1. Christians and the Law Romans 7 Chapter 6

2. License: Since we are saved by grace, we are free to live as we please –Answer in Romans 6 Legalism: We are saved by grace, to be sure, but we must live under the law if we are to please God. –Answer in Romans 7 –Law is used 23 times in Romans 7 In Romans 6 Paul explained how to stop bad things while in Romans 7 he explained how not to do things not to do good things

3. You are not justified by the law and sanctified by the law Legalism is a belief that I can become holy and please God by obeying the law –Legalism is measuring spirituality by by a list of dos and donts –Legalism sees sins, not sin (the root of all the troubles) –Legalism judges the outward, not the inward –Legalist fails to understand the purpose of the law and relationship between the law and grace

4. –Legalist pretends or suffers complete collapse and abandons his desire for godly living –Legalists: critical, unloving, unforgiving The Authority of the law (7:1-6) –Illustration of husband and wife Broken by death [& unfaithfulness (Matt 5: 31- 34; 19:1-12)] –We died to the law (4-5) The law didnt die, but we died to the law In Christ we arose from the dead and are married to Christ to walk in the newness of life –That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit

5. In old life fruit unto death; in new lifefruit unto God Dead unto the lae means motivation and dynamic of our life comes from grace, not law –We are delivered from law (6) Death means deliverance –Law cant exercise authority over a dead person »Death to the law that we might be married to Christ »Delivered that we might serve »Holy Spirit energy us to obey Christ »Under the law no enablement »Walk in newness of life (6:4) & serve in newness of the Spirit (spirit) (7:6) Ministry of the Law (7:7-13)

6. –The law reveals sin By law is the knowledge of sin (3:20) Where no law is, there is no transgression (4:15) Mirror of the inner man (James 1:22-25) Coveting, inner attitude; leading to the breaking of other commandments –Rich ruler in Mark 10: 17-27 –The law arouses sin (8-9) The strength of the law is sin (I Cor15:56) –Example of Do Not Touch Because the carnal mind id the enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be (8:7)

7. Legalism makes people more sinful, not spiritual –The law kills (10-11) Law cannot give life Law shows he is guilty and condemned Results: church fight & split Philosophies of Christian life –Spirit enlightens and enables us –The law show sinfulness of sin (12-13) Unsaved people: no such thing as sin Christians not realizes the true nature of sin –Mistakes or weaknesses The problem is not with the law; its with my sinful nature

8. The Inability of the Law (7:14-25) –The law cannot change you (14) The law is good, holy, just, and spiritual The spiritual deals with the inner man, the spiritual part of man as well as with the outer actions –Deuteronomy: inner quality of the law as it relates to mans heart; repetition of love The believer who lives by the law only activate the old nature (sin), not eradicate it –The law cannot not enable you to do good (15-21) 3 times: sin dwells in us (187, 16, 20) Holy Spirit dwells in us (Rom 8)

9. Believers mind, will, and body can be controlled by old nature or new nature (flesh or Holy Spirit) –He cannot do the good he wants to do –He does the evil he does not want to do »Rom 7:21 – So I found this law at work: when I want to do good, evil is right here with me (NIV) »Rom 6 deals with how I can stop doing bad things »Rom 7 deals with how can I ever do anything good? –The law cannot set you free (21-25) Old nature wants to keep the believers in bondage –The law is a magnet –The inward man may delight in the law of God (Ps 119:35) –Old nature delights in breaking the law of God

10. Wretched : exhausted after the battle Deliverance through Jesus Christ –Dead unto the law, but alive unto God & able to draw on the power of the Holy Spirit –Struggle between flesh & Spirit (Gal 5: 16-18) Mind – the inward man (22) –The old nature is negative »No good thing (7:18) »Profit nothing (John 6:63) »No confidence in the flesh (Phil 3:3) »He cannot please God or do anything good if we depend on the energy of the flesh »Yielding to the Holy Spirit we have the power needed to obey the law –Secret of doing good is to yield to the Holy Spirit Old nature knows no law & the new nature needs no law