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THE
BELIEVER’S DEATH TO THE LAW (Rom 7:1-6) 10/05/07 Grace Bible Church, Gillette, Wyoming Pastor I.
THE CONTEXT OF
ROMANS CHAPTER 7 A.
Paul taught
that the believer is dead to sin because of his position in Christ (6:1-10),
and that that is the basis for victory over sin (6:11-23). B.
Paul now also
teaches that the believer is dead to the Law because of his position in
Christ. Both Jewish and Gentile believers would have questions concerning
their relationship to the Law. The Law is referred to some 23 times in this
chapter. C.
Romans 7
teaches: 1. The Believer Is Not Under The Law But Grace (7:1-6) 2. The Unbeliever (and Believer) Is Convicted of Sin By
The Law (7:7-13) 3. The Believer Is Not Delivered From Sin Through The
Law (7:14-25) a) This section is widely debated among Christians as
to whether it refers to the experience of a believer or unbeliever. b) Certainly there is language in this section that
could suggest that it is speaking of an unbeliever who was “sold into bondage
to sin” (14); has “nothing good [dwelling] in” him (18); and is a “wretched
man” trapped in a “body of … death” (24). c) However, we could also point out that the person in
this section is one who “hate[s]” sin (15); “one who wants to do good” (19,
21); one who is humble and cognizant of his “sin” (17, 18, 20-22); and one
who is “serving the law of God” with his mind (25); all terms characterizing
believers. d) In addition, Paul uses the present tense in this
section indicating present time as opposed to imperfect and aorist tenses in
the previous section. 4. The Believer Fulfills The Law By Walking In The
Spirit (8:1-4) II.
THE BELIEVER IS
NOT UNDER LAW BUT GRACE (7:1-6) A.
Under the Law
Until Death (1) 1. Verses 1-6 relate to Paul’s statements in 6:14-15,
“not under law but under grace.” 2. Paul rhetorically asks his readers if they do not
know (agnoeo)
the obvious facts about the Law and its jurisdiction upon the living only. 3. While “those who know the Law” could generally refer
to Jews exclusively, here it would also refer to Gentiles with a knowledge of the Law of Moses. Some suggest that “law” (nomos, anarthrous, but only in vs. 1a & 2a; 1b and 2b have
an article; cp. 5:20, 7:7b) means any common law. However, the latter context
is clearly centered around the Mosaic Law (4, 5, 6,
7, 8, ff). 4. Paul’s point is this − that as long as a
person is living, the Law has judicial dominion and rule (kurieuo) over his life. That
dominion ends at death. B.
Illustration of
Marriage Under the Law (2-3) 1. Marriage Bound By Law (2) a) Paul uses marriage, not as an exhaustive thesis on
marriage but as an illustration about the Law. Marriage is dealt with more fully
by both Christ and Paul in Matt. 5:31, 32; 19:3–12; 1Co 7:10–15. b) A spouse (in this case the woman) is bound (Perf. Ind. of deo - tie or bind)
by the Law to her spouse as long as that spouse is living. c) If the husband dies, the woman is released from the
Law concerning the issue of marriage. “Released” is katargeo (Perf.
Ind.) and means to render inoperative or annul. We
have seen this word used in 3:3, 31; 4:14, but especially 6:6 to show that
sin has been rendered inoperative in the believer’s life. Now the Law is
annulled in the life of the believer. 2. Marriage Released By Death (3) a) In categorizing the Law’s application, it would be
called adultery for a woman to be “joined to another man” (ginomai andri;
expression for marriage; LXX - Deu 24:2; Jer 3:1)
while her husband is still living. b) However, the Law would not consider it adultery for
the woman who was joined to another man after her first husband had died. C.
The Believer’s
Position in Christ: Dead To The Law (4-6) 1. Paul moves
from the analogy to the spiritual truth that the believer in Christ is
positionally dead to the Law. a) Made to die to the Law (vs. 4 - lit. “put
to death” Aor. Pass. Ind. of thanatoō cp. Rom 8:36; 1Pe 3:18) b) Released from
the Law (vs. 6 - Aor. Pass. Ind. of katargeo) cp. vs. 2; Gal 5:14; 2Cor 3:14. 2. Through
Christ’s work on the cross (“through the body of Christ”) the Law was: a) Terminated
(Rom 10:4 “end”) b) Cancelled (Col
2:14 “blot out”; Eph 2:15 “annulled”) c) Replaced by
Grace (Joh 1:16-17; Col 2:16-17) 3. Paul takes
the analogy further. The believer has died to and has been released from the
Law so that he could be joined to Christ, placing the believer, “in Christ
(Eph 1:3ff). 4. Though the
believer is obligated to the Law’s moral essence (i.e. the righteousness of
God), he is not required to carry out the Law’s regulations, nor is he under
the Law’s condemnation (Rom 8:1). 5. Before the
believer was saved, he was, “in the flesh” (vs. 5) not “in the Spirit.” The
“flesh (sarx),
here is defined as the, “sinful passions,” was aroused by the Law and bore fruit
unto death. But, having died to the law in Christ, the believer lives and
serves not under the regulations of the Law (“oldness of the letter”) but
through the Spirit’s power (“newness of the Spirit”) cp. Rom 8:2-4. III.
APPLICATIONS A.
Grace Not Judgment 1. Rom 8:1-2 B.
Grace Not Law System 1. Rom 8:3 C.
Grace Not Law’s Power 1. Rom 8:4 D.
People of grace - teach grace, live in grace, give grace
to one another. |
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