In this episode, we delve into Romans Chapter 7, where Paul discusses the intriguing concept of being freed from the constraints of the law while emphasizing a life rooted in grace and faith. We explore the contrasts between living under the law and being bound to Christ, finding peace and joy in a life beyond judgment. This conversation unpacks the depth of Paul’s teaching, highlighting how believers are reconciled to the heart of the Father and no longer marked by condemnation. The complexities of navigating faith, amidst life’s turmoil, with gratitude for being instruments of grace, are intricately explained.
So, starting now in chapter 7 of Romans, where Paul talks about freedom from law. How curious is this? Now, remember what Paul has said in chapters 5, 6, and 7, and what this is all about. It’s about life in the kingdom of grace. It’s about the fact that we are now reconciled to the heart of the Father. That’s Romans chapter 5. There is no judgment upon all who believe in Jesus Christ. That judgment was taken by their Savior, by your Savior. And so you know how to live by faith in the kingdom of God, in the home of God, in His throne room, And when judgments come to you in your mind, you remind yourself that though you’re a sinner, you thank God that he has counted you as a righteous man. Well, I’m jumping ahead there because that’s chapter 7. But though you’re a sinner, you are reconciled to the heart of the Father. And that’s bringing us to chapter 6, because Paul says that we’re not reckoned as sinners anymore. We are counted as dead to sin. And therefore, we seek to live in this world in a way that does not allow that sin kingdom of Adam to reign. We go through all the troubles like everybody else in the world. We go through troubles of anxiety and stress and worry and troubles of a loss of job or finances or health. And yet we live by faith and we learn to say, Father, I thank you that these are all instruments of grace in your kingdom, dear God, because I’m not under the power of sin. and I’m not therefore condemned and judged as a sinner. This is just awesome teaching regarding the gospel that we find here in Romans chapters 5 and 6. It enables us to lift our hearts, you see. The world doesn’t know how to lift its heart. The world, particularly in America, as we’ve learned recently, more recently anyway, takes so many antidepressants to get away from these kinds of feelings. But unfortunately, they do not help. They affect our mind in different ways. That is negative. And what we really need is a faith life that enables us to surmount that depression by knowing who Jesus is for us. So we’re freed from the power of wrath, that is the power of God’s judgment, because God has expressed his love to us and has taken our judgment in his Son. We are freed from the identification and the condemnation of sin, that’s chapter 6, because Christ has taken that judgment upon himself, representing us. Now we’re freed from law. What? Freed from law? Now, wait a minute. This does not mean lawlessness. Remember that in chapter 6, towards the end, he said in verse 19, For just as you were… Let’s see, for just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. So Paul is not talking about lawlessness when he’s talking about freedom from law. The incredible paradox we’re going to find here is that when we are freed from law and attached by faith to Jesus Christ, not simply freed from law itself and left there, but attached now to Jesus Christ, there’s a new way of living by faith and love that does not lead to lawlessness. So we need to see the difference, the paradox. Paul had committed himself, as you know, all his life to a life of obedience to law. But apparently it didn’t get him where he wanted it to be, where he wanted to be. Yes, he was committed to law, and he said as concerning the law, blameless. So in a certain way he succeeded. But he had no peace. He didn’t have a joy in his life. I suppose he was a pretty miserable young man. But that changed once he found Jesus Christ, and that’s what we’re going for when we see this Romans chapter 7. Now, this chapter is going to be a bit of a shock to the legalist person, the person who is committed to law, who believes that only those who are obedient to law and law keepers will be saved. That person is going to find this chapter very, very difficult. You may be one of those. So I urge you to keep listening, because your law-keeping, if you will admit it, has not given you joy. It has not given you peace. Your obedience to law has committed you to principles, but there is no person there. There is no fellowship with at least very little joyful fellowship with Jesus, is there? “‘Admit it. I mean, it is something that I have known and did know for years and years. Yes, I had some joy in Jesus and my heavenly Father, but many times I was absolutely devastated by my sins and inability to keep the law, and therefore felt God’s judgment so very much, and have felt myself a disappointment to him all the time.’ So, when we are committed to law, we’re committed to self-condemnation and endless judgment of ourselves, and others, by the way, because what we do is project our judgment upon others. We assume that they’re as bad as we are, because we know how bad we are. But that isn’t the Christian life, is it? The Christian life is fullness of joy. In your presence is fullness of joy, it says in Psalm 16. Now, granted, we know only a little bit of joy here on earth. We’re looking forward to fullness of joy in the kingdom of God. But at least we know that if we’ve got a little bit of it, then that’s what the goal of eternal life is all about. So Paul starts in chapter 7 with these words, Now, once again, we have to notice the connections. Notice that Paul says, or do you not know? So he’s not talking about an entirely new theme here. He’s connecting it with what he’s already said in chapter 6. So let’s look at the last two verses of chapter 6. But now, having been set free from sin… You see, you’re freed from the kingdom of sin and death, which is the kingdom of condemnation and death. You’re freed from it by Christ’s judgment taken on your behalf. But now having been set free… From sin and having become slaves of God, a joyful love slave this is, nothing like servitude. You have your fruit to holiness, and holiness is not cold and miserable. It’s joyful. It’s joyful love. It is sincerity of spirit. It is purity of heart. You have your fruit to holiness, and the end, the goal, everlasting life. our everlasting home in the kingdom of God. For the wages of sin, you know, sin pays a wage. If we live in the kingdom of Adam of sin and death, it pays a wage. What is that wage? Death. But the gift of God, wow, that’s eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. The gift of God is life and joy in Jesus our Lord. Or do you not know, brethren? So there’s the connection now. For I speak to those who know the law, that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives. Now notice this dominion thing again. Paul has talked about being under sin, and sin shall not have dominion, and all of these references to a kingdom. You remember 6 verse 14, for sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law, but under grace. These prepositions under give us a clue, you see, that he’s talking about kingdoms, and of course he’s used the word dominion. There’s a dominion of sin, and then under law there’s a dominion of law. There’s also a dominion of grace. Of course, sin and law are all the dominion of the kingdom of Adam. So, do you not know, brethren, that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives? What’s he getting at? Ah, you know, don’t you, because of what we’ve read already and studied in Chapter 6. as long as he lives. But we don’t live anymore, do we? We do and we don’t. We don’t live in the kingdom of Adam with that sin power and judgment and death upon us. We live now in the kingdom of Christ by faith. We recognize that Christ’s death upon the cross was a judgment for us. that we died by proxy, by substitution, in the person of Christ, so that we are counted as no longer alive in our human nature, as no longer alive in that fallen, broken, sinful human nature that we actually do live in, but we’re no longer counted as if we lived in it. And so, Paul is saying that if you reckon yourself, if you agree with the accounting that God is doing, that Christ has substituted for your human nature and taken its judgment upon the cross, if you agree with that, then the law no longer applies to you. Oops, that sounds scary, doesn’t it? Because we’re back to lawlessness again, aren’t we? Well, no, we’re not, and Paul is going to explain why. But let me tell you why this might frighten you. If you’re dead to law and the law no longer applies to you, you might think to yourself, so what motivates me then to do good? What keeps me going? And that question may frighten you, especially if you’re a legalist, especially if you’ve used the law of God to control yourself. Now, using the law of God to control yourself is misusing the law, because the law does not control anybody. It actually makes them worse. Paul is going to make that very, very clear in this chapter. So if you’re using the law as a way to get holy and righteous and to be a good person and a moral person, I’m sorry, but you have missed the gospel. You have missed the good news. For the law does not make a person righteous. The law leads or reveals, rather, the state of our sinfulness. And not only does it do that, Paul is going to show us that it stimulates our sin. That’s a shocker, isn’t it? It stimulates our sin. How does it do that? Well, I’m not going to go into detail about that, but I’m just going to say that the law of God creates a state of guilt and shame and fear. And when you have that state of mind before God, my goodness, you can’t do anything right because you’re always worried about yourself, wondering how you look, wondering how and whether God accepts you. You’re constantly on edge. You’re nervous. You’re religiously neurotic. That’s what it is to be a legalist. Again I say to you, take another look at the gospel, because what you may have is not the gospel but the law. And once you realize that, you might say, I wondered then what was wrong with me. I wondered why I was such a miserable Christian. Now I know, because I’ve been committed to law and not to Jesus. That is a revelation indeed. that will bring eternal life. Thank you for listening today. Colin Cook here, and my program, How It Happens, is what you’re listening to. 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