Bible Studies

Living Under a New Law

by Henry Jaegers
12/11/24
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Studies in the Book of Romans

By Henry Jaegers

Chapter 7

Living Under a New Law

 The permanence of the Old Law (Verses 1 Through 4)

   Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he lives?  For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he lives; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband.  So then if, while her husband lives, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband is dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man. Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.

  In this chapter, Paul is continuing the thought concerning how Being In Christ frees us from the law. which can only lead to condemnation and death. He first illustrates this to us by showing to those familiar with the law how marriage illustrates to us how it is that the new relationship to Christ causes us to be free from the condemnation of the broken law. Under the law, the woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. Only death can free her from that relationship.  This is comforting if her former husband was a cruel and demanding person. Death would free her from such a bondage. By marrying another, she could find a happier life by marrying one who is different from her first husband. The object of this illustration is to reveal, that under the dominion of Christ, we like that woman, because of death, we are free from the condemnation of the broken law. Our identification in Christ's death has freed me from that condemnation. But that's not all. Because were are equally identified in His Resurrection we now have the potential of a new life that brings glory to God.

  Under the Law, we can only produce unrighteousness and we were without hope. But being "In Christ makes it possible for me to not sin when the temptation may come. Christ has set me free from yielding to those pressures. Like the woman, through death, is free, so, the Christian being identified in Christ's death is free from the guilt which the broken law brings. Perhaps a good title for this section could be, "How Death Has Set Me Free."

 The Hopelessness of Living under the Law. (Verses 5 and 6)

   For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.  But 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.

 
To understand what "Being under the Law" means, it involves trying to do something to gain favor with God. Under the law, and "Living in the flesh" is the same thing.  While we lived under this dominion all we could produce was a form of righteousness based upon "self Effort". The harder we tried, the more difficult it became and the result of more trying was more unrighteousness. Because true righteousness could only come from the indwelling Holy Spirit, the best we could produce was a form of Self-righteousness.

  When it speaks of the motions of sin, it speaks of the Adamic Nature that was in control. It could only produce failure because of its' lack of ability to bring forth fruit to the Glory of God. But now, in our New Relationship, glorifying God is possible.

  What Good Thing the Law Could Provide. (Verses 7 through 14)

   What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.  But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law, sin was dead.  For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.  And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me. Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful. For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.

  This is a very important section because Paul is able to explain by his own experience what he had discovered. He begins by answering some false conclusion that one may entertain concerning the failure of the Law. They may conclude that the Law was sinful because it could not produce righteousness.

   Paul's statement sheds new light on what the Law could do. Up until now, we talked about what the Law could not do. It could not produce righteousness. But now Paul explains, that without understanding the meaning of the law and its relevance to his life, it was just another set of rules and regulations that he ignored and failed to live by. But one day, something happened to him. The Spirit of God, through means of the law, revealed to him that he was guilty of the sin of covetousness. He claimed that he was alive without the law, while he lived in ignorance of its meaning. But when the Holy Spirit convicted him of the sin of covetousness, the law which was once dead to him became very much alive.

   The application of the broken law by the spirit of God produced a great sense of guilt and he saw himself as worthy of death in the presence of God. The application of the law to his heart is what drove him in his helpless state to embrace Christ as Lord. He became under a new dominion as the broken law drove him to that. He concluded that the law was not the problem. the problem was him.

 We may conclude from this section, that what the law produced in Paol. was the death that ultimately led to that new law, that produced Life.

   The Inward Battle (Verses 15 through 23)

    For that which I do, I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do  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.  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not.  For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.  Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.  I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.  For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:  But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

  Paul has concluded that the Law has done his work and He thus concludes that at his best, is that he is carnal and a slave to sin. But now he continues his thought by revealing an inner struggle that leaves him without strength.

  Some have interpreted these verses as referring to Paul before he was a Christian, but a person who was not a Christian would not face this problem because he lacked the desire to keep the Law. He is dead to righteousness. So let us try to understand what is going on here.

   For that which I do, I allow not: for what I would, that do I not.

   There are things going on that Paul inwardly, desires for them to be absent. But he finds an inward struggle taking place that tends to pull him down. This is a struggle that takes place when the temptation to the flesh is present. The problem is that because we are in Christ, and dead to sins' dominion, that does not mean that there is no battle going on. Facing temptation is not without struggle, so Paul is describing that because we are in Christ, it does not mean that we are perfect and should not be surprised when we face the struggle due to our sinful nature that still exists within. In these verses, Paul is describing the struggle between the flesh and the Spirit. Back and forth, it never seems to stop. He consents that the law and his ability to keep it perfectly have convinced him of a principle that will bring him victory. The Law has left him condemned. Finally, he realizes the reality of sin as being more than an act. It is an inward principle that is at work, desiring to destroy him. That is where we recognize the difference between sins and sin.  My sins are under the blood and forgotten, but now there is the inward problem that I now must deal with.  Note his conclusion:

  A Cry of Desperation (Verses 24 and 25)

   O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

  Paul's cry of desperation is a good one. The demands of the Law is a powerful force and brings us to the end of ourselves. It causes death to strivings in the flesh. His cry "Who shall deliver"  has a positive answer. It is through our union in Christ that we find the power to overcome those fleshly promptings. We must interpret Paul's conclusion in light of what has been taught in chapter six. Paul is not advocating a philosophy that leaves us in a hopeless state. It is not a statement of resignation of having to put up with the old nature.  What Paul is telling us is, I have a choice, either to resign myself to walking after the flesh,  Or make the choice to walk after the spirit which leads to life and victory. It is a matter of making the choice to walk in the flesh or walking in the spirit. And in the opening verse of chapter eight, we find this clarifying word, There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

  The whole of chapter seven must be understood in light of what is taught in chapters 6 through 8.