ROMANS 7:1-8:39

LESSON 7 TEMPTATION, SUFFERING & GLORY

ROMANS 7:1-8:39

What does it mean when Paul says that we are “not under the law”? Romans 7.

1. Release from the limitations of the law: a marriage metaphor (1-6).
2. A defense of the law: a past experience (7-13).
3. The weakness of the law: an inner conflict (14-25).

The right way of applying Romans 7 is to recognize that many church-goers today might be termed ‘Old-Testament Christians’. We show signs of new birth in our love for the church and the Bible, yet our religion is law, not gospel; flesh not Spirit. We all experience the struggle in our own natures between the flesh and the Spirit. We are all sinners until our death: we have an infection of nature, original sin, and are inclined to evil. See Article IX. Of Original or Birth Sin. The law and the ‘flesh’ in believers (14-20). First, the acknowledgement of innate sinfulness. Secondly, the resulting conflict between desire and performance, the will is there but the ability is not. Thirdly, indwelling sin is responsible for the failures and defeats of the person under the law. The double reality in believers under the law (21-25). First, there are two egos. The evil and the good are both present simultaneously. Secondly, there are two laws: the law of the mind and the law of sin. Thirdly, there are two cries from the hearts. A cry of longing and a cry of confidence and thanksgiving. Fourthly, there are two slaveries. The conflict is between my renewed mind and my unrenewed flesh. The victory is to be found in the indwelling Spirit whom he introduces in Romans 8.

Romans 8 is one of the best-known and best-loved chapters in the Bible. Paul contrasts the weakness of the old covenant of the law with the power of the Spirit. The Christian life is a life animated, sustained, directed and enriched by the Holy Spirit.

1. The freedom of the Spirit (1-4). The first blessing of salvation is no condemnation, or justification. The second privilege of salvation is liberation from the law of sin and death by the law of the Spirit of life or the gospel. This was accomplished by God sending his Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering and took our condemnation upon himself to fulfill all the requirements of the law in us. This explains Christian holiness or holy living – living according to God’s will. First, holiness is the ultimate purpose of the incarnation and the atonement. The end God had in view when sending his Son was not our justification only, through freedom from the condemnation of the law, but also our holiness, through obedience to the commandments of the law. Secondly, holiness consists in fulfilling the just requirements of the law. The moral law has not been abolished for us; it is to be fulfilled in us. Although law-obedience is not the ground of our justification (it is in this sense that we are ‘not under law but under grace’) it is the fruit of it and the very meaning of sanctification. Holiness is Christlikeness, and Christlikeness is fulfilling the righteousness of the law. Thirdly, holiness is the work of the Holy Spirit.
2. The mind of the Spirit (5-8). Obedience to the law is possible only to those who walk according to the Spirit. Flesh = the sin-dominated self. Spirit = the personal Holy Spirit who regenerates and indwells the people of God. First, our mindset expresses our basic nature as Christians or non-Christians. Our nature determines our mindset. To ‘set the mind’ is what preoccupies us, of the ambitions which drive us and the concerns which engross us, of how we spend our time and our energies, of what we concentrate on and give ourselves up to. Secondly, our mindset has eternal consequences: spiritual death or life and peace. Thirdly, our mindset concerns our fundamental attitude to God: hostile to God and cannot please God because they cannot submit to his law, whereas those who are in the Spirit set themselves to please him in everything. Where we focus our mind and how we occupy it, plays a key role in our present conduct and our final destiny.
3. The indwelling of the Spirit (9-13). Verse 9 is of great importance in relation to our doctrine of the Holy Spirit. Verse 13 becomes a very significant verse on the neglected topic of ‘mortification’ (the process of putting to death the body’s misdeeds). It clarifies at least three truths about it. First, what is mortification? It is neither masochism nor asceticism but a crucifixion of our fallen nature with all its passions and desires – every use of our body which serves ourselves instead of God and other people. Secondly, how does mortification take place? We must totally repudiate everything we know to be wrong. As Jesus taught (Matt.5:29f.). That is, if temptation comes to us through what we see, handle or visit, then we must be ruthless in not looking, no touching, not going, and so in controlling the very approaches of sin. Positively, we are to set our minds on the things the Spirit desires, set our hearts on things above (Col.3:1f.) and occupy our thoughts with what is noble, right, pure and lovely (Phil.4:8). Thirdly, why should we practice mortification? Rich, abundant, satisfying life can be enjoyed only by those who put their misdeeds to death.
4. The witness of the Spirit (14-17). Suffering and glory belong together as they did in the experience of Christ and his people. They characterize the present and the future, our human frailty and future glorification. They are not comparable but contrasted. Creation is suffering and groaning now but will be freed by renewal of all things. We look forward expectantly to it being revealed to us.

5. The sufferings and glory of God’s creation (18-22). First, the creation was subject to frustration (20a): emptiness, futility, purposelessness, transitoriness. cf. Ecclesiastes: vanity, the existential absurdity of a life lived ‘under the sun’, imprisoned in time and space, with no ultimate reference point to either God or eternity. Secondly, the creation itself will be liberated (21a): from decay (entropy), the cycle of decline, predation, pain, disintegration; out of bondage into freedom, out of corruption into incorruption, the renewal of the messianic age as described in Ps.102:25ff., Is.17ff; 66:22; 35:1ff.;11:6ff.; Rev.21,22. Thirdly, the whole creation has been groaning in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time (22). There is both continuity and discontinuity in the regeneration of the world, as in the resurrection of the body. The universe is not going to be destroyed, but rather liberated, transformed and suffused with the glory of God. The work of the church is to work towards that new birth in creation.

6. The sufferings and glory of God’s children (23-27). First, we have the first fruits of the Spirit (23a). The indwelling Spirit is the first installment, deposit, down payment which guarantees the future completion of the purchase and foretaste of the promise. Secondly, we groan inwardly (23b). Some Christians grin too much (they seem to have no place in their theology for pain) and groan too little. The indwelling Spirit gives us joy, and coming glory gives us hope, but the interim suspense gives us pain. We share with the creation in the frustration, the bondage to decay and the pain. One reason for our groaning is our physical frailty and mortality (2 Cor. 5:2,4). We long for our sinful nature to be destroyed and for our body to be transformed. Thirdly, we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies (23c). While we are already adopted and redeemed spiritually our bodies still have to be changed by Christ to be like his glorious body. Fourthly, in this hope we were saved (24a). In this life we remain only half-saved. For we have not yet been saved from the day of judgment, nor have the final vestiges of sin in our human personality been eradicated. We are saved in hope of our total liberation, as is the creation. We hope for what we do not yet have (25a). Fifthly, we wait for it patiently (25b). We wait with keen expectation in the endurance of our trials. We are neither impatient and presumptuous in demanding of God answers now nor apathetic and pessimistic in being passive and unexpectant. The Holy Spirit prays for us in our hearts. We do not know what to pray for because we are unsure whether to pray for deliverance for our sufferings or for strength to endure them (26-27). We and the Holy Spirit groan together. God empathizes with our suffering and shares it with us. He intercedes for us and in us. God the Father, who both searches our hearts and knows the Spirit’s mind, hears and answers accordingly.

7. The steadfastness of God’s love (28-39). Five unshakeable convictions (28). First, we know that God works, or is at work, in our lives. Secondly, God is at work for the good of his people. Thirdly, God works for our good in all things. Nothing is beyond the overruling, overriding scope of his providence. Fourthly, God works in all things for the good of those who love him. Fifthly, those who love God are also described as those who have been called according to his purpose. Life is not the random mess which it may sometimes appear. Five undeniable affirmations (29-30). Five unanswerable questions (31-39).