Deliverance from the Power of Indwelling Sin by Counting the Old Life Dead and Yielding to the New Life.
Romans 6:1-23
- BREAKDOWN OF LINKS TO PERICOPES (considering ebible, listeners' commentary & Serendipity)
- What did it mean to the original reader or original audience?
Summarize the main story: Describe the events and context of the chapter in your own words.
Review and retell the story.
Historical Setting of Romans
Paul writes from Corinth (c. AD 56–57) to believers in Rome, a mixed congregation of Jewish and non-Jewish followers of Jesus. Nero is emperor, boasting of Rome’s legal order, while Paul argues that true freedom from condemnation comes only through trust in Christ, not through any human legal system.
INITIAL SUMMARY OF ROMANS CHAPTER 7:
The text discusses the relationship between the law, sin, and believers in Christ. It begins by explaining that the law only binds individuals while they are alive, using the example of marriage. When a spouse dies, the surviving partner is released from the law. Similarly, believers have died to the law through Christ, allowing them to serve in the Spirit rather than the written code. The text emphasizes that the law is not sinful; rather, it reveals sin. The author reflects on personal struggles with sin, acknowledging that despite wanting to do good, sinful nature prevails. This internal conflict highlights the struggle between the desire to follow God's law and the reality of sin. Ultimately, the author expresses gratitude for deliverance through Jesus Christ, recognizing the duality of being a slave to God's law in mind while still battling sin in the flesh.
OUTLINE
ROMANS 7
Paul discusses how the law of God applies to and affects three kinds of people.
I. Spiritual People and the Law (7:1–6)
A. Their relationship to the law (7:1–3, 5)
1. They are like widows freed from their husbands (7:1–3).
2. They are like dead men freed from their lusts (7:5).
B. Their relationship to the Savior (7:4, 6)
1. They have been raised by Christ (7:4a, 6): Christians are released from the law.
2. They are now to produce fruit through Christ (7:4b): Christians are delivered from the law.
II. Natural People and the Law (7:7–13): The law is used in a twofold manner.
A. The illustration usage (7:7, 10): God used the law to reveal the sinfulness of the flesh.
B. The condemnation usage (7:8–9, 11–13): Sin used the law to rekindle the sinfulness of the flesh. Thus, natural people are doomed by the law and sin.
III. Carnal People and the Law (7:14–25)
A. Paul has learned that any attempt to keep the law leads to carnality (7:14–23).
1. The confusion (7:14–16): Paul’s frustration is twofold.
a. He doesn’t do the things he wants to do (7:14–15a, 16a).
b. He does the things he doesn’t want to do (7:15b, 16b).
2. The corruption (7:17–20): He realizes the corruption of his old sinful nature.
3. The conclusion (7:21–23): He understands the daily struggle within him.
a. The old nature, always attempting to do wrong (7:21a, 23)
b. The new nature, always attempting to do right (7:21b–22)
B. Paul has learned that no attempt to keep the law can lead to spirituality (7:24–25).
1. The agony of Paul’s problem (7:24): “What a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin?”
2. The answer to Paul’s problem (7:25): “Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.”
People |
Places |
Points of Teaching |
Practical Application |
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- God is ... What do we learn about God in this passage?
- We are ... What do we learn about people in this passage?
- I will ... What has the Holy Spirit revealed to us in this passage? How can I apply it to my life this week?
- What transformative move needs to be made?
- You can ... Who do you know who needs to hear this? Feel free to share with others by social media links at the bottom of this.
Take Away Challenges
What has the Holy Spirit revealed to you in this passage? How will you apply it to your life this week?
Whom do you know who needs to hear this?
What is God bringing to your attention in this discussion? What beliefs, thoughts, or actions need to be addressed or changed?
Not What I Used To Be, Not What I Hope To Be
“I am not what I hope to be. But still, I am not what I used to be. And by the grace of God, I am what I am.” – John Newton
Devotional: Not What I Used To Be, Not What I Hope To Be
Not What I Hope to Be
All believers must honestly admit that we’re not what we hope to be because sanctification is a lifelong process. If you read Paul in Romans 7 you can see why this is true; “For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate” (Romans 7:15), “For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing” (Romans 7:18-19). Anyone agree with Paul on this? I still struggle every day and declare before God “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death” (Romans 7:24) but Paul answers this rhetorical question of his in the very next verse about from Whom this deliverance comes; “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 7:25)!
Not What I Used to Be
So I think we all agree that we are not what we hope to be but neither are we what we used to be as Paul writes that “now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13). We were once enemies of God (Romans 5:10) but now we have peace with God (Romans 5:1) since “he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility” (Ephesians 2:14). This was because “he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near” (Ephesians 2:17). We were once enemies and far removed from Him but we are not what we used to be because of the precious blood of the Lamb of God shed for us.
What I Am
Martin Luther once wrote that the believer is both a sinner and saint; both at the same time. God still accepts us though because we have become the righteousness of God, as it is written, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). This was only possible because “in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:19) and this came by no human effort or works but purely as a gift of God, otherwise knowing human nature we’d surely be bragging about it (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Conclusion
We are not what we used to be by the grace of God, we are not what we ought to be which is why it is the Spirit of “God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Phil 2:13) and we are who we are, a child of God, because Jesus took upon Himself God’s wrath so we wouldn’t have too.
Read more: http://www.christianquotes.info/images/john-newton-quote-not-what-i-used-to-be/#ixzz3roLv4ppY
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