The study of the Book of Romans chapter 7
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen:
I greet you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is my sincere Prayer that you are being Blessed even as you read this email.
Today, we study the Book of Romans chapter 7.
7:1-6 Know ye not? This question connects chapter 7 with chapter 6 and further explains the statement "ye are not under the law" (6:14). Paul is still on the same subject--the sanctified life in Christ. But now he changes the metaphor. Instead of the analogy of slavery, he uses the analogy of marriage. So long as he liveth: Only death breaks the marital union. Loosed from the law of her husband: In the event of the husband's death the wife is free from obligation to her husband and may either remain unmarried or may remarry. Called an adulteress: Under Roman law polygamy and polyandry were forbidden. To marry another while one's spouse was still living and without a legal divorce was adultery. Marriage is an indissoluble union which in general is broken only by the death of one of the partners. Though the believer's identification with the death of Christ he is now freed from the law (6:15), but joined to Christ to bear fruit unto God.
7:5 In the flesh means before before we were saved. We are delivered from the law: Paul is still answering the question raised in 6:15. Its force is especially appropriate for the legalist who sees no legitimate reason for holiness unless there is a rule dictating it. The motivation to holiness in Christ and under grace is equally valid but with a new dynamic (Ephesians 2:10).
7:7, 8 Is the law sin? It might be concluded that the law sinful. Because of what the law does, it appears to be the culprit. Paul shows that the law is not sinful and examines its precise relation to sin in order to dismiss this suggestion. Paul answers his question (1) by giving a direct denial, God forbid (Greek me genoito, "may it never happen," "don't even think that way") and (2) by giving positive instruction. The law reveals the fact of sin, for I had not known sin, but by the law. Sin is unknowable without some law. The law also reveals the power of sin.
7:9 I was alive without the law once: There was a time when Paul lived a complacent life insensitive to the demands of the law. I died: When Paul understood the law he realized that he was accused, guilty, and marked for death.
7:12, 13 The law is holy...just, and good: The law is an expression of God's righteousness and is intrinsically good. Sin, not the law, produced death. The law shows us that we are helplessly under the control of sin and points us to Christ, the only One who can help us.
7:14 The law is spiritual: The law has the characteristics of the Spirit and is consistent with the character of God. I am carnal: What follows is autobiographical and designed to reveal the real struggle the apostle experienced in the flesh. His experience is also exemplary, for it show the problems all believers experience in their battle with sin.
7:18 Flesh: This term is used by Paul in a variety of ways. Sometimes it simply refers to the physical body (Ephesians 2:15; Philemon 16). Sometimes it refers to physical descent (1:3; 9:3). Here it is used in an ethical sense to refer to a condition of being dominated by sin and sinful pursuits.See also verse 25; 8:5-7; Galatians 5:17.
Yours in Jesus Christ,
Bishop William B. Caractor
