Session 6
Romans 7:4-6,14-25
Memory Verse: Romans 7:4
As a child, I loved playing tug-of-war. Each side would grab the rope, dig in, and pull for all they were worth. The rope might lean one way or the other before one side would pull their opponents across the middle line. Today, we use “tug-of-war” to describe conflict: teams in a close game, parents in a custody dispute, a debate between political parties.
The apostle Paul saw our spiritual lives as a tug-of-war, a struggle between sin and the Savior. Even though we have died to sin through Christ, we still wrestle with Satan’s tricks and temptations. At times we are pulled by the old way of life, even as we strive to live in the power of Christ in us.
Sin remains a powerful force in our world, and that won’t change until Jesus comes back. Believers shouldn’t be surprised when obedience is a struggle, but we can remember that Jesus brings hope and help in our struggles. As you prepare to lead this session, consider your struggles with sin and how Jesus can give you victory. Ask Him to move in your life this week and to help you encourage the adults in your group to stand strong when the enemy tries to pull them in the wrong direction.
Everyone loves a good rescue story. Some rescue stories are dramatic, like the firefighter who pulls an elderly couple out of a bedroom window just before their house collapses in flames. Others are less dramatic but no less inspiring, like the teacher who stays after school to tutor students who are struggling in class. However, nothing compares to the way God rescued us through Jesus. (PSG, p. 55)
In chapter 6, Paul gave the first command found in his letter to the Romans (Rom. 6:11). He told believers to consider themselves dead to sin and alive to Jesus. He followed that command with a second command to help them make that a reality. In order to die to sin and live for Christ, believers must reject sin’s rule in their lives. Paul called it refusing to let sin reign in our mortal bodies (6:12). When we die to sin, we can embrace the life that only Jesus makes possible.
These commands are vital to moving from justification (being declared righteous) to sanctification (living in righteousness). He also wanted his readers to remember that these commands are rooted in the grace of God at work in the believer’s life. He reminded them they were not under the law but under grace (6:14). As he had pointed out already, the law holds no power to save, so we all need grace to move forward in our relationship with God.
Later in Romans 6, Paul returned to the question of whether Christians should continue to sin because they are under grace rather than law (6:15). Does grace give Christians a license to sin? Just as he had at the beginning of the chapter, Paul responded with a strong denial.
He also used two illustrations to show the power of grace to battle sin rather than submitting to it. First, he used slavery to illustrate the power to resist temptation. Christians once were slaves of sin. It ruled over them, and they yielded to it because sin was their master. However, through Jesus, believers have been set free from sin’s power and are slaves of righteousness.
As Christ followers yield themselves to Him, He sanctifies them. He instills in them the desire to live a holy life.
Second, Paul used marriage to illustrate freedom from sin. As long as a husband and wife are both alive, they are united to each other. However, when one of the spouses dies, the survivor is no longer bound to the other. He or she is free to remarry. He argued that believers were dead to sin, which severed the relationship. As a result, redeemed sinners no longer were bound to their sin. They are free to
pursue Christ.
Just because believers are set free from sin’s power and are dead to sin, though, that doesn’t mean they no longer have any struggles with sin. It is not their master, but it can surely be a thief that robs them of energy, joy, influence, and other positive benefits of serving the Lord. Paul taught that they were freed (7:4-6), but he also acknowledged the conflict (7:14-23). Thankfully, they had hope through the life that Christ provides (7:24-25).
Read Romans 7:4-6,14-25 in your Bible and look for what Paul said about the believer’s struggle with sin. What do these verses reveal about our dependence on Christ? (PSG, p. 56)
EXPLORE THE TEXT
4 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you also were put to death in relation to the law through the body of Christ so that you may belong to another. You belong to him who was raised from the dead in order that we may bear fruit for God. 5 For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions aroused through the law were working in us to bear fruit for death. 6 But now we have been released from the law, since we have died to what held us, so that we may serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the old letter of the law.
Paul used the analogy of marriage to unpack his illustration in verses 1-3. The subject shifted in this verse from death to sin to death to the law. The terminology put to death did not mean to die from natural causes. Rather, it suggests an execution. The passive voice indicated that this was done by God, not by one’s own merit.
Also, Paul never said that the law died but that believers died to the law. For believers, the law is put to death when we exchange loyalties from the monarchy of sin to the lordship of Christ (Rom. 6:2-7). Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law (Gal. 3:13-14) and released us from the debts we had accumulated as lawbreakers (Col. 2:14). Through the body of Christ, we no longer live under the authority of sin or the law. We walk in the freedom provided by Jesus on the cross.
But moving away from one leader means moving toward a different leader. Paul agreed. Using the imagery of a marital bond, he noted that we now belong to another. According to God’s plan, married couples are united until death; however, death frees a surviving spouse to pursue new relationships. Our death to sin frees us to begin a new relationship with Jesus.
Our new life with Christ should make a difference for God’s kingdom. Christ was not raised from the dead so we could keep producing works of the flesh. To the contrary, His resurrection (which makes our resurrection possible) should lead us to bear fruit for God. That is what Jesus desires for us. Our obligation to sin and the law ended, so now we belong to Christ.
To remind believers what they had been rescued from, Paul described life in the flesh. Though the Bible contains many usages for this word, the context refers to the life of a person prior to conversion to Christ. This life before Christ involved sinful passions that had been aroused through the law. Paul outlined this arousal further in Romans 7:7-13. The law was not sin, but it created a desire in us to rebel against God because we were dominated by an old nature of sin. For example, the law said not to covet, but sin produced all kinds of coveting because of our old fleshly nature (Rom. 7:7-8).
The law, meant to show us the righteous commandments of God, instead became an instrument that led to sin. And since the wages of sin is death (6:23), the law produced fruit for death in our lives. The law provoked our old nature to sin, which led to death. What a wretched existence before Christ-sin, law,
and death!
But coming to Christ changed everything. Our death to sin and the law through Jesus opened a new way of living and freed us to serve a new master. Along with being rescued from sin, believers also have been released from the law.
The idea of released could be translated overpowered, subdued, or conquered. The law presented a case against unbelievers, but Christ gave us victory by taking on the law’s penalty (8:3-4). The law held us captive because we could not meet its demands. The old letter of the law told us what to do, but it did not equip us to find true spirituality. What we needed was to serve in the newness of the Spirit.
Spend time praying Scripture using Romans 7:4. Read the verse, then respond to these questions:
Thank God for freeing you from the bondage of sin and to the law. Ask Him to help you bear fruit that reflects your newness of life.
EXPLORE THE TEXT
14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold as a slave under sin. 15 For I do not understand what I am doing, because I do not practice what I want to do, but I do what I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want to do, I agree with the law that it is good. 17 So now I am no longer the one doing it, but it is sin living in me. 18 For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For the desire to do what is good is with me, but there is no ability to do it. 19 For I do not do the good that I want to do, but I practice the evil that I do not want to do. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, I am no longer the one that does it, but it is the sin that lives in me. 21 So I discover this law: When I want to do what is good, evil is present with me.
22 For in my inner self I delight in God’s law, 23 but I see a different law in the parts of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and taking me prisoner to the law of sin in the parts of my body.
This section has divided interpreters through the years. Some think the phrase slave under sin (in contrast to “dead to sin”) means Paul was describing his pre-conversion experience. However, the whole passage appears in the present tense, not the past tense. Also, Paul revealed that his inner being delighted in the law (Rom. 7:22) and that he had a desire to do what was good (7:18), desires which don’t describe an unregenerate person. This context suggests that Paul was talking about a post-conversion struggle with sin.
Paul acknowledged that the law is spiritual, but he was of the flesh. His old nature struggled with the demands of the law and the lure of the flesh. He understood the struggle between carnal desires and godly desires (see Gal. 5:17). His failure to consider himself dead to sin created a personal conflict marked by service to sin. He did not understand why he continued to be enslaved to sin when he had trusted Christ to die to sin. He would practice what he knew was wrong and would do what I hate.
Paul recognized that the law was good, and his own misbehavior proved it. However, the sin living in him was the problem. The one who had died to sin found himself battling sin constantly. Christians still battle the power of sin and the demands of the law, even though Christ has set us free from both. This battle will not be settled until Jesus returns (1 John 3:2-3).
As a believer, Paul had the desire to do what is good. The Holy Spirit put that desire in him. However, he had no ability to stand against sin on his own. Yielding his body to unrighteousness was a choice he made.
Truthfully, Paul consistently failed to do the good that he wanted, instead choosing to practice the evil he despised. His dilemma underscored the enslaving power of sin (v. 20). Paul was not shirking responsibility for his sin. He was acknowledging that sin was still a formidable enemy, even after salvation.
Paul’s conflict with sin led him to discover a new law, in the sense of a controlling principle in his life. Despite his good intentions, evil was still present within him. Death to sin does not remove its allure. Rather, it creates an uncomfortable tension in a believer’s life. While the inner self might delight in God’s law, Christians experience a different law. As Paul discovered, this new law constantly is waging war against God’s way and works to make a believer prisoner to the law of sin. Though sin may not rule over believers any longer, we still can yield the parts of my body to evil, including our minds, hands, mouths, ears, and eyes-just to name a few.
EXPLORE THE TEXT
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.
Like many of us who have trusted in Jesus, the apostle Paul lamented his struggle with sin. He longed for the day when he could live in complete freedom from the temptation to sin.
After describing the tension between doing what he hated and not having the strength to do what he really wanted to do, Paul cried out in anguish. He was caught up in spiritual warfare. On the one hand, he had died to sin as the ruling power in his life; but, on the other hand, he continued to allow the members of his body to engage in sinful activities.
The military imagery of this passage emphasized that every believer plays a role in this spiritual war. The idea of seizing an opportunity (Rom. 7:8,11) suggested the actions of a soldier in the heat of battle. The word pictures of waging a war and being held a prisoner (7:23) also reminded his readers that this was an ongoing conflict between darkness and light.
When he failed to stand strong as a soldier of God, Paul saw himself as a wretched man. This might seem like an unusual way for a Christian-especially a Christian like Paul-to describe himself, but it reflects a proper response to sin in our lives. The Greek word indicates sorrow, distress or grief. It described a miserable person, and misery seems like an apt description of one who fails to embrace the victory that Jesus had died to provide.
The apostle begged for someone to rescue him from the body of death. This is not the usual word for spiritual salvation, but a word for a rescue from physical afflictions. This is the word that Paul used elsewhere to describe the way Christ rescues believers from the power of darkness (Col. 1:13).
Paul’s plea for help was a cry for final resurrection and final deliverance. As long as he remained in the physical flesh (body of death), he would battle the allure of sin and the frustration of falling short of the law in daily living. Nothing was lacking in his justification, but his sanctification was a work in progress that included falling short of who he was in Christ on occasion. However, he was confident that God would finish the work that He started in him (see Phil. 1:6).
Paul answered his own cry for deliverance by reminding himself that Jesus had already done everything necessary to rescue him from the power of sin. He would still battle temptation until Jesus returned, but he had hope that rescue was on the way. Even when he felt like he was at his worst, Paul recognized God’s authority. He knew the end of the story.
This knowledge sparked gratitude in Paul’s heart: Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Though he continued to battle sin, Paul told the Romans that he embraced the hope found only in the death and resurrection of Jesus. This finished work of the cross and the empty tomb gave the apostle the ability to live in the freedom of the Spirit. In Christ, Paul died to sin. In Christ, he had the power to consider himself dead to sin and to stop offering the members of his body to sin.
In Christ, he also had the hope of future resurrection. On that day, he would no longer process things through the sinful nature of his body. Paul later would expound on many of these reasons for thanksgiving in Romans 8.
One final time in chapter 7, Paul focused on the inner conflict between who he was in Christ and who he used to be under sin’s dominion. Paul expressed the struggle in his mind and in his flesh. While he struggled within himself, he also realized that God had not left him to fight the battle on his own. Yes, the law of sin tempted him, but his submission to the law of God was perfecting him. He was being sanctified.
Paul shared a hope for future victory over sin, both in the short term and, ultimately, at the end of this life. This hope set the stage for the triumphant words of Romans 8 while acknowledging the struggle of believers on the road to becoming more like Jesus.
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?