Romans 7 Freed From the Law

 

Romans 7 – Freed From the Law

As a defense against sin, some find stability in obeying a list of rules. But people encounter serious problems when they attempt to order their lives by rule-keeping. The law expresses shortcomings, but it doesn’t inspire holy living. Through the law, we discern how truly wicked the world is and how sinful we are. Like a roadmap, the law shows us where we ought to be. It also shows us the impossibility of obeying any set of laws perfectly. Yet legalists will do their best, which is never good enough, and that leads them to intense guilt over their own sinfulness, and judgments against others who do not keep all the rules and are not as “holy” as they are. The legalist fails to comprehend the magnitude of God’s grace, refusing to believe that God is trustworthy, generous, and forgiving. The antidote of legalism is recognition of God’s gracious love. We are delivered from sin not by our own effort, but by His unmerited favor.

Paul relates the tenth commandment of thou shalt not covet. This commandment against coveting arouses the desire to covet. When something is prohibited, we want it more. Apart from the law, sin is dead or seems to be in a dormant state. But let the law point it out, sin comes to life and springs into action. People who want to lose weight if they are told they cannot have chocolate will want it more because they shouldn’t have it. Not to say, eating chocolate is sin but it is human nature to want something that we are told we cannot have. Same with the law. It if is against the law to speed while driving, we  might find ourself driving with the flow of the traffic and not considering the law. Sin is always present in our life, and we are all made of flesh. The fault is not with the law, that is. The law of God. This law is spiritual; it is the gift of God. The fault is with the law of sin which is part of our fleshy nature. Paul said that the things he wants to do, he does not do, but the things he doesn’t want to do, he does. This struggle with sin is a struggle between being redeemed by Christ and our fleshly nature. We all want to do right, we know how a Christian ought to live, but there are days when we feel we can’t do anything right. We aspire to holiness. We are serious in our devotion to Christ; we strive to achieve righteousness. We want to be mastered by the will of God. But we find to our amazement and sometimes despair, that satan never gives up and sin radiates from our flesh. We hate evil but we find ourselves yielding to it. It is a war between our old self and our new self. Sin is always present but there is a way to victory. Paul moaned over his weaknesses, but he praised the Lord with his faith and looked for victory not through his own strength but through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better. If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com. Nelson’s Quick Reference Commentary. J. Vernon McGee Through the Bible. Dr. David Jeremiah Study Bible.