Lesson 15 – Romans Chapter 6:23 – Chapter 7:10
In the last lesson we went from being Slaves of Sin to Slaves of God. Just as there is a vast difference between light and darkness, there is a great difference between the life that is trapped in damnation by sin and the life that is transformed by God and now lives for His righteousness.
Rom. 6:23
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 6:23 is used in the “Roman Road,” which is a witnessing tool to present the gospel message. It helps when an un-believing person reads this verse for themselves, that way they are internalizing the Word of God, allowing the Holy Spirit to do His great work within them. Basically, in this one verse, heaven and hell are presented, and with that, inescapably, a choice needs to be made.
For the wages of sin is death… this describes the life that is trapped by sin, being a slave to sin. Remember, these are the ones that will have to face the White Throne Judgment all on their own, with only their “filthy rags” to defend themselves.
The ultimate payment that will come (wages) for sin, will be an eternity spent in the Lake of Fire.
Sin brings death, but righteousness… the righteousness of the Lord’s way… brings life, abundant life.
Spiritual death is in fact earned, because it comes from a choice of rejecting Christ. A person might say; “But wait a minute, I never had anything to do with Christ, I led my own life, I’m a good person, how can God hold this against me?” Precisely, by living a life completely apart from God, is to choose against God, therefore He will have nothing to do with that person, thus they will spend eternity in hell. Not good.
“But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Verse 23 has two parts, a dark side and a light side… this is the light side. We all like to receive gifts, especially around Christmas or at our birthday… it’s always exciting, particularly watching children open their presents. When a gift is received, the only requirement for the person getting the gift is to “take it”. When your parents gave you presents, did they make you pay for it, did you have to make your bed or take out the garbage to receive it? No, they just gave to you and you gladly received it.
This is how our Father in heaven wants us to see His salvation, He wants to give it to us… it’s a gift, we can’t work for it, we can’t buy it.
Eph. 2:8-9
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
Someone might say, “that sounds too good to be true, what’s the catch?”
The only “catch” that comes into play is, that we have a belief and understanding of what Jesus did to save us, and then we put our faith in Him. This also comes with an attitude of confession and repentance.
Rom. 10:10
“For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
There are many wonderful verses in the bible, “But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord,” is perhaps the greatest.
Chapter 7
Rom. 7:1
“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?”
Paul returns to the question of 6:15; Shall we continue to sin while under grace? No, we shouldn’t! Paul will now begin to deal with the question of our obsession with sin.
Some will argue, “Since we are saved by grace, we are free to live as we please.” This is legalism to the extreme!
I Cor. 10:23
“All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify.”
Now some people are quick to take this scripture out of context, and all they see is… “All things are lawful for me.” People will do anything to make it easier to sin. This text in particular has to do with eating and drinking.
Paul begins Romans 7 with, “Or do you not know,” which is a tactful rhetorical question. He is stating the obvious, and it is directed to the Jews.
“Brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives?”
The Message words it, “You shouldn’t have any trouble understanding this, friends, for you know all the ins and outs of the law… how it works and how its power touches only the living.”
Paul might be emphasizing the term, “for I speak to those who know the law,” to assure the Jewish believers about his sensitivity about their concern with Paul’s disparagement of the law, at least in their minds. All they could see was that Paul was tearing down the Law, when in fact, Paul says that the law is good and holy. (as we will see in verse 12)
Rom. 7:2
“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.”
This is pretty straight forward, it’s part of the law.
Rom. 7:3
“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.”
Again, pretty clear, marriage is lifelong. But if one partner dies, the other is no longer bound by the law and they are free to marry someone else.
Rom. 7:4
“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.”
Heb. 7:18-19
“For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness, for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.”
Annulling means: abolition, disannulling, to put away, a rejection.
Hebrews points out, there has been an annulling, a putting away, of the law. Our verse says, “You also have become dead to the law.”
Maybe you’ve heard of a declaration given by a parent to their son or daughter to the absolute extreme, they say, “You are dead to me,” meaning, as far as they’re concerned, their child no longer exists. This is an example to the extreme, but it gets the point across.
This is the attitude that the Jews should have when it comes to the law, they should say to themselves, “The law is dead to me!” We can say in the context of Rom. 7:4, “the law is now dead, those who were married to it at one time, are now free to marry God’s grace.
As we hear when we’re flying on a jet plane, “You are now free to move about the cabin,” we are now free to move about this world within God’s grace.
“That you may be married to another—”
Marry who, we ask? “To Him who was raised from the dead.” Jesus Christ.
The Apostle Paul, in the book of Ephesians, alludes to the mystery of this relationship by making an analogy between a human-based marriage and this future relationship.
“For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the Head of the church… in the same way also let wives be subject to their own husbands in everything… For this reason shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined to his wife… This is a great mystery; but I am speaking in respect to Christ and the church” (Ephesians 5:23 – 24, 31 – 32).
At this point in time, the believer (the Church) is presently engaged to Jesus.
There was a betrothal period in biblical times during which the bride and groom were separated until the wedding, so is the bride of Christ separate from her Bridegroom during the Church age.
Just as when a man and a woman get married, they enter into a covenant with each other and with God… the believer enters into the New Covenant with God, the moment they give their life to Christ. The believer is living under the protection of God’s grace and mercy until the coming wedding day (which will take place in heaven).
What does the believer do until that day comes?
“That we should bear fruit to God.”
Out of the marriage between a man and woman comes children. So out of intimacy with Christ, comes the fruit of practical righteousness. A life in Christ produces fruit.
Rom. 6:22
“But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.”
And just as a reminder…
Gal. 5:22
“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
May we bear much fruit!
Rom. 7:5
“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.”
“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.” (NLT)
“For when we were in the flesh” that’s the way we used to be (B.C.) before Christ… before we were born-again. Take note that both believers and unbelievers can walk in the flesh, but, only believers can walk according to the Spirit.
“The sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members”
In our unredeemed human condition, the law arouses all kinds of evil within us. The person who exists in the domination of the flesh cannot belong to Jesus… darkness wants nothing to do with the Light. The phrase, members of our body or in our members, sums up the whole person in all his parts as being the victim of his sinful passions… the end result that occurs…
“To bear fruit to death.” It means finito, they’re finished, stick a fork in them… they’re headed for the “lake of fire.”
Rom. 7:6
“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.”
“But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit.” (NLT)
“But now we have been delivered from the law, we have been released from the law”
How did this happen? It happened when our heart and soul was awakened by the Holy Spirit and we gave our life to Christ.
“Having died to what we were held by”
Remember, we died with Christ, we were buried in the waters of baptism and raised into “newness of life.” The law is now dead to us and we are no longer slaves to sin.
“So that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.”
Rom. 6:4
“For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.” (NLT)
“Serve in the newness” – we’re free to move about the “cabin of grace,” we can serve God as the Holy Spirit leads us.
“Not in the oldness of the letter.”
We’re not going to revert back to the “old ways.”
Phil. 3:13
“No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” (NLT)
We can see the Law as being in the past, and as they say in New York, “Fuhgeddaboudit.” Now live in “newness of life.”
It takes devotion to Christ to walk in “newness of life,”
Jesus said in Luke 9:62 “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”
We can’t live being divided, trying to serve the world and God at the same time. If you’re plowing forward and you look back, how can you possibly stay in a straight line?
Being free from the Law, we can now look forward to what lies ahead. With our hand to the plow, we press on, staying on the narrow path that God has carved out for each one of us… this is indeed “newness of life.”
Rom. 7:7
“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.”
Paul puts forth another outrageous question… “Is the law sin?” And as he has with his other questions, he answers his own question with the strongest words he can muster up…
“Certainly not!, May it never be!”
Perhaps you’ve thought to yourself, “why did God give to His chosen people, a law that was impossible to keep?” That’s pretty much how human logic approaches the law. The law was not given to show us how good we could be, but how good we cannot be.
There are many people that like things to be “black and white,” “cut and dried,” give them a way to be perfect and they’ll do it “come hell or high water.” The problem here is, it just can’t be done. The only One who could accomplish this was Jesus, Jesus kept the law… He fulfilled the law.
James 2:10
“For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws.”
The law is not sin… “On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law.”
Paul has the purpose of the law figured out, and he was a Pharisee. The Pharisees were consumed with the law, and they had to be. There were 613 commandments, composed of 248 mandates and 365 prohibitions.
My thought is, if a Pharisee had to live his life totally consumed by the law, and in keeping the law, at some point, through sheer exhaustion he’s going to kick back and cut loose… resulting in some kind of sin. “For all have sinned.”
Paul saw the exact purpose in the law as God had intended. The law showed Paul that he was a sinner… and this has great value as we will see.
“For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.”
Here is a single example of a sin, covetousness. How many of you can say that you’ve never coveted someone or something.
If there is someone here who can say they never coveted, then I would like to talk to you about the sin of lying.
Rom. 7:8
“But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead.”
“But sin used this command to arouse all kinds of covetous desires within me! If there were no law, sin would not have that power.” (NLT)
Something in us wants to rebel when we’re told not to do something. To all you parents, there was a time when your little baby was finally able to communicate to you with words, do you remember the time when they first said “no” to you?
You tell little Johnny, “Don’t go near the water,” and the moment you turn your back, he’s jumping in a puddle. Adults aren’t any better, put up a sign that says, “wet paint, don’t touch,” well you know what happens next.
Sin takes the opportunity in us all the time. “For apart from the law sin was dead.”
If there wasn’t a sign that said “keep off the grass,” I probably wouldn’t even look at the grass, let alone step on it.
I Peter 1:14
“As obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance;”
Unbelievers are comfortable in their ignorance apart from the law… and then the law came to be, doing its job, showing man how “good” he can’t be.
Rom. 7:9
“I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died.”
“At one time I lived without understanding the law. But when I learned the command not to covet, for instance, the power of sin came to life,” (NLT)
When we were very young, there was a time when we didn’t give any thought whatsoever to any of God’s commands because we were unaware. Paul says here, “At one time I lived without understanding the law.”
I guess perhaps this is where the phrase; “ignorance is bliss” could come into play. But when we come to the place of understanding, then sin rears its ugly head.
John MacArthur says, “The law not only reveals and arouses sin but also ruins and destroys the sinner.”
Phil. 3:5b-6
I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault.” (NLT)
Before Paul’s conversion, this was his mind-set… as far as he was concerned, he was hitting on all cylinders, he was on top of his game as a Pharisee.
“But when I learned the command not to covet, for instance, the power of sin came to life,”
What changed for Paul, what gave him this new understanding when it came to the law? It was the Holy Spirit that convicted him.
John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”
After Paul’s conversion, he disappeared into the desert for three years, and during this time, the Holy Spirit instructed him in the ways of the Lord.
Paul matured in his mind, then he was ready to communicate God’s truth. The Holy Spirit speaks to all believers so that they will understand God’s truth, conform to His truth, and then communicate His truth. The secret is to listen.
“Sin revived and I died” or (the power of sin came to life)
This is a figurative way of saying that Paul’s sin nature broke the fellowship he had with God. When a believer sins, they don’t lose their salvation, but their fellowship with God is broken. This is why we are to confess our sins… to restore our fellowship with God.
When Paul finally understood the law, he knew that he was spiritually dead.
Rom. 7:10
“And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death.”
“Which was to bring life” …since the law (the commandment) points out the path of righteousness, it points to life. The problem is, nobody is able to follow the law perfectly, so it does not bring life to man.
“I found to bring death.” …but since sin reigns in our mortal bodies, the law means judgment and death for us, because we’re not capable of keeping the law. The law reveals sin, but it can’t remove sin.
This is where the law takes us to the foot of the cross in need of a Savior… to find forgiveness by God’s grace. Grace gives what grace requires, God’s unmerited favor toward us.
As believers in Jesus Christ, in the truest sense of the word “believe,” we are no longer bound to the law, no longer slaves to sin. The law on the other hand does its job, showing us our sin.
In the rest of chapter 7, we will see Paul’s struggle and our own struggle with indwelling sin.