Rom 7:1 Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?
Notice this opening, He is speaking to those who know the law. saying that the law enslaves a man as long as he lives. remember that Paul had just taught that we must die in Christ to be free from the law. Now Paul will illustrate this point farther.
Rom 7:2 For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband.
First point while the husband lives she is bound by the law. but if her husband dies she is free from the law.
Rom 7:3 So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.
notice this next point, that if she tries to marry another man while her husband yet lives then she has committed adultery. First her husband must die, then she may marry another.
Here is the point, you can't have the grace of Jesus and still be a slave to sin. in other words you cannot serve two masters. remember what Paul said in the last chapter. we are servants to the one who we obey. we cannot serve two husbands.
Rom 7:4 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.
Praise God therefore we die to the law but as we are raised with Christ we are free to marry another, even Jesus. The result of this is the fruit of obedience through the spirit upon the heart. this is the grace and work of Jesus in us. so we are to die with Christ and thus die to the old man of sin. and we raise up with Jesus in his freeing grace. The gospel of Jesus is powerful changing us. amen.
Rom 7:5 For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.
notice that when we were in the flesh we did sin which the law showed us. and this brought fruit unto death. this sometimes can be hard to understand what Paul is saying. but if you have gone through each chapter you will clearly see he is repeating and building on what he has already said.
Rom 7:6 But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.
here it is we are now dead to the law and life in the newness of the Spirit. we don't serve the letter anymore it's on our hearts praise God. We don't need a law on stone. the law is in our hearts.
notice Paul's next point:
Rom 7:7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.
The law itself is not sin. but rather points out sin. By the law I could see clearly my sin. when it told me not to steal then I realized that my theft was sin. sin is breaking the law of God. If you are truly free, if you have the grace of Christ then you will no longer break the law. you will become the law as by faith you receive Jesus in your heart.
Rom 7:8 But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.
Rom 7:9 For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.
Paul is telling us that the sin wrought all manner of lusts in sin. but without the law sin was dead because without the law he did not know that lust was a sin. remember in verse 7 he said that he only knew lust because the law told him not to covet. So without the law sin is dead because he doesn't know its sin.
verse 9, but when the commandment came and he saw it sin came to life and he died.
Let me try and make this simpler what Paul has just said. when he did not know the law, He did not realize he was sinning. So he felt alive. but when he saw the law then he realized that he was sinning and he realized that he was going to die for his sins. this is why he said in chapter 5
Rom 5:20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
when the law came sin abounded it came to life, but praise God Grace abounds more.
Rom 7:10 And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.
Rom 7:11 For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.
If there was any doubt left that Paul is not against the law then let it now go. The commandment was ordained to life. but to the sinner it gives death. Get the point, eternal life comes from obedience to God. or keeping the law. but we are law breakers so the law that is life only brought death. this is why we need the grace of God, to forgive us our sins and empower us to obey. Glory to God.
what is Paul's conclusion about the law?
Rom 7:12 Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.
The law is holy just and good.
now notice next he makes what he has been saying clear:
Rom 7:13 Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.
The law which is good pointed out sin and that is why we are condemned by the law. not because the law is bad but because we are bad.
Now Paul will illustrate:
Rom 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
The law is spiritual but we are carnal sold under sin. or in other words we are slaves to sin. Now Paul will illustrate a person looks like that is a slave to sin.
Rom 7:15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
Rom 7:16 If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
Even when you want to do good you can't and the bad things you don't want to do, you end up doing. this proves also that the law is good.
Rom 7:17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Note that Paul is not trying to claim innocence here. but rather that we are so enslaved to sin that we do whatever it wants us to do. We are helpless and cannot help ourselves. not a pretty picture.
Rom 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Rom 7:19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Rom 7:20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
again repeat illustration showing again that evil is in us and sin controls us.
Rom 7:22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Rom 7:23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
Notice the constant slave language, captivity to the law of sin which is in his flesh. even though he wants to keep the law.
Here is the point Paul is trying to get across. Even when we acknowledge that the law is good and should be kept, we still have no power to change or resist sin. we are dominated. no wonder the next words are spoken.
Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
can you hear the cry, have you not thought this in your life before? notice it's a body of death. the wages of sin is death. but this illustration does not end here but rather comes to Paul's main point.
Rom 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
Jesus is the answer to this problem. but notice that after we accept Jesus we now can chose, before Jesus we had no choice, we had to serve the law of sin. but now we can serve the law of God. now the mind/inner man is free to serve God. by the grace of Jesus.
How do I know that?
Because the whole of chapter 6 was about not serving the flesh/sin. and both chapter 6 and this chapter showed that we cannot serve both. Thus we now chose. we can reject the grace of Jesus and serve the law of sin. or we can accept the grace of Jesus and by faith serve the law of God. One or the other you can't serve both.
one other thing, Paul is using himself in this illustration. Some think that he is speaking of himself at the time. however given that he has just said you are free from the law of sin in Jesus in the chapter prior. it is easy to see that he is simply illustrating his point to those who know the law.
remember verse 22 he said he delighter in the law after the inner man. but he was in captivity to the law of sin. well we know that through the spirit given freely to those who accept Jesus blood in faith we are able to obey.
Eph 3:16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
Eph 3:17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
There it is, the inner man is strengthened by the spirit. and by faith Jesus dwells in our hearts. now because of Jesus our inner man becomes stronger than the law of sin. now we can serve the law of God. praise God. now Paul will focus on the work of the Spirit.
Notice this opening, He is speaking to those who know the law. saying that the law enslaves a man as long as he lives. remember that Paul had just taught that we must die in Christ to be free from the law. Now Paul will illustrate this point farther.
Rom 7:2 For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband.
First point while the husband lives she is bound by the law. but if her husband dies she is free from the law.
Rom 7:3 So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.
notice this next point, that if she tries to marry another man while her husband yet lives then she has committed adultery. First her husband must die, then she may marry another.
Here is the point, you can't have the grace of Jesus and still be a slave to sin. in other words you cannot serve two masters. remember what Paul said in the last chapter. we are servants to the one who we obey. we cannot serve two husbands.
Rom 7:4 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.
Praise God therefore we die to the law but as we are raised with Christ we are free to marry another, even Jesus. The result of this is the fruit of obedience through the spirit upon the heart. this is the grace and work of Jesus in us. so we are to die with Christ and thus die to the old man of sin. and we raise up with Jesus in his freeing grace. The gospel of Jesus is powerful changing us. amen.
Rom 7:5 For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.
notice that when we were in the flesh we did sin which the law showed us. and this brought fruit unto death. this sometimes can be hard to understand what Paul is saying. but if you have gone through each chapter you will clearly see he is repeating and building on what he has already said.
Rom 7:6 But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.
here it is we are now dead to the law and life in the newness of the Spirit. we don't serve the letter anymore it's on our hearts praise God. We don't need a law on stone. the law is in our hearts.
notice Paul's next point:
Rom 7:7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.
The law itself is not sin. but rather points out sin. By the law I could see clearly my sin. when it told me not to steal then I realized that my theft was sin. sin is breaking the law of God. If you are truly free, if you have the grace of Christ then you will no longer break the law. you will become the law as by faith you receive Jesus in your heart.
Rom 7:8 But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.
Rom 7:9 For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.
Paul is telling us that the sin wrought all manner of lusts in sin. but without the law sin was dead because without the law he did not know that lust was a sin. remember in verse 7 he said that he only knew lust because the law told him not to covet. So without the law sin is dead because he doesn't know its sin.
verse 9, but when the commandment came and he saw it sin came to life and he died.
Let me try and make this simpler what Paul has just said. when he did not know the law, He did not realize he was sinning. So he felt alive. but when he saw the law then he realized that he was sinning and he realized that he was going to die for his sins. this is why he said in chapter 5
Rom 5:20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
when the law came sin abounded it came to life, but praise God Grace abounds more.
Rom 7:10 And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.
Rom 7:11 For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.
If there was any doubt left that Paul is not against the law then let it now go. The commandment was ordained to life. but to the sinner it gives death. Get the point, eternal life comes from obedience to God. or keeping the law. but we are law breakers so the law that is life only brought death. this is why we need the grace of God, to forgive us our sins and empower us to obey. Glory to God.
what is Paul's conclusion about the law?
Rom 7:12 Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.
The law is holy just and good.
now notice next he makes what he has been saying clear:
Rom 7:13 Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.
The law which is good pointed out sin and that is why we are condemned by the law. not because the law is bad but because we are bad.
Now Paul will illustrate:
Rom 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
The law is spiritual but we are carnal sold under sin. or in other words we are slaves to sin. Now Paul will illustrate a person looks like that is a slave to sin.
Rom 7:15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
Rom 7:16 If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
Even when you want to do good you can't and the bad things you don't want to do, you end up doing. this proves also that the law is good.
Rom 7:17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Note that Paul is not trying to claim innocence here. but rather that we are so enslaved to sin that we do whatever it wants us to do. We are helpless and cannot help ourselves. not a pretty picture.
Rom 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Rom 7:19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Rom 7:20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
again repeat illustration showing again that evil is in us and sin controls us.
Rom 7:22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Rom 7:23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
Notice the constant slave language, captivity to the law of sin which is in his flesh. even though he wants to keep the law.
Here is the point Paul is trying to get across. Even when we acknowledge that the law is good and should be kept, we still have no power to change or resist sin. we are dominated. no wonder the next words are spoken.
Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
can you hear the cry, have you not thought this in your life before? notice it's a body of death. the wages of sin is death. but this illustration does not end here but rather comes to Paul's main point.
Rom 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
Jesus is the answer to this problem. but notice that after we accept Jesus we now can chose, before Jesus we had no choice, we had to serve the law of sin. but now we can serve the law of God. now the mind/inner man is free to serve God. by the grace of Jesus.
How do I know that?
Because the whole of chapter 6 was about not serving the flesh/sin. and both chapter 6 and this chapter showed that we cannot serve both. Thus we now chose. we can reject the grace of Jesus and serve the law of sin. or we can accept the grace of Jesus and by faith serve the law of God. One or the other you can't serve both.
one other thing, Paul is using himself in this illustration. Some think that he is speaking of himself at the time. however given that he has just said you are free from the law of sin in Jesus in the chapter prior. it is easy to see that he is simply illustrating his point to those who know the law.
remember verse 22 he said he delighter in the law after the inner man. but he was in captivity to the law of sin. well we know that through the spirit given freely to those who accept Jesus blood in faith we are able to obey.
Eph 3:16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
Eph 3:17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
There it is, the inner man is strengthened by the spirit. and by faith Jesus dwells in our hearts. now because of Jesus our inner man becomes stronger than the law of sin. now we can serve the law of God. praise God. now Paul will focus on the work of the Spirit.