so. In fact, we
really only call “coveting” wrong because the law says it is wrong.
covet – a strong desire to own something that someone else
already owns.
And therefore
I only know what sin is simply because the law has defined it.
Romans 7:8 – But sin, taking occasion by the commandment,
wrought in me all manner of concupiscence (lust, desire for what is
forbidden). For without the law sin [was] dead.
The law says “Don’t….!”
so we think, “What would it be like to …..?” Note that
people generally only take drugs, begin drinking alcohol, smoking etc because their curiosity has been aroused by the
forbidding of such. We want to see what it’s like!! Why was it so necessary to forbid
it? Note the curiosity of the Hebrews in wanting to see what it was like to
serve other gods.
Deuteronomy 12:29-30 – 29When the
Lord thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest to possess them, and thou succeedest
them, and dwellest in their land; 30 Take heed to thyself that thou
be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee;
and that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve
their gods? even so will I do likewise.
Why did they want to
see what serving other gods was like? Most likely it was because they were
curious to see why God should forbid such. Forbidden fruits are usually the
most desirable to those who are of the flesh. A desire to rebel, in fact.
Romans 7:9-11 – 9For I was
alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I
died. 10And the commandment, which [was ordained] to life, I
found [to be] unto death. 11For sin, taking occasion by the
commandment, deceived me, and by it slew [me].
Before Paul was
convicted by the law, in his ignorance he believed himself to be free from
condemnation. He considered himself alive as he saw it. But when he saw the
truth of the law after his experience on the road to Damascus, he realised that what he had called righteousness before then
was actually sin; thus he died to the law. Paul had
believed that the law he was serving (as a pharisee) would bring him life
(favour with God) but when he was brought face-to-face with the truth, he saw
instead that his previous ritualistic obedience was really condemning him to
death. He was outwardly clean but inwardly like death. (“unwashed tombs” – cf Matthew
23:27 – “whited sepulchres”). Now sin brought guilt and misery. His obedience to
that commandment that should have brought life to him (Leviticus 18:5 – Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if
a man do, he shall live in them: I [am] the Lord.) now brought death.
Perfect obedience to
the law should bring life but no-one can totally obey the law; thus his imperfect obedience brought death. Sin took
advantage of this, deceiving him into believing he would live by his ritual,
and by this deception sin was causing him to die instead. Deception causes
people who are enslaved by sin to think that they are really not doing anything
wrong. So many people are condemned by the law, yet because they don’t know the
law, they don’t realise that they are actually sinful
and heading for death!
Romans 7:12 – Wherefore the law [is] holy, and the
commandment holy, and just, and good.
See Romans 7:7 – Is the law sin? God forbid! So the law isn’t sinful or
bad. In reality the law is holy, and the commandments of the law are holy, just
and good. Paul is making sure we aren’t misled into thinking it’s all the fault
of the law that we sin.
Romans 7:13 – Was then that which is good made death unto
me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin,
working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might
become exceeding sinful.
Could that which is
supposed to be good become evil (death) for me? “God forbid!”
“Certainly not!” We have just been told that the law is holy, just and good. But
sin was producing death in Paul by appearing to be good instead. Paul didn’t
recognize the death that sin was producing in him; he thought he was doing good
that would lead to life but instead it led to death. In order for Paul to
recognize sin properly, he had to see what the law really said about it.
Because the law is “holy, and just, and
good” (Vs 12 above), therefore what it condemned
has to be opposed to “holy, and
just, and good” (Vs 12 above).
Thus the commandment condemns sin as exceedingly sinful. So the purpose of the law is really to demonstrate the sinfulness
of sin! The law only shows us how far from holiness we are. The law is our
measuring stick against which all will fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).
exceeding – beyond all measure, to the utmost possible extent.
A very strong word.
Romans 7:14 – For we know that the law is spiritual: but I
am carnal, sold under sin.
The commandment of the
law, being “holy, and just, and good”, has to be spiritual (that is, not carnal or
fleshly, which relates to sin) and pure. However, Paul says he is carnal, subject
still to corrupt, fleshly passions which retain some significant influence over
him still. The habitual use of these passions in the past is hard to overcome,
yet, because he is now in a new, more spiritual ‘marriage’, he should no longer
be controlled or dominated by these sinful passions.
sold under sin – not that he chose or preferred to sin, but that sin
continued to demand domination of his desires. The word ‘sold’ relates to the
selling of slaves, especially after being taken captive in war. It means to be
placed under the authority of another person such that you are subject to the
will of that person. Sold under sin therefore means that the person is subject to
the authority and subsequent control of sin. This control can lead the Christian
into committing the sin, then to feel godly sorrow at the consequent conflict
in his/her life. It then becomes a tussle to fight against such efforts of sin
to take control. Note Vs 15-20 below.
Romans 7:15-20 – 15For that
which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that
do I. 16If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law
that [it is] good. 17Now then it is no more I that do it, but
sin that dwelleth in me. 18For I know that in me (that is, in my
flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but [how] to
perform that which is good I find not. 19For the good that I would I
do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. 20Now if I do that
I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
This is what Paul has
been leading up to so far in this passage, the conflict between the old and the
new relationships. He has left the old relationship with the law and is now in
a new relationship in the “newness
of spirit” (Vs 6 above). Vs 14 explains a lot of
his conflict: the law continues to demonstrate his sinful nature; that is, he
is carnal, sold under sin. And, even though in Christ Jesus he is free from the
condemnation of the law (Romans
8:1), sin’s constant demands for domination
get to him all too often. He doesn’t do those things he should do, and he does
do those things he hates to do. He agrees with the law when it condemns him for
doing those things he knows he shouldn’t do.
Thus the law is good in that it reveals his disobedience.
But it is not him but really the sin that still remains in his life that causes
the problems. Vs 20 sums it up well: Now if I do that I would not, it
is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.. As the saying goes: the spirit is willing but the
flesh is weak.
Romans 7:21 – I find then a law, that, when I would do good,
evil is present with me.
He is strongly
influenced (“sold under sin” Vs 14 above) by corrupt passions which overrule his desire (his will)
to do good. When he tries to do the right thing, these desires become stumbling
blocks to him, preventing him from accomplishing what he desired by his will to
achieve.
Galatians 5:17 – For the flesh lusteth
against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary
the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
Romans 7:22 – For I delight in the law of God after the
inward man:
delight – delight, rejoice. Paul delights (rejoices) in that
law of God which gives such feelings to the inward or spiritual man, the new
man as opposed to the old man, the spiritual man as opposed to the carnal or
fleshly man. While the law of God condemns the sinner, it should be a delight
to those who are in that new relationship. It is the law that exposes sin for
what it really is, and the Christian should rejoice that the law has so clearly
defined sin.
Psalm 37:4 – Delight yourself
also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Romans 7:23 – 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.
another law – the law that Paul mentions in Vs 21 above, the law
that is used by sin, demanded by sin, in fact, to enslave man to its evil, to
its corruptions. This law is not the joy and rejoicing of his heart (Jeremiah 15:16) (also see Vs 22 above) but instead causes conflict between the old and
the new man. This law rules from the flesh while the law in Vs 22 above rules
from the rational mind, the spiritual man.
bringing me into
captivity – The one which wins the battle takes
captives in war, who are then required to serve the victor, in this case, sin.
Paul desires the new man, the inward man, the spiritual man, to win the battle
against sin, but sin brings its influence to bear upon Paul such that a battle
ensues. The flesh is at war with the spiritual. And if the flesh wins, it takes
Paul captive, subject to the law (authority, control, dominion) that sin
imposes upon his life.
Romans 7:24 – O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver
me from the body of this death?
And Paul groans in agony
as he sees himself as a new man in a new relationship, so often losing the battle
to the old man of the old relationship. He wants to break free but while he has
this body of death, he has to face this conflict. The old ‘marriage’
relationship constantly demands to be reinstated, to be made legal again. He
knows that when he leaves his fleshly body (in death) he will also leave the
conflict behind. He will be perfect one day, but not until he has completed his
time here on earth.
Philippians 1:6 – Being confident of this very thing, that he
which hath begun a good work in you will perform [it] until the day of
Jesus Christ:
1 Corinthians
15:50-57 – 50Now this
I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God;
neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. 51Behold,
I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52In
a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall
sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53For
this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this
mortal [must] put on immortality. 54So when this corruptible
shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall
have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is
written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 55O death, where [is] thy
sting? O grave, where [is] thy victory? 56The sting of death [is]
sin; and the strength of sin [is] the law. 57But thanks [be]
to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 7:25 – 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.
He thanks God that he
does indeed have an answer to his dilemma, that it is through the power of the
second ‘marriage’ that Paul alluded to in the first few verses of this chapter (see
Romans 7:4). What our human strength can’t achieve and the law couldn’t overcome,
Jesus Christ has achieved through the gospel which has established us in the
new ‘marriage’ relationship. While we live we will be
challenged by this conflict between the old and the new, the serving of the
flesh through the law of sin, and the serving of God through His holy law.
God’s law is holy and just, and does set a standard by which we should measure
everything in our lives. It defines our sin and why it (our sin) is in conflict
with a holy God. It is our roadmap by which we must steer our course to heaven.
We will get off track, probably regularly, but it provides direction on how to return
to the desired course. It might be impossible to be perfect in this life but
that is no reason why we should give up and excuse sin just because we cannot
be perfect. The standard of God’s law will continue to exist as a defense
against the imposition of the law of sin on our lives.
Luke 21:33 – Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my
words shall not pass away.
Luke 16:17 – And it is easier for heaven and earth to
pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.
Even if we cannot be
perfect, we should strive to be perfect, holy as God is holy.
1 Peter 1:15-16 – 15But as he
which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 16Because
it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
Failure still cannot be
excused or explained away as a natural consequence of the flesh. The choice is
always ours to make, and, for Christians, should never be too difficult.
1 Corinthians 10:13 – There hath no temptation taken you but such
as is common to man: but God [is] faithful, who will not suffer you to
be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way
to escape, that ye may be able to bear [it].
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