Bible Study Series – Romans Chapter 7

 

Recap of Chapter 6

 
We read in the final verse of Chapter 6 that there is a payment for sin, much like when we all go to work and we get paid our daily wages in money, when we work the works of sin we also must get paid, and that payment is death, and not just any death.

The death this that is being spoken of here is found in Revelation:

 

Revelation 21:8 "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death."

 
There are certain religions out there that teach that Hell is not a literal place, they call it a place of darkness (Outer Darkness) where it is a separation from God. 

This is absolutely false, Jesus himself gave powerful sermons to warn us that Hell, or what would be the final destination, "the lake of fire" which is located in outer darkness, but a literal place of fire and brimstone.

The above verse gives us the literal definition of what the lake of fire is: which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

 

Romans Chapter 7

 

Romans 7:1 "Know 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?"

 
Apostle Paul starts off this chapter by addressing the brethren that are familiar with the Law; he says did you not know, that so long as the man lives, the Law shall have dominion over him?

The Law is in effect until the day you die.

 

Romans 7:2 "For 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."

 
Paul is using an illustration of marriage between a wife and her husband to expound on verse 1.

 
When a man and a woman get married, they are bound by a legal agreement, the couple will remain together married until either dies.

The vowel "till death do us part" is in the legal binding contract between the couple.

 

Romans 7:3 "So 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."

 
There are many scriptures in the bible which teach that divorce is a sin, what God has joined together, let no man pull it apart. 

Jesus taught that if a married couple file for divorce, and either remarry at any time, that that person is committing adultery so long as the other still lives.

I don't want to go deep into this subject, as this would be truly a full-fledged article within itself; Marriage is death till you part.

 

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."

 
Because Jesus is sinless, he was able to offer his body as the ultimate perfect sacrifice resulting in a substitutionary process effectively trading his own life for all of mankind (of course this does not mean all of mankind will be saved, as salvation is given on one condition), as Jesus offered his body on the cross for all, he also effectively loosed us from the bonds of the law, hence the phrase "free in Christ".

The Law was there to serve as the schoolmaster, to show us that we are all sinners for before the Law was given, the earth was an exceeding violent place. 

So now that we are dead to the Law (this does not mean that the Law has been abolished, it is still in effect), we who are saved are free in Christ, we are now married to Christ.

And now that we are married to Christ Jesus, we should bring forth fruit to God.

The Word of God teaches us that no man can serve two masters, the Apostle James writes in his epistle that such men are unstable in all their ways.

 

Romans 7:5 "For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death."

 
The term "we were in the flesh" meaning before we got saved, overcame, got born again; the motions of sin, the acting out of sin, which were by the law, this does not mean that the Law was responsible for us acting out sin, remember the Law made us aware that we have sin. The instruments or members of our body working that sin would bring forth fruit unto death.

 

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."

 
The Lord Jesus Christ delivered us from the Law, which is the bondage effect that the Law would have on us. 

"That being dead" meaning that the Law condemned us in the flesh, we were creatures of the flesh before; but now, Jesus has quickened our spirit he made us alive, born again we can now serve and worship the Father in the newness of our spirit, instead of the oldness of the written Law.

 

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."

 
As I mentioned earlier, The Law is Holy and Paul asks the question, is the Law sin? Absolutely NOT! Paul says if it weren't for the Law, he would not have known sin.

Paul said that he would not have known lust, except that the Law had said you shall not covet. Notice how the Law is used like a self-evaluation questionnaire?

Try it with the 10 Commandments and begin each commandment with the words, "Am I doing this" or "do I do this" questions and see if you answer a yes or a no to each of the commandments.

Remember James wrote in his epistle in chapter 2:10 that if you offend in one point, you are guilty of all.

If this questionnaire went out to all mankind and the results came in there shall be no man standing. Not one of us would be standing perfect before the Law, God's Law is perfect.

You say, no way! Surely there be some of us standing, well 1 John 1:8 says  If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

That's right, those people are lying to themselves.

 

Romans 7:8 "But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead."

 
Paul says here, that by reason of the commandment, Sin made or shaped in him all manner of concupiscence, this word means Lust or strong sexual desires, because without the Law, sin was dead or made not known is the intended meaning.

 

Romans 7:9 "For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died."

 
Continuing on from the train of thought in verse 8 the Apostle Paul describes in his own case how men are pretentious toward the law before it enters as a condemning judgment into their own hearts, hence the phrase "for I was alive without the law once".

The law was hanging over him as a condemnation, as a minister of death, but he felt it not. 

He went about life not caring, or feeling, or fearing, whether the law was his friend or enemy. In fact, like most people, Paul had viewed it as his friend, for he was using it as a friendly help to build up his own righteousness.

Isn't this what we see today in all the false religions that are out there now?

Many seek their own righteousness and even go as far as to add to the righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ as though our Lord's righteousness was not enough to get into heaven; such blasphemy.

Paul knew its letter, but not its spirit; its outward commands, but not its inward demands.

When the commandment came, when it sunk into his conscience, and when you think about it, that 10^th commandment of "thou shalt not covet", sin revived, that inward lust from within the heart awoke, and stung him like a scorpion and thus Paul says "he died".

 

Romans 7:10 "And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death."

 
The Law had brought him death instead of life.

 

Romans 7:11 "For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me."

 
Paul goes onto explain that because of sin, taking occasion by the commandment, or by reason of the commandment, deceived him, why?

Because the first thing that happens when sin is present is that it blinds you to the fact, that you have sin. The first step to fighting sin is to acknowledge, that you have sin; and the Law was never meant to be there to assist any man to establish his own righteousness.

The Apostle then says "and by it slew me", any honest person trying to keep the law would constantly be slain by the commandments, only a liar would boldly say they have kept all the commandments and have not ever offended in one point, the rich young ruler anyone?

 

Romans 7:12 "Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good."

 
As a result of which the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good. We should not be trying to use the Law as a standard in which man must keep to enter into heaven, the Law is holy, and it reflects God's holy character. 

The words at the end "and just, and good." Tells us this: God is Just and righteous, God is good; remember the rich young ruler calls Jesus "good master" and Jesus responds with "why do you call me good, there is none good but one, and that is God."

The Law and the commandment is God.

 

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."

 
Is that which is good became death to me is the question, Paul responds with the absolute no way!

But sin, that it might appear sin or in other words for sin to be recognised as sin, using that which is good to bring about his death; that sin by the commandment might become exceedingly sinful, or the ultimate realisation that one has sins.

 

Romans 7:14 "For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin."

 
The Law is spiritual: but Paul says he is carnal, the word carnal means something relating to the physical, especially sexual, needs and activities.

This is what man is, a creature of carnal desires, sold under sin in bondage to it; we are prisoners of sin.

 

Romans 7:15 "For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I."

 
I once listened to a preacher named Paul Washer on you tube, he quite the popular preacher, he is no doubt in my mind that he is a Lordship Salvationist which my readers know that I do not agree with.

Anyway I was listening to one of his sermons and in it he said the following, "there is no such thing as a carnal Christian" I gasped as I read Romans 7:14 where the Apostle Paul says, "I am carnal" now who is wrong here?

Apostle Paul says he is carnal and just look at verse 15, he says he does the things he hates, and the right things that he would do, he does not!

There are those who think the Apostle Paul was a goody two shoes, but here he is claiming that he is just as guilty of being carnal and sinful as everyone else.

 

Romans 7:16 "If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good."

 
Paul says if then he does that which he would not do, then he consents or agrees that the law is good. The law has made him aware.

 

Romans 7:17 "Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me."

 
Paul declares that as a saved, born again Christian it is no longer him that does what he would not, but sin that dwells in his physical body, the flesh.

 

Romans 7:18 "For 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."

 
Paul says he knows that nothing good dwells in his flesh, our physical bodies are heavily stained in sin. 

Paul says to will is present with me, meaning his spirit is willing, but how to go about performing that good thing, he can't find it.

 

Romans 7:19 "For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do."

 
Paul is reemphasising what has just stated earlier, that for the good that he would do, he does it not, and the evil that he would not do, the sin that he would not do in the spirit, he does.

 

Romans 7:20 "Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me."

 
So when we as born again believers commit a sin, it is not ourselves in our born again state that commits the sin, it is our flesh where sin still resides that commits sin. 

There is a false doctrine out there that people teach and live by called "repenting of your sins".

No one has turned from their sins!

 

Romans 7:21 "I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me."

 
We find that what our spirit wants to do, we do it not, but we do what our flesh desires; when we do that which is good, evil is always present with us, Paul talks about there being a law and we will find out what that law is in the next verses.

 

Romans 7:22 "For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:"

 
Paul says he delights in the law of God after the inward man, the reborn spirit.

 

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."

 
So the law of God working in the inward man, the spirit, but there is another law which wars in his members, his carnal body, and he is saying that this law in his members is at war with the law of his mind; bringing him into captivity or bondage to the law of sin in the flesh.

 

Romans 7:24 "O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?"

 
Paul proclaims that he is a wretched man, and asks the question of who shall deliver him from his body of death; this goes for all of us; that who shall deliver us?

 

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."

 
And here Paul gives the answer to his question by thanking God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

So with the mind we serve the law of God; but with flesh we serve the law of sin.