Even dying to the Law 02-25-2024

8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

Psalm 19:7–8 NIV

7 The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. 8 The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.

Proverbs 19:16 NIV

16 Whoever keeps commandments keeps their life, but whoever shows contempt for their ways will die.

So the idea that we should die to the law, does not seem to make sense,

but Paul has his reasons for calling us to die to the law, which we will discover in chapter 7

Romans 7:1–3 NIV

1 Do you not know, brothers and sisters—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law has authority over someone only as long as that person lives? 2 For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law that binds her to him. 3 So then, if she has sexual relations with another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress if she marries another man.

So that seems fairly straightforward, making it clear that a death releases someone from certain aspects of the law.

Romans 7:4 NIV

4 So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.

Now, Paul is saying

we not only died to sin, when we came to Christ, and were baptized

we also died to the law and are raised to new life with Christ

to bear fruit for God.

Bearing fruit for God is a great thing

but Paul better explain further what he means about dying to the Law.

It doesn’t seem like a good idea.

and seems to go against other scriptures we have read.

Romans 7:5 NLT

5 When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death.

Ok, so what is he saying.

When something is off limits, we desire it more?

We may have never stolen in our life,

but when someone says, not don’t steel,

sometimes we start noticing all the nice things to steel.

Stories abound where someone was accused of steeling something, and they may have never thought of steeling before,

But it hurt their pride and it hurt their feelings that they were accused of steeling and so

what do they do,

they pick out something nice to steel.

serves them right for doubting me,

Again, there are times when something is off limits and that’s exactly what we want!

In a good sense, boundaries can challenge us to do better then someone expected us to do.

A counselor wants a kid to skip the college prep classes because they are not that caliber of student and the

annoyed student takes the harder classes and pushes themselves to succeed.

That would be a good example of striving against something, in this case expectations.

But there are any more desires that can be stirred up, when something is off limits

desires that come from our sinful natures.

Romans 7:6 NIV

6 But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.

Amen

So if we have died to the law, or choose today to die to it,

our sinful desires can’t temp us by corrupting the law.

Listen a minute to verse 6 from the New Living Translation

Romans 7:6 NLT

6 But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit.

Who would have thought that living by the letter of the law could open the door sin?

If WE live by the spirit,

if WE live by the love of God

WE are not likely

to break the law of God

Are WE?

The Law reveals our sin

Some may ask,

what good is the law if rules incite us to sin.

Romans 7:7–8 NIV

7 What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead.

So Paul names coveting as a deeply rooted sin in his life, that grew from learning it was wrong to covet.

It sounds like before he received this command, it wasn’t an issue for him.

Life can be that way.

We have the concept here that if your heart is bad, is tainted lets say, even good rules can be inspirations for sin

But if your dead to the law,

if He is on the throne of your heart, then good rules are helpful to live the best life you can live.

So the law is good but our nature to corrupt things is bad and will even corrupt good things, like the ten commandments.

Romans 7:9–12 NIV

9 Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. 10 I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. 11 For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. 12 So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.

What came to life,

after Paul heard the law?

Sin Did!!!

And what died?

Paul did in both verse 9 “sin sprang to life and I died.”

10 “actually brought death.”

11 “put me to death.”

Paul is deadly serious about the law

inflamed by his own flesh, his sin nature

brought death to him.

His zeal for the law,

had him out tracking down Christians to drag them into court in chains.

This may be one of the ways, the law, combined with his sinful nature, his flesh

produced sin in his life.

When the bible talks about our flesh, we think of physical desires.

But Paul's issues with covetousness,

was an in your head kind of sinning.

So when the bible talks about dying to self

dying to your sinful flesh, it means our nature, our thoughts

not just the wrong things we do, but also the wrong things we think.

Romans 7:13 NIV

13 Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! Nevertheless, in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it used what is good to bring about my death, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.

So the evil in our hearts can corrupt even our use of God’s laws

but at least it makes it easier to see that we have a sin problem.

Sometimes, nice guys, are slow to admit or even SEE that

they are a sinner and need the savior,

but as sin becomes more and more sinful,

in light of God’s laws,

we should be able to see we too have a sin problem

if we are willing to look.

More Struggles with sin

Some people have no struggles with sin,

they just commit sins all the time.

But Paul, writing to Christians shares now about his struggles with sin

Romans 7:14 NLT

14 So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin.

In the plain talk of the New Living Translation Paul says

The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin.

Paul goes on to say

Romans 7:15–17 NIV

15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.

I think we all have at times struggle in this way.

We know what we intend to do, but we don’t always do it.

You may still be working on dieting, but are you eating right

eating light?

I intend to have few donuts in my life and I find I am much more resident to the doughnut temptation, when they are in the store and have to be bought.

But put them on the counter in my house,

my resolve is not so great.

Do you ever have a desire to stand firm, but then fall short?

The bible says that’s our flesh, causing us to stumble.

After Paul finishes with his confession and testimony, he will give us a solution to our helpless situation.

Romans 7:18–23 NIV

18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. 21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.

Have you had times in your life, where you can you identify with Paul’s misserable condition?

Perhaps that’s what sent you to an alter of prayer.

Listen to the anquish in Pauls heart

Romans 7:24 NIV

24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?

The Roman’s had many miserable ways to kill someone. one of them was to chain a dead, gross, rotting body to

the one they wanted to kill and the rot would move from the dead body to the living body over time.

Oh who will rescue a man or a women in such a miserable state.

ONLY GOD can rescue them.

Romans 7:25 NIV

25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

So Jesus is the answer!

but let’s look a little further in Roman’s

Life in the Spirit

Chapter six had a lot to say about dying to sin.

It ended on a great verse

Romans 6:23 NIV

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

That verse give home at the end of a heard chapter.

Chapter sever talked about another necessary death,

death to the law,

and talked about how our sinful nature corrupts everything, even God’s good and perfect law

the law that teaches us morals

that teaches us how to live in community,

the wickedness in our hearts can even correct, in our minds the teaching and give us

new inspirations on how to sin

how to be wicked.

We need to put to death this corruption of God’s law.

The solution is Jesus Christ our Lord

and the next chapter will give us fuller instruction on living the spirit lead life.

We will close this morning with 2 verse from chapter 8

Romans 8:1–2 NIV

1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.

We don’t have to live a miserable life

slave to sins

We don’t have to live a slave to the twisting of God’s good and holy law

inspired to sin in areas we never even thought of before

we can live in victory that Christ fuels, if we die to these things

and let Jesus call the shots.

The spirit lead life is not easy street or easy money but

it is God’s will for your life

it is possible with God help

Will your everyday be without fault,

probably not, but as long as you hold on to

being dead to sin

as long as you hold on to

being dead to the law’s corruption

and as long as you hold onto Jesus Christ as Lord of your life,

It is going to be a success,

in many ways.

We are going to close singing these words to the tune of Edelweiss

If you need to pray this morning, come to the Alter or the Cross.

May the Lord

Mighty God

Bless and Keep you

Forever!

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