"THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS"
Two Dilemmas (7:14-25)
INTRODUCTION
- In Ro 7:14-25 Paul describes a great struggle...
- Between one who knows to do good, but cannot do it
- Between a desire to keep the law of God, and a war with the law of
sin
- This is a challenging passage that contains not one, but two
dilemmas...
- The textual dilemma
- The human dilemma
[Dilemma: (informal) any difficult and perplexing situation;
predicament. To appreciate the difficulty of the passage itself, let's
first look at...]
- THE TEXTUAL DILEMMA
- DESCRIBED BY PAUL...
- Is it his struggle as a Christian?
- The use of first person pronoun ("I", "me", "my") is
certainly indicative
- That Christians so struggle is taught elsewhere - Ga 5:16-17; Jm 4:1; 1Pe 2:11
- Is it his struggle as a Jew?
- While living under the Law of Moses?
- Many think so, including myself
-- So first there is the dilemma of how to understand the text
- DETERMINED BY CONTEXT...
- Consider the overall context of the book of Romans
- Justification by faith in Christ, not by keeping the Law of
Moses - Ro 3:28-30
- The promise to Abraham comes through faith, not the Law - Ro
4:13
- Consider the immediate context of chapters 7 and 8
- Paul's comments are especially to those who know the law
- Ro 7:1
- Those once married to the Law, die to the law through Christ
- Ro 7:4
- Those once held by the Law have been delivered from the law
- Ro 7:6
- The law referenced to clearly includes the Ten Commandments
- Ro 7:7
- The law, though good, brought death not deliverance - Ro 7:7-13
- A deliverance appealed to, alluded to, and then explained
- Ro 7:24-25; Ro 8:1-2,12
-- The context helps to resolve the textual dilemma
[That Paul is describing the struggle he experienced as a Jew under the
Law becomes more apparent as we now examine the text itself
regarding...]
- THE HUMAN DILEMMA
- DESCRIBED AS A MAN...
- Who is carnal, sold under sin - Ro 7:14-15
- Desires to good, finds himself unable
- Desires to abstain from evil, finds himself unable
- Who agrees the law is good, but finds that sins dwells in him
- Ro 7:16-20
- In his flesh nothing good dwells
- The desire to do good is present, the ability to perform is
not
- The good he desires he does not, the evil he desires not he
does
- Thus sin dwells in him
- Who is enslaved to a "law" (of sin and death, cf. Ro 8:2) - Ro
7:21-23
- Where evil is present in one who desires to do good
- Where a law in his members (flesh) wages war against the law
of his mind
- Where the law in his members brings him into captivity to
the law of sin
- Who finds himself wretched - Ro 7:24
- "O wretched man that I am!"
- "Who shall deliver me from this body of death?"
-- A wretched dilemma: sold under sin, indwelt by sin, enslaved to
a law of sin!
- DELIVERED BY CHRIST...
- Expressed in chapter seven - Ro 7:25
- By way of anticipation, interrupting his train of thought
- "I thank God - through Jesus Christ our Lord!"
- But again, the dilemma: willing to serve the law of God
with the mind, but with his flesh he serves the law of sin!
- Explained in chapter eight - Ro 8:1-6,11-14
- There is no condemnation for those in Christ, provided they
walk according to the Spirit
- For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ frees one from
the law of sin and death!
- Christ's death fulfills the righteous requirement (death
for sin)
- Becoming spiritually minded is life and peace, for
submission to God is now possible
- Indwelt by the Spirit, He imparts life to our mortal
bodies - cf. Ro 6:12-13; Ep 3:16
- We are no longer debtors (enslaved) to the flesh, to live
according to the flesh
- By the Spirit we can put to death the deeds of the flesh,
and live as sons of God!
-- A blessed condition: no longer enslaved to sin, but empowered
by the Spirit!
CONCLUSION
- In Romans 7, Paul vividly illustrates the weakness of the Law of
Moses...
- The Law was holy, just, and good, but it did not offer true
deliverance
- It did not offer deliverance from the guilt and power of sin - cf.
Jn 8:34
- One can will to do good, but the ability to truly do as one should
is not there
- In Romans 8, Paul provides deliverance from this dilemma...
- First, no condemnation to those in Christ
- Second, empowerment over the flesh by aid of the Holy Spirit
- The struggle is still present, but the ability to perform is now
possible - cf. Ro 7:18 with Ga 5:16
Have you experienced freedom from the guilt of sin through the blood of
Christ (Ep 1:7)? Are you experiencing freedom from the power of sin
through the indwelling Spirit (Ro 8:12-13)?
Both blessings begin when one receives Christ (and the Spirit) in
baptism... - cf. Ac 2:38; 22:16; Tit 3:5; Ga 4:6; 1Co 12:13