Calvary
Chapel Bible College
March
3, 2021
Homework
Did you do your reading? (Message)
Did you memorize your verse? Can you recite it for me? (Romans 8:28)
(Romans 8:28 NKJV) And we know that all things work together for good to those who
love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
Introduction
The letter of Paul to the Romans is considered Paul’s most important
letter. This is why it is placed in front of all his others
writings.
When and Where
The year is around AD 57 or 58
In your Bible, we’d place the writing of this letter around Acts 20:2 –
that’s about when Paul wrote to the Romans from the city of Corinth.
Paul had been in Ephesus for three years, yet when persecution arose, he
makes his way up to Macedonia, writes 2Corinthians at Philippi, and then heads
south to Corinth where he writes his letter to Rome.
What it’s about
The first five chapters dealt with justification, how a person is
made right with God.
The next three chapters will deal with sanctification, the process
where we grow to be more like Jesus.
The next three chapters will unpack the differences between the Jew and
Gentile, and God’s plan for His people.
In the last five chapters, Paul will launch into personal, practical
matters – how do we live as Christians? What does the Christian life look like?
How do we get along with one another?
In building his case for justification, Paul started by showing that
The Gentiles were guilty of sin (ch.1)
The Jews were also guilty (ch.2)
God provided Jesus to pay for our sins (ch.3)
Paul showed that faith like Abraham is all that’s needed for salvation
(ch.4)
Paul showed that it’s reasonable for one person (Jesus) to affect all
mankind, like Adam (ch.5)
Last time we move into Paul’s next section: Sanctification
Chapter 6 talked about the connection between baptism, and the reality that
we’ve been buried and raised from the dead, and sin no longer has an
unbreakable hold on us.
This week we’ll talk more about this, as well as how this actually works out in real life.
7:1-6 Til Death do us part
: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?
:1 to those who know the law
Paul is going to talk about marriage laws, something that all of his readers know about, whether they are Jew or
Gentile.
:1 the law has dominion over a man
has dominion – kurieuo –
to be lord of, to rule, have dominion over; to exercise influence upon, to have
power over
It’s built on the very common word for “lord”, kurios.
This is the same word used back in 6:14 –
(Romans 6:14 NKJV) For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not
under law but under grace.
Paul is going to talk about the believer’s relationship with the Law from a
new perspective. He’s going to use
marriage as an illustration of how we are to relate to the Law.
He’s going to draw a parallel between the Law being “lord” over man, with a
husband being “lord” over his wife.
: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.
:2 the woman who has a husband is bound
the woman – gune – a woman
of any age; a wife
who has a husband – hupandros (“under”
+ “man”) – under i.e. subject to a man: married
is bound – deo – to bind
tie, fasten; to bind, put under obligation
These are all similar to our relationship with the
law. Being “under” it,
and being “bound” to it.
:2 she is released from the law of her husband
released – katargeo – to
render idle, inoperative; to deprive of force, influence; to be severed from,
loosed from any one
This word was used back in:
(Romans 6:6 NKJV) knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that
the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be
slaves of sin.
When we learn to “account” (logizomai) ourselves
dead with Christ, our sin nature is rendered ineffective, inoperative.
When a woman’s husband dies, the law binding her to her
husband becomes ineffective or inoperative.
: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.
:3 husband lives…she will be called an adulteress
marries – ginomai – to
become, i.e. to come into existence; to be made, finished; of miracles, to be
performed, wrought
This isn’t the typica l word used for marriage (gameo), but it is clearly speaking of
marriage.
We could translate this, “if while her lives she becomes to another man …”
will be called – chrematizo –
to transact business; to assume or take to one’s self
a name from one’s public business; to receive a name or title
The person in town who baked the bread became known as “Mr. Baker”.
The fellow who made horseshoes, fixed wagons, and made things out of iron
was the blacksmith, known as “Mr. Smith”.
The guy that made clothes became known as “Mr. Taylor”.
The family that lived in the field where the roses grew became known as the
“Roosevelt” family (Dutch name).
Here, the woman who marries another man while her husband is alive is known
as “Adulteress”.
Paul is saying that if a woman leaves her husband while he’s still alive,
and marries another man, she becomes an adulteress.
A woman who marries another man while her first husband is still alive has
“changed occupations”, she gets a new business card. Her card no longer reads “married woman”, but
reads, “adulteress”.
an adulteress –moichalis –
an adulteress
Lesson
Divorce and Remarriage.
The point in this verse is not to teach on divorce and remarriage. The point here is to teach on being released
from an obligation like marriage through death.
Because our society doesn’t have a great view of God’s intended permanence
of marriage, our reaction to this passage might be, “so what?”
Paul’s point is to teach on how we are released
from our obligation to the Law, but while he’s using this as a lesson, we ought
to make sure we have the right idea about the subject.
We don’t seem to take divorce too seriously anymore.
Today when any couple get married, statistics are they have a 50/50 chance
of staying married.
The divorce rate in America for first marriage is 41%
The divorce rate in America for second marriage is 60%
The divorce rate in America for third marriage is 73%
Our own church has lots of folks who know the pain of divorce.
Some are “victims” of divorce – they didn’t have a choice
in the matter.
Others are guilty of improper divorce.
In our society the concept of “No-fault divorce” is the law of the land.
“No-fault divorce” simply means that nobody is to blame,
leading to the idea that you can divorce your spouse for any reason you want.
I found it interesting that the concept of “no-fault
divorce” started in 1918, in Russia, by the Bolsheviks.
In the U.S., “no-fault divorce” started in our own
glorious revolutionary state, California, on January 1, 1970.
I find it interesting that between 1965 and 1975, the rate
of divorce basically doubled.
The problem is that God doesn’t seem to recognize
“no-fault” divorce.
God does allow for divorce, but His reasons might be a
little different than the ones we are comfortable with.
My intention is not to condemn anyone who has been
divorced or is going through a divorce.
My intent is to make sure we know what God says about divorce.
We believe there are two acceptable, Biblical reasons for divorce and
remarriage.
Lesson
Reason for Divorce: Infidelity
(Matthew 19:3–9
NKJV) —3 The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, “Is
it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?”
The Pharisees were testing Jesus.
There was a prominent teaching at the time that said if you found anything displeasing in your wife, you
were allowed to divorce her. It sounds a
lot like today’s “irreconcilable differences” or “no-fault” divorce.
4 And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who
made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and
mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?
6 So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore
what God has joined together, let not man separate.”
While the Pharisees would base their ideas on divorce with what Moses
wrote, Jesus predates this and takes His ideas back to the Garden of Eden.
God never intended for people to divorce once they were married. God’s original intentions were that a man and
a woman stay married their entire lives.
When a man and a woman enter into the bond of
marriage, you are no longer dealing with two individuals but a single, organic
unity.
7 They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to give a certificate
of divorce, and to put her away?”
They are referring to Moses’ vague instructions on divorce which said:
(Deuteronomy 24:1 NKJV) “When a man takes a wife and marries
her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found
some uncleanness in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it
in her hand, and sends her out of his house,
Even today there are different views among Christians as
to what this means. Some will take this
as narrow as to say that the only reason for divorce is if the wife was not a
virgin when the marriage took place.
8 He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts,
permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.
Moses’ command came only as a concession to the hardness of a person’s
heart. Even in the case of marital
infidelity, divorce doesn’t have to be the automatic
response. God, in his “marriage” to His people has often taken us back after
we’ve been unfaithful to Him. But
sometimes there comes a point in a spouse’s life when their heart becomes so
cold, so hard, that they can’t take it anymore.
And God understands that. God
allows divorce in this instance, when there has been infidelity and the
victim’s heart has become hardened to the point where they can no longer stay
with the other spouse.
9 And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual
immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her
who is divorced commits adultery.”
Jesus gives an exception to divorce.
sexual immorality (pornea) – sexual activity outside the bounds of marriage.
If a spouse has been unfaithful, then divorce is allowed.
Lesson
Reason #2 - Abandonment
I have to preface this with
saying that not all people accept this as a valid reason for divorce. I do.
(1 Corinthians
7:10–15 NKJV) —10 Now to the married I command, yet
not I but the Lord: A wife is not to depart from her husband. 11 But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be
reconciled to her husband. And a husband is not to divorce his
wife.
Paul is talking about separation here.
In the case of a separation for any reason other than one acceptable for
divorce, the idea is to be reconciled, get it worked out.
I’ve seen separation work. I’ve seen
it be something like a wakeup call for the husband and wife. I’ve also seen it be
disastrous. I’ve seen one spouse use it
simply as a prelude to divorce. It seems
to me that the longer the separation, the worse the chance for reconciliation. It becomes too tempting to just quit on the
marriage.
12 But to the rest I, not the Lord, say: If any brother has a wife who
does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her.
13 And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is
willing to live with her, let her not divorce him. 14 For the
unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is
sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children
would be unclean, but now they are holy.
If you are living with an unbelieving spouse, you
need to stay with them as long as they want you to. Being “unequally yoked” is not something you
want to get into when you marry, but once you’re married it is not a reason to
dissolve the marriage. There is a sense
in which you bring a measure of protection and holiness to your family as the
believer in the house.
15 But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart; a brother or a
sister is not under bondage in such cases. But God has called us to
peace.
Here is the possible reason for divorce.
If the unbeliever wants out of the marriage, you may allow them to
leave. But you shouldn’t be the one
pushing them out the door.
bondage – douloo – to make
a slave of, reduce to bondage
Not being “under bondage” might just mean that you can allow them to leave,
but it seems to me the point is not being bound to the person any more, you are free to remarry.
Strictly speaking, the situation described is between a believer and an
unbeliever.
I have heard some pastors teach that even a Christian
husband, when he wants out of a marriage, is acting like an unbeliever, and
when he leaves, the wife can allow him to.
You need to let God speak to you on that. I don’t endorse or stand against it, I only mention it.
You need to be careful to do what God is leading you. You also need to know that you will be
accountable to God for what you choose to do.
Don’t make your decision out of rebellion to God or selfishness on your
own part.
Frankly, over the years I’ve come to put spousal abuse in this category.
The abuser has “left” the marriage.
Keep in mind the seriousness of divorce followed by remarriage. Divorce for the wrong reasons leads to you
committing adultery.
:3 if her husband dies, she is free
As we get back to the verse, keep in mind that Paul’s intent is NOT to teach on divorce and remarriage,
but to simply use the illustration of a woman being freed from the obligation
of her marriage when her husband dies.
free from – eleutheros –
freeborn; free, exempt, unrestrained, not bound by an obligation
The freedom that the widow has from the law of being married to her husband
allows her to be married to another man.
The word here in Romans is simply the flip side of the word Paul uses in
1Corinthians:
(1
Corinthians 7:15 NKJV) But if the unbeliever departs, let
him depart; a brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases.
But God has called us to peace.
The point of being “free” or “not bound” is that you are free to be
remarried.
: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.
:4 you also have become dead to the law
Paul now makes his connection and takes us back to the point he made back
in Romans 6:3, that we have “died” with Christ.
(Romans 6:3 NKJV) Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ
Jesus were baptized into His death?
The focus in chapter six was to show that our death with Christ freed us
from the power of sin:
(Romans 6:7 NKJV) For he who has died has been freed from sin.
Here, the focus is a little different.
We’ve not just been freed from the power of sin, but now also
freed from the Law.
Death brings freedom from the Law
:4 that you may be married to another
Death allows for remarriage
Using Paul’s analogy – we were married to the Law. We died with Christ. We are now free from the previous marriage so
we can remarry, this time to Christ.
But of course if you follow the analogy too close,
you see that since we’re the ones who died, and have been freed from the Law,
that when we are now freed to marry a new husband, being joined with Christ,
that Jesus is marrying a dead bride. ;-) Kinda creepy, huh?
:4 that we should bear fruit to God
we should bear fruit – karpophoreo
(“fruit” + “to bear”) – to bear fruit
One commentator (Robertson) says that Paul is changing the metaphor from
marriage to that of a tree.
I’m not sure he’s changing the metaphor.
A marriage bears fruit. They are
called “kids”.
Lesson
Bearing fruit
Jesus said,
(John 15:1–8 NKJV)
—1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and
every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
The vinedresser’s job is to get the vine to produce fruit. The only reason He tends the vineyard is to
produce fruit.
He has several ways to increase fruit.
Pruning - One of the principles
of good gardening is to prune your plants.
If you have too many “suckers”, branches that are full of leaves but not
flowers or fruit, then they draw life and sap away from the good branches. In order to support
the fruitful branches, you have to prune and trim
back.
Sometimes we get too involved in too many things. There’s not enough “life” or even time in our
lives to do everything. As a good
gardener, God will sometimes have to prune us back. Sometimes we can learn to do it ourselves.
3 You are already clean because of the word
which I have spoken to you.
The word for “clean” is the same one for “prunes”. They have been pruned through Jesus’ word to
them.
One of the best pruning shears in our lives is in God’s
Word. Keep reading and obeying what you
read. Stay pruned.
What has God been saying to you today in His word? Have you given Him a chance to speak to your
heart?
4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of
itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 “I am the
vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears
much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
Abiding: The key to producing fruit in your life
is staying connected to Jesus, staying in that love/marriage relationship with
Him. There’s nothing mystical about
“abiding”. It simply means to “stay put”
or “remain” in a place. You don’t need
to wander anywhere from Jesus. He has
what you need.
6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is
withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they
are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words
abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
Word & Prayer: Part of what
leads to bearing fruit.
Bearing fruit is a part of being His disciple. It shows others that we are
His disciples. Bearing much fruit.
What does it mean to “bear fruit”?
1) Inner change -
qualities that come from being with Jesus.
(Galatians
5:22–23 NKJV) —22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love,
joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
(Ephesians 5:9 NKJV) (for the fruit of the Spirit is
in all goodness, righteousness, and truth),
(Hebrews 12:11 NKJV) Now no chastening seems to be joyful
for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable
fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
2)
Spiritual offspring.
This would seem a natural explanation of this verse in
context – a marriage that brings forth fruit – children.
Having an effect on others around
you. Leading others to Jesus. Influencing others to know Him.
: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.
:5 in the flesh, the sinful passions
the flesh – sarx – flesh,
the human body; the sin nature
Here it’s talking about the sin nature, not just our physical body.
Our sin nature is that part of us that wants to rebel against God.
(Romans 7:5 NLT) When we were controlled by our old 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.
passions – pathema – that
which one suffers or has suffered; of an inward state,
an affliction, passion
which were aroused by – literally, “which were through”
were at work – energeo (“energize”)
– to be operative, be at work, put forth power
You could translate this:
“When we were operating under the control of our sin nature, the sinful
passions that came through the law were energized in our bodies to bear the
fruit of death”
When we live a life of evil passions, we bring forth 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.
have been delivered from – katargeo
– to render idle, inoperative; to deprive of force, influence; to be
severed from, loosed from any one
Same word that was translated “released” in verse 2.
we were held by – katecho –
to hold fast, keep secure, keep firm possession of
:6 that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit
we should serve – douleuo –
to be a slave, serve, do service
We talked back in Romans 6 about the “bondservant”, the concept of a person
who loves his master and makes a choice to serve him for life. The wearing of an earring was a sign that a
person was a “bondservant”.
We make choices who we will serve. But who do we choose? How do we serve?
newness … oldness – contrasting the “new” marriage with the “old”
marriage, contrasting our new relationship with Christ with the old
relationship with the Law.
Spirit … letter – the same contrast, our relationship with Christ
being one of “the Spirit”, the old relationship with the Law being the
“letter”.
Lesson
Motives for service
Why are you serving God?
Are you doing things for Him because of the Law, because of a sense of
legalism?
Do you serve because of someone putting
pressure on you?
I think that sometimes we mean well, but we can end up putting such a guilt
trip on each other as to what it means to serve the Lord.
Some people do need a little prodding now and then to serve the Lord.
But we need to learn to trust the Holy Spirit to teach us how to serve and
follow Jesus.
God wants the direction of our service to come from inside, from the
leading of the Holy Spirit.
7:7-12 Sin and Law
: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.”
:7 I would not have known covetousness unless the law
covetousness – epithumia –
desire, craving, longing, desire for what is forbidden, lust
you shall not covet – epithumeo
– to have a desire for, long for, to desire; to lust after, covet; of those
who seek things forbidden
A.T. Robertson:
The law is not itself sin nor the cause of sin. Men with their
sinful natures turn law into an occasion for sinful acts.
The law is the thing that reveals sin to us as being sinful. We were already doing it and were guilty, but
we didn’t know it was wrong before the Law.
It’s like turning on a flashlight in a dark room. The things in the room were already there,
but you didn’t see them until the flashlight was turned on.
The Law is the flashlight. It isn’t
sin. It is the thing that exposes sin.
Some people want to do away with certain laws because they claim that they
only cause people to want to break them.
The thought was that if we made marijuana legal, people wouldn’t want it so
much.
How’s that going?
If we lowered the drinking age, then college kids wouldn’t have so many keg
parties. Right?
Lesson
Blaming the wrong things
(keyword)
I find this whole subject to be a great picture of how we blame the wrong
things.
We tend to find all sorts of excuses for our sin.
A guy gets mad at his wife and uses it for an
excuse to look at pornography.
As you are looking at the porn, you tell yourself, “well
she deserves it…”, or “I know I’m doing something bad, but I don’t have a
choice, it’s her fault”.
Some people get violent when they get angry.
If you ask them why they are violent, they will probably tend to blame it
on a person they think made them angry.
The Bible says,
(Ephesians
4:26–27 NLT) —26 And “don’t sin by letting anger
control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 for anger gives a foothold to the devil.
You may not always have control over the things that
provoke you, but you do have responsibility for how you respond.
Anger opens up something that the
devil can get a hold of and use.
The real problem is me.
(1 John 1:6–9 NKJV)
—6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness,
we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we
walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another,
and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say
that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our
sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Help comes from admitting my fault.
Help comes when I stop blaming others for my own sin.
Don’t blame the law for your sin, own the truth that you are a sinner.
:8 But sin, taking
opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil
desire. For apart from the law sin was dead.
:8 sin, taking opportunity by the commandment
opportunity – aphorme (“from”
+ “to set in rapid motion”) – a place from which a movement or attack is made,
a base of operations;
The word is used metaphorically as the law is the thing that stirs up sin
to take off running.
It’s kind of like a runner’s starting blocks. Sin uses the law as the thing that gives it a
boost, makes it run faster. Look at these starting blocks, they represent
the Law. Sin is like the runner’s feet
that will push off the blocks. The gun
sounds and off it goes, with a better start because of the blocks.
Illustration
One of my favorite computer games is called “Age of Empires”. My wife says I like it because I like to hear
the people in my nation say “Yes M’Lord”. You start out in an early stage of a civilization and you advance your nation through various
stages of civilization. The goal is to
conquer the map you’re sitting on. When
you start a game, you start with a “town center”. That’s where you make people,
who make farms, markets, stuff like that. It’s also where you start to build your
weapons, armies, and launch your attack to conquer the world. When my kids were small, my youngest ones
used their town centers to launch out and explore the world. David and I were different. Our town centers were where we launched our
scorched earth practices and wiped out our enemies.
The “Law” is like your town center.
It can be used for good or for evil.
Does it bring destruction or does it help you explore life? It all
depends on how it’s being used and who’s using it. When sin takes advantage of the Law, it
springs up all kinds of trouble in us.
But the Law itself is good.
produced – katergazomai –
to perform, accomplish, achieve; to work out i.e. to do that from which
something results
all manner – the Greek is just the word for “all”
evil desire – epithumia –
desire, craving, longing, desire for what is forbidden, lust
It’s the same word translated “covetousness” in vs. 7.
Translators add the word “evil” to clarify, but it’s the word for “lust” or
strong “desire”.
When sin was put together with the commandment, the result was “all lust”.
It’s kind of like putting together two chemicals that are harmless by
themselves, but when you combine them...
Putting nitrogen into a sugar alcohol, or
glycerol, produces nitroglycerin
Or putting a Mentos candy into Diet Coke…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-X1X7HuFHSg
:8 apart from the law
sin was dead
was dead – nekros – one
that has breathed his last, lifeless; destitute of
force or power, inactive, inoperative
:9 I was alive once
without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died.
:9 I was alive once without the law
What is Paul talking about, being “alive once without the law”?
One writer calls this
"the lost paradise in the infancy of
men" (Denney in A.T. Robertson),
The thought is that before a person
becomes old enough or rational enough to understand the law, they experienced a
measure of “life”.
There could be here a hint of what we
call the “age of accountability”. The
Jews have a ritual that a child goes through when they are old enough to become
accountable to the Law. It is a “bar
mitzvah” (or, for girls, a “bat mitzvah”), when a boy becomes a “son of the
covenant”.
:9 sin revived and I died
sin revived – anazao (“again”
+ “to live”) – live again, recover life
It’s not that it was ever really dead, but the Law
gave it new life…
Look at how Paul is combining living and dead things, and what results.
Take a dead thing (sin).
Take a living thing (me).
Add the commandment.
The dead thing comes to life. The
living thing dies.
:10 And the commandment,
which was to bring life, I found to bring death.
The commandment was supposed to bring life, but for sinners like me, it
ends up bringing death.
:11 For sin, taking
occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me.
:11 sin taking occasion … deceived
occasion – aphorme (“from”
+ “to set in rapid motion”) – a place from which a movement or attack is made;
It’s the same word translated “opportunity” inverse 8, the “starting
blocks”.
Sin jump started off the blocks and…
deceived – exapatao – to
deceive; from apatao – to cheat,
beguile, deceive,
literally “to not walk” (a + pateo) or “walk away”.
Adding the “ek” makes it more intense, to “deceive completely”.
I know the Law is good and from God, but sin deceives me into thinking that
I can meet those standards, and all that happens is that I break the
commandments and get caught in sin.
When Paul is talking about “me” in this passage, he’s talking about the
spiritually alive “me”, not my sin nature.
He’s going to sound like he’s setting up a “split personality”.
Each believer has two distinct “persons” inside of them – the spiritually
alive “me”, and our old man, our “sin nature”.
You’ll need to remember this in a few verses…
:12 Therefore the law is
holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.
:12 the commandment holy and just and good
Our section began with the question:
(Romans 7:7 NKJV) What shall we say then? Is the law sin?
Paul now goes back to that question.
holy – hagios –
characteristic of God, separated to God; in the moral
sense of sharing God’s purity
just – dikaios –
righteous, observing divine laws
That’s the word we saw all through the first five chapters.
good – agathos – of good
constitution or nature; useful; good, pleasant, agreeable, joyful, happy
You have to be careful with all that we’ve said
about legalism. Legalism is deadly in
that we are deceived into thinking that we can please God and meet His
standards for heaven by keeping the Law.
But the Law itself … is perfect.
Lesson
Read the whole book
There are some folks who take such a stance against the “Law” that they
just don’t read the Old Testament. They
say that we aren’t saved through the Law, so they don’t read the Law.
Look what Jesus said about the Law:
(Matthew 5:17–19
NKJV) —17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did
not come to destroy but to fulfill.
Jesus doesn’t remove the Law. He
uses the Law and fulfilled all of
it’s requirements.
He never sinned. He also used the
Law concerning sacrifices in dying on a cross, taking our place, taking our
judgment.
18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one
jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.
The Law doesn’t pass away with the New Testament. It doesn’t pass away until the
heaven and earth does.
19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments,
and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever
does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of
heaven.
We want to be careful what we say about the Law.
David wrote:
(Psalm 19:7–11
NKJV) —7 The law of the Lord is
perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the Lord
is sure, making wise the simple; 8 The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the
heart; The
commandment of the Lord is
pure, enlightening the eyes; 9 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The
judgments of the Lord are
true and righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired are they
than gold, Yea, than
much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. 11 Moreover by
them Your servant is warned, And in keeping
them there is great reward.
Read all of God’s Word, not just the New Testament.
It’s a great picture of what God’s standards are all
about. It’s the very basis for the New
Testament.
I can’t see how anyone
could correctly understand half of what’s in the New Testament without
understanding what has happened in the Old Testament.
Summary:
There’s a difference between loving and appreciating the Old Testament and
the Law, and expecting that I’m going to please God
and enter heaven by making it my sole focus to obey every commandment.
I understand very clearly from the Law that I fall very
short of it.
I also understand in the Law that God has made provision
for my sins, by allowing me to offer up a substitutionary sacrifice, another
person or animal who takes my place by dying and paying for my sins.
I understand now that Jesus has done that for me, dying
once and for all for all of my sins.
I now know that I can only meet God’s awesome, holy
requirements by accepting with faith that Jesus has paid for my sins.
Break
7:13-25 Struggle with sin
: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.
:13 sin …might become exceedingly sinful
sin – hamartia – to be
without a share in; to miss the mark; to err, be mistaken; to miss or wander
from the path of uprightness and honor, to do or go wrong; to wander from the
law of God, violate God’s law, sin
“So”, Paul would say, “Are you saying that this good thing, the law, has
been the thing that has brought me death?” “Has this good thing been bad for
me?”
It would be like saying, “Do you mean that eating all this broccoli is
going to kill me?”
Who is the bad guy here? The law or sin?
Sin is what has killed me, not the Law.
The Law only exposed the sin.
exceedingly – huperbole (“hyperbole”)
– a throwing beyond; beyond measure, exceedingly, preeminently
When sin is mixed with the commandments of God, we see just how sinful sin
really is. There’s a kind of “death”
that happens in us, a strong conviction that we’ve utterly failed. The more time we spend in God’s Word, the
more aware we are of how evil sin really is.
Illustration
It’s kind of like natural gas. I
understand that in it’s natural state, natural gas is
odorless. You can’t see it, you can’t
smell it, but light a match and ka-BOOM! So the gas company
mixes in “mercaptan”, an ingredient that gives it a certain smell, like rotten
eggs. Now if there’s a gas leak, we can
smell it and get away from it. The Law
is like mercaptan that produces the smell.
It’s really for our good that we smell it, it warns us of the danger.
The commandment made sin out for what it was, bad, evil, wicked, sinful.
Lesson
Yeah, it’s that bad
God’s Word shows me just how bad sin is.
This is one reason why some people avoid church and avoid reading their
Bible. They’ve had a
little taste of the conviction, and they don’t want to feel that again! What they ignore is that they’re still
carrying around the very stuff that made the conviction feel so bad in the
first place, their sin.
Just because you don’t smell the natural gas
doesn’t mean that the unadulterated kind isn’t around.
God’s word tells us that sexual sin outside of marriage is wrong.
The world has tried to distance itself from the Bible and has declared that
it’s okay to live together before you get married. People want to “try it out”
before they make a commitment to marriage.
Yet studies show that it doesn’t work.
Illustration
From USA Today, [ENEWS] Feb. 01, 1999
6:00 a.m. ET
Cohabitation bad for marriages
Couples who live together before marriage are about 48%
more likely to divorce than those who don't, says the author of a new review of
research on cohabitation. Despite what some couples may think, the overwhelming
implication is that "living together is not a good way to prepare for
marriage or to avoid divorce," says study co-author David Popenoe, a
Rutgers University sociologist. The report comes as the trend of living
together soars. By 1998, the number of unmarried U.S. couples topped 4,236,000
up from 439,000 in 1960, according to the Census Bureau.
If you would expose yourself to the Bible, you would know that sex outside
of marriage was wrong.
(1
Thessalonians 4:3 NKJV) For this is the will of God, your
sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality;
The world tries to remove the mercaptan (the Bible/the Law), but sin
still kills us.
Sin is bad. Really bad.
:14 For we know that the
law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin.
:14 the law is spiritual, but I am carnal
spiritual – pneumatikos –
belonging to the Holy Spirit; having the nature of Spirit
carnal – sarkikos –
fleshly, carnal; having the nature of flesh, i.e. under the control of the
animal appetites
It’s funny that Paul is calling himself carnal. He doesn’t use a past
tense, but a present tense. Some people will try to say that in this
section Paul is describing his life before Christ. But he’s describing his present life.
This was his rebuke of the Corinthian church:
(1
Corinthians 3:1 NKJV) And I, brethren, could not speak to
you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in
Christ.
We all have a sin nature.
Even Paul.
:14 sold under sin
sold under – piprasko – to
sell
When combined with the preposition “under” (hupo), it carries the
idea of being sold as a slave to someone.
Paul uses the perfect tense. I’ve been sold and am still sold.
“Sin has closed the mortgage and owns its slave” – Robertson.
Lesson
The problem is in me
There are some who view this next section as Paul’s description of life as
a non-Christian. They say this is based
on the phrase “sold under sin”. They
think that this can’t be applicable to a born-again believer. Yet I believe that this is a kind of
deception itself.
There’s a sense in which my physical body is going to be still under
slavery to sin, even after being born again.
My sin nature is still attached.
It isn’t going away until my physical death. The person who has a hard time with this
being a description of a believer is a person who has a hard time
with seeing the truth in their own life.
I believe this is very much the experience of Christians, but it’s not
where we are to stay. We shouldn’t be
satisfied because we feel this way, we should allow God to move us forward
towards the freedom and victory He has for us in Jesus.
Keep in mind that this isn’t where Paul ends the book of Romans.
Even next week:
(Romans 8:1 NKJV) There is therefore now no
condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the
flesh, but according to the Spirit.
There is a life after the flesh. There is the life of the Spirit.
: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.
Paul is going to use a variety of Greek words throughout this passage, and
sometimes we don’t always see the little nuances in what he’s saying because
our English translations don’t clue us in to the differences.
I am doing – katergazomai (“down
from” + “to work”) – to perform, accomplish, achieve; doing something that
produces results; I work and something comes down from it. I like the idea of “produced” -
The word is used six times throughout Romans 7:
Ro 7:8 But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all [manner of
evil] desire…
Ro 7:13 …But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through
what is good…
Ro 7:15 (here) 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.
Ro 7:17 But now, [it is] no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.
Ro 7:18 …for to will is present with me, but [how] to perform what is good I do not
find.
Ro 7:20 Now if I do what I will not [to do], it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in
me.
:15 what I will to do, that I do not practice
I will to do – thelo – to will, have in mind, intend; to be resolved or determined
We get confused sometimes in English because we use the word “will” to
express something happening in the future:
I will go to the store – something I’ll do in the future.
But here the word is used to express “desire”, a person’s “self-will”, a
choice they make.
This is a key word in our passage. It’s found SEVEN times in six of the
following verses:
(Romans 7:15 NKJV) 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.
(Romans 7:16 NKJV) If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good.
(Romans 7:18 NKJV) 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.
(Romans 7:19 NKJV) For the good that I will to
do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to
do, that I practice.
(Romans 7:20 NKJV) Now if I do what I will not to do,
it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.
(Romans 7:21 NKJV) I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who
wills to do good.
You will often hear that in this chapter Paul has an “I” problem, his focus
is on himself. But it’s really a “will”
problem. The problem is not being able
to do what his “will” wants to do.
The point is that just “wanting” to do the right thing might be a good
place to start, but it isn’t enough.
The old adage is, “The road to hell is paved with
good intentions”.
I do not practice – prasso –
to exercise, practice, to be busy with
It’s a present tense.
It carries the idea of intended, earnest, and habitual performance; an
action that has direction and purpose in it.
A musician understands what “practice” is.
Paul is saying that the very things that I have a desire to do, the good
kinds of things in my life, those are the things that I have trouble doing
consistently, with direction and purpose.
I do – poieo – to make; to
do
The simple word for “to do”, simply producing something without any particular intention or purpose.
I do not understand –
Have you ever been in a period of your life where you’ve been doing good,
you’ve been walking with the Lord, you’ve been cultivating the
spiritual life in you. And then you trip up and do something bad,
wicked, and stupid? And you say to yourself, “What was I thinking?”
Lesson
What was I thinking?
(keyword)
Illustration
An intern writes, “I am a medical student currently doing a rotation in
toxicology at the poison control center. Today, this woman called in very upset
because she caught her little daughter eating ants. I quickly reassured her
that the ants are not harmful and there would be no need to bring her daughter
into the hospital. She calmed down, and at the end of
the conversation happened to mention that she gave her daughter some ant poison
to eat in order to kill the ants. I told her that she
better bring her daughter in to the ER right away.”
Illustration
It seems that a few years ago, some Boeing employees on the field decided
to steal a life raft from one of the 747s. They were successful in getting it
out of the plant and home. When they took it for a float on the Stilliguamish
River, they were quite surprised by a coast guard helicopter homing in on the
emergency locator that is activated when the raft is inflated. They are no
longer employed there.
Now I have to tell you that I got those stories
off an old email, so I don’t know if they’re really true
or not.
But who needs stupid stories about idiots when we have our own lives to
look at?
But Paul isn’t just talking about doing things that seem to everyone else
to be stupid.
He’s talking about giving in to temptation, thinking no one will catch us,
and later we think to ourselves, “What was I thinking?
:16 If,
then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law
that it is good.
I agree with – sumphemi (“with”
+ “to declare”) – to consent, confess
When I do that stupid thing called sin, I look at the Law of God and
realize that it was right – that sin is ugly and evil.
:17 But now, it is
no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.
who do it – katergazomai –
that word that carried the idea of “producing” something (back in vs. 15)
that dwells – oikeo (“house”)
– to dwell in
Literally, “but the dwelling in me sin”
:17 it is no longer I who do it
It sounds like Paul is saying, “It’s not my fault”. That’s not what he’s saying.
Remember the spiritual “split personality” Paul described back in vs.11.
There’s a spiritually alive “me” as a believer, but I still have an “old
man”, a “sin nature”.
They are both “me”, but it’s my sin nature that is acting out.
Paul is not saying that he’s not responsible for his bad actions.
Illustration
In Lodi, California, in March of 2006, a city dump truck backed into Curtis
Gokey's car. The car was damaged badly, so Gokey sued the city of Lodi for
$3,600.
There is a catch to the story: Curtis Gokey was driving the city dump truck
that crunched his personal car. And he admitted it was his fault. The city
dropped the lawsuit, stating that Gokey could not sue himself.
Lee Eclov, Vernon Hills, Illinois; source: Associated Press news.aol.com (3-16-06)
Mr. Gokey has no one to blame but himself.
He can’t say “it’s not my fault”.
Paul is saying that after becoming a Christian, there becomes a split
inside of us, two natures that fight against each other.
After becoming a Christian, I now have a spiritually sensitive part of me
that wasn’t alive, but now is alive.
Now there are two parts inside of me that don’t get along.
Lesson
Jekyll and Hyde
Illustration
Remember the horror movies, perhaps the cartoons, about Dr. Jekyll and Mr.
Hyde?
They came from the short novella by Robert Louis
Stevenson, first published in 1886. The story was about a London lawyer who
investigates strange occurrences between his old friend, Dr Henry Jekyll, and
the evil Edward Hyde.
It has become our culture’s example of an extreme “split
personality”.
This is from the 1920 movie with John Barrymore
Video: Jekyll-Hyde Transformation
https://youtu.be/soolcLpo18w?t=16
play until around 3:30
Yet we’re not talking about
multiple personality disorder, there are times when we
too have some of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
Paul is trying to teach the truth that there’s almost a dual nature inside
the Christian.
Illustration
Journalist Hunter Thompson, longtime contributor to
Rolling Stone magazine and author of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, committed
suicide in 2005 at age 67. His addiction to drugs and alcohol and his abusive
actions towards others were no secret. After his death, his first wife, Sandy
Conklin-Thompson, wrote:
He was, on the one hand, extremely loving and tender,
brilliant and exciting, generous and kind. On the other end of the spectrum—he
was full spectrum—he was extremely cruel…. I will never forget something Hunter
once said to me. In one of his tender moments I asked
him if he knew when he was about to become the Monster. He said, “Sandy, it’s
like this. I sense it first, and before I have completely turned around he is there. He is me.”
Sondi Wright, "He Was Full Spectrum," Rolling Stone (March 2005), p. 52
There’s a sense in which this is a bit of the reality of
our lives.
There is a sense in which we have a new life as a Christian, but we would
be foolish to think that the old nature has disappeared.
Even after becoming a Christian, you still have a part of you that’s bad.
(Galatians 5:17 NLT) 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. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not
free to carry out your good intentions.
I have two dueling natures inside of me, both trying to come out on top. I
will never be rid of my sin nature until my physical body dies.
: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.
:18 in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells
flesh – sarx – the flesh,
the earthly nature of man apart from God, is prone to sin and opposed to God
good (1st word) – agathos
– of good constitution or nature; useful,
a gift which is truly a gift; good, pleasant, agreeable; goodness from the
inside
Lesson
No good thing
My flesh isn’t going to accomplish any single thing that is good and right.
Yet somehow, there’s a part of us (the fleshly part) that thinks that it
doesn’t hurt to spoil the flesh every once in a while.
We get the idea that it’s not all that important that we feed the Spirit and
nurture it. And so we get up in the morning and
immediately get sidetracked by everything that does not feed the Spirit or
yield to it.
What does it mean to feed the flesh?
Am I talking about food? Start by
looking at what the flesh looks like:
(Galatians 5:19–21
NKJV) —19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery,
fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry,
sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish
ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness,
revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you
in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom
of God.
What kinds of things feed “fornication” (immorality)?
What kinds of things feed “sorcery” (drugs)?
What kinds of things feed “hatred”?
What kinds of things feed “envy”?
When I start off my day by feeding these kinds of things, that’s truly
getting up on the wrong side of the bed.
And somehow I just keep on living my day in the
flesh, thinking somehow that I’ll be able to get all the things done that I
need to do.
Illustration
One mom writes…
I have found if I don’t have my
quiet time each morning, I tend to lose my temper over insignificant things.
Recently, my son, Andrew, reminded me of the need for daily prayer. He had
accidentally spilled his drink and I went into a
tirade. Andrew ended my harsh words when he quietly asked, “Mom, did you forget
to ask Jesus to help you be nice today?”
-- Cathy Fussell, Apopka, FL, Today's Christian Woman,
"Heart to Heart."
Sometimes we get to thinking that we’ve reformed our flesh enough. We get
to thinking that we’re no longer going to stumble in a
particular area. And what we’re doing is putting confidence in the flesh. We
think that perhaps now we’ve got the
flesh under control.
Never trust the flesh.
The only remedy for the flesh is death. It doesn’t work to try and reform
the flesh or pamper it. It must die.
What do I mean by “death”?
I don’t mean suicide.
I mean you have to starve that
sucker. Don’t feed it.
:18 to will is present with me
to will – thelo – to will,
…that same “key word” used throughout the passage.
is present – parakeimai –
to lie beside, to be near; to be present, at hand
I think I have the right desires.
to perform – katergazomai –
to produce … the same word used in verses 15, 17
:18 how to perform what is good I do not find
good (2nd) – kalos –
beautiful, handsome, excellent, surpassing, useful
Whereas agathos seems to indicate
“inner excellence”, kalos seems to
refer to outward goodness.
Paul is saying that there is nothing good on the inside of him.
In addition, he does not even have the
ability to do what is outwardly recognized as good.
How often do we have great ideas of how we’re going to live? When we go on
a retreat, we get away from some of the world’s influences, we surround
ourselves with Christians, we immerse ourselves in the Word, and we get some
great ideas. But when we get back from the retreat, we find it very difficult
to do those things we want to do.
Jesus asked some of the guys to stay up with Him while He prayed in the
Garden of Gethsemane…
(Matthew 26:40–41
NKJV) —40 Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to
Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? 41 Watch and
pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit
indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
:19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.
:19 the evil I will not to do,
that I practice
good – agathos – This is
that “inner good”.
evil – kakos – of a bad
nature; this is the exact opposite of agathos.
practice – prasso – to
exercise, practice
(same as verse 15) the idea of intended, earnest, and habitual performance;
an action that has direction and purpose in it.
Kind of like practicing the piano. I used to hate to practice the piano. But somehow I don’t
mind practicing evil.
I have a desire to do good things, but I don’t. I don’t want to do bad
things, but those are the things that I keep doing.
This is true misery.
: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.
Again, Paul is not trying to say it’s not his fault. He’s simply pointing out the Jekyll/Hyde,
dual-nature thing.
It’s his own sin nature that’s still at work.
:21 I find then a law,
that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do
good.
:21 a law, that evil is present with me
law – nomos – anything
established, a custom, a law; a principle
Paul has discovered a new “principle” about himself.
good – kalos – This is the
“outward” good.
is present – parakeimai –
to lie beside, to be near; to be present, at hand
In verse 18, it was the “will” to do good that is present in me.
Here I find that “evil” is present in me as well.
We call this “depravity”.
We might look at people who commit certain crimes and wonder how in the
world a person could ever do that.
Any of us are capable of great evil.
:22 For I delight in the
law of God according to the inward man.
:22 I delight in the law of God
delight – sunedomai (“with”
+ “take pleasure”) – to rejoice together with;
from hedone (“hedonism”) –
pleasure; desires for pleasure
Maybe it would be better to translate this, “I delight with (sun) the law of
God…”
inward – eso – to within,
into; within; the internal inner man; the soul, conscience
While there is evil in me, Paul also realizes that God has put a new nature
in us as well, one that takes pleasure in good things, in the things that God’s
law is all about, the new nature “rejoices with” the Law of God.
As a Christian, there’s a part of me that absolutely thrills to do what God
wants.
: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.
:23 I see another law in my members
I see – blepo – to see; to
discern mentally, to consider, contemplate
Paul has made an observation from real life.
He’s not going to pretend and say that he doesn’t struggle with sin and
temptation.
He sees the reality of sin in his own life as a “law” in
his “members”
This is a hard thing to grapple with when you are in public ministry.
The temptation is to let people think you are above
sinning.
Yet in reality you aren’t.
another – heteros – the
other, another; another of a different kind (as opposed to another of the same
kind)
The “law” at war in his body is a different kind of “law” compared to God’s
law.
bringing me into captivity – aichmalotizo
(“spear” + “catching”) – to lead away captive; metaph. to capture ones mind, captivate
the law of sin – a different kind of law from the “law of my mind”
or the “law of God”.
This is a principle of sin, that I have sin in me.
:24 O wretched man that I
am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
:24 O wretched man
that I am!
wretched – talaiporos
– enduring toils and
troubles; afflicted, wretched
(“balanced scale” + “trial”) or (“to bear” + “a callus”)
Only found one other place, to
the church of Laodicea:
(Revelation
3:17 NKJV) Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become
wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know
that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—
deliver – rhuomai – to
draw to one’s self, to rescue, to deliver
the body – soma – the body
both of men or animals
It was the custom of ancient conquerors to prevent the escape of their
prisoners by tying a dead body to their backs. With such gruesome burdens,
these poor wretches could not run away. Paul may have had this in mind; so some think Romans 7:24 should read: "Oh, wretched
man that I am! Who shall deliver me from this dead body?"
Lesson
Victory from defeat.
It’s not until we get the truth about our sin that we start the
breakthrough.
If you don’t have the anguish, you lack the drive
to stop sinning. The anguish is actually a good thing.
Of the “Twelve Steps”, the first step is to admit that you are powerless
over your sin.
I remember at times feeling physically sick over my sin. But it was at
those times that I took my greater steps away from it.
Illustration
One dad writes…
Some years ago, while our family was vacationing in northern Minnesota, we
decided to visit a small county fair near the town of Babbitt. There weren’t
many people there that morning. In fact, we were about the only ones visiting
the carnival rides. So when I climbed into the
Tilt-O-Whirl with my three kids, we hoped the operator would give us a decent
ride—even though we were the only ones on it.
Little did we know what we were getting involved in. The first few minutes
were rather fun. We laughed and enjoyed the funny feeling inside our stomachs.
But after a while, it got to be not so much fun. And after some more time—way past the length of an
ordinary ride—I began to feel queasy.
I wanted to get out, but I couldn’t. First, we were going too fast to
escape. Second, the centrifugal force had me pressed firmly against the back of
the car. I was immobilized. Every time we spun past the operator, I looked
pleadingly at him. “Please! Read my eyes! I need to get off!” But the operator
kept the ride going. I guess he thought he’d let it run until more customers
showed up.
After another few minutes, the ride became miserable. The funny feeling
inside my stomach had turned into a churning concoction that had a faint
resemblance of my morning’s
breakfast. I had no control over my life. I was caught, going around in
circles, held down by a merciless carnival ride operator.
Only after what seemed like three or four hours did he finally relent and
stop the ride. I’m sure I looked completely green by this time. I staggered off
the platform and made it about 20 feet, where I bent over and lost my
breakfast. Of course, my kids gathered around, cheering me on. They thought
this was the best part of the ride.
If you’re caught in the grip of a diabolical ride that started out fun but
has turned into an addiction—if you’re going around in circles, powerless to
get off—you know the helpless feeling of losing
control of your life. You know what it means to need God’s supernatural help to
stop the ride so you can escape.
Rich Doebler, Cloquet, Minnesota
: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.
:25 I thank God—through Jesus Christ
Lesson
Deliverance comes from Jesus
One of the important steps to victory over sin is when I realize that I
can’t do it by myself. I need Jesus.
Jesus is the one and only “high power”.
Jesus is the one who answers the cry for “who will deliver me?”
:25 with the mind I myself serve the law of God
…
I wish there was a paragraph change here.
the mind – nous – the
mind, comprising alike the faculties of perceiving and understanding and those
of feeling, judging, determining; distinctly the reflective consciousness, “the organ of moral thinking and knowing,
the intellectual organ of moral sentiment” (Cremer).
serve – douleuo – to be a
slave, serve, do service; the bondservant
Paul is not giving an excuse for sinning like the person who is shooting
drugs and saying to themselves, “Well I may be sinning with my flesh, but right
now my mind is serving God”. This isn’t some kind of perverted excuse to sin.
He’s again bringing out the dual nature that we struggle with as
Christians. We have a part of us that is now able to serve God because of what
Jesus has done for us. But even then, there is still going to be a part of me,
my flesh, that is going to want to sin. I never get
away from that. Even the most “righteous” Christian has a “sin nature”.
(Romans 7:25 NLT) 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 am a slave to sin.
Lesson
Face reality
Even though we have victory from Jesus, we will still be faced with the
truth of our current struggle.
It may take time to grow in Jesus.
Illustration
Bono, lead singer of U2, writes…
Your nature is a hard thing to change; it takes time…. I have heard of
people who have life-changing, miraculous turnarounds, people set free from
addiction after a single prayer, relationships saved where both parties “let go, and let God.” But it was not like that for me. For all
that “I was lost, I am found,” it is probably more accurate to say, “I was
really lost. I’m a little less so at the moment.” And
then a little less and a little less again. That to me is the
spiritual life. The slow reworking and rebooting the computer at regular
intervals, reading the small print of the service manual. It has slowly rebuilt
me in a better image. It has taken years, though, and it is not over yet.
U2 (with Neil McCormick), U2
by U2 (HarperCollins, 2006), p. 7
Pericope Project
7:1-6
Til Death do us part
7:7-12
Sin and Law
7:13-26
Struggle with sin
How about the whole chapter?
Homework
Prayer request
Reading in CSB
Memorize Romans 8:32
(Romans 8:32 NKJV) He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all,
how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
Quick Quiz
Blaming the wrong things
What was I thinking?