Welcome back to our study of the book of Romans by the late Dr. RC Sproul. Today we’ll be looking at Romans 7:1-25,
Romans 7 ESV
Released from the Law
7 Or do you not know, brothers[a]—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? 2 For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage.[b] 3 Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress.
4 Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. 5 For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. 6 But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.[c]
The Law and Sin
7 What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. 9 I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. 10 The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. 11 For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. 12 So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.
13 Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure. 14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. 15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
This chapter includes 5 separate lectures, see links below for access
1.Freed from the Law Romans 7:1-6 CLICK HERE FOR ACCESS
Paul examines the law as it pertains to husband-and-wife marriage. From before the fall, the moral code has had dominion over us, and the law only governs us for as long as we live, or until death do us part. Dr. Sproul talks on the covenant of works, the three uses of the law, and Martin Luther’s conversion.
2.Sin’s Advantage in the Law Romans 7:7-14 CLICK HERE FOR ACCESS
Paul says that the law informs me what is sin, and that his sin is aggravated by the fact that we are prone to sin. “We are not sinners because we sin,” Dr. Sproul explains, “but we sin because we are sinners.” In addition, the concept of the law being good and just is examined, as well as the idea that there are “carnal” Christians.
3.Law Cannot Save from Sin (Part 1) Romans 7:14-25CLICK HERE FOR ACCESS
Paul exemplifies both our desire for purity and our failure to achieve it. Dr. Sproul analyzes two-tier Christian movements such as the deeper life and Spirit-filled life movements, which promise perfection rather than a much higher level of sanctification. It begins with an explanation of how the will works.
4.Law Cannot Save from Sin (Part 2)Romans 7:14-25 CLICK HERE FOR ACCESS
Dr. Sproul continues his discussion of how the will works by looking at Jonathan Edwards’ treatise The Freedom of the Will, as well as the pagan perspective of the will and men’s free will. We choose according to our strongest tendency, and because we are prone to wickedness due to our fundamental corruption, there is no inclination to turn to Christ.
5.Law Cannot Save from Sin (Part 3) CLICK HERE FOR ACCESS
Paul claims that his failure to accomplish God’s will is due to the sin that resides within him. According to Dr. Sproul, an unbeliever cannot do God’s will, hence Paul must be talking about his post-conversion experience. Dr. Sproul goes on to talk about the difference between the phrases body and flesh.
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PS: All the videos series from RC Sproul added to the website have been thoroughly listened to by myself. And I highly recommend them to anyone looking to deepen his/her faith in Christ. We live in the age of relativism and now more than ever understanding what we believe, and why believe what believe is not optional.
My name is Tayib Salami and I started Tayibs.com for the sole purpose of exploring difficult questions about the Christian faith that most of us shy away from. In 2017, I entered a very dark time in my life and it’s only by the grace of the Living God that I’m still alive today. It led me to really go deeper in my faith and consider a myriad of questions that I never thought about asking myself or others before. Welcome and enjoy the ride with me.