Paul shifts gear in Romans 7 as he tackles how we can escape the penalty of sin. In verses 1 to 12 Paul presents sin as a contract. This contract simply can't be broken because God's righteous demand is that the penalty of sin can only be paid with blood. But this is how we break the contract: either the blood of Christ that leads us to heaven, or our own blood that leads to hell.

In the second half of the passage, verses 7 to 12, he tells us that it is the law that points us to our sin. Sin is subtle and caused Paul to sin by his following of it. his problem was he was depending on the law for his salvation and this led him away from God and thereby to sin. We are cautioned to avoid sin and any attempt to think our works and good merits will contribute anything to our salvation. To break the contract with sin we need to trust in the sacrificial blood of Jesus.

Romans - The heart of the Gospel is a teaching series from Annalong Presbyterian Church. Find out more at www.annalongpc.org/sermons.

Romans chapter 7 verses 1 to 12.

2

If you thought Romans was easy so

far, chapter 7 is the turning point.

3

There's actually really two,

two turning points in this book.

4

Chapters 1 to 6 are pretty okay.

5

We get what Paul's talking because

it is the heart of the gospel.

6

Chapter 7 to the end of chapter 11

are a little bit more hard for us.

7

Because of the language Paul uses, the

illustrations he uses and the logic he

8

uses, um, it's a little bit distant from

us and what we're particularly used to.

9

And then he changes again in Romans

12, where having finished all of the

10

theology that he wants to do in the

first 11 chapters, he then moves into

11

the practical outworking in chapter 12.

12

I hope along the way we've been able to

take some practical outworking, uh, with

13

us as we've looked at what the text's

saying, but it's really from chapter 12

14

onwards of how Paul teaches us to live all

of this out, and so Romans really should

15

be read and taught on in one sitting,

but that could be days of one sitting.

16

So we have to settle for a week at a time.

17

And even as we've discovered in recent

weeks, a week here and a week there.

18

But Paul has attempted to be logical.

19

He remember he's a solicitor.

20

He's a lawyer.

21

This is what he does.

22

He's presented with an

argument, and he responds to it.

23

And tonight we see him responding as he's

done a little bit before, but as will

24

become more his habit in this letter.

25

He will respond by anticipating

what the other person is thinking.

26

And sometimes that's helpful for us.

27

Sometimes it's not.

28

And tonight's passage

is particularly hard.

29

I'm, I'm, I'm gonna say

that from the outset.

30

I will do my best to try

and navigate us through it.

31

But there's simply things that, in

this, that might be above us too much.

32

And so, uh, we'll, we'll make our way

through to see what God has to say.

33

In the build up to this in chapter six,

before we have this little bit of a

34

shift in, in really Paul's drive, uh,

we looked at the difficult idea that we

35

are slaves to God as we trust in Christ.

36

If you remember, that's how we finished

off and as we saw back in chapter 6, being

37

a slave to God was in fact freedom for us

as we live within his righteousness that

38

he gives to us through his son Jesus.

39

And without almost a breath,

Paul takes us into chapter 7 and

40

gives us an understanding of how

we can be released from the law.

41

And when thinking about the law, Paul is

not simply talking about one commandment,

42

or indeed the ten commandments.

43

He is talking about the full instruction,

the full counsel of the Lord, of

44

how we are to live well for him.

45

And particularly in this New

Testament age in which we live,

46

what it means to live the gospel.

47

And to help us out, Paul gives us the

example of a contractual agreement.

48

And I'm sure that you, like me, have

been bound by a contract of some sort.

49

It might be in your work.

50

You sign a contract that confirms the

number of hours per week you're to work

51

and the duties that you're to undertake.

52

And in return, you will be

promised a certain remuneration.

53

You'll be promised certain

benefits, including holidays.

54

And that's how a work contract works.

55

Or it might be a mortgage agreement

which is another contract with the bank.

56

The bank promises to lend you a

certain amount of money and then in

57

return they say how you pay back that

money monthly over a period of time.

58

Contracts are important so that

everyone knows exactly where

59

they stand and that there's no

question of what the agreement was.

60

And there are usually ways to

get out of these contracts.

61

To end an employment contract,

because you've found a new job,

62

that usually entails a period of

notification before you can leave.

63

You can end your mortgage contract early

by making the full payment and perhaps

64

a hefty fee to complete that transaction

to get you out of your mortgage.

65

And so there are ways of legally getting

out of contracts without breaking them

66

and then incurring even more penalties.

67

Well, Paul views the law as a

contract, and he wants to let us

68

know how we can be free from it.

69

And in verse 1 of chapter 7, he

speaks to those who know the law by

70

saying, Or do you not know, brothers,

for I am speaking to those who know

71

the law, that the law is binding on

a person only as long as he lives.

72

Now remember who Paul is talking to.

73

Yes, it's a church in Rome that

is It's potentially multicultural,

74

but it has a strong Jewish root.

75

A strong Jewish source.

76

And so that's how his argument is.

77

He's trying to see how the

whole of the Old Testament

78

is fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

79

That Jesus isn't simply a new

add on or a new addition to the

80

pantheon of Greek and Roman gods.

81

What he's trying to show

is that Christ fulfills.

82

And what he's doing here in beginning in

verse 1 of this new shift in what he's

83

writing, he's making the foundational

assertion that the law is binding on

84

a person only as long as he lives.

85

He's saying that a person is freed

from the law if he or she dies.

86

Freedom from the law then and from

its condemnation, to which we're all

87

exposed due to our sin, is possible.

88

But the price is too steep.

89

It's so steep, in fact, that it would seem

impossible and even undesirable to pay it.

90

What benefit could anyone enjoy

from a possession that cost

91

them their lives to acquire it?

92

And because, as we have thought,

the only way that God's wrath for

93

lawbreakers, the only way that his

wrath can be satisfied, is with blood.

94

Ours in eternal death, or

Christ's as our substitute.

95

And in verses 2 and 3, Paul gives us

the practical working of this by giving

96

the example of a marriage contract.

97

And most people know how marriage works.

98

And in this case, Roman law and

Jewish law, as the laws of the

99

Old Testament, they all agree.

100

A lawfully wedded wife is

bound to her husband as long

101

as those vows are in effect.

102

Till death do us part, is

what we would, in our English

103

language, traditionally say.

104

Paul says that a wife is released from

the law of marriage if her husband dies.

105

Now, we shouldn't press on this too much

to mean that Paul, um, sort of recognised

106

no other ground for the dissolution of

a marriage than the death of a spouse.

107

He's speaking in broad terms for the sake

of the illustration that he wants to make

108

about the law, not outlining rules for

the complexities of marriage and divorce

109

in extreme or unusual circumstances.

110

In general terms, a woman who is

married but cohabits with another

111

man is by definition an adulteress.

112

For the law that bound her to

her husband is still in effect.

113

On the other hand, if the husband

dies, then things are different.

114

In this case, the husband's death

frees her from the law's authority.

115

She is free from her vow to her husband

in accordance with the law of marriage and

116

without being regarded as an adulteress.

117

Now, the action of this theoretical

woman A is the same in both scenarios.

118

She cohabits with man B, but

the difference lies solely

119

in the status of man C.

120

While he is still alive, her

marriage runs afoul of the law.

121

Once he dies, his wife's vows to him under

the law is no longer in force, and so she

122

is free from that law and its penalty, and

can lawfully pledge herself So Paul uses

123

this illustration, and in verse 4 he goes

on to explain it, and in explaining it he

124

gives two important pieces of information.

125

First of all, that there's a

fact here to be understood, and

126

then there's an implication.

127

So the fact that Paul gives us,

uh, and to the Roman believers,

128

is, um, that they have died to the

law through the body of Christ.

129

This is factual, in that Jesus of

Nazareth the Christ most certainly

130

died on the cross, crucifixion.

131

Believer's death with him is

mystical, in that it is God who

132

reckons believers to have been

present when Jesus's body expired.

133

This is the case because Christ doesn't

die over and over again for each believer.

134

That's why it's worded like this.

135

In effect, when Christ

died, we were there.

136

How that works, we do not know,

because no human power can affect it

137

again or fully comprehend that act.

138

And it's doubly mystical in that the

death sentence of the law and sinners,

139

who thereby deserve to die, was also

applied to Jesus, who had never broken

140

the law and whose death for sinners

was thereby totally of pure grace.

141

Jesus didn't deserve to

die, but he had to die.

142

He's the only one who could die so

that we would know that pure grace.

143

So that's the fact.

144

Jesus died for us.

145

But the implication that Paul wants

to point out is that believers

146

formerly wed to sin and death.

147

This is where the marriage

illustration comes in.

148

Wed to sin and death by the verdict of

the law are now freed by Christ's death

149

so that they can belong to one another

and that is to be raised from the dead.

150

And this implication has a purpose.

151

The purpose of all of this is

that we may bear fruit for God.

152

Jesus's death and resurrection

for sinners is not merely a rescue

153

from eternal punishment by Christ's

absorption of what the law decreed.

154

It is, at the same time, like a, a

rehabilitation for God's glorification by

155

God's sovereign release of believers from

condemned bondage to what Paul will later

156

term in Romans 8 and verse 21, freedom

of the glory of the children of God.

157

And so it's no wonder that Paul

is going through all of this,

158

because this is what it's cost.

159

And so he has a high expectation

of how we will respond to it,

160

and how we will live in it.

161

We have been bought at such a

price to be free from the law.

162

Yes, someone had to die for

us to know that freedom.

163

Because if that person had not died,

then we could not save ourselves.

164

In verse 5, Paul makes it clear what

it means to remain under the law.

165

And again, in hearing this term,

we must be aware that remaining is

166

anyone who is depending on their

own merits for their salvation.

167

To remain in such a state will only lead

to death because the sinful self and sin

168

itself reign in our lives and not Christ.

169

The only outcome of remaining

is literally eternal death.

170

Paul again is making it very clear.

171

Perhaps he could have made it a

wee bit clearer in how he gives

172

his illustrations, but they were

obviously relevant for that time.

173

He makes it clear who we are,

and he makes it clear what it

174

has cost for us to know freedom.

175

And so he continues with great news

in verse 6 where he says, But now

176

we are released from the law, having

died to that which held us captive,

177

so that we serve in the new way of

the Spirit, and not in the old way.

178

Paul says there's a new way for us.

179

Pentecost came, that day that Jews

celebrated, and to many Jews was just a

180

normal annual celebration of Pentecost.

181

But as we know it recorded

for us in the Acts of the

182

Apostles, that day was different.

183

Because it was the day in which the Spirit

of God came to dwell among his people.

184

To be the comforter, to be

the one who would urge us on.

185

Who, who would give us unction

from above that, that we would

186

know and trust and believe.

187

And so now we, we serve in this new way

that is spirit led and spirit filled.

188

And it's not the way of

the old written code.

189

And the written code wasn't something

secret that had to be figured out.

190

It's simply another way

of saying God's law.

191

The law was never meant to save.

192

It was always to point us to a loving

God who is the only one who can save us.

193

The law told us.

194

That we needed saving.

195

It was not the code to salvation.

196

And in many of our Bibles, there's

now a natural break at this point.

197

And Paul moves on with his

question, What then shall we say?

198

He's very good at asking that question.

199

And you could ask, well, what,

what shall we say about what?

200

It's all a little bit confusing for us.

201

And Paul is about to go deeper, but

before he does, let's, let's see if we

202

can simplify what we've just looked at.

203

What Paul is saying to us is quite simply

that, from birth, We are bound by sin.

204

We're under the law of sin.

205

Ephesians 2 verses 1 to 3 tells us,

And you were dead in the trespasses and

206

sins in which you once walked, following

the course of this world, following

207

the prince of the power of the air, the

spirit that is now at work in the sons

208

of disobedience, among whom we all once

lived in the passions of our flesh,

209

carrying out the desires of the body and

the mind, and were by nature children

210

of wrath like the rest of mankind.

211

That's our state.

212

A simpler way to put it that I've

used in many an evening sermon

213

has been we're born in sin and

shaping in iniquity or by iniquity.

214

That's who we are.

215

That's our problem.

216

That's what the doctor diagnoses

to us that we need healing from.

217

And it's a sin problem

each and every one of us.

218

None of us are born perfect.

219

We're born little sinners that grow to

be bigger sinners, who have the problem

220

of sin throughout all of their lives,

but where there is someone who can

221

come and set us free from the death.

222

that our sin requires.

223

And so Ephesians 2, as a summary

perhaps of what Paul has been saying

224

in Romans 7, is saying that we

need a solution to our problem that

225

really has been with us from birth.

226

And Paul says that we are

contracted as it were to sin.

227

We're bound to it.

228

We, we can't get out

of it on our own merit.

229

And the only way to end

that contract is in death.

230

To remain in our sin means that

it is our own death that will

231

get us out of that contract.

232

And then what good will it be?

233

You see, trusting in Jesus and

His death means that we are

234

released from the penalty of sin

and we can enjoy eternal life.

235

And if I'm honest, I don't understand

how anyone can refuse this.

236

I was sitting this afternoon going

through this and thinking again,

237

How, how can we refuse this?

238

It seems so clear that there

is only one way to be saved.

239

There's not multiple ways.

240

It's not that many roads lead to God.

241

There's only one and it's through

the cross and Jesus Christ.

242

Please don't think this is an automatic

thing either because of church attendance,

243

because of good works or the culture

that you happen to be born into.

244

Knowing Jesus is not head knowledge,

but a living relationship.

245

Acknowledging that he

died for you and for me.

246

And that's why Paul continues in Ephesians

2 and verses 4 to 6 by saying, But

247

God, being rich in mercy because of the

great love with which he loved us, even

248

when we were dead in our trespasses,

made us alive together with Christ.

249

By grace you have been saved

and raised us up with him.

250

and seated us with him in the

heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

251

God has made a way for us

and it's all by his grace.

252

Grace is receiving what we do not deserve

and God gives us this grace so that we

253

can be alive in Christ and not simply

expire at the end of our human lives.

254

There is an eternity.

255

We don't simply die and nothing happens.

256

There is an eternity.

257

The question is where will you spend it?

258

Will it be in heaven because of Christ?

259

Or will it be in hell because of yourself?

260

So having dealt with this, this idea

of contract and how we get out of this

261

contract with sin, Paul moves on to

further talk about, about the law and to

262

challenge, uh, that comes back to us, that

we would say, that the law then is sin.

263

If this is what we believe,

surely then the law itself is sin.

264

And once again, Paul says to this

challenge that might come, by no means.

265

And he wants to tell us that there

is indeed purpose for the law.

266

And what Paul says in verse 7

should fascinate us because he

267

says, What then shall we say?

268

That the law is sin by no means.

269

Yet, if it had not been for the

law, I would not have known sin.

270

For I would not have known what it is

to covet if the law had not said When

271

you read this, you understand

what Paul is saying.

272

The law is not sin.

273

But what it does, is it

tells us what sin is.

274

Again, I go back to what I

said just a few minutes ago.

275

The sin, or the law, pointed

us to the need of a saviour.

276

Because it pointed us to what the sin was.

277

Because we could never, we can never live

fully the Ten Commandments day and daily.

278

We will break them every single day.

279

And so what they do is

they teach us what sin is.

280

Would we have known that covening

was bad if the law hadn't told us it?

281

Paul, by personal

testimony, tells us that.

282

And in verse 8 he goes on to confirm

this by saying that he once knew

283

what was sinful he wanted to do.

284

He knew it was wrong to

do it, but he did it.

285

It's like a three year old who touches,

pulls, grabs at any object within reach.

286

And if anyone is foolish enough

to say to that three year old,

287

don't touch that, what do they do?

288

They run and touch it.

289

So it is with sin and its subtleness.

290

By telling us not to do something,

we naturally want to do it.

291

And if we're honest with ourselves,

isn't that what we want to do?

292

Sin is attractive.

293

Sin lures us away.

294

We're never satisfied.

295

The human condition is never satisfied.

296

And so we pull ourselves

to what we shouldn't.

297

At the end of verse 8 and into

verse 9, Paul now talks about

298

his life apart from the law.

299

And here he's looking at an alternative to

the law where he can live freely with God.

300

And when we live with Christ and

not the law, then sin lies dead.

301

In verse 9, he addresses original

sin and its impact on humanity.

302

That because of that original sin, it

weaves its way throughout all of life

303

and none of us are exempt from it.

304

And through the commandment, just

one tiny portion of the law said to

305

contain 613 commands, sin came alive.

306

It was no longer dormant, lying

dead, apart from the law in verse 8.

307

And so Paul says because of that,

because of the subtlety of sin that came

308

through the law, he effectively died.

309

He died because of that sin

that came through the law.

310

And what Paul is talking

about is the deception that

311

sin crafted through the law.

312

The law within itself

wasn't and isn't sinful.

313

It points us to the need for a saviour.

314

Paul thought by living by the standard

of the law he could save himself.

315

But he couldn't.

316

That was sin telling him, making him

believe something that wasn't true.

317

And so he needed a saviour.

318

But when we refused a saviour because

the saviour didn't let us do what

319

we want, then the law kills us.

320

And in verse 12, Paul states, So

the law is holy, and the commandment

321

is holy, and righteous, and good.

322

It's a strange way to finish a

passage that is difficult, that

323

is seen to be condemning the law.

324

But yet he says the law is holy because

it expresses the will of a holy God.

325

It does so in broad principles, such

as Mark 12 and verse 31, You shall

326

love your neighbour as yourself.

327

But it also does it very precisely,

such as you shall not curse the deaf, or

328

put a stumbling block before the blind.

329

In Leviticus 19 and verse 14.

330

The law is righteous

because it commands justice.

331

Under normal circumstances, a thief

shall pay double when caught stealing.

332

That's what Exodus 22 tells us.

333

This means that the thief loses

precisely what he would have gained.

334

One sheep.

335

And that his victim gains precisely

what he would have lost, one sheep.

336

Meanwhile, harsh man made legal codes

have dictated that thieves lose a

337

hand, or that they spend years in jail.

338

And the law is good because it is just,

but it is also merciful for it tells

339

lawbreakers that they can be forgiven.

340

Moses gave Israel prescribed sacrifices

to be offered in the tabernacle and

341

the temple to, to atone for sins.

342

These offerings pointed to Jesus's

sacrifice on the cross, as Hebrews

343

chapter 10 and verse 4 stresses, for it

is impossible for the blood of bulls and

344

goats and indeed lambs to take away sins.

345

But John the Baptist identified

Jesus, behold the Lamb of God who

346

takes away the sin of the world,

in John chapter 1 and verse 29.

347

So, the sacrificial law leads to Christ.

348

He provides righteousness apart

from the law, as Romans 1 verse

349

17 and 3 verse 22 has told us.

350

So,

351

all this talk of law means

that the law then ceases to

352

bring burdens and condemnation.

353

By faith, we can sing the Psalms of

old, such as Psalm 1, Blessed is the

354

man who walks in the way of the Lord.

355

Psalm 19 and Psalm 119, for all its length

of just how good God is, that we would

356

be guided by God's light and by his word.

357

They can be sung as our praises of

the law for teaching the covenant

358

household to walk in God's ways.

359

Yes, we sin.

360

And our habits and desires can

seem to range beyond control.

361

And Romans 6 and Romans 8 teach

us to hope for moral and spiritual

362

progress through our union with

Christ and the presence of the Spirit.

363

But it's chapter 7, this moment,

that tells us we can trust

364

in the one who died for us.

365

Paul wants us to know that the

law can have no hold over us.

366

It is good.

367

Because it points us to a savior.

368

And so when we read the law of the

Old Testament, do not think you can

369

follow it and thereby save yourself.

370

You can't.

371

No one who's good will

ever get into heaven.

372

It is only through the goodness of Christ

and his sacrifice that we can enter.

373

I wonder, I wonder do we try to do

a mixed model, a hybrid as it were.

374

We think that our works will, will

do something to elevate us more.

375

And we can easily slip into that

because remember sin is subtle.

376

That's what Paul says.

377

Whenever he tried to live by the

law, he thought he was doing right.

378

But sin came in and made it impossible

to live right under the law.

379

It is only under Christ

as we submit to him fully.

380

And so as we finish this

evening, the question comes as

381

we hear the heart of the gospel.

382

Who do you submit to?

383

Do you submit to Christ

in every area of life?

384

Or are you withholding something?

385

Are you holding back a part of your

life that you're unwilling to give up?

386

Because if you are,

you need to give it up.

387

Christ can be the only head, he can be

the only authority in our lives because

388

he is the one who breaks the power of

the law, who breaks the power of sin,

389

and who leads us in his ways everlasting.

390

So Paul challenges us in what is a tricky

passage of Romans chapter 7 to trust in

391

Christ so that we will know true freedom.

392

But as we trust in Christ, to make

sure no one else has authority over us.

393

To make sure that our headship is Christ

and Christ alone so that as we live for

394

him So will we so we will be assured and

we can give thanks that Jesus Forgives all

395

such failings that we may have and that

we can come to him in faith and live for

396

him forever Will you live for him forever?

397

Will you count each day?

398

Will you put sin away?

399

Forget trying to do good and living

by the law because it won't work

400

Will you love him more and more, and

trust in him as your only salvation?

401

I hope you will, as together we respond

to twelve verses that aren't easy, but

402

yet a message that is loud and clear.

403

Trust in Christ, and him only.

404

Let's pray.

405

Father, we have looked at a passage that

goes deep and human offerings this evening

406

are not sufficient to its full meaning.

407

But what we have looked at and the

message that rings clear to us.

408

Father, help us to understand.

409

Help us to know that

there is a way for us.

410

That it's not about rules and

regulations as society wants to

411

teach us, but it's about your

goodness in Christ and him alone.

412

So may we know his fullness.

413

May we know His grace.

414

May we be people who are not found

in sin, but who are alive in Christ.

415

Who, who know what sin is, and avoid

it at all costs, that we may live well.

416

Know the law to be holy, and to

the commandment to be holy and

417

righteous and good, so that we

will be drawn ever so close to You.

418

Help us to respond well, in Jesus name.

419

Amen.