The Law and New Life

Kevin Perry

The Gospel Truth • Sermon • Submitted 3 months ago • Presented 3 months ago

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Introduction

Hey good morning everyone. Thank you again for having me back this Sunday. I don’t think anyone told the pastors or elders that I shouldn’t be invited back for a second Sunday, so I appreciate that. Or maybe if you did, and you’re surprised to see me this morning, I’m sorry.

But let’s jump into it. We’re beginning a new chapter of Romans, but make no mistake, Paul is continuing the idea that he has been building on this whole time.

As many of you know, Rachel and I have an 11 month old son named John. John is very active and is learning a lot. Most recently, we’ve been working on hand motions with him. Our dinner conversation is often filled with phrases like, “John can you clap? Can you clap buddy?” “Can you snap?” and he tries to move some fingers together. “John can you pray?” and he starts to clasp his hands together. One of my favorites is, “John can you do the hand jive?” and he starts to do the hand jive. It goes without saying, but I’ll say it, Johns the cutest baby in the world… no offense to the other parents here…or other babies for that matter…

You start to learn pretty quickly when it comes to kids just how much you have to repeat yourself to teach a point. You don’t just get to say something once and then move on. You have to say something and then restate it and say it over and over again.

And really that’s true for all of us. Unfortunately, we often need to hear the same thing a few times before it really sets in. And that was true for Paul’s audience in Rome.

In fact, the beginning of chapter 7 is the third analogy that Paul is using to explain the believer’s relationship to death, sin, and law in light of Christ. He is being clear so that there is no mistake as to the identity of the believer.

This began all the way back in Romans 6. The first analogy was baptism as a picture of dying, being buried, and being raised up with Christ in 6:1-14, the second, what I preached on last week, was about slavery to sin and slavery to obedience in 6:15-23, and in this final analogy, Paul is using marriage and death to illustrate our relationship with the law. He is using these analogies to repeat and prove something he’s already said in Romans 6:14.

Christian Standard Bible (Chapter 6)

14 For sin will not rule over you, because you are not under the law but under grace.

For the follower of Jesus, what we are going to see today as we go through this first half of chapter 7 is that the Christian is not bound by the law but the law is still good.

So if you have your bibles with you, open them up to Romans 7:1-13 and we’ll be reading out of the CSB.

Christian Standard Bible (Chapter 7)

Since I am speaking to those who know the law, brothers and sisters, don’t you know that the law rules 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 is married 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 is married to another man, she is not an adulteress.

4 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you also were put to death in relation to the law through the body of Christ so that you may belong to another. You belong to him who was raised from the dead in order that we may bear fruit for God. 5 For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions aroused through the law were working in us to bear 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 newness of the Spirit and not in the old letter of the law.

SIN’S USE OF THE LAW

7 What should we say then? Is the law sin? Absolutely not! But, I would not have known sin if it were not for the law. For example, I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, Do not covet.8 And sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind. For apart from the law sin is dead. 9 Once I was alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life again 10 and I died. The commandment that was meant for life resulted in death for me. 11 For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me, and through it killed me. 12 So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good. 13 Therefore, did what is good become death to me? Absolutely not! But, sin, in order to be recognized as sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that through the commandment, sin might become sinful beyond measure.

Body

1. Law and Believers (v.1-6)

Paul begins by telling us who he is writing to. He’s writing to those who know the law. And it is here that we run into our first challenge. Not many of us have grown up knowing the law in the same way that a first century Jew would have or even a first century Gentile would have. You see, one of the challenges that we face when coming to the biblical text is that we are not the original audience. We are being let into a conversation as outsiders. That’s not to say that we don’t have much to learn, quite the contrary we have everything to learn, it just means that we must first do the work to understand the context to which the biblical authors are writing.

Paul is writing to those who know that law and we are people who for the most part don’t know the law. It would do us well to, as believers, spend time reading and understanding what the law is. The Greek word that Paul uses here is nomos and David Guzik notes that in the Greek there isn’t the word ‘the’ before Law. So the text actually reads more like, “Since I am speaking to those who know law…” He makes the argument, as do other theologians, that this law that Paul is referring to is more then just the 10 commandments. In Hebrew, the word for law is Torah, which probably sounds familiar, it’s the name given to the Pentateuch, the first five books of the bible. While law definitely includes the 10 commandments and the mosaic law, in its general sense, we should think also of the Old Testament stories that point us to the righteousness of God and His holy standard. It includes the fact that all of humanity has God’s law innately in us.

In fact, Rachel and I had a professor in bible college that said when we read the word Law in the New Testament, we should pronounce it as Torah. Those books are more then just rules to obey from authority, they are stories of God interacting with His creation and giving us a standard of perfection. There is a sense in which law refers to God’s perfect standard as revealed in His word in its entirety. And with that comes the natural conclusion that in order to obtain salvation, one must live up to that standard perfectly with no mistakes. And as we’ll see in a moment, the only way out of that standard is death.

a. Under the law while alive (v.1)

He then poses a question, “Don’t you know that a person is only under the law while they are alive?” And then he jumps into the analogy saying in verse 2 and 3:

Christian Standard Bible (Chapter 7)

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 is married 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 is married to another man, she is not an adulteress.

b. Death releases us from the Law (v.2-3)

Once death enters the picture, the law cannot apply. If someone is bound by the law and they break it, they are held liable for the consequences of the law. If a wife breaks the law, she is an adulteress, but when death comes, it releases her from the law and she is free to, in a sense, bear fruit in her new life with a new husband. When death occurs, we are no longer bound by the law.

c. So too have we died to the law through Jesus’ death and are raised to new life in Him. (v.4)

Verse 4 is a key point to this passage. Paul writes, Romans 7:4.

Christian Standard Bible (Chapter 7)

Before Jesus, humanity was bound to the law. The only way to salvation was perfect obedience to the law. In fact, the whole Old Testament shows us just how perfect God is and how imperfect humanity is. When sin happened, there had to be atonement in order for the law to be upheld. The only way out of the law was death. That death happened with Jesus Christ and we who died with him are like the wife who is free to remarry. We now are the bride of Christ and belong to Him.

And what are we free to do? We are not free from the law to be lawless, we are free from the law to bear fruit for God. Dying to the law means that The Christian is not bound by the law. And the result is that our…

i. New life produces fruit for God.

One of the things that really bothers me is when people have a defeatist mentality. It just really bothers me when we’re going into a new situation and someone has just already given up. Now don’t get me wrong, I sometimes do it myself, and I don’t like any better when I do it. Do you know what I’m talking about? That Eayore personality. Everything’s probably going to fail so why even bother? Hopelessness bothers me.

And the reality is, without Christ, the outcome is truly hopelessness. If you are outside of Christ then you should have a defeatist mentality because there is absolutly no way you can produce fruit for God if you are bound by the law.

In fact, Paul states in the next verse,

Christian Standard Bible (Chapter 7)

5 For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions aroused through the law were working in us, to bear fruit for death.

d. In the past, we were bound to the law when we were in the flesh. (v.5)

And the result of that was our sinful passions, being aroused by the law, led us to death. That is not to say that the law brought forth death, as we’ll see more later, but our sinfulness was provoked by the law. And what does sin produce?

i. Sin produced fruit for death.

But we, the believers, the followers of Jesus…

e. We have been released from the law by Christ’s death to serve in the newness of the Spirit. (v.6)

Paul states in verse 6,

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 newness of the Spirit and not in the old letter of the law.

Why is it important that we have been released from the law? Well because what did the law accomplish. Kenneth Boa writes,

Romans A. The Believer’s Death to Law: An Illustration (7:1–6)

The law sets the standard, reveals that we have failed to meet the standard, produces guilt over the failure, and condemns to death

Again, if you are still under that law, then ultimately there is no hope for you. You have been condemned to death. Like Paul mentioned at the close of Romans 6. The wages of sin is death. And the Law always pays out.

But Christian. We are no longer ourselves bound to our old nature serving our old master leading to death. Because of Jesus, we are released from the law and belong to Christ to serve in the newness of Spirit. That means, we get to serve God more veraciously, with more devotion, with a deeper intimacy then ever before! The old letter of the law could only allow for a certain level of devotion, but the newness of the Spirit allows for a deep loving relationship with Christ to serve Him and glorify Him.

What God spoke through the prophet Ezekiel has come to fruition. Ezekiel 11:19-20 is God saying to His people:

Ezekiel 11:19–20 ESV

And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God.

Have you experienced this reality? Do you look at your life and see the same hopelessness as the world? Are you living under the legalistic application of the law as if you can somehow work your way into righteousness? Or have you experienced the life giving newness of the Holy Spirit replacing your heart of stone with a heart of flesh? Have you put your faith in that truth?

Paul Washer once said, You ask me ‘What’s the greatest act of faith?’ To me is to look in the mirror of God’s word, and see all my faults, all my sin, all my shortcomings and to believe that God loves me exactly as he says he does.”

Underlying all of this legal language of how the followers of Jesus interact with the law is this reality of of the motivation behind the cross. Make no mistake: Jesus went to the cross, died for your sins, rose from the grave so that we are no longer bound to the law and can live freely for Him because of His love for you. His great love. And the only natural response is for us to worship and glorify Him.

David Guzik again says of this section that Paul is being clear:

The Law cannot save us, nor can it take us deeper with God.

We now, because of His great love, we get to go deeper into relationship with Him because of His love for us. That newness of the Spirit will bring you into deep communion, into joy unspeakable, it will bring you into life with Christ.

In preparing with the sermon, I talked to a few different people. And in talking with Heather about this, she gave me an article from a book called Reading the Bible Book by Book. In it, the author points out that Paul in his letter to the Romans is using a common Greek literary type called Diatribe where he is essentially proving a point by setting up a mock argument and answering the potential objections or misapplication of his point.

After all of this talk about how we are not bound by the law anymore, it would have naturally followed that the law is of no use. If we are dead to the law and no longer belong to the law, then it would naturally follow that the Law, at the very least, is unimportant. Paul anticipated this conclusion and wants to be clear. Even though Christians are not bound to the law, the law is still good.

Psalm 19 still holds true: The Law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul.”

2. Law and Sin (v.7-13)

In the first section, we saw the relationship between Law and believers, now we turn our attention to the relationship between Law and Sin. And Paul is going to answer the question for us, as to why the Law is still important. And he starts by clarifying that…

a. The law is not sin. It shows sin (v.7)

Christian Standard Bible (Chapter 7)

The Law is not sin, rather, the Law shows us what sin is. Paul gives the example of coveting.

It is not that Paul would not have coveted if it hadn’t been for the law, it is that the Law sets the standard and shows Him just how inadequate he is to meet that standard.

If the law is like a drivers test and someone fails, it is not the tests fault for that failure. The test just shows that that individual didn’t know how to drive.

So what does sin do?

c. Sins uses the law to produce death. (v.8)

Paul writes in the following verse:

Christian Standard Bible (Chapter 7)

And sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind. For apart from the law sin is dead.

Paul is not saying that without the law he would not have sinned, rather he is stating that the law revealed the sin that was already in Him. Sin uses the law to produce death.

One commentator states,

Romans B. The Value of Law (7:7–13)

the law named his sin and made him accountable for it.

How terrible must sin be that it can manipulate the holy and righteous standard of God to produce death and sin in us?

Sins struggle with the law. (v.9-11)

Paul continues this thought in the following three verses. But before we read them, it is worth it to say that much debate has happened over these verses. And I wish we had time to go into it. So what I would like to encourage you to do is to take the time to study this passage more in depth in community with others and in prayer and submission to the Spirit.

I believe that Paul, in these next few verses, is referring to himself, and by extension to us. I agree with The CSB commentary that states,

Romans (B. The Value of Law (7:7–13))

He seems to be referring to his past experience in coming to a realization of sin through the law in verses 7-13.

Paul writes,

Christian Standard Bible (Chapter 7)

Once I was alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life again 10 and I died. The commandment that was meant for life resulted in death for me. 11 For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me, and through it killed me.

The Law is like a blank clean canvas. Perfect and spotless. Sin takes what is perfect and holds you up to it to show that you are not perfect. The sin in you is what makes that perfect spotless canvas become riddled with marks. The law reveals God’s perfection and sin comes in and guilts you to death. But Christian, we have died to the law so now, we are not bound to the Law.

d. Yet, the law is still good. (v.12)

Again, think back to what the Law is. Here Law refers to a more general understanding of God’s standard. It definitely includes the statutes and rules laid out in the things like the 10 commandments, but it is also more. It is that law of God written throughout all of humanity evident in our very selves.

And it is that Law that Paul then says in verse 12.

Christian Standard Bible (Chapter 7)

12 So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good.

God’s law is still good and useful and beneficial for New Testament believers. By it, we know God’s standard and through it we have a roadmap of how we might live. We are no longer bound by the law, but it is still good as it points us to the standard of God that was accomplished by Christ on the cross.

e. Sins sinfulness. (v.13)

The final verse drives this point all the more that the Law is still good and that what is bad is our sin!

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 7

13 Therefore, did what is good become death to me? Absolutely not!y But, sin, in order to be recognized as sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that through the commandment, sin might become sinful beyond measure.

The problem is not the law, the problem is sin.

Theres a pastor/youtuber by the name of Mike Winger and he gives a thoughtful illustration to show this point. He talks about seeing a bench with ‘wet paint’ sign on it. I don’t think I’m the only one, but for whatever reason, when I see a wet paint sign on a bench, whats the first thing I do? I walk up to it, I touch the wet paint, and I say to myself, “Yup thats wet paint.” It made me feel better the Mike Winger said thats pretty common.

Some people might say that if the sign wasn’t there they wouldn't’ have touched it. Something about seeing a sign telling us not do to something makes us want to do it. But if were honest, we’d realize that if the sign were not on the bench, I probably would have done worse! I would have actually sat down! I would have sat on it and ruined the bench and my clothes! The sign was not the problem, the problem is me. The problem is my sin.

Sin comes in and takes a good thing and by its very nature, proves its ugly sinfulness all the more.

Conclusion

But Christian, You are not bound by the law because Jesus has died for you. But Christian, The law is still good because it shows us the standard and maps the way for us to live for God’s glory.

We are not under the law. Our sin can no longer condemn us. When you find yourself wrestling with something you ought not be wrestling with, don’t give in to the temptation to listen to evil one who tries to condemn you by a standard you don’t have to live up to.

The law cannot save us. The law shows us our deep need to be saved.

When we began this passage, I told you that one of the challenges we face when approaching biblical texts is that we often have holes in our understanding of the cultural and historical context because we aren’t the original audience. That doesn’t mean we can’t come to a full understanding of the text. What I hope you will do in light of this passage is fall deeper in love with God’s word. Fall deeper in love with God’s law. Don’t look to it as a set of rules that you must follow in order to win His love, rather look at it for what it is: The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. Meditate on the Law day and night. Teach it to your children. Bind on your hearts. Let the law point you to Christ.

The law cannot save us. The law shows us our savior.

Jesus is that savior.

Turn to Him. Trust in Him. Follow Him. You are not bound by the law. but the law is still good because it points us to Christ.