A lesson by Pastor John Skaggs
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church
Date: 3-7-99
Sermon Number: Romans 33
Text: 7:1-6
Free at Last
What a joy it is to know that God did not save us and then leave us to fend for ourselves. He has given us His Holy Spirit to motivate, comfort, and empower us. Further He has given us His truth, the Bible, the word of the living God to direct us. This body of truth is intended to change our thinking about everything. And when the way we think or believe has been changed then our behavior and our emotions change also. When you and I have a mind full of God&rsquos truth we respond to situations and circumstances differently than we did before. I cannot stress the importance of learning and applying God&rsquos truth to your lives enough. Those who have chosen to ignore God&rsquos truth have chosen to ruin their lives. Hosea 4:1, 6 KJV. "Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. . . . {6} My people are destroyed (ruined) for lack of knowledge: (for what they do not know, information they do not have.) because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children."
The context in which these words were spoken is entirely different than what we are about to look at today but the principal remains true. "God&rsquos people are destroyed or ruined for lack of knowledge." This is the reason so many Christians are depressed, fearful, angry, frustrated, anxious, peace-less, and just plain miserable, they lack knowledge. They do not know the truth about themselves, or God, or what God has accomplished for them in salvation. This is why we meet as often as we do for worship and Bible study. We study so we can know the truth which truth will set us free from all the misery that accompanies ignorance. God&rsquos truth, applied by God the Holy Spirit, is what will change us into the people we long to be. People who are joyous, at peace, and happy with the days assignment. Therefore, let us pay heed to the apostles words in Romans 12:2 NASB. "And do not be conformed to this world, (in thinking or behavior) but be transformed by THE RENEWING OF YOUR MIND, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." When our minds have been renewed by God&rsquos truth the way we live and respond to life will be different.
This is what Paul has in mind as he writes his epistle to the Romans. He is intent on communicating truth that will instruct, change, and liberate the Christian. You have heard the little saying, "Ignorance is bliss?" This might be true in some areas of life but it is not true in the spiritual world, ignorance is bondage and misery. So lets look at the truth Paul teaches in the sixth and seventh chapters of Romans.
In chapter six Paul talks about our relationships with sin, self, Jesus, and the law. He reveals to us how these have changed since we have been saved. What he is really talking about is sanctification. Paul tells us how this has come to pass and how we should respond to what God has accomplished. He tells us that we were once slaves of sin but now we have died in Christ and are free. (Romans 6:7 NASB) ". . . he who has died is freed from sin." We are free from the penalty and power of sin. Again in verse fourteen we read, (Romans 6:14 NASB) "For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under (or subject to the ) law, but under grace." We were once bound to and, therefore, under the authority of the law but we have died in Christ and are, therefore, free from the law. This change, and that of every relationship in our lives, took place when, by faith, we became participants in the death of Jesus. This death set us free to rest in Christ for salvation and to live by grace, in peace, as opposed to fear. Sadly, there are many of our brothers and sisters who know nothing of such freedom and peace. They still live as if and feel as if the condemning law of God is hanging over their heads threatening to damn them if they slip just once. They feel as if they must be perfect in all things to find acceptance with God. They are still filled with fear and dread of God&rsquos wrath. This is a strange and sad thing to witness, free people living like slaves.
I had a friend once, he was an older gentleman who I had known nearly all my life. Shirley and I were neighbors to he and his wife for many years. We will call him Jim. Jim was an old-fashioned individual. No doubt he had gone through some difficult times in his life. These hard experiences made him a hard man. You could see it in the way he treated his wife. He spoke in harsh tones and never really asked what she liked or wanted he just gave her orders. When they needed groceries he gave her just enough money to buy them. The same was true with clothes and the other necessities of life. They lived in a small but adequate house. It was sparsely furnished and the yard was bare. Jim&rsquos wife enjoyed few pleasures and, to my knowledge, had no hobbies. But she did like flowers. Even here, however, she was not free to do as she pleased. Jim laid down the law allowing her only two rose bushes just outside the kitchen window. Even this was not without restriction. She could not water them with the garden hose, that would be to expensive. She had to use her dish water to keep them alive. So, once a day, as regular as clock work, you would see Jim&rsquos wife carrying her tub of water out to her rose bushes. This went on for many years. But then Jim died leaving his wife alone.
Jim&rsquos miserly ways were not without benefit. For when he died there was enough money in their bank to allow his wife to live comfortably for the rest of her days. No longer would she have to pinch pennies or carry water to her rose bushes. But to our amazement she carried on in the same fashion. She continued carrying her dish water to those two rose bushes until the time she moved away. It was as if she didn&rsquot know she was free from her husbands rule. His laws had no more power over her but she continued to act as though they did. She never did use the garden hose to water her roses. This woman was free to live as she pleased but she continued acting like a slave.
Christians are free to live for God without fear simply because they are saved by grace and not obeying some law. Yet many, far too many, continue to live as if they were saved by the right kind of behavior. They are always talking about not being good enough to be a Christian. This is the language of legalism. This is the language of a person who does not understand what God has done for them in salvation. This is a person who is still watering his roses with dish water for fear of the law that hangs over his head.
Since the beginning of chapter six Paul has been trying to teach his readers the truth about their relationship to the law since they have believed in Jesus. This truth, apprehended, and prayerfully applied, will allow one to rest in Christ for acceptance with God. Look with me at our text for this morning.
(Romans 7:1 NASB) "Or do you not know, brethren (for I am speaking to those who know the law), that the law has jurisdiction (rule and power) over a person as long as he lives?
The law which Paul speaks of is the "Law of sin and death." This law says, "The soul that sins it shall die." In the New Testament the same truth is put before us with these familiar words. "The wages of sin is death." Any person who sins the slightest sin must die. This is the "Law of sin and death." This law, God&rsquos law, has no forgiveness or mercy in it. It is a cold unbendable rule of life and death. If you fail to keep the law of God perfectly from the cradle to the grave you will not only experience physical death, you will be a partaker of the second death which is eternal separation from God in the torments of hell.
This law was not given by God to save men, rather, it was given to reveal their sin and condemn them for it. The law was intended to shut men up to hopelessness and then point them to the Messiah. But because men are fallen creatures they began to look to the law as means of gaining acceptance with God. The problem is no one can be justified before God by keeping the law. The person who tries to relate to God in this way will live a life of frustration, fear, and misery, then he will perish in hell forever. Strangely enough, however, there are some real Christians who, because of ignorance, continue to act as though their acceptance with God is based upon their works instead of Christ&rsquos. If asked they would speak properly about faith and grace and salvation as an unmerited gift. However, in practice they are still struggling to be accepted by God on the basis of good behavior. It is to these people that the question is posed, "Don&rsquot you know that the law which demands personal perfection has no authority over one who has died?" He offers an illustration,
{2} For the married woman is bound (imprisoned) by law to her husband while he is living; but if her husband dies, she is released (severed) from the law concerning the husband. {3} So then if, while her husband is living, she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress, though she is joined to another man.
Paul assumes that his readers understand the characteristics of a Godly marriage. According to the law of marriage the woman is bound to her husband. The word bound speaks of being under the authority of her husband. In this position of submission she is to cooperate with and submit to his direction, will, or law. She has no choice but to do so under God. Secondly, the law of marriage binds the woman to her husband only. She is not to submit to another but only to her husband. Thirdly, it is common knowledge that involvement with another man would be adultery as long as her husband was alive. Then fourth, Paul makes it clear that the only way one can be joined or bound in marriage to another is for the first marriage to be broken by death. (A Biblical divorce also breaks the marriage and frees one to marry in the Lord. But that is a subject for another day.) Only then is a woman free to re-marry in the Lord.
The word "released" in verse two means to render inoperative or powerless. It speaks of being free from the power, authority, or influence of the law. In other words, the woman whose husband has died is now free from the law of marriage. She is bound only till death parts them then she is free of all obligation to that husband. It no longer matters what he liked or disliked. His wishes are, from that moment on, irrelevant as concerns the rest of this woman&rsquos life. Until she marries again she is free to do as she pleases. Paul&rsquos point is that all law is rendered powerless, null, and void, when a person dies.
Now Paul applies this truth to the Christian. {4} "Therefore, my brethren, YOU ALSO WERE MADE TO DIE TO THE LAW THROUGH THE BODY OF CHRIST, that you might be joined (married or bound) to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, that we might bear fruit for God." We must remember, death means separation. Our dying in Christ means that the condemning power of the law has been broken. The law can no longer condemn us to an eternal death for our sin because we have died and the law has no power over the dead. Our relationship to the "Law of sin and death," has been dissolved forever. That husband can have nothing to do with us ever again because we have died to him. Therefore, no matter how loud the law screams and threatens we must not be frightened. Often we hear the law cry out "You&rsquore not good enough for God!" But we must not tremble as we did at one time when we were without God and without hope in this world. For we have died and have risen with Christ. We are now married to our Lord. He is our perfection before God. He met the demands of the law. He suffered the threatened penalty. And by faith we are partakers of all His work. Our old husband&rsquos laws mean nothing to us any more. We now serve a new husband and we do so with gladness. For he does not threaten us with death if we do not perform just right. Rather, He rules over us with grace, mercy, compassion, patience, and forgiveness, bestowing upon us His perfections through which we are acceptable to God. We do not serve Him for fear of being damned if we don&rsquot, rather we serve Him out of love, "For perfect love casts out fear."
Paul continues. {5} For while we were in the flesh, (not saved) the sinful passions, which were aroused (or inflamed) by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death. {6} BUT NOW (Since we have believed in Christ things are different.) we have been released (severed) from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, (held fast) so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter."
In verse five Paul reminds us that when married to our first husband, Mr. Law, we bore many children. All had the same last name, Sin. Individually they were, Wickedness, Deceit, Malice, Murder, Slander, Gossip, Lust, Fornication, Adultery, Theft, so on and so forth. These children were conceived in me by my husband, the law. And when they were born I died because sin separates one from God. For, "The wages of sin is death." Thank God I have died in Christ and have changed husbands. The love relationship I have with my new husband produces children also. Their last name is Faith. Individually they are called, Love, Joy, Peace, Obedience, Holiness, Trust, Patience, Perseverance and so on.
Fear, ladies and gentlemen, is not what motivates the Christian to serve the Lord. He is in the service of his Master, and Husband, because he wants to be. His soul&rsquos delight is to do that which pleases his Lord. His meat and drink is to do the will of his Father in Heaven. Our new husband is nothing like the old one who said, "Do this or die." Our new husband says, "I have done everything necessary so you can rest from your labors and live." This is true freedom.
This is the incredible privilege of the justified and of them only.
Paul intends that we comprehend our position and standing before God. The law has no jurisdiction over us. We are free from the law and married to Christ. We are not under law. We are under grace. We must see this truth. For as a man thinks so will be his practice. As a man thinks so will he be in his emotions. As a man thinks so he will be in his home, and workplace, and church. And if a man thinks that he must perform to gain God&rsquos favor he will never enjoy the peace that passes all understanding. For this man carries on his own shoulders the burden our Savior carried to the cross. This person strives to atone for his own sins and that is impossible. Never forget that we are not accepted in or because of our works. Rather, we are accepted in the Beloved because of His works. Let&rsquos end our study with a look at Colossians 2:9-23 NASB.
"For in Him all the fulness of Deity dwells in bodily form, {10} and in Him you have been made COMPLETE, (What does complete mean if it does not mean that there is nothing lacking, nothing left to add? Do you believe you are complete in Christ or are you working to make up for what He could not do for you?) and He is the head over all rule and authority; {11} and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in THE REMOVAL OF THE BODY OF THE FLESH by the circumcision of Christ; {12} having been BURIED WITH HIM in baptism, in which you were also RAISED UP WITH HIM THROUGH FAITH in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. {13} And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, HE MADE YOU ALIVE TOGETHER WITH HIM, HAVING FORGIVEN US ALL OUR TRANSGRESSIONS, {14} HAVING CANCELED OUT THE CERTIFICATE OF DEBT CONSISTING OF DECREES AGAINST US AND WHICH WAS HOSTILE TO US; AND HE HAS TAKEN IT OUT OF THE WAY, HAVING NAILED IT TO THE CROSS. (All the crimes we have or will ever commit along with all the punishments due us for those crimes were nailed to the cross with Christ. He has forgiven us all our transgressions. He has canceled all our debts. It is finished!) {15} When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him. {16} Therefore LET NO ONE ACT AS YOUR JUDGE in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day-- {17} things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ. {18} LET NO ONE KEEP DEFRAUDING YOU OF YOUR PRIZE (The prize of peace, and rest, and liberty, and joy in the Holy Spirit.) by delighting in self-abasement (Self depravation and abuse is often associated with those who are trying to gain God&rsquos favor by works.) and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind, {19} and not holding fast to the head, (Jesus) from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God. {20} If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, WHY, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, {21} "Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!" {22} (which all refer to things destined to perish with the using)-- in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? {23} These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in SELF-MADE RELIGION and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but ARE OF NO VALUE AGAINST FLESHLY INDULGENCE."
(Colossians 3:1-3 NASB) If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep SEEKING THE THINGS ABOVE, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. {2} SET YOUR MIND ON THE THINGS ABOVE, not on the things that are on earth. {3} For you have died and YOUR LIFE (eternal life) IS HIDDEN WITH CHRIST IN GOD."
Do you think you can trust your eternal soul to Christ and His Father? Do you think they will ever drop the ball? Friend, If you have died and have risen with Christ your soul is safely hidden with Christ in God. If you have died and have risen with Christ you have inherited all the perfections of Jesus. The law&rsquos demands are met for you by Him. It is finished. Everything that had to be done for your salvation has been accomplished my Jesus. You do not need to nor can you add to His work. Put down your tools and rest in His loving arms.