The Book of Romans 7: The law is holy but weak!
We died to the law that we might belong to Christ-
Verses 1 through 6 use the analogy of marriage to show that we died to the law and now belong to Christ.
We belong to Christ so He can lead us better than the law did-
Paul tells us that now “we can serve God in a new way by obeying his Spirit, and not in the old way by obeying the written Law.” Under the law, we could not obey God despite the requirement to do so.
The law was holy but was weakened by our sinful nature–
Paul says that no sooner did we learn of the law than we did completely opposite of what it required of us.
The law does not solve the sin problem–
Starting in verse 14 to the rest of the chapter, Paul illustrates the struggles humans go through when they try to obey God under the law. It is a futile exercise that always results in the sinful flesh winning.
The law made us aware of sin-
Although the law did not solve the sin problem, it created the awareness of sin. It helped us learn that sin existed or exists. Paul says that he would not have learned what it means to covet something “unless the Law had told me not to do this” (v.7).
Victory over sin is only through Christ–
Paul realizes the wretchedness of a man trying to please God under the law. He thanks God “for his salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord!” In other words, in the salvation of Christ, we have the solution for sin, meaning we do not have to succumb to it.
Important question
What does Paul mean by “sin is dead?”
In Romans 7:8, Paul says “For without the Law sin is dead.” Many people interpret this scripture to mean that since we are no longer under the law, the sin is, therefore, dead. However, “dead” here does not mean that sin does not exist. In Romans 5:13, Paul says that “sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law.” The word “dead” here means that sin was inactive. Think about Romans 6:11, which says that we are dead to sin. Are we literally dead? Likewise, “sin is dead” does not mean that sin does not exist anymore. Rather, “sin is dead” in Romans 7:8 means that it has lost its influence over us, but it still hovers around.
Read another study of the book of Romans 8 here.
