EXPLORE THE TEXT
Believers can express gratitude to God
that they do not have to battle sin in their own power,
but that Christ provides the victory.
24 What a wretched man I am!
Who will rescue me from this body of death?
25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, with my mind I myself am serving the law of God,
but with my flesh, the law of sin.
Paul’s solution for dealing with the tension we face as believers who are still tempted by sin:
Paul’s assertion about himself
gives us the direction that we need
as we face the conflict that goes on inside us.
We know from experiences in life that certain conflicts
can be resolved sometimes.
In those cases, the intense struggle between two opposing forces,
ideas, or people can be replaced with peace.
However, some conflicts in our lives will never be resolved.
Instead, they can be managed,
but the struggle involving them will never end.
In those cases, life will go on, and the conflict
will continue to be a part of it.
Like Paul, we trust Christ to help us as we manage
the inner conflict with sin. (PSG, p. 62)
Our need is to lean into Christ
to experience victory in our struggles against sin.
Review these bullet points from Apply the Text on page 63 of the Personal Study Guide.
Distribute a copy of Pack Item 12 (Handout: To Do or Not To Do). Encourage the group to spend time analyzing their own struggles with sin.
Briefly discuss how believers can deal with the tension sin creates and how we can demonstrate gratitude for God’s help. Challenge the group to study and respond to the second group of questions on
page 63 of the PSG during the week.
Remind adults that Romans 7:4 is the memory verse for this session. Encourage adults to continue praying it back to God as a way to memorize it. Urge them to focus on how God can help them die to sin when they experience temptation. Close in prayer, thanking God for victory in Christ as we battle sin.
Send the group an email or text during the week, reminding them to pray for one another. Encourage them to read and reflect again on Paul’s practical words about overcoming sin in Romans 7. Let them know that you are praying for them and encourage them to share things that you can pray with them about specifically. Close the message with the text from Romans 7:4, this session’s memory verse.
Session 6
Sanctification is the experience, beginning in regeneration, by which the believer is set apart to God’s purposes, and is enabled to progress toward moral and spiritual maturity through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in him. (See Philippians 2:12-13; 1 Thessalonians 5:23.)
Summarize the argument.
Read through the entirety of Romans 6:15-7:25 to summarize the argument Paul made regarding the ongoing effects of sin. First, make an outline of the argument. Second, write a one-sentence summary of this argument. Consider how sin effects a believer’s life and the significance of dying to sin. Respond to these questions: How does this argument encourage you? Does it discourage you in any way?