Romans I have made a commentary of sorts with my thoughts on the Bible Romans Chapter 7 Quick take: Brain smashingly amazing Written June 28, 2006 through July 6, 2006 Chapter 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 June 28, 2006 Romans 7:1 This had to be a serious paradigm shift for the Romans. The law was what they knew. They were instructed in it their whole lives probably. This technicality Paul brings up was probably a simple concept the Roman Christians understood, but never thought about. It is a brilliant argument; no one would push the requirements of the law on a dead man’s corpse. Romans 7:2-3 Paul gives an example of just how one is released from the law. It is a great illustration of becoming free from our former master. June 29, 2006 Romans 7:4 Paul applies his marriage metaphor to our lives. Dying to self is a crucial step that must happen. Otherwise we cannot follow Christ as our King. If we do not die, than we are still obligated to our flesh; but if we die we are raised with Christ and are obligated to Him. Romans 7:5 This verse speaks to our rebellious nature. We were controlled by our sinful nature and thus reacted in sin against God’s law. We bore fruit of death. Romans 7:6 Then Christ paid our ransom and made freedom from sin our choice. When we slay our sin we are released from the impossible burden of fulfilling the law. Our lives are a new kind of service; we serve in the Spirit and not in the flesh. July 4, 2006 Romans 7:7-8 When we apply the law to our lives, it reveals so much more sin. This might lead some to believe the law causes the sin, but obviously, to reveal sin is not to cause it. Paul’s example is a very common human problem – when we’re told not to do something, our rebellious nature kicks in. Romans 7:9-13 The depth of this issue makes it complicating. After listening to John Piper teach on this passage, here is how I understand it: Allie (age 5) is alive, but when she comes of age to understand the law, death will spring to life through sin. Sin, the conniving bastard, takes the law and perverts it against us. Piper talks about the law being a scalpel in the hand of a skilled surgeon who can removed the cancer from our bodies. However, sin sneaks in grabs the scalpel and slits the throat of the patient. Sin takes to good thing (the law) and uses it for evil so that we can see how utterly sinful sin is. July 5, 2006 Romans 7:14 This verse explains the difficulty of shaking the hold of sin in our lives. How many times have I thought, “if I could only remember this verse, or God’s sacrifice, or God’s purpose for my life…” but we are unspiritual things reacting more to what we see and feel instead of what is happening spiritually. Romans 7:15-20 When I read this section several things come to mind. First I wonder what kind of a man was Paul? I certainly hold him in saintly status, but reading this we obviously see that he struggled constantly with his flesh. It makes me wonder what he was struggling with. What does he mean by saying that the evil we do is not us, but sin living in us? The pattern is visible in the Old Testament when the Israelites were coming out of slavery and wanted to go back many times. July 6, 2006 Romans 7:21 It is a constant struggle. It seems we are trying to get complete freedom from our former captor, but our escape is a life long process. Romans 7:22-23 When I am thinking straight, I love obeying God’s law, but the enemy confuses my mind and wars against the good I ought to do. Romans 7:24-25 This is such a frustrating thing, here we are saved by God’s grace and rescued from sin to join God’s family, but then we find ourselves fighting with the enemy. Why would anyone save us knowing we would not be rescued completely? Thanks and praise be to God. He knew our struggles yet sent His Son Jesus anyway. So, we are slaves to God’s law, but we are still in the rescue process. Chapter 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16