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Ärende: August 14 - 20-LESSON 8-The Man of Romans 7
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LESSON 8
*August 14 - 20
The Man of Romans 7

SABBATH AFTERNOON

Read for This Week's Study:


Romans  7.

Memory Text:


"Now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that
we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of  the letter"
(Romans  7:6).
 Few chapters in the  Bible have created more controversy than has Romans  7.
Concerning the issues involved, The SDA Bible Commentary  says: "The meaning of
vs.  14-25 has been one of the most discussed problems in the whole epistle. 
The main questions have been as to whether the description of such intense 
moral struggle could be autobiographical, and, if so, whether the passage 
refers to Paul's experience before or after his conversion. That Paul is 
speaking of his own personal struggle with sin seems apparent from the 
simplest meaning of his words (cf. vs.  7-11; [Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ,
p. 19;  Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, p. 475]).  It is
surely also true that he is describing a conflict that is more or less 
experienced by every soul confronted by and awakened to the spiritual claims 
of God's holy law."--The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 6, p. 553.

Bible students differ on whether Romans  7 was Paul's experience before or
after conversion. Whatever position one  takes, what's important is that Jesus'
righteousness covers us and that in  His righteousness we stand perfect before
God, who promises to sanctify us,  to give us victory over sin, and to conform
us to "the image of his Son" (Rom. 8:29). These are the crucial points for us
to know and experience as  we seek to spread "the everlasting gospel" to "every
nation, and kindred, and  tongue, and people" (Rev.  14:6). 
*Study this week's lesson to prepare for Sabbath, August 21.

SUNDAY
August 15

Bound to the Law?

Read Romans 6:1. What logic is Paul dealing with here, and how, in the verses
that follow, does he respond to that kind of thinking?



Paul's illustration in Romans 7:1-6 is somewhat involved, but a careful
analysis of the passage will help us to follow his reasoning.

In the overall context of the letter, Paul was dealing with the system of
worship established at Sinai; that is often what he means by the word law. The
Jews had difficulty grasping the fact that this system, given to them of God,
should end with the coming of the Messiah. This is what Paul was dealing
with--Jewish believers still not ready to abandon what had been such an
important part of their lives.

In essence, Paul's illustration is as follows: a woman is married to a man. The
law binds her to him as long as he lives. During his lifetime she cannot
consort with other men. But when he dies, she is free from the law that bound
her to him (vs. 3).

How does Paul apply the illustration of the law of marriage to the system of
Judaism? Rom. 7:4, 5.



As the death of her husband delivers the woman from the law of her husband, so
the death of the old life in the flesh, through Jesus Christ, delivers the Jews
from the law they had been expected to keep until the Messiah fulfilled its
types.

Now the Jews were free to "remarry." They were invited to marry the risen
Messiah and thus bring forth fruit to God. This illustration was one more
device Paul used to convince the Jews that they were now free to abandon the
ancient system.

Again, given all else that Paul and the Bible say about obedience to the Ten
Commandments, it doesn't make sense to assert here that Paul was telling these
Jewish believers that the Ten Commandments were no longer binding. Those who
use these texts to try to make that point--that the moral law was done away
with--really don't want to make that point, anyway; what they really want to
say is that only the seventh-day Sabbath is gone, not the rest of the law. To
read these verses as teaching that the fourth commandment has been abolished or
superceded or replaced with Sunday is to give them a meaning that the words
were never intended to have.
 
MONDAY
August 16

Is the Law Sin?

If Paul is talking about the whole law system at Sinai, what about Romans 7:7,
in which he specifically mentions one of the Ten Commandments? Doesn't that
refute the position, taken yesterday, that Paul was not talking about the
abolition of the Ten Commandments?

The answer is No. We must keep in mind, again, that the word law for Paul is
the whole system introduced at Sinai, which included the moral law but wasn't
limited to it. Hence, Paul could quote from it, as well as from any other
section of the whole Jewish economy, in order to make his points. However, when
the system passed away at the death of Christ, that didn't include the moral
law, which had existed even before Sinai and exists after Calvary, as well.

Read Romans 7:8-11. What is Paul saying here about the relationship between the
law and sin? 


God revealed Himself to the Jews, telling them in detail what was right and
what was wrong in moral, civil, ceremonial, and health matters. He also
explained the penalties for violation of the various laws. Violation of the
revealed will of God is here defined as sin.

Thus, Paul explains, he would not have known if it was a sin to covet without
having been informed of that fact by the "law." Because sin is the violation of
the revealed will of God, where the revealed will is unknown, there is no
awareness of sin. When that revealed will is made known to a person, he or she
comes to recognize that he or she is a sinner and is under condemnation and
death. In this sense, the person dies.

In Paul's line of argument here and throughout this section, he is trying to
build a bridge to lead the Jews--who revere the "law"--to see Christ as its
fulfillment. He is showing that the law was necessary but that its function was
limited. The law was meant to show the need of salvation; it never was meant to
be the means of obtaining that salvation.

"The apostle Paul, in relating his experience, presents an important truth
concerning the work to be wrought in conversion. He says, 'I was alive without
the law once'--he felt no condemnation; 'but when the commandment came,' when
the law of God was urged upon his conscience, 'sin revived, and I died.' Then
he saw himself a sinner, condemned by the divine law. Mark, it was Paul, and
not the law, that died."--Ellen G. White Comments, The SDA Bible Commentary,
vol. 6, p. 1076.
In what sense have you "died" before the law? How,  in that context, can you
understand what Jesus has done for you by giving you  a new life in Him? 
TUESDAY
August 17

The Holy Law

Read Romans 7:12. How do we understand this text in the context of what Paul
has been discussing?



Because the Jews revered the law, Paul exalts it in every way possible. The law
is good for what it does, but it can't do what it was never meant to do, to
save us from sin. For that we need Jesus, because the law--whether the entire
Jewish system or the moral law in particular--cannot bring salvation. Only
Jesus and His righteousness, which comes to us by faith, can.

Whom does Paul blame for his condition of "death," and what does he exonerate?
Why is that distinction important? Rom. 7:13.



In this verse, Paul is presenting the "law" in the best sense possible. He
chooses to blame sin, not the law, for his terrible sinful condition; that is,
his working "all manner of concupiscence [lust]" (vs. 8). The law is good, for
it is God's standard of conduct, but as a sinner, Paul stood condemned before
it.

Why was sin so successful in showing up Paul as a terrible sinner? Rom. 7:14,
15.



Carnal means fleshy. Thus, Paul needed Jesus Christ. Only Jesus Christ could
take away the condemnation (Rom. 8:1). Only Jesus Christ could free him from
slavery to sin.

Paul describes himself as "sold under sin." He is a slave to sin. He has no
freedom. He can't do what he wants to do. He tries to do what the good law
tells him to do, but sin won't let him.

By this illustration, Paul was trying to show the Jews he need of the Messiah.
He already had pointed out that victory is possible only under grace (Rom
6:14). This same thought is reemphasized in Romans 7. Living under the "law"
means enslavement to sin, a merciless master.
What has been your own experience with how sin  enslaves? Have you ever tried
to play with sin, thinking you could control it  as you wished, only to find
yourself under a vicious and merciless  taskmaster? Welcome to reality! Why,
then, must you surrender to Jesus, and  die to self daily? 
WEDNESDAY
August 18

The Man of Romans 7

"If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me" (Rom. 7:16,
17). What struggle is presented in these verses?



Using the law as a mirror, the Holy Spirit convicts a person that he or she is
displeasing God by not fulfilling the requirements of the law. Through efforts
to meet those requirements, the sinner shows that he or she agrees that the law
is good.

What points that Paul had already made did he repeat for emphasis? Rom.
7:18-20.



To impress upon a person his or her need of Christ, the Holy Spirit often leads
the person through an "old covenant" type of experience. Ellen G. White
describes Israel's experience as follows: "The people did not realize the
sinfulness of their own hearts, and that without Christ it was impossible for
them to keep God's law; and they readily entered into covenant with God.
Feeling that they were able to establish their own righteousness, they
declared, 'All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient.' Exodus
24:7. . . . Only a few weeks passed before they broke their covenant with God,
and bowed down to worship a graven image. They could not hope for the favor of
God through a covenant which they had broken; and now, seeing their sinfulness
and their need of pardon, they were brought to feel their need of the Saviour
revealed in the Abrahamic covenant."--Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets,
pp. 371, 372.

Unfortunately, by failing to renew their dedication to Christ daily, many
Christians are, in effect, serving sin, however loathe they may be to admit it.
They rationalize that, in reality, they are undergoing the normal experience of
sanctification and that they simply still have a long way to go. Thus, instead
of taking known sins to Christ and asking Him for victory over them, they hide
behind Romans 7, which tells them, they think, that it is impossible to do
right. In reality, this chapter is saying that it is impossible to do right
when a person is enslaved to sin, but victory is possible in Jesus Christ.
Are you having the victories over self and sin that  Christ promises us? If
not, why not? What wrong choices are you, and you  alone, making? 
THURSDAY
August 19

Delivered From Death

Read Romans 7:21-23. How have you experienced this same struggle in your own
life, even as a Christian? 


In this passage, Paul equates the law in his members (his body) with the law of
sin. "With the flesh," Paul says, he served "the law of sin" (Rom. 7:25). But
serving sin and obeying its law means death (see vss. 10, 11, 13). Hence, his
body--as it was now functioning in obedience to sin--fittingly could be
described as "the body of this death."

The law of the mind is God's law, God's revelation of His will. Under
conviction of the Holy Spirit, Paul consented to this law. His mind resolved to
keep it, but when he tried, he couldn't, because his body wanted to sin. Who
hasn't felt that same struggle? In your mind you know what you want to do, but
your flesh clamors for something else.

How can we be rescued from this difficult situation we find ourselves in? Rom.
7:24, 25. 


Some have wondered why, after reaching the glorious climax in the expression "I
thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord," Paul should refer once more to the
struggles of the soul from which he apparently had been delivered. Some
understand the expression of thanksgiving as a parenthetical exclamation. They
believe that such an exclamation follows naturally the cry, "Who shall
deliver?" They hold that before proceeding with an extended discussion of the
glorious deliverance (Romans 8). Paul summarizes what he has said in the
preceding verses and confesses once again to the conflict against the forces of
sin.

Others suggest that by "I myself," Paul means, "left to myself, leaving Christ
out of the picture." However these verses are understood, one point should
remain clear: left to ourselves, without Christ, we are helpless against sin.
With Christ we have a new life in Him, one in which--though self will
constantly arise--the promises of victory are ours if we choose to claim them.
Just as no one can breathe for you or cough for you or sneeze for you, no one
can choose for you to surrender to Christ. You alone can make that choice.
There's no other way to attain for yourself the victories that are promised us
in Jesus.
 
FRIDAY
August 20

Further Study: 

Read Ellen G. White, "The Perfect Law," pp.  212-215; "A Divine Sin Bearer,"
pp.  308-310, in Selected Messages, book 1; "Healing of the Soul," pp. 84,  85;
"The Importance of Seeking True Knowledge," pp. 452-454, in The Ministry of
Healing; "Christ's Victory as  Complete as Adam's Failure," p. 323,  in My Life
Today.

"There is no safety nor repose nor justification in transgression of the  law.
Man cannot hope to stand innocent before God, and at peace with Him  through
the merits of Christ, while he continues in sin."--Ellen G. White, Selected 
Messages, book 1, p. 213.

"Paul desires his brethren to see that the great glory of a sin-pardoning 
Saviour gave significance to the entire Jewish economy. He desired them to  see
also that when Christ came to the world, and died as man's sacrifice, type met
antitype.

"After Christ died on the cross as a sin offering the ceremonial law could 
have no force. Yet it was connected with the moral law, and was glorious. The 
whole bore the stamp of divinity, and expressed the holiness, justice, and 
righteousness of God. And if the ministration of the dispensation to be done 
away was glorious, how much more must the reality be glorious, when Christ  was
revealed, giving His life-giving, sanctifying, Spirit to all who 
believe."--Ellen G. White Comments, The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 6,  p. 
1095. 
Discussion Questions:

  Who do you  think the man of Romans  7 is? Paul, before or after conversion?
Or is this chapter talking about  something else entirely? What justification
do you have for your answer? In  class discuss the answers given. 
  How  do we explain the fact that even baptized, born-again Christians
struggle  with sin? Shouldn't we automatically overcome everything? Or will we
always  be sinning? Or is the answer somewhere in between? 
  What  potential dangers arise from the view that, as Christians, we will
always be  sinning, always be falling, always be violating God's law, no matter
what? On  the other hand, what potential dangers arise from the view that as
Christians  we must overcome every wrong thing in our lives, every wrong
thought, every  wrong tendency--no matter what, or else we are not saved? 
 In the  end, regardless of whatever position folk take on the man of Romans 
7, what promises can we take from Romans  7 for ourselves that will help us
understand what it means to be  followers of Jesus? 

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