Romans 7:14-25 - The Law and Our Powerlessness

Romans 7:14-25

14 For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. 15 For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. 16 But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. 17 So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. 19 For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. 20 But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.

21 I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. 22 For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, 23 but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.

Message: The Law and Our Powerlessness

Time: Paul wrote to Rome, a city he had never visited, from the Greek city of Corinth in AD 57. He writes to a church that he believes needed to hear basic gospel doctrine. The city was a hotbed of sexual immorality and idolatry. 

What the Lord is Saying:

In some circles, the Law is the Old Covenant and since Christ came with a new covenant there is the thought that the Law does not have any relevance to us today and no place in Christian discipleship. 

Romans 7:4 gives the idea that we die to the Law through the body of Christ and in verse 6, we have been released from the law. And then also is this idea that sin itself is alive outside of the Law, as recorded in verse 9 - I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died. 

But as always we must keep reading scripture and remember to tie principles together and look at the whole matter in context. It is not that the Law is Bad, what is bad is we are sinful creatures and the Law simply awakens us to our understanding and gives us clarity of our sin. Verse 13 says that sin produced death in me. And in verse 14 the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh. And in verse 18 nothing good dwells in me. 

The Law simply prescribes obedience, but not the power to obey. People obey the law mostly out of a fear of punishment or consequence. I'm reminded of the radar detector that seeks to remove the notion of getting caught so that we can sin more freely. The Law cannot correct us. In verse 21 is the words that evil is present in me. 

Sin is a lifelong struggle that does not simply disappear when Christ comes into our life. The law still does not make us obey. This is really the essence of Paul's words in this passage today. Paul says that nothing good dwells in me. I want to do good, but I don't often because of that evil present in me. This should make us have more compassion on those that are Christians and yet still struggle with sin. So many do. I do. But we remain so quick to find the offense in others. Our compassion should be more centered in our lives, in my life, because the only thing that has changed is Jesus in me. Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord (v.25) we are set free from the body of this death (v. 24) from being a prisoner of the law of sin which in my members (v. 23). Jesus has freed me from the punishment and from being a prisoner to sin. This must be realized that the non-Christ bearer is a prisoner. 

Therefore, what the Law does is it reveals the death of our depravity and show us how we cannot obey it. It shines a spotlight on sin, describing it, and helping us see it more clearly and in that seeing is the inability to do it. As Paul says we go back and forth - serving the law of God, but also serving with my flesh the law of sin. Thus, we are powerless over sin. We have no power. Only God can give us this power. 

Promise: We are powerless over the Law and Sin revealed. It is in Christ that we receive forgiveness and the power to resist sin. Then daily, when we sin, and we will, we seek His forgiveness (freely given) and the grace to grow in holiness. 

Prayer: Lord, I am powerless over sin. You changed me; you set me free Jesus and I am praising You daily that I am free indeed. Your forever mercy has forever changed me. Thank you for keeping me rooted in these principles. Thank you for the freedom I have in Christ. 

Note: I follow the readings from the Tabletalk Magazine devotional, though I am a little behind and working through 2017 devotionals. 2017 is a study of key biblical doctrines celebrating the 500th year of the Reformation. The month of July is about the right use of God's Law; June was justification by faith alone; May about solus Christus - Christ Alone; April, salvation by grace alone; March, the sovereign providence of God; February, the doctrine of revelation and the various aspects of the doctrine of Scripture that sola Scriptura seeks to preserve; January, the doctrine of God.

The Restraint of the Law - the law is given for lawless, unholy, disobedient people, to restrain us from acting on our sinful thoughts. Restraint and Guilt - the law is meant to restrain Christians and non-Christians alike; so that others may see Christ. The Law's Revelation of Sin - The Law reveals sin, at times making it more desirable, and show the sin which people commit and the complete standard it expects.