"Released from the Law"

“For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.” (Romans 7:5-6 ESV)

So many Christians have misunderstood chapter 7 of the Letter to the Romans over the years. While I agree that if I were to take chapter 7 on its own, I might come away with a confused view of sin in the believer’s life. But that would not be proper Biblical interpretation.  Remember that I constantly encourage Bible readers to keep everything they read in context. There are multiple levels of context that the disciple needs to keep in mind.

First, we have the immediate or grammatical context, where we look at the surrounding words, verses, and Chapters. Then we have the Biblical context, where we consider other teachings on the same topic in other books of the Bible, such as what Paul said to the Galatians or Ephesians. We do this so we can understand the bigger picture of the Bible's teachings.

Then, of course, we need to take into consideration the historical context, what was going on at the time of the writing, historically and socially, with the recipients.  Sometimes it does take some effort for the modern-day reader to gather all this information before understanding exactly the author’s intent, which is what we call Biblical interpretation. One tool that really helps with this is a Study Bible (I’ve recommended several in previous posts); another help is a Bible Commentary, which is more in-depth than a Study Bible. Both tools are written by Biblical Scholars who have spent much more time researching the “context” of a particular passage than we normally can ourselves.

Chapter 7 is a continuation of Paul’s discussion comparing the Mosaic Law to grace; as a caution, we should be careful not to read into this chapter more than Paul intended. In verses 1-6, Paul uses the example of a wife being bound to her husband until his death to show that believers, now dead to the law, are no longer bound by the Law. In verses 7-13, Paul shows how the Law pointed out sin to an unbelieving heart. As a matter of fact, he uses the first-person singular pronoun, I, in verse 9 to show that he was once apart from the law, but when he finally knew the Mosaic Law, he was a slave to sin.

In verse 17, Paul states, “So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which indwells me.” Paul is not stating pagan beliefs that all flesh is bad and that the spirit is good, so that people cannot be held accountable for what they do in the flesh. No, he is simply saying now that he is spiritually dead to the Law and thus to the power of sin, that he was not identified by what was done in the flesh. I’ve heard one Pastor put it this way: “Sin is a parasite living in you; sin is not who you are!” Sometimes believers get confused about this; they think that who they are is what they do, and that is not true. Who we are depends on what Jesus has done for us, and what we do depends on how we walk in the new life Jesus has given us.

Remember, from Chapter 6, we discussed that it is the same grace of God that saves us and sustains us. It is only by God’s grace, not by our own will power or fortitude, that we can turn our lives away from sin and turn to living a life that will honor our Savior. It is God who empowers us not to live a life of sin, but a life that will bring honor and glory to our risen Savior.

Be careful not to read too much into this section; remember, the overall context is that the Law no longer has control over a born-again believer. Paul states in verse 18 “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh,” Paul’s use of the first person singular pronoun “I” can get a bit confusing in this section, is he talking about the “I” before he knew the Law like in verse 9, the “I” who was under the Law as a faithful Jew like in 14, or the “I” as a redeemed believer that no longer is under the Law like in verses 24-25. Paul is making an argument to Jewish believers in the church at Rome that we, as New Covenant believers, are no longer under the bondage of the Old Testament Law; we have been set free from the control of sin (not that we will never sin again), all by the death, burial, and resurrection of our blessed Savior.

Paul ends this chapter by reminding every reader that only through our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, can we give thanks to God the Father for saving us by His grace.

"Living in Grace is not about what I can do, but about what Jesus has already done!"