Romans 7:1-6
Romans • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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As we keep pressing through the book of Romans, I have been thinking how key it is that we truly learn what the book of Romans says and then apply it to how we live our lives.
What good does it do me as a pastor if I completely get through the book of Romans and nothing about our lives change?
NOTHING
Sure I can check the box that I preached through the book of Romans and completed it. Sure I can have sermon notes in the archive that I have preached through the book but all that means nothing if the power of scripture is not changing lives.
Another way of saying it is, I am not preaching just to preach but I teach and preach for the sake of life change.
So I want to attempt to slow down a bit today and cover 6 verses.
These 7 verses tie into the previous two chapters as well.
1 Since I am speaking to those who understand law, brothers, are you unaware that the law has authority over someone as long as he lives? 2 For example, a married woman is legally bound to her husband while he lives. But if her husband dies, she is released from the law regarding the husband. 3 So then, if she gives herself to another man while her husband is living, she will be called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law. Then, if she gives herself to another man, she is not an adulteress. 4 Therefore, my brothers, you also were put to death in relation to the law through the crucified body of the Messiah, so that you may belong to another—to Him who was raised from the dead—that we may bear fruit for God. 5 For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions operated through the law in every part of us and bore fruit for death. 6 But now we have been released from the law, since we have died to what held us, so that we may serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old letter of the law.
(Pray)
Pray as I attempt this morning to explain a Biblical concept through perhaps a worldly concept that I believe fits with Biblical thinking.
This week in chapter 7 he says you have died to the law and you now belong to the Messiah. Last week, He said you have died to Sin
11 So, you too consider yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, so that you obey its desires. 13 And do not offer any parts of it to sin as weapons for unrighteousness. But as those who are alive from the dead, offer yourselves to God, and all the parts of yourselves to God as weapons for righteousness. 14 For sin will not rule over you, because you are not under law but under grace.
You are either dead or alive. You can’t be partly dead or partly alive.
This is great news!
Then verse 12
Do not let sin reign
Don’t let sin be your King or master
This is where our stinkin thinkin starts to come in and the reason I want to slow it down just a little.
Verse 13 says don’t offer any parts of it to sin as weapons for unrighteousness
This word starts to set in SHAME
I think it got even heavier
18 and having been liberated from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness.
This is so much liberation language! Set Free Language! You are out of jail!
The enemy and our growing up mindset pushes to
Shame shame Shame! Negative Negative Negative
I think this picture helps us understand what is going on in our minds
The Gap and The Gain: The High Achievers' Guide to Happiness, Confidence, and Success
by Dan Sullivan (Author), Dr. Benjamin Hardy
(write on slide)
Kingdom of Sin Vs Kingdom of Grace
Chapter 7 Law Vs Grace
Shame (Goal/achieved)
I again felt us slip in to gap/kingdom of sin thinking on these verses last week
20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free from allegiance to righteousness. 21 So what fruit was produced then from the things you are now ashamed of? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now, since you have been liberated from sin and have become enslaved to God, you have your fruit, which results in sanctification —and the end is eternal life!
and I said what does this new fruit look like
and I read this
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.
(Gap vs Gain slide)
Some immediately slipped into gap or sin thinking and said well I am not at the ideal. I am not loving like I should love or I am not as gentle as I could be.
Gain thinking is
Oh man compared to the fruit I produced before Jesus. I have grown so much in Christ. His death and resurrection is really setting me free. I have grown in love, I have grown in joy, peace, patience kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control. I am growing. I am not where I want to be but from where I started my mind is changing and Jesus is doing it.
I love that the word of God brings conviction on us but I also love love love that the word of God brings freedom, freedom, Freedom! There is so much liberation language in these chapters.
1 Since I am speaking to those who understand law, brothers, are you unaware that the law has authority over someone as long as he lives? 2 For example, a married woman is legally bound to her husband while he lives. But if her husband dies, she is released from the law regarding the husband. 3 So then, if she gives herself to another man while her husband is living, she will be called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law. Then, if she gives herself to another man, she is not an adulteress.
This is using the illustration of marriage to describe our relationship to the law.
Woman is married and her husband dies. Her husbands death sets her free from the law.
Sounds familiar
6 For we know that our old self was crucified with Him in order that sin’s dominion over the body may be abolished, so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin, 7 since a person who has died is freed from sin’s claims. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him, 9 because we know that Christ, having been raised from the dead, will not die again. Death no longer rules over Him.
Death no longer rules over Him. You have been set free
Romans 7 the death of her husband sets her free from the law.
4 Therefore, my brothers, you also were put to death in relation to the law through the crucified body of the Messiah, so that you may belong to another—to Him who was raised from the dead—that we may bear fruit for God.
5 For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions operated through the law in every part of us and bore fruit for death.
6 But now we have been released from the law, since we have died to what held us, so that we may serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old letter of the law.
released
to be exempt v. — to be or become freed from or not subject to a privilege, obligation, or liability to which others or other things are subject.
The sense here is that you are clinging to the thing that you believed is saving you and that is the law. I am going to keep all the do nots and that will save me.
The do nots don’t save you! (say that with me)
The do nots reveal that we need a Savior
You are no longer bound to the do nots but now bind yourself to the Savior.
Carol Dweck in her book Mindset describes this in a different way.
She says you can have either a
Fixed Mindset or a Growth Mindset (Slide)
(Sin/Law) (Grace/Freedom)
(Slide)
Scientist measured the electrical activity from the brain when students encounter an error.
Carol Dweck says on the left you can see that fixed mindset students run from the error. There is no brain activity because they run from the mistake.
On the right you can see that students with a growth mindset have lots of brain activity. They are challenged by the error to do better. They process the error. They learn from the error and they correct it.