Romanos 7
H.A. Ironside · Citado em PreceptAustin
Romanos 7:1-3
Ironside comments that Paul's argument here is that the law has dominion over men until death ends its authority or ends their relationship to it. But he has just been showing us in the clearest possible way that we have died with Christ; therefore we died not only to sin, but we have died to the law as a rule of life. Is this then to leave us lawless? Not at all: for we are now, as he shows elsewhere (1Cor 9:21), "under the law to Christ", or "enlawed" - that is, legitimately subject - to Christ our new Head. He is husband as well as Head, even as Ephesians 5 so clearly shows. (Romans Commentary) Though freed from the LAW with its stern demands-- No longer ruled by its harsh commands-- I'm bound by Christ's love and am truly free To live and to act responsibly - D J De Haan Romans 7 depicts the law as actually awakening rebellious desires ("sinful passions") within (See Ro 7:5-note). Being told not to do something excites our old man, our flesh, to desire to express itself. By daily walking and talking with Christ, we can go from ''NO'' power in the law to ALL power in Christ, specifically His Spirit Who indwells us (and as explained in Romans 8, e.g, see Ro 8:13-note). Remember that walking by the Spirit (Gal 5:16-note) is simply placing one foot before another and then repeating the process. That is how believers can learn to walk in the Spirit of Christ and in His supernatural power rather than their natural ability to obey. In Christ, God's love was expressed (Ro 5:8, Jn 3:16, 1Jn 4:10) and His law was satisfied (Gal 3:13) and our responsibility now is to work out our salvation in Christ with fear and trembling (Php 2:12-note) And then Paul explains how believers can work it out in Phil 2:13NLT-note - in short, it is possible because of what God "works in" us -- His Spirit in us continually giving us both the desire and the power to work out and walk forth (by the Spirit). Our responsibility. His enablement. Is this mysterious? Yes! But is it the Scriptural way to a life of freedom from the power of law and the power of sin. As long as a person lives - This simply means that when the person dies, the power of law dies! Believers however have died with Christ and to Sin (as a Principle) and to the power of the law, because the law works through sin. In other words the law says don't covet. What this does in effect is "stir up" the old Sin nature to want to do what the law says not to do. Romans 7:5 says "while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law." Ro 7:7 says "I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “YOU SHALL NOT COVET. But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead.” Do you see it? Law arouses the sinful desires (of our Sin nature), and stimulates us to covet. 1Cor 15:56+ says "The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law." Where does Paul say Sin gets its power from? From the law! Here is a simple illustration I once heard from Charles Swindoll - Put a sign in your beautiful front yard saying "No riding bikes on this lawn," and before you know it kids are riding their bikes on the lawn. The fallen flesh (our Sin nature) in a sense gets power from the law. The law in effect arouses our sinful nature. THOUGHT- So we need to be careful -- the law can be very subtle. Take for example, making a list of "Do's and don'ts" - this seems to be a good thing. Your reason for making the list is so you will not do those things and thus might walk in greater victory. Wrong! The very act of "trying" to keep these rules is a form of legalism and can actually have the reverse effect of stirring your old Sin nature (yes, made inoperative [Ro 6:6+ - "done away with" implies it is gone, but it is NOT], but still alive) to commit that sin! In short, without recognizing what has happened, we have chosen to place ourselves back up under ("under" implies we are submitting to the authority of) the law, the very thing from which Jesus' death on the Cross has freed us (Ro 6:14+). The net effect is that we blunt the work of grace (God's power to transform our behavior, by His Spirit and Word). And we wonder why we find ourselves failing and being so frustrated! We need to learn to surrender or yield our will each morning to the Lordship of the Spirit of Christ. Enabled by the Spirit (He gives us the desire to obey and the power to obey as taught in Php 2:13NLT+) we are to die to self efforts to keep the law. We are not lawless, but now we are enabled to keep the law because the Spirit gives us the desire to keep it and the power to keep it. Trust the Spirit Who Alone can give you the abundant life in Christ (Jn 10:10b). An excellent parallel on this important spiritual truth is Galatians 5:16+ which commands us (present imperative see our need to depend on the Holy Spirit even to obey this command) to "Walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh." Do not miss the order - Spirit first. It is the Spirit in us Who gives us the holy desire and holy power to not carry out the desire of the flesh (which is still present in our mortal bodies and will be until we die or are raptured!) One man I was discipling reasoned - I will not carry out the desire of my flesh and in so doing I will be able to walk by the Spirit. Do you see his fatal flaw? It is the personal pronoun "I." He was trusting in his own nature, which ultimately is fallen and sinful. Little wonder that he had experienced such futility in his battle against a persistent sin! He needed to learn to rely wholly on the Holy Spirit to defeat that sin. Romans 8:13+ (Lloyd-Jones calls this the most important verse in the Bible regarding progressive sanctification) says "if by the Spirit (HIS POWER) you are putting to death (OUR PRACTICE - present tense = calls us to do this every day of our life!) the deeds of the body, you will live." Notice the pattern again -- reliance on the Spirit giving us the desire and power and then our responsibility to "kill the sin." Note that it is never "Let go, let God." That is absolutely not Biblical. The Biblical pattern is "Let God, let's go!" His power, our participation! God's sovereignty, man's responsibility. (Related resource - great sermon by Ray
Romanos 7:1-3
Ironside - In the same way (as the wife's husband's death freed her), death has ended the relationship of the believer to the law, not the death of the law but our death with Christ, which has brought the old order to an end. We are now free to be married to another, even to the risen Christ in order that we might bring forth fruit to God...Death has dissolved the former relationship, and the one who once looked to the law for fruit now looks to the risen Christ. As the heart is occupied with Him, spiritual fruit is produced in the life in which God delights. (Romans Commentary) (See Ro 7:4, 5, 6+) SO THAT SHE IS NOT AN ADULTERESS THOUGH SHE IS JOINED TO ANOTHER MAN: tou me einai (PAN) auten moichalida genomenen (AMPFSA) andri hetero: Ru 2:13; 1Sa 25:39, 40, 41, 42; 1Ti 5:11, 12, 13, 14 Romans 7 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries So that - This phrase (991x in NAS95) introduces a purpose clause and begs the question "What is the purpose?" and "How is this purpose achieved?" which will usually force you to examine the context. Adulteress (3428) (moichalis from moichos = "married & impure") Joined (1096) (ginomai) means to cause to become or to come into existence. This verse therefore reads more literally "having become another man's".