Romans 7:1-25 – Guess Who’s Dead?

 

Intro: The Bible describes man in a 3 fold way : Natural man / the Carnal man / and the Spiritual man !

A) The natural man is the unsaved man : A man who is primarily ruled by his senses / who can rise no higher than his intellectual & moral abilities

 

The Carnal man is a man who is saved but who is living in one of 2 areas

A) Carnal = fleshy / And the Carnal man is a man who is Still partially dominated by his flesh & trying to please his flesh

 

B) Or He could also be described as a man who is trying to walk the Christian walk in the Power of His flesh !

1)  A man or woman who hasn’t learned what is means to be a vessel that is yielded to the H.S.

 

And then there is the Spiritual man -

A) The Spiritual man is a man who is walking in the spirit & who’s life is predominately controlled by the Spirit .

 

B) All 3 of these men are in view here in Romans Ch. 7/ look at  tonight !

 

 

 

Ch. 7 deals w/ our relationship to the Law now that we have been saved

A) We saw in Ch. 6 our relationship to sin - Set free Penalty / also Power

          DEAD TO SIN / SINS POWER / NO LONGER DOMINION

 

B) In Ch. 7 Paul reveals that we have also been set free from the Law as well

     Died to the Law !      READ V. 1-6

 

 

 

Now Paul begins by using the analogy of marriage to illustrate how we relate to the Law

7:1  Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives?

 

A) Now that is something that all of us here would agree w/ especially in a natural sense that as long as a person is living / under law

 

B) Commit a crime and you get caught you will pay - but watch how Paul ties this into marriage

 

2  For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband.3  So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man.

 

A) According to the Law a man could divorce his wife but a wife could not divorce her husband . She was stuck in that marriage as long as he lived .

 

B) If she married another man she would be called an adulterous .

1)  Now Paul point was this - You were married to the Law & there was nothing you could do to get away

 

C) In his comm. On Romans Jon Courson illustrates this beautifully by w/ this picture

 

D) Ladies pretend you were married to the perfect guy - flawless in character / looks / Health / totally perfect

1)  He is so perfect that he drives you crazy - because he never does anything wrong -/ His perfectness only magnifies your short comings

 

 

E) Never leaves tooth paste cap off / Never dirty socks on floor / etc

So there you are stuck in this marriage / you can not divorce him / Only way out is if Hubby dies / but he is too healthy / poison no affect

A) So the guy is not going away - Can’t divorce / can’t leave him -adulterous/ can’t kill him - what are you going to do ?

 

B) Now that was our situation under the law the law was perfect - nothing we could do to get away from it /

1)  like the woman who is bound as long as her husband lives / we were bound to the law / and the law was not going to die !

 

C) So what is the solution ? v. 4   4  Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another; to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God./   V 6  But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by

 

 

Listen to what Paul is saying here - the law isn’t going to die - can’t kill it or do away w/ it - So how free ? YOU DIED

A) Remember we talked about this in Ch. 5,6 that everything that happened to Christ Literally - happened to us spiritually

 

B) He died we died - He was raised / we have been raised !  

1)  So because we died - we are free from the Jurisdiction of the Law /

 

C) Think about it who would bring in a dead body into a court room for trial / what would be the point - DEAD

 

Now think about this Paul said that in Christ we been  made a new creation / old things have passed away - old guy - died - passed away / behold all things have become new !

 

A) In Christ you are made a completely new person - no longer married to Mr. Law / but now married to Christ / Free to live a different way

5  For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death.

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.

 

B) Now check this out Because we died w/ Christ we have been set free to serve a higher law - Leading of the Spirit

 

C) Newness of the spirit speaks of the New Cov. A completely new way of living !

1)  Jer. 31 / Ezk 36 the Lord declares I am no longer giving you tables of stone - but now the Lord says I will take my statues & write them upon your heart   And I will place my spirit w/ in you & He will cause you to walk in my ways & keep my statues

 

 

D) There is a huge difference - something the Lord does in us by His H.S. - He Leads us & empowers us to walk after Him

 

E) So we can put off legalistic trips / rules & regulations /  and be led by the Spirit as He speaks to our hearts through the Word

 

 

Now I am getting a little ahead of myself here but this is important to grasp - Just like freedom from sin doesn’t lead to Lawlessness

A) Neither does freedom from the Law

 

B) Let’s suppose that the Gov. of Calif. Lifted the speed limit law for 3 days - for 3 days anywhere any time drive as fast as you want to

 

C) Would you go get in your car and try to drive 110 mph down gopher canyon road ? Not unless you are an idiot

1)  Common sense tells you that is not a smart thing to do

D) Well we have something more than common sense directing us - The H.S. of the Living God in our Hearts . / It is a Higher way

 

E) See the Problem w/ some Christians today is they want to see How close they can get to the World - and still be saved

1)  How far can we go ?  Wrong question - How close to Christ can I get

 

F) Damian Kyle Analogy - 1st saved 6 inch gap - we were determined to keep that 6 inch gap / problem is the World has gotten worse

1)  We should be way over here .

 

G) Life in the Spirit is wonderfully free life of being able to totally devote ourselves to the Lord - not out of Legalistic trip

1)  But out of Love !

 

So Paul says YOU DIED TO THE LAW ! NOW MARRIED TO CHRIST

A) So the spiritual man is delivered from the law but the natural man is doomed by the law which is what Paul explains in v. 7-13

 

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."

8  But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead.

9  I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. 10  And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death. 11  For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me.

12  Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.  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.

 

Now Paul is speaking past tense in these verses - B.C. I want you to note 4 things that he describes about what the law did to him before saved

1st - The Law revealed his sin nature : 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."

 

A) The Purpose of the Law - was to reveal our sin & to drive us to grace - need of a savior !

 

B) First trip every to Vista / speeding ticket - Oceanside Blvd 50mph to 35 mph / Problem is I never saw the sign - Policeman saw me !

 

C) Paul says I didn’t know coveting was wrong until I began to study the law & I read You shall not Covet

          1) What was Paul coveting ? Power & Prestige

 

D) Paul was a young scholar being trained to be a Pharisee / and he was desiring position - Power Prominence -

1)  perhaps wanting people to know how brilliant he was

 

E) But the more he studied the law - the more he realized how far he was from it ! I experience the same thing studying the Word

1)  Husbands love your wives as Christ …… Church - ok / 1Cor. 13

 

F) Wow ! I am way off the mark !

 

Story of the gardener -  A gardener who worked for a rich man was out one day pulling weeds when the rich man  over heard him say curse you Adam .

 

What mean by that comment ? / If Adam had not of sinned I wouldn’t be out here pulling weeds /  Rich man answered you wouldn’t have done better ? / Yes I would have the gardener insisted /

 

Well a few nights later the rich man invited the gardener to his home for dinner - great feast - phone call - start w/ out me / just don’t touch that bowl in the middle w/ the lid on it !

 

Curiosity set in - finally after further delay - opened the lid feathers everywhere

Just then the rich man walked back in & said Curse Adam - got ya

 

So Paul says the Law exposed me it revealed that I was a sinner /that I missed the mark

 

 

2nd thing the law did It revived that sin nature : v. 8,9  But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead.

9  I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died.

A) The other day driving out to the conference - going 75 mph down 15 / everyone in front of me going 60mph

 

B) I’m switching lanes each time I seem to end up behind someone going slower ! 

1)  I say to my wife What is wrong w/ these people don’t they know the speed limit is 70mph

 

C) My wife says to me hey the maximum speed is 70 mph ! 

 

D) But that is are sin nature - law is  meant to be broken

Romans 5:20 20  Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound.

 

Law activated sin - Sinned  more when law was given !

 

3rd thing Paul tells us Law Slew Him V.10,11, 10  And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death.11  For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me.

A) Commandment which was to bring life brought death - why ? Because he couldn’t keep it !

 

B) Paul said in 2Cor. 3:6 that the Letter kills

 

C) Paul says the Law wiped me out !

 

4th thing Is the law brings a recognition of the magnitude of sin v.12,13 12  Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good. 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.

 

A) Before we were saved & really began to understand God’s word some of us were very unaware of the depth of our sin

 

B) But once we begin to study a little bit of sins righteous requirement / our sins became painfully apparent

 

C) Teaching on Dating Flee sexual immorality - now most think that means inter course - OK to do everything but -

1)  Anything that would caused to become worked up or sexually excited

 

D) UH OH - Realize we have been blowing it - really H.S. was trying to tell them that anyway .

1)  So the High & Holy Standard of behavior demanded by the law

    leaves the sinner exposed , lost & defenseless

 

So Paul says The law it wiped me out - Revealed my sin / exposed ///  Revived sin in me /// Slew me /// Revealed the magnitude of my sin

A) So the spiritual man who has died to the Law - is delivered from sin

 

B) The natural man who doesn’t know Christ is doomed by the Law - Last section of Rom.7 Paul shows that the Carnal man is defeated by the law

Read v.14-25

Now notice that Paul has moved from speaking in the past tense - which was tone of previous verses to present tense

A.) What is he saying and what does he mean by calling himself carnal?

 

B.) I think that most of us think of 1 Cor. 3:3 where Paul describes the church at Corinth as carnal

1.) because there was strife and divisions and people living in sin in their midst

 

C.) We would think of a carnal Christian as a Christian who still living after their flesh and to please flesh

1.) that is a true description

 

D.) But a carnal Christian can also be a person who is trying to walk the Christian walk in the power of the flesh

1.) trying to live the Christian life in his own energy!

 

 

That is what Paul is describing here

A.) Paul wasn’t out partying and chasing women - wasn’t doing drugs

 

B.) But Paul found himself struggling with the same things that we can from time to time

1.) trying to live out his Christianity in his own strength energy of the flesh - result

 

14  For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin.

A.) Paul is basically saying that when I try to walk according to flesh I live exactly the way I was before I was saved. A life in bondage to 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.

A.) Now someone said after reading this that Paul must have been a golfer

 

B.) Problem was deeper! I want to do what is right but I end up doing things I hate

1.) ever feel that way?  Dieters?

 

C.) Sure we all struggle with this from time to time

 

D.) Every believer has 2 natures - old and new inside of him

          Galatians 5:17 - natures are at war!

1.) There can be a constant conflict

 

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.

A.) Paul makes a powerful point here - the problem isn’t the law - the problem is me!

 

B.) Our tendency - at how to’s formulas - for success

1.) give me a 5 step program

 

C.) Problem is we don’t follow it - we can’t keep it

1.) The reality is we still stumble and fall at times  because of our sin nature

 

D.) The reason?

 

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.

 

Ever get disappointed in yourself? With others?

A.) In our flesh - nothing good!

 

B.) Problem with jealousy - harder I tried - worse I failed

 

C.) Being a good husband - How does work?  Getting closer to answer

 

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.

 

Now here Paul makes another statement that is enlightening

A.) V.22 - I delight in the law of God according to my inward man

 

B.) An unbeliever doesn’t delight in the law in his inward man - hates the law

 

C.) Difference between prodigal and a pig

1.) Prodigal might end up in pig pen but he doesn’t want to stay there

 

D.) Pig clean up - ribbon - bow - first chance he’s back in the pig pen

 

 

Paul describes two principles he sees at work in himself.

A.) Law of his mind - which is after the spirit and wants to do the right thing

 

B.) But also the law of his members - the flesh that wants to rebel

 

C.) This is an overwhelming frustration we face when we try to walk the walk in our flesh

1.) no way - miserable - wretched - wiped out

 

24  O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

A.) Literally - oh wretched man me!  - Who!

 

B.) Now Paul is getting somewhere - not how but who!

 

C.) Wretched - a miserable distressed condition

 

D.) Answer is who! - such a key

1.) Matt 5:3 - blessed are the pour in spirit

 

E.) John 15 - without me you can do nothing

 

 

See this is what the passage describes for us - this is the way to live

A.) This is the way we are to face every challenge, large or small - thanks be to God - it’s through Christ Jesus our Lord

 

B.) Col. 3:17 -  Eph. 5:18