Romans 7

1longer apply to her. 3So while her husband is alive, she would be committing adultery if she 7:3 married another man. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law and does not com- Luke 16:18 mit adultery when she remarries. Tes 6:6; 8:2 4So, my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point: You died to the power of the law when Gal 5:18 you died with Christ. And now you are united with the one who was raised fromthe dead. As 7 Pet 2:24 a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God. 5When we were controlled by our 7:5 old nature,* sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that Aaa produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death. °But now we have beenreleasedfrom 7.6 the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, notin 2 Cor 3 the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit. Phil 3:3

God's Law Reveals Our Sin

77Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful? Of course not! In fact,itwasthelaw 7:7 that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not prod 207 said, “You must not covet.”* 8But sin used this command to arouse all kinds of covetous de- Rom 4:15 sires within me! If there were no law, sin would not have that power. 9At one time I lived 78 ats without understanding the law. But when I learned the command not to covet, for instance, 7.49, the power of sin came to life, and I died. So I discovered that the law’s commands, which Lev 18:5 were supposed to bring life, brought spiritual death instead. Sin took advantage of those Beara? commands and deceived me; it used the commands to kill me. 12But still, the law itself is Gal 3:42 holy, and its commands are holy and right and good. oe as 13But how can that be? Did the law, which is good, cause my death? Of course not! Sin Heb 3:13 used what was good to bring about my condemnation to death. So we can see how terrible 7:12). sin really is. It uses God’s good commands for its own evil purposes. Struggling with Sin TV kgs 31-20-25 14So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for 1 Rom 3:9; 6:6 am all too human, a slave to sin. ‘51 don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is 715

day is ruined.!s it the sign’s fault? Are you angry with the peoplewho put it up? The law is like the sign. It is essential, and we aregrateful for it—but it doesn’t get rid of the sharks.7:11, 12 Sin deceives people by misusing the law. The law washoly, expressing God’s nature and will for people. In the Gardenof Eden (Genesis 3), the serpent deceived Eve, changing her focusfrom the freedom she had to the one restriction God had made.Ever since then, we have all been rebels. Sin looks good to usprecisely because God has said it is wrong. When we are temptedto rebel, we need to look at the law from a wider perspective—inthe light of God's grace and mercy. If we focus on his great lovefor us, we will understand that he only restricts us from actionsand attitudes that ultimately will harm us.7:15 Paul shares three lessons that he fearned in trying to dealwith his sinful desires: (1) Knowledge of the rules is not theanswer (7:9). Paul felt fine as long as he did not understand whatthe Jaw demanded. When he learned the truth, he knew he wasdoomed. (2) Self-determination (struggling in one’s own strength)doesn’t succeed (7:15). Paul found himself sinning in ways thatweren't even attractive to him. (3) Becoming a Christian does notstamp out all sin and temptation from a person's life {7:22-25).Being born again takes a moment of faith, but becoming likeChrist is a lifelong process. Paul compares Christian growth toa strenuous race or fight (1 Corinthians 9:24-27; 2 Timothy 4:7).Thus, as Paul has been emphasizing since the beginning of thisletter, 0 one in the world is innocent; no one deserves to besaved—not the pagan who doesn't know God's laws, not theperson who knows them and tries to keep them. All of us mustdepend totally on the work of Christ for our salvation. We cannotearn it by our good behavior.7:15 This is more than the cry of one desperate man; it describesthe experience of all Christians struggling against sin or trying toplease God by keeping rules and laws without the Spirit's help. Wemust never underestimate the power of sin and attempt to fight it in

right, but I don’t doit. Instead, I do what I hate. 16But if [know that what lam doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. 17So I am not the one doing wrong it is sin living in me that does it. 18And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.* I want to do what is right, but I can’t. 191 want to do what is good, but I don't. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. 20But if I do what I don't want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. 217 have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. 22I love God’s law with all my heart. 23But there is another power* within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still withinme. 24Oh, what a miserable person 1am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? 25Thank 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.