Study session scripture: Romans 7:1-6

Or do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage. Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress.

Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. 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.

Study session topics:

• The triumph of grace over the power of the law

• Law is binding only until death

• Ancient Greek wording omits "the" in v. 1

• Paul is talking about a broader concept of law than the Law of Moses

• Death ends all obligations and contracts

• Paul's illustration: marriage

• Paul ties the idea of marriage dissolving at death to the Christian's relationship to the dominion of the law vs. the dominion of Christ

• This illustration is not allegorical (i.e. the husband does not represent the law, or Adam, or our old nature)

• Though this is an imperfect illustration, it is useful for several reasons:

  • A woman who is married to a man is under the authority of that man

  • The subjection of a wife to a husband in marriage is for life

• In spite of the permanence of this relationship and the authority it confers, there is still the possibility of entering into another relationship

• The object of marriage is to bear fruit

• Flesh vs. spirit

• The word "flesh" here has a deeper theological meaning that Paul often uses in his letters in contrast with "spirit"

• Flesh (sarx) can refer to a physical human body (Luke 24:39, Gal. 2:20), the whole of mankind (Isaiah 40:6), or our fallen, sinful nature

• v. 5 uses the latter meaning

  • It can't be a physical body, since it speaks of flesh in the past tense

  • It can't be all humanity, since it is contrasting flesh with the new life according to the Spirit

• Interpreting the use of the word "flesh" correctly is critical, because misuse of the term has given rise to the modern view of the "carnal Christian"

• Scripture does speak about and to immature Christians, but it does not support the idea of them being in a separate category of persons from "spiritual" Christians

• Scripture treats the process of sanctification for the Christian not as something that is optional, but as an inevitability (I Cor. 6:9-11, Philippians 1:6, Hebrews 9:13-14)

• In Romans 7:6, Paul presents 2 categories: captivity to sin aroused by the law, and serving in the new way of the Spirit

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Study session scripture: Romans 6:15-23

What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.

For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Study session topics:

• The Triumph of Grace over the Power of Sin, Continued

• "What then?" Paul anticipates a further objection based on a misunderstanding of his last statement in 6:14

• The antinomian again asserts that sin does not matter because "we are no longer under law but under grace"

• Paul's emphasis is that "sin will have no dominion over [us]," that freedom from the power of sin enables us to fight against sin in our lives

• Paul's new illustration: Slavery

• Echoes Christ's words in John 8:31-36

• Slave--doulos -Same word Paul used as the first descriptor of himself in Romans 1:1

• Not describing chattel slavery, but voluntary slavery

• Importantly, Paul only describes 2 options: slavery to sin, or slavery to God

• Paul acknowledges in v. 19 that this is an imperfect illustration, but it is helpful to illustrate 2 truths:

  • God does not look upon us as profitable commodities that He needs, but as weak, frail, destitute beggars whom He graciously welcomes into His house

  • We cannot entrust ourselves to be cared for by God and think that we will somehow rule the roost

• 3 Important Contrasts between Slavery to Sin and Slavery to God

  • Increasing corruption vs. increasing righteousness (v. 19)

  • Romans 1:18-32: Choosing sin over God leads to being given over to a worsening state before God

  • Increasing sanctification comes as a necessary consequence of saying "no" to sin and saying "yes" to God more and more

• Shame vs. joy (v. 20-21)

• From a Godly perspective--which we share as slaves to God--all sin is shameful

• The world gets this backwards and will often try to shame us for obeying God

• There is great joy in living with a clean conscience

• Death vs. eternal life (v. 23)

• We all, consciously or not, seek eternal life (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

• As God is the source and sustainer of all life, separation from Him means death, but being joined to Him inevitably leads to eternal life

Study session audio:

Study session scripture: Romans 6:1-14

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin.

Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

Study session topics:

• The triumph of grace over the power of sin

• “What shall we say, then?" -Paul is rhetorically asking what the logical conclusion of God's triumphant grace is (5:20-21)

• Antinomian objection: if sin is overtaken by grace, then sin doesn't matter, so sin away

• Paul's position: God's grace transforms the Christian into a person who actively fights against sin in their life

• Paul's case against antinomianism

• The Christian has died to sin--What does this mean?

• The Christian is no longer responsive to sin

• This is mistaken both because Christians do still sin and because it ignores Paul's exhortation (6:12-13)

• The Christian should die to sin

• This does take Paul's exhortation into account, but it ignores the verb tense of died-this refers to something that has already happened

• The Christian has died to sin's guilt

• While this is accurate, it doesn't answer why we can no longer live in sin

• The Christian has been freed from the dominion of sin over their life

• This view makes sense of Paul's exhortation while answering why we do not continue in sin -Paul bolsters his argument against antinomianism by returning to his discussion of unity with Christ from Chapter 5

• The vine and the branches -branches of a grape vine will bear grapes (Luke 6:43-44) -we who are nourished and strengthened by Christ's power will bear fruit in keeping with repentance

• The foundation and the house -building our house on the rock is contingent on hearing Christ's words and doing them (Matthew 7:24)

• The head and the body -a body whose limbs rebel against the brain's control is in poor health

• Marriage -habitually and willfully doing things to which your spouse is fundamentally opposed will harm your marriage

• Paul adds a new image of unity with Christ--baptism -immersion in water unites us with Christ's death -coming up from the water unites us with Christ's resurrection

• Paul goes as far as to say that our old self was crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20)

• Paul now answers a critical question: if we are not to continue in sin, how can we triumph over it? By knowing what God has done for us when he joined us to Christ

• The word know is used multiple times in this passage, and each know is followed by implications for those who have been united to Christ

• v. 3: we are buried with Christ by baptism so that we can participate in His resurrection and new life

• v. 6: our old self dying with Christ frees us from enslavement to sin

• v. 9: as Christ has died, and now lives a new life to God, so we should consider ourselves dead to the power of sin

Study session audio: