WHY? In chapter 6 Paul told us clearly that Christians do not continue in sin, because when Christ died to sin, so did we. We are no longer "in Adam." Our victory over sin is established through the death of Christ Jesus.
Now you would think that after this tremendous victory we have over sin, Paul would jump next to the great blessings of chapter 8, but instead he goes back to talking about Christians being DEAD TO THE LAW.
WHY? Because in Rom. 6:14, Paul raised the question, "Shall we continue in sin because we are not under the law?"
Some have the mistaken idea that when we accept Christ, our relationship to sin is one in which we slow down the sinning process, not die to it.
Illus: People who think like this, remind me of the driver who came to a "stop" sign, but instead of stopping he just slowed down, but kept on going.
A highway patrolman saw him and pulled him over, and asked him if he saw the sign. The man assured the patrolman that he had seen it, and that he had slowed down.
The patrolman told the man, “ A stop sign means to stop, not slow down." The driver said, "Well, I slowed down, and that is the same thing."
The patrolman said it was not, and the driver said it was, and a big argument arose between the two of them.
Finally the patrolman said, "I am going to prove to you that it is not the same!" He grabbed the driver by the head, and took his nightstick and started hitting him on the top head. He asked, as he was hitting him, "Do you want me to stop, or just slow down?"
The people of Paul's day had this problem. Paul taught they were saved "by grace", and they thought that meant they could continue to live in sin.
There are many today who still believe that if a preacher preaches salvation by grace alone, he is giving people a license to sin.
Illus: One pastor was explaining being saved by grace alone to a pastor who was very legalistic in his preaching. The other preacher said, "If I told my people that salvation was by grace alone, none of them would be faithful to the Lord."
That preacher failed to realize that the greatest motivating force in the world today is the FORCE OF LOVE.
In John 14:15, the Lord Himself said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
The Lord is teaching LOVE and OBEDIENCE go together.
We hear a great deal these days about Roe vs. Wade. It is our prayer that the Supreme Court of our land would make abortion illegal, but even if it did, that would not stop all abortions. WHY? Because morality and holiness can not be legislated.
Abortions in this country will only cease, when women have the love that our mothers had, that makes them be willing to bear children, and be loving mothers, and not be worried about career opportunities, etc.. Love makes us willing to lay our lives on the line for others.
We need the law, but the law is not the solution within itself.
In chapter 7, Paul shows us those who had the law, who knew the law, and who were dead to the law.
Illus: Watchman Nee stated it this way, "To be under law means that I must do something for God: to be under grace means that God does something for me. Too many Christians are burdened with 'religious rules and regulations' and good resolutions, not realizing that it is impossible to legislate holiness. How tragic it is to see Christians living 'under law' - striving in their own efforts to please God: when the new position we have in Christ, and the new power in the Spirit, make it possible for us to enjoy victory and blessing BY GRACE."
In chapter seven, Paul explains those blessings that we have under grace by showing us:
I. THE RELATIONSHIP
In verses 1-6, Paul, to prove his point in this relationship, shows us two points.
A. HIS ARGUMENT IS VALID
For example, in verses 1-3, Paul used the marriage relationship to show our relationship to Christ and the law.
It is the best illustration that he could have used, to show us how we ONCE WERE LEGALLY BOUND, but no longer are. He does this in two ways:
1. HE SHOWS US TWO HUSBANDS
• In the first relationship, mankind was married to Mr. Law
• In the second relationship, when we are saved, we are married to CHRIST!
2. HE SHOWS US ONE DEATH
We were married to Mr. Law for many years, but he died, and once he died, that set us free from his dominion, and now we are married to Christ.
• We are no longer stuck in a marriage that we try to hold together by obeying rules and regulations.
• We are now married into a loving relation with Christ.
And because of our love for Him, we obey the rules and regulations. WE ARE TO BE CONTROLLED BY LOVE.
Illus: The laws of the land require that we men provide for our families. But I doubt if any of you husbands went to work last week because your wife said to you, "You had better bring home your pay check and provide for this family or I will have you locked up in the slammer!”
This was the kind of marriage we had with Mr. Law.
• He condemned us, and pointed out every little sin that we had in our life.
• Regardless of how hard we tried, we could not please him.
• It was a marriage of BONDAGE, and the only way out was death.
When Christ died on Calvary, we were IN CHRIST, and we died to the law.
NOW HE SHOWS US OUR NEW RESURRECTED LIFE. HIS ARGUMENT IS NOT ONLY VALID. But also-
B. HIS ARGUMENT IS VITAL
It is vital that Paul shows us that we are dead to that old relationship with Mr. Law, and now we have a love relationship with Christ.
Look at verse 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."
Paul shows us that in the old relationship, we were hounded day after day, it drove us to do evil.
Look at verse 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."
Illus: Paul compares our being under the law, to being like a child whose parents said, "Do not touch that wet paint," but the more they said, "DO NOT," the more determined the child was to touch it.
Paul pointed out that this all ended at Calvary.
• WHEN CHRIST DIED, WE DIED
• WHEN CHRIST WAS RESURRECTED, SO WERE WE
We now, as "new creatures in Christ", find ourselves in a loving marriage that is controlled by love, instead of rules and regulations.
Look at verse 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."
Whereas at one time:
• In our OLD RELATIONSHIP, we brought forth, "fruit unto death,"
• In our NEW RELATIONSHIP we bring forth, "fruit unto righteousness."
It is the perfect union, and until a person comes to know Christ, he is stuck in a relationship that only brings condemnation and death.
Because of this wonderful relationship, let us look at …
II. THE RESULTS
In verses 7-25 we see the results.
Paul tells us that we are dead to the law, and he anticipates the next question - "If the law could not provide holiness, why did God give it to us to start with?"
In verse 7, he says it like this, "...Is the law sin? God forbid." God had a definite purpose in the law.
A. THE REVEALING
Look at verse 7, we read, "...I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet."
Illus: Suppose you were driving down a highway, and there were no speed limits posted. Suppose a highway patrolman pulled you over and gave you a ticket for speeding. You would quickly point out to him, "I did not see any speed signs. I did not know how fast to drive."
• It would be unfair for him to give you a ticket under those conditions
• It would be unfair for God to hold any of us responsible for anything, if we did not have a law to tell us what was right or wrong
But the law that tells us is not sinful, we are.
Illus: When we were married to Mr. Law, he could have made us a good husband, but we committed violation after violation, so he condemned us.
• We, who are imperfect, could not fulfill a law that is perfect.
• The law was given to expose sin, and that is exactly what it does.
Evil men ignore, excuse, camouflage, and even give respectable names to sin, BUT IT IS STILL SIN!
• The drunkard has been renamed to a sick alcoholic
• The homosexual is now a person who has a different sexual preference
• The adulterer is now just a person who is having an affair
Sin has become accepted, and legalized as phobias, inhibitions, or complexes by man, but God still holds us accountable.
We are without excuse, because God's Word tells us exactly what we are, and what will happen to us if we reject the salvation He has so freely provided.
B. THE RAGING
Look at verse 8, we read, "But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead."
Paul is NOT telling us that the law made us sin, but he is telling us that the law not only REVEALED OUR SINFUL NATURE, it also REVIVED OUR SINFUL NATURE.
This is what he meant when he said, "But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence..."
Illus: How many have been to the hospital for tests, and the doctor told you, no liquids or food after midnight. Most nights, perhaps you do not drink anything after that time anyway, but since you have been told that you cannot have anything, you find you are VERY hungry and thirsty.
This old sinful flesh does not want to be told what it can, and can not do. When it is given orders, it usually rebels. The law constantly reminds us that we are sinning.
Look at verse 9, "For I was alive without the law once..."
That is, before man knew what the law said, he did not know sin. If there were no laws to break, there would be no law-breakers.
Look at verses 10-15, "And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me. Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. 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. For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I."
This old flesh goes into a rage when it is denied its fleshly rights.
C. THE RESULTS
In verses 15-25, Paul revealed the results in the lives of the believers.
Since we all have miserably failed in this marriage with Mr. Law, he has shown us that we are free from him, because of our death that took place when Christ died.
He concludes that the result we see now in this "resurrected" state, is that we have two natures within us.
1. AN UNGODLY NATURE
(Read verses 15-22)
This is something that most young Christians do not understand. When God saves a person, he still has that old nature within him that delights to sin.
Illus: That evil nature might be compared to an animal that has been caged up, ignored, and not fed, so it is ready to spring out like a streak of lightening when the door is opened.
These verses tell us that evil is always there, lurking, ready to surface. Paul was saying that:
• If he was not careful, he would be doing that which he should not be doing, and that which he should be doing, he would not be doing.
• He goes on to say that when he did good, if he was not careful, he would be doing it for the wrong reasons.
Look at verse 21, "I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me."
Illus: One man recently said to a preacher, "Preacher, I am going to do something that the devil won't do." The preacher said, "Yea, what would that be?" He replied, "I am going to leave you."
He was right, you can always depend on Satan being around wherever you go.
2. A GODLY NATURE
In verses 23-25, Paul shows us the final results (and source) of our victory. We can not look:
• To the law. It condemns us and shows us how wicked we are
• To the flesh. If we could save ourselves there would have been no need for Christ to save us
Paul asks, verse 24, "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?"
He then answered that question, "I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord..."
Conclusion:
We are not married to the Law any longer, he only showed us how weak and frail we are. We are married to Christ, Who deals with us in grace and mercy.
We, as Christians, may have the ABILITY to sin, but we do not have the APPETITE to sin. Our appetite is to please Him to whom we are now married.
I. THE RELATIONSHIP VERSES 1-6
A. HIS ARGUMENT IS VALID
B. HIS ARGUMENT IS VITAL
II. THE RESULTS VERSES 7-25
A. THE REVEALING
B. THE RAGING
C. THE RESULTS
