Romans 7:1-13
Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? 2 For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. 3 So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man. 4 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. 5 For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. 6 But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter. 7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. 8 But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead. 9 For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. 10 And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. 11 For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me. 12 Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. 13 Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.

Over the last several weeks, we have considered the new identity that believers have in Jesus Christ. They are dead to sin and alive to God. They have identified with the death and burial of Christ and thereby have died to their old life of sin. They have identified with the resurrection of Christ in that they have been raised to “walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4). As a result, believers serve a new master. Rather than serving sin and the flesh, believers have been set free to serve Christ and His righteousness.

In this new identity, believers are now “not under the law but under grace” (Romans 6:14). What does this mean? It cannot mean that the moral commands given to us in Scripture no longer have any bearing on believers. There will never be a time when breaking the sixth command, “Thou shalt not kill (murder)” (Exodus 20:13) will be okay. Instead, what Paul is saying is that believers are no longer under the keeping of the Law in their own strength which many tried to use as a means of obtaining righteousness. The Law exists as a list of commands. The problem with the list of commands is that they give to us a standard, but do not give sinners who are fallen the ability to meet the standard. In Romans 7:1-13, Paul explains how we are to understand the Law as a believer and what its purpose is in our lives. He expresses three things that the Law does.

First, the Law shows us our need for spiritual life. Our problem in relationship to the Law of God is not the Law itself. Paul will make this abundantly clear in verses 7-13. Instead, the problem is with us. We are sinners. We not only sin outwardly, but we are sinners at heart. Ephesians 2:1 describes us as, “dead in trespasses and sins.” Paul uses an analogy in verses 1-6 of something contained in the Law regarding marriage. His purpose is not to give an extensive teaching on marriage, but to use something the people understood to illustrate his point about the believer’s relationship to the Law. Just like a spouse is released from a marriage when their spouse dies, so believers have been released from the keeping of the Law in their own strength. Now they have been married to Jesus. We must die to our own human effort in keeping the Law and be married to, or identified with, Christ in order to “serve in the newness of Spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.” In this new “marriage,” believers live by the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit, not their ability to keep, and continually fall short of, a list of commands.

Second, the Law reveals what sin is. The question arose as to whether or not the Law, that God had given, was somehow wrong or “sin.” Paul’s response is “God forbid!” The Law has a very good purpose in the plan of God. It shows us what sin is. It reveals to us the things that we do that are sinful. Furthermore, it demonstrates just how evil sin is. What happens when you and I look at the list of commands is that we not only realize the things we do that are wrong, but we also see that something in us causes us to desire to break those commands (Romans 7:8). Sin in us uses the Law to try and push us to do more sin. Therefore, when you and I look at the Law. what we find in ourselves is “death,” or condemnation. We are condemned by the Law as sinners. Rather than making us righteous, the Law reveals to us our sinfulness and the nature of sin. By itself, the Law brings condemnation. Righteousness must come from somewhere else.

Third, Paul points out that the Law is reflective of the character of God. Therefore, the Law cannot be sinful. All that God does is good, therefore even the Law is “holy, and just, and good.” In verse 13, Paul answers another question that is posed, “Was then that which is good made death unto me?” In other words, “Did God give the Law just so I would be condemned?” The answer is again, “God forbid!” Instead, the purpose of the condemnation of the Law is reveal our problem. If we go to a doctor and we find out we have something wrong with us, we shouldn’t blame the doctor for our problem. Instead, we go to the doctor to figure out what is wrong with us so that we can be directed to a solution. That is the purpose of the Law. It points out our problem and then points us to the solution, Jesus. Paul wrote in Galatians 3:24, “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” The Law cannot save us, nor make us righteous, but it shows our need for Jesus and points us to Him.

Where does this truth leave us? We must come to the end ourselves. We must recognize that we can’t do enough good to earn God’s favor. In fact, trying to keep His commands on our own leaves us condemned. We must die to ourselves and trust in Jesus. We must commit ourselves to Him and allow Him to make us new. Have you struggled with obedience and found yourself only sinking deeper and deeper into sin? The answer is not human effort, but Jesus. We must look to Him. Will you trust Him today?