Law & Grace - Romans 7:7-25 Thanks be to God

Good morning. You have on the front of your handout what we see also on the screen here, and it's been modified from a lot of the usual translations on purpose because there are some things we'd like to make sure get brought out that are in fact in the original text. This is not adding something that isn't there, but it's something that typical translations don't bring out.

So, one of the things just to bring ourselves up to speed is to start back at where we began in Romans chapter 5. The grace in which we've been made to stand, and that's an important point. The translations typically say this grace in which we stand as if we did the standing. The way it is written in the original language is we have been made to stand. God is the one who made us to stand in this grace. He's the one who pulled it off and did it. And that grace is also the reigning principle. That's the message of the last verse there in that chapter. Grace is the reigning principle. Grace calls the shots. Grace is in charge. Grace is the operating system for us as believers.

The next thing in chapter 6 we've seen, and this is of course a summary statement, the believer who is in Christ has died to the sin nature and is alive to God. Both of those truths need to be understood in parallel. We haven't just died to the sin nature, end of story. But we are, in fact, alive to God in this, that being alive to God that is very important for us to understand and to be lived out. The other thing that we had here, and this is on your handout, we had this crossing over slide.

We began in Adam before faith in Christ. We were separated from Christ. This is the message of Ephesians 2, 11-13. We were separated from Christ. We were joined to the sin nature, joined to the principle of law which condemned us. We were joined to the world. In Christ, after faith in Christ, we are joined to Christ and separated from the sin nature, the message of Romans chapter 6.

And as we saw in last week's passage, Romans 7, 1 through 6, separated from the principle of law, whether it's God-given law or man-made law, we were separated from the law. The other thing that we saw is the believer is not under law, but under grace. That's a repeated statement in Romans 6, verses 14 and 15.

Not under law, but under grace. No complications to that. There isn't some, oh, but it's a certain set of laws. It isn't just that we've been released from the penalty of the law. We are not under law whatsoever. We are entirely under the grace, the reigning principle in which we've been made to stand.

Romans 7, 1 through 6, which we saw last time, we have died in relationship to the law That's a message similar to Galatians 2.19. In order to be intimately joined to Christ. That word that is said joined is sometimes used for married. To be intimately joined to Christ.

That's the message in Romans 7.1-6. Now a distinction between Romans 6 and 7. Both Romans 6 and 7 start with our identification with Christ, have an initial statement of that.

However, the main theme of chapter 6 is our having died to the sin nature, and to what it does, and to the wage that it pays. One of the things we've said is, if you want death, you're going to have to work for it. If you want life, that's absolutely free, and you cannot earn it.

The main theme, however, of chapter 7 is our having died to the law to be joined to Christ and the experience of Paul as he tries to live out the law as a believer who is in Christ. So what we're looking at in today's passage is a description of this is what the experience is like for you who are a believer but trying to live under the law. That, by the way, describes most of Christendom. Most of Christendom is living out the passage that we're looking at today. So what happens when we try to live by the law that Christ died to separate us from?

Most Christians, if you ask them, did Christ die for my sins? They would say, well, yes. They would recognize that. However, Very few would recognize that Christ died also to separate me entirely and completely from the law. Most would not recognize that. And so because of that, most of Christendom is stuck in this passage that we're looking at today.

Romans 7, 1-6 told us we have died to the law in order to be joined to Christ. This set of verses Romans 7, 1-6 is about our eternal position. But what if a believer who has died to the law in his eternal position in Christ tries to live by the law and what Paul describes is even one of the Ten Commandments is all it takes to cause the misery that we see here. You don't even need ten. Just one is good enough or bad enough, right? That is exactly what this passage, Romans 7, 7-25, describes. So why do we have the expanded and explained?

Rather than use the standard English translations, we provided this partially expanded and explained, which you have on the front of your handout, because One of the reasons, then, is the definite article in the Greek in front of the word sin says the sin, and we say that that's a specific entity, the sin nature. It's an inclination to think and to act. The sin nature is an inclination to think and to act. It is translated simply as sin in most of our translations, and I think that falls short, which is one of the reasons we have this front page in your handout here.

For example, we have here, what shall we say then? Is the law sin? May it never be. On the contrary, I would not have come to know the sin nature or to know about the sin nature except through the law. For I would not have known about coveting if the law had not said you shall not covet. But that understanding is the sin nature that is the issue here.

And we'll see that throughout the passage. The other reason is because the word that is translated law in some context is probably less confusingly brought across as principle. And we'll explain more about what that word principle means. So we've done that, especially towards the latter part of this passage, translated it as principle rather than law.

Okay, so this first section here, which you have on the top of your handout, reads like this, What shall we say then, as the law sinned, may it never be? On the contrary, I would not have come to know the sin nature, or know about the sin nature, except through the law. For I would not have known about coveting, if the law had not said, You shall not covet.

But the sin nature, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind. How do you like that? Producing me coveting of every kind, for apart from the law, sin is dead. I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, just one, just one, and it's even the Ten Commandments, but that's all it takes, the sin nature became alive and I died. And this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me. For the sin nature, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. So then the law is holy and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.

Paul uses this, what shall we say then, as a way of introducing several different sections, this one included. And why does he do that? What he wants to do is to have them think through this with them. to have him think through the process, think through what he's thinking, and ponder that. He's used it previously, as early as chapter 3. He uses it here. He's going to continue to use it in chapter 8 and chapter 9 as well. What shall we say then? He then asks the question, as he does after he says, what shall we say then? Is the law sin? And then he comes out with, may it never be. May it never be an emphatic negation. Not at all. Not at all.

The problem is not with the law itself. The law is holy and righteous and good. That's not the problem. What is the problem? The problem is that we have associated with this body the sin nature. That's the problem. It's a big problem. The law is not the problem. But it stirs up the problem, the sin nature, big time. Stirs it up big time.

You shall not covet. That sounds simple, right? Shall not covet. Now, let's think about this. What's coveting? And that's just one sin, right? What's coveting? Coveting is different from envy in this way. Coveting is wanting something that is properly someone else's for myself, right? Envying is saying, you know, that person has something that, you know, I desire. But coveting is I want what that person has. It's the precursor to theft, right? It's the precursor to theft. All Paul does is bring up the last one, and it's only one of the Ten Commandments, and the problem crops up big time. As we'll see, just one commandment is all it takes for there to be a spiritual problem.

God has not put in place some subset of the Law of Moses for us as Christians. Even one law is all it takes to cause the problem that he describes here. Just one. And frankly, it doesn't matter which one. Because we are to live under grace, not under law. One law is a problem. Adding more laws doesn't help. We have made a great many laws in this country, right? And that's completely gotten rid of crime, right? Not so much. Adding more laws doesn't help.

There are 613 laws in the law of Moses. Some people say, well, but these are God's top 10. No. All it takes is one to have a big, big problem. The law, and this is the problem, the law stirs and stimulates the sin nature. It doesn't take a number of laws to get the sin nature stirred up. Just one will do the trick. That's all it takes, just one.

That's why we've died to and been separated from any and all law, God-given or man-made. The principle of law has been completely set aside for all believers. God does not intend that we seek to live by the law, but that we live by grace, that we stand in it, that it's the reigning principle, that we're under grace and not under law. Paul's statements in this passage about having died and his death are not about his position, but about his daily condition, his experience. He says, and I died, not positionally, I'm not suddenly going to hell as a Christian, but I experience death, separation from God as I try to live out the law.

The law, because of the sin nature, is deadly. Deadly. There are many, and this has been more and more popular since about the end of World War II, there are many who would deny that a believer has a sin nature. But notice that the sin nature is very active.

One of the things we saw in Romans 6.13, the sin nature uses a believer as a military asset. When we depend upon the sin nature, we've picked sides. You as a believer, if you are depending upon the sin nature, can be used as a military asset by the sin nature, against the Lord.

Romans 6.23, the sin nature will pay you a death wage.

If you want death, you're going to have to work for it. How do you like that? You like that arrangement? If you want death, you're going to have to work for it. The sin nature pays a death wage. And, as we see in this passage, it takes the law as an opportunity to produce sin and to deceive, which is how it pays the death wage to the believer. It doesn't do so by dealing honestly with you. There is a deception involved. That's the character of the sin nature. The sin nature does things. It's not just simply sin in some general form. It actually carries things out. It actually performs certain things. Now you have here in the second block of text here, which is just verse 13, this, Therefore did that which is good become a cause of death for me? May it never be.

Rather, it was the sin nature in order that I might be shown to be sin, by effecting my death through that which is good, so that through the commandment the sin nature would become utterly sinful. The commandment makes the sin nature stirred up and just full-on, full-out expressing its sinful character. Utterly sinful. So the sin nature uses the law, and in fact any law at all will do. All it takes is, do this, don't do that. And the sin nature says, oh yeah? All it takes is that. Do this, don't do that.

And the sin nature has already got the dukes up. Right? It's ready to express its sinful character with one rule. So the law, even God-given law, which is holy and righteous and good, is used by the sin nature. It gets stirred up big time. The sin nature attached to this human body is inclined to think and act apart from the life of God. To think and act apart from the life of God.

It either takes on the law with a can-do attitude, Oh, I can do that! Yeah, good luck. Right? Or, in what Paul presents here, a rebellion against it. The, you know, kind of practicing singing, you go, me, me, me, me. That's what the sin nature does all the time, right? Me, me, me, me. All right. Now, here is the third block of text, verses 14 through 20. For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to the sin nature.

For what I am doing I do not understand, for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But I do the very thing I do not want to do. If I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the law, confessing that the law is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but the sin nature which dwells in me. The sin nature takes charge. For I know that nothing good dwells in me that is in my flesh, but the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But I am doing the very thing I do not want. I am no longer the one doing it, but the sin nature which dwells in me."

Here's Paul describing his experience trying to pull off the law. He says, hey, this is good. But the sin nature takes advantage of it. And no, you're not doing that. The law is spiritual. He recognizes that. It's not only holy and righteous and good, but it is also spiritual. He acknowledges that. That's fine.

That doesn't solve the problem. And that's one of the things that most of Christendom does not get. Just having a bunch of rules in front of you is not going to get the job done. That's not what God intends. But that's what Paul describes. The problem is not with the law, but is with what the sin nature does with the law. Any law, whether it's God-given or man-made.

And like the sign says, do not read this sign under penalty of law. Right? Okay. Believers are never in a place, this is important, Believers are never in a place to simply will to do the right thing or will not to do the wrong thing. That is not a good idea. That message is in this passage.

It is also in Galatians 5.16-18.

Galatians 5.16-18 carries a succinct message similar to Romans 7 and 8, but it says it in just a few verses. He says there, But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire, the will, of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh.

For these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. Do you want to do something? You can't. Do you want not to do something? Sorry, that's what you're going to do. That's the way the sin nature works. We are not in a position of standing apart from this issue of the sin nature and the Holy Spirit and saying, I'm going to decide. Our decision is who is in charge, not what we're going to do. Both Romans 7, 14 through 20 and the last half of Galatians 5, 17, half a verse, tell us that we cannot simply will to do the right thing and will not to do the wrong thing. One of the reasons why... I said it before, I'll say it again.

I do not recommend that you try to be a good Christian. God does not want you to try to be a good Christian. That's not your job. Because what will happen is exactly this. The sin nature will grab that. It's not our job to try to be a good Christian.

Last section here. Verses 21 through 25 that Brad read for us. I find in the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God and the inner man. I might say, yeah, this represents God's character. Yeah, these rules, yeah, that defines what's right.

But I see a different principle in the members of my body, waging war against the principle of my mind and making me a prisoner of the principle of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am, who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other with my flesh the principle of sin.

So what's a principle? It's not this guy who administers the school here. That's not the guy. A principle is either a fundamental truth or the way things work or sometimes it's both. Got that? A principle is either a fundamental truth, or the way things work, and sometimes both. In this passage, in the place where we translated the word as principle instead of law, it means the way things work.

It's the way things operate. And we say the principle of sin because that's the way the sin nature operates. The sin nature operates one way. And it operates, me, me, me, me, right? That's how it operates. So where we've translated here, it's the way things work. That's the definition of the word principle in this context here. Verses 23 through 25 particularly are places where we've had the principle of sin. It's the way sin works. It's the way sin works. And so you'll see that there in that passage.

Romans 7.25, we translate it this way. Thanks be to the God, and I put the definite article in there because that's there in the Greek, through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then, on the one hand, I myself with my mind am serving the law of the God, but on the other with my flesh, the principle of sin, the way sin works, the way sin operates. Okay.

Though one might even agree with what a law system says is right and wrong. You might look at it and say, yeah, that defines what's right and what's wrong. You might even say, yeah, I agree with what's right and wrong by that law. The sin nature attached to this body is going to make it turn out all wrong. And that's what a great many Christians struggle with. because they're trying to will to do the right thing and will not to do the wrong thing.

We'll get Selene off there. Okay. And with the way that the sin nature uses the law, any law system, any law system, you see various groups and people will come up with different rules. We've got different sets of rules. I know when my mom was younger, she was in a church where one of the rules is you don't go to see movies. That was bad.

It doesn't matter what rules you come up with, the sin nature is always going to treat them the same way. Because that's its nature. Right? That's its nature. Any law system, whether it's God-given or man-made, will produce the same result. With the sin nature calling the shots. The believer who tries to will to do the right thing and will not to do the wrong thing is in deep yogurt. Right? In deep doo-doo. Deep trouble. Willing to do the right thing and willing not to do the wrong thing is not God's answer.

Because of the way the sin nature works. One law, 10, 613, doesn't matter. The sin nature will always do the same thing. with however many laws and whatever you decide to do. The sin nature will always pay a death wage for those who are willing to work for it.

So Paul says, wretched man that I am, the believer has an issue that the unbeliever does not. The believer may well agree with the moral code. Yeah, that's right and that's wrong. That defines right and wrong. Set in the law system and say that the law even reflects God's moral character. Yeah, it's holy and righteous and good. Yeah, that's a good definition of what's moral.

But the sin nature associated with the human body will run interference. You can imagine the Broncos, you know. But we can make lots of touchdowns if we didn't have these guys getting in our way, you know. That's the problem with the sin nature, you know. You'd say, boy, you know, I'd really like to go and do what this law says, but I keep having this problem. The sin nature keeps getting in the way.

And it's like the football game with only one side out on the field, right? What was the score? Oh, you know, But the problem is, just like the football team, where you've got an opposing team there, the sin nature keeps getting in the way. Can't score any touchdowns. Can't win this game. Because the sin nature keeps running interference.

Churches may even teach some kind of law system, and most of Christendom does exactly that. They even hold people accountable. And the accountability might be gentle, it might be severe. Accountability groups, you ever hear of that? Support groups is another way they call it. No matter how you do it, it's still trying to make the law work. We'll help you live by the law.

Not gonna work, okay? That's not God's solution. Paul describes the misery of that approach. He spends most of this chapter describing the misery. Oh, wretched man that I am. And what do Christians frequently do? They say, hey, let's all be wretched Christians. Right? That's what most of Christendom does. Pastors even do it. Let's all be wretched. Together. Let's sing songs about being wretched together. Right?

It doesn't get any crazier than that. Thanks be to God. Thank God that there is an answer to this dilemma that the believer finds if he tries to live by any law system, even one. Keep the list short. It isn't going to help. Make the list long and it won't help either. Nothing will help from the law. And it's not because the problem is with the law. The sin nature runs interference. Just like the Broncos have problems with the other team.

Part of the answer has already been given for us starting in Romans 5.1 and up to 7.6 here. And so we've been looking at that. It's been summarized in the first couple of slides here on page 2. But the rest of the answer will come as we step into Romans chapter 8, introducing the multiple ministries of the Holy Spirit. See, part of the problem with the law, it's a ministry, this is 2 Corinthians chapter 3, it's a ministry of condemnation. Anybody like to volunteer for a ministry of condemnation?

Sound good? That's the problem with the law. But when we get into chapter eight, what's he going to say? There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. If you want condemnation, I just can't help you. You'll have to go somewhere else. We're not going to go there. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. You are not under law. You are under grace. Thanks be to God. Let's pray.

Lord, we thank you as we look at this passage and as we anticipate the things that you're about to reveal with the multiple ministries of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We thank you that we are entirely free of condemnation because we are in fact in Christ Jesus. We've been placed into him. And we thank you that we're not in this endless struggle. of trying to apply the law to our lives and living according to the dictates then of the sin nature. And we thank you that we are entirely under grace, this grace in which we've been made to stand, this grace which is the reigning principle. Mountains and fountains, oceans of grace. We thank you in Jesus' name. Amen.