The Road to Salvation – We study Paul's letter to the Romans
What place does the law have in the life of the believer?
Paul already gives Romans 7's theme in Romans 6:14. The law was not a mistake on God's part but was critical for our spiritual life. We must note that the definite article "the" in verse 1 ("the law") does not appear in the original language. Law is therefore not only about the law of Moses, but also about what takes place in the conscience. For example, we know, and neither law nor faith is necessary for this, that murder is a sin. Sin is a moral principle long before a law describes it as sin.
If we now live in Christ and his grace, is the law bad? Paul explains that the benefit of the law was that if he had not known the law, his sin would not have become clear to him (verse 7). The law taught him to know his sin. In a marriage where the man has died, the woman is free from her contract with him. In the same way, now that we have died to the law, we belong to a new man, Jesus Christ. We serve in the Spirit (grace) and not in the letter (law). However, the law was the path we had to walk to get to the faith:
24The law was therefore our disciplinarian towards Christ, so that we can be justified by faith. – Galatians 3:24
While we are under the law, we bear fruit unto death (verse 5). It is fruit that has no value. Now that we are free from the law, we serve God through the renewal of the Spirit and no longer the letter of the law. We now bear the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). We have become new, and now do things in a new way, no longer in the old way. However, the question is whether we now serve God with the same enthusiasm as when we served sin.
One of the issues in Romans 7 is whether what Paul explains refers to him as a saved person or to someone else, an unsaved person. We must remember that before we were saved sin was normal for us and there was no conflict. We simply lived in sin, without an alternative. However, now that we live in faith, the conflict stands out clearly. The spirit has indeed been restored to do what the Spirit asks, but the flesh is still waiting for its restoration (1 Corinthians 15) and still does the things of the flesh.
The problem with the law is that it forces us to sin. If you heard from your parents, "Don't..." then the desire was always there to do exactly what you were told not to do. The desire leads to an action, the actions become sin, and the sin becomes a habit. Verse 8 explains it very well. Sin uses the law as a basis for acting and doing the wrong thing. If the law says "Don't" then we want to find out exactly why not. This is why we need grace rather than law.
However, the law is also necessary because through it I see my shortcomings (verse 11). The law is described as holy, just, and good (verse 12). It is not the law itself that leads to death but the sin (verse 13). Fallen nature simply does not want to stay on the right side of the line in the sand. As human nature is, we are sold under sin (verse 14). The law is spiritual, and I am carnal, and against the background of this law my sin only stands out.
The battle between the spirit and the flesh
Here comes the problem. This inner struggle, as we read it in verses 15 to 20, is also Paul's inner struggle. He says he does not understand why he does this (verse 15a). This is a great contrast for him (verse 15b). He recognises that sin is an offense against God and his Word (verse 16). This sin dwells in him and is therefore very close to him (verse 17). This is also contrasting with his new state in Jesus Christ (verse 18). He describes sin as evil (evil, verse 19). Finally, he sees sin as a reality that will be with us until we die (verse 20, the sin that lives in him).
We know very well what we have to do – we already have the knowledge to do the right thing – but we don't know how to do it. We do not have in ourselves the power not to sin. If we then do the wrong thing, we justify it (verse 16). This is Paul's struggle too, otherwise he would not have written in the first person. Look at his inner struggle as he describes it in verses 17 to 23. Theologians have speculated for years whether this passage refers to Paul when he was an unbeliever, when he wrote it as a believer, or whether he refers to someone else. Very clearly he writes about the present time. We as believers often sin just as much as unbelievers. Sin is not going to stop you just because you are saved. Your own willpower is simply not sufficient.
The critical question of this chapter is verse 24:
Who will deliver me from the body of this death?
The answer follows immediately in verse 25:
Jesus Christ, our Lord, will save me.
Paul is absolutely desperate in verse 24. He is saved but describes himself as a miserable person. He is urgently looking for an answer not only for his own condition, but for that of all humanity. He asks who will deliver him and he knows he can't do it himself, just like you and I can't do it either. The entire writing from verse 1 to 24 is about what man can do to save himself from his condition. Jesus is not mentioned once. Our own efforts, and without Jesus, are not going to work.
Let us look at a practical reality of the time in which Paul lived. Often, if a person killed someone else, they tied the dead person to the killer. As the corpse rotted, it infected the living person. In this way, the murderer eventually dies as well. It is with this example in mind that he asks the question in verse 24. Think carefully about this. Your sin clings to you, and slowly but surely it poisons you until you die.
Only in verse 25, when Paul realises that man cannot do anything about his condition, he gives the answer for the first time who can do it. Jesus cuts the rotten corpse (sin) from me if I trust Him to take ownership of my life.
What is my faith about? Is it focused on myself (I, me, and myself), or on Jesus Christ? In myself, I am not going to make it. However, we must also understand, and Paul explains this in verse 26, that just because we live in Jesus Christ, it does not mean that there will be no sin. In this life, as a believer, I have a spiritual nature, but I still live in an imperfect body. However, it is no longer about my willpower but about my faith to do the right thing in Jesus Christ.
Conclusion
Learn to spot the onslaught of sin before it derails you. If you are really desperate about your condition, move a little closer to Jesus today.
Chapters
- Romans Chapter 1
- Romans Chapter 2
- Romans Chapter 3
- Romans Chapter 4
- Romans Chapter 5
- Romans Chapter 6
- Romans Chapter 7
- Romans Chapter 8
- Romans Chapter 9
- Romans Chapter 10
- Romans Chapter 11
- Romans Chapter 12
- Romans Chapter 13
- Romans Chapter 14
- Romans Chapter 15
- Romans Chapter 16