DELIVERED FROM UNDER THE LAW
(Romans Bible Study Series Tape Eighteen)
Recommended reading - Romans 7:1-6.
Theologians throughout history have debated whether or
not Paul is referring to a converted Christian or a non converted
Christian in Romans 7. There are several reasons that lead you to
believe that Paul is talking about a converted Christian. First, from Verse
14 onward, Paul moves from a past tense to the present tense. He would
not have done that, if he was not speaking to his post-converted
experience. Secondly, Paul's reference to his tremendous struggle
completely contradicts what he said about himself as a Pharisee in Philippians
3:7. The contrast to the verse in Philippians and in Romans 7:24,
is dramatic and completely contradictory to his pre-converted experience.
Thirdly, in Romans 7:22, Paul refers to his delight in the Law of
God. It is not normal for an unconverted man to delight in the Law of God.
Romans 8:7, states that the natural man is enmity with the Law of
God. Fourthly, if you notice the context of Romans 5,6,7,8, all
deal with the Christian. In light of that fact, he would not immediately
turn to his non Christian experience. Fifthly, statements such as in Romans
8:23, speaks about groaning and in Galatians 5:17, he refers to
the struggle between flesh and Spirit. The statements agree with Romans
7, and the Christian experience.
I. Our human nature is incompatible with God's Law.
· When you take Romans
7 as a unit and if you ask the question "Is Paul referring to
the believer or the unbeliever" you miss the whole point. Paul is
proving a very different and important point.
· God's Holy Law
(which is good, spiritual, and righteous) compared to sinful human
nature, (which is the same in both the believer and the unbeliever), are
incompatible.
· If you look at
the true issue Paul is dealing with, you can see the irrelevance of
whether or not Paul is addressing the believer. You still have human
nature and it is incompatible with God's Holy Law.
· The fact that
God's Law and human nature are incompatible, means that we can never be
saved by the works of the Law.
· Paul states in Romans
6:14, that a Christian is under grace. We have been delivered from
under the Law. The statement Paul made in regard to the Law and grace
put his physical life at risk. The Jewish Christians referred to Paul as
a heretic, because they felt he was against the Law. It was clear that
Paul was not against the Law; he was against legalism. We should all
understand the difference between the law and legalism. The legalist has
the belief that you are earning salvation by obedience. We see the
reaction of the people against Paul in Acts 21:28. Paul had to
explain his comments and why he said what he said. Paul is speaking to a
specific group in Romans 7, those who know the Law.
II. Paul starts by stating clearly that the Law has dominion over
man.
· The word
dominion means rulership. As long as you are living, you are under the
Law. Once you die, the Law no longer has a hold on you.
· The Law Paul is
referring to is the moral Law. Paul is including the whole Law because
the Jews did not make the distinction between the ceremonial Law and
moral Law. Many Christians do, the same today. Paul is speaking about
the moral Law as we see in Verse 7.
III. Marriage is until death.
· Paul delivers a
difficult illustration in Romans 7:2-3. We need to properly
understand this illustration. When a woman marries a man, she stays with
him until he dies. The bible teaches that marriage is until death.
· The word bound
in Verse 2, means more than, "she is stuck with him".
The word also means that she is under him by the terms of the Law.
· We see in Ephesians
5:25, that Husbands are to love their wives, as Christ loved the
Church. If we do that, there will never be abuse in a marriage.
· When God
created Adam and Eve, they were created equal. When sin came, God gave
them another Law, as we see in Genesis 3:16. The husband also
became the ruler over the wife.
· The problem in Romans
7:2, is that the woman has found another man. The man she has found
is wonderful and she wants to marry him.
IV. What is the problem with the first marriage.
· There are three
problems with the first marriage. First, her husband is not sympathetic.
When she makes a mistake, all he wants to do is punish her. Second, the
job of the first husband is not to help his wife, rather to order his
wife. He was not sympathetic, he ordered her around, and he would not
help her. Third, all he did was command of her obedience, and when she
disobeys he condemns her, so she is always under guilt.
V. Now she finds another man.
· She can't marry
him because he is a fine man and he won't commit adultery by marrying
her. She says I wish my first husband would die.
· The problem is
the first husband can't die. The reason the first husband can't die is
because he is the Law. We were married to the Law. We were under the
jurisdiction of the Law.
· To be clear,
the Law is good and Holy. The problem is the Law can't sympathize with
us. The Law cannot help us as stated in Romans 8:3. All the law
can do to us is stated in Galatians 3:10. Cursed is the one that
does not obey. To live under the Law is to live under fear.
· We immediately
think how wonderful it would be to marry the second man. The second man
is Jesus Christ. First, Jesus can sympathize with you. Hebrews 4:15,
states that Jesus can understand and sympathize with us. Second, He can
help us. One of the most beautiful aspects of Christ is the third point;
He does not condemn us. Romans 8:1, says that we are not
condemned.
VI. The problem we now face is that the first husband will not die.
· We see this
point stated in Matthew 5:18. The wife does not have a solution.
The woman wants the husband to die, but he will not and cannot die.
· Those who say
the Law is done away with, do not understand that the Law cannot die.
The Law is eternal. The second man says I can't marry you, you are still
married to your first husband.
· The first
thing, that the second man says, is that He must make the first marriage
null and void. As a result we face two problems. First, you can't get
the first husband to commit adultery because, the Law is good and Holy
and will not sin. Secondly, he won't die. No matter how you look at it,
from the human point of view, there is no solution.
· Christ then
says I have a solution. The wife says, what is the solution? Christ
says, why don't you die? The wife says, if I die how can I marry you? He
says, I don't mean die by yourself, let me take you and put an end to
you. When I put an end to you, I will annul your first marriage. Then I
will raise you up and you will be my wife. In Romans 7:4, we find
the solution. The woman wants the husband to die; in application it is
the woman who dies. It is us, those who have been under the Law, who
die. When we die in Christ, we have been freed from the marriage to the
law.
· The death of
Christ was a corporate death. Christ died for all mankind. When we were
baptized, we were baptized into Christ's death. We are delivered from
sin and the Law, when we accept the death of Christ as we see in Romans
6 and 7.
· The Law is
still there, but we are no longer married to the Law. The Law can say,
you obey me or else you will die. You say to the Law, I am no longer
under you jurisdiction. That does not mean that we can do as we please.
You are not a widow, you are simply married to someone else.
· Notice the
entirety of Romans 7:4. We see what the second husband has to say
about the fruit we are to bear in John 15:1. Under the first
marriage you live under rules, do's and don'ts. Under the new marriage
you are to bear fruit by abiding in Christ as stated in John 15:4-5.
If you are married to Christ, you will abide in Him.
VII. We must understand that we are to produce fruit and be
obedient.
· We are to do
what is right and good in the eyes of God and according to the Law. We
do this in Christ. He is the vine, we are the branches; if it doesn't
come through Him, it does not work. Romans 7:5, further details
Paul's point. In the flesh, means before we died.
· The only fruit
you bear under the Law is sin. In that case we end up in death. Once you
accept Christ and become His bride, you see what occurs in Romans
5:6. We are delivered from the Law.
· To God, bearing
fruit is not only doing something good, it is doing good with the right
motive. We obey God because we are praying to Him. We are in Christ, we
love Him, and are filled with His Spirit. When all that occurs, then
bearing fruit is automatic.
· We will bear
the right fruit because we are connected to the vine. Don't focus on the
fruit, focus on being in the vine, and we will do what is right.
· We have a God
who saves and does not put guilt on us every time we fall. God says the
reason you fell is because, for the moment you stopped abiding in Me.
Let that be a reminder, only when you abide in Christ, can you bear
fruit.
· We have been
delivered from the Law as Paul covers in Romans 7:6. The new
marriage does not mean sitting idle; we should be serving. Under the Law
you serve the Law for one reason; you serve it out of fear. You are
afraid of punishment and the curse. The newness of the Spirit means you
serve God out of love and appreciation.
Paul wanted to be a slave of Jesus Christ, and to serve
Him because Christ was his friend and Savior. We keep God's Law because we
love Him. We are in Jesus Christ and we are His slave because we want to
be. You cannot be married to both men, that would be committing adultery.
When you have accepted Jesus Christ, He will not divorce you just because
you may stumble, fall, and commit sin. He still loves you; He loved you
long before you ever married Him. He died for you long before you ever
accepted Him. When you fall, you feel terrible because you have hurt
Christ. The Christian person hurts when they have hurt their wonderful
loving husband. The Law and Christ are not enemies. The problem is, the
Law and the sinful nature are enemies. The problem is not the Law. The Law
is Holy, good, spiritual, and righteous. The problem is that in the first
marriage we are sinners incompatible with the law; therefore, that
marriage can never work. Christ gives assurance, hope, and produces fruit;
that fruit is in harmony with the Law. What we fail to keep in the first
marriage is now in harmony, with what we keep, and what we are in Christ.
The second marriage is a wonderful marriage. We are in the Everlasting
Covenant, where the Law is written in our Heart. It is part of our delight
and desire. How wonderful it is to abide in Christ! |
Delivered From Under the
Law 