Sabbath School Lesson for November 18-24, 2017
Taken alone, Romans 7 has many problems for its readers. Its message may have been less problematic for the audience it originally reached in Paul’s day, but Bible scholars have since struggled with it for centuries. It seems that Paul was speaking from an autobiographical perspective since he refers to his own experience. But in some verses, it just isn’t clear whether he’s speaking of his life before or after his conversion.
We must take this passage in context with the surrounding chapters though. This controversial chapter evidently serves to expand on the same themes in chapter 6, with chapter 8 encapsulating the same conclusions. As a matter of fact, many scholars choose to examine the entire first eight chapters of Romans as a whole, in order to get the broadest view of the subject of concern for Paul.
One must remember who Paul was trying to reach with this epistle. He had just dealt with the Galatian church, regarding false teachers requiring Gentiles to be circumcised and engage in other Jewish customs.
This was a difficult time for the Jewish people who were convicted that Jesus was the Messiah. Their entire Jewish religious system, which was centered on the law and was intended to instruct God’s people about the Messiah, was being replaced by a new system. Instead of their Jewish identity, they were expected to adopt this new Christ-centered, or Christian, identity.
Memory Verse: “Now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we are held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.” Romans 7:6 KJV
We must NOT conclude from this verse, and others, that the old system was bad, as God had given it; although much of it had either lost its true significance or had been corrupted over time. The new system was better, only in the fact that it involved Christ Jesus, the One to whom all the sanctuary symbols pointed.
Which is better, one’s image in a mirror, or the actual person standing before the mirror? The image does serve a purpose (as did the Jewish system), but it must be seen as inferior to the actual person seen in front of the mirror (in this case, the Lamb of God).
Sunday: Dead to the Law
The first verse in chapter 7 reveals the audience Paul addresses. “…I speak to those who know the law…” Obviously, he refers to Jewish converts in Rome, who knew the law intimately. To them, that law would include all the commandments of God, written down by Moses.
But let’s try to understand the illustration Paul uses to explain his statements about the law, sin, and death. He uses an example of a wife who is bound to her husband as long as that husband lives. But if he dies, she is free to marry another and not be called an adulteress.
Paul seems to be describing the need for the Jews to leave their former religious “husband” and embrace this new “husband”, which involves the Messiah they have been waiting for. It must have been very difficult, as it sometimes is in real life, for the Jews to let go of their former way of doing things, and adopt other ceremonies and practices of this new Christian faith.
Verse 6, our memory verse, coming at the end of this illustration, seems to bring our attention to another metaphor, used in chapter 6. Here Paul spoke clearly about the man of sin being dead, resulting in a new life with Christ.
Here’s where the metaphors get a bit sticky. The person who lives (the wife) is also the one who dies (the sinner). On top of that, instead of saying that sin has died, verse 6 in chapter 7 says that the law has died. Perhaps even Paul’s immediate readers raised their eyebrows at that statement. Paul must have sensed their astonished reaction, as we’ll discover in the rest of the chapter.
Discussion Questions: Read Romans 7:1. Who was Paul chiefly addressing, and what law would they have thought Paul was referring to?
Read Romans 7:2-4. What was the probable meaning of this illustration? Who represented the characters in the story? Why do you think God uses a woman to represent His church?
Read Romans 7:5, 6. How are our passions “aroused by the law”? In what way does the law “hold us”? What is a better way to keep the law?
Monday: Sin and the Law
We might wish to substitute the word “sin” for “law” in Romans 7:6 (“But now we have been delivered from [sin]”) , but Paul states emphatically in the very next verse that the law is not sin.
“What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrast, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, ‘You shall not covet.’ “ Romans 7:7 NKJV
So, the law is not the same as sin. Paul told us earlier in Romans 3:20 that “by the law is the knowledge of sin”. He therefore upholds the value of the law for its ability to point out our sin.
And we are not to question which law is included in this assessment. Paul mentions one of the precepts in the moral law, about coveting, as an example of the law’s value. One would assume that the moral law would still be included in the Christian era, since it had existed in unspoken form before the time of Moses.
What Paul is attempting to do is to build a bridge from those Jews (who revere the law) to Christ (the fulfillment of that law). Their faulty thinking had caused them to view the law as a means of salvation, when, in fact, it was only intended to show them their need of salvation. Only Christ can enable any of us to keep His law. This was the point Paul so desperately needed to impart to his readers.
Discussion Questions: Read Romans 7:7, and 3:20. Why would Paul specifically mention one of the Ten Commandments in his assertion that the law was still needed? How does this assure us that Paul intended for the Ten Commandments to be binding on Christians today?
Read Matthew 5:17-19. How does Jesus confirm that each of the moral Ten Commandments are important? What law did Christ mostly address in His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7)? Which of the Ten Commandments do Christians today say was changed? How does this faulty thinking about the Sabbath and the commandments cloud our understanding of Romans 7?
Read Romans 7:8-11. How can sin be dead without the law (v. 8)? What deceived and killed Paul then, the law or sin (v. 11)?
Tuesday: The Law Is Holy
Paul emphatically pronounced the law, not only holy, but just and good in verse 12. David certainly agreed with that assessment. In Psalm 19, David wrote “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul” (v. 7)
There’s a fine line here that most of the Jewish nation had crossed. They failed to see that the law cannot save us, that it only leads to our salvation. Therefore, without Christ enabling us to do good, the law is of no value.
That’s why Jesus said, ” ‘…unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.’ “ Matthew 7:20 NKJV You cannot leave the Messiah out of the picture. Obedience is worthless without the love of God, motivating and enabling our good behavior.
Paul contrasts himself with this holy law in verse 14 of chapter 7: “For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin.” NKJV Here he attempted to point out to the Jews that in their fallen state of sin, in which we are all born, there is no hope of our obedience being acceptable to God.
His lack of freedom under this fallen state is described in the next few verses. Under this carnal state, (being sold under sin, in other words, in bondage to Satan), he is ambivalent about his actions. “For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.” Romans 7:15 NKJV
Discussion Questions: Read Romans 7:12 and Psalm 19:8, 9. If the law, which is but a reflection of God’s character, is so pure and holy, how much more so would be our actual Father in heaven? Why does God want to see us reflect His character?
Read Romans 7:13. Why is our sin seen as even more abhorrent when viewed through the law? Have you heard of people holding up a white tissue next to their smile to see how white their teeth are? How would the law be like that tissue?
Read Romans 7:14, 15, 6:14 and Galatians 5:17, 18. What is the only way to not be “under the law”, or experiencing such fierce battles with our sinful desires?
Wednesday: The Man of Romans 7
Romans 7 is thought to be the strongest defense of the law in all of Paul’s writings. Although the law does not save us, it has value in pointing out our sin. This is why the man of Romans 7 had such a difficult time not sinning. The law informed him that its standards were beyond his capability to achieve. But this knowledge eventually motivates us to go to the Source of the law. Our ambivalence is at least minimalized as we come to know God more intimately.
Being left to wonder whether the man of Romans 7 is Paul before or after his conversion may be immaterial. Perhaps he represents both. As long as we are on this sinful planet, we will be plagued by sinful desires. No one can rightfully say he has attained that state of perfection expressed in the law. So until Jesus comes to our rescue at His Second Coming, we will all be held in bondage of some sort on this planet.
Some may use Romans 7 as an excuse to go on sinning. It does seems to give the impression that no matter how hard we try, we will never measure up to God’s expectations. In fact, this is partially true. Our efforts alone will never be enough. But, as Paul wraps up the chapter, we find that God, through Jesus, can cause us to serve the right master, and to fully obey the requirements of His moral law.
Discussion Questions: Read Romans 7:16, 17. Does sin still dwell in us after we are baptized, and why? Is that why we sin?
Read Romans 7:18-20. Is our own will power enough to keep us from sinning? What has to happen to our will, in order for it to be used in our fight not to sin?
Read Exodus 24:7 and 32:7, 8. How can the Lord lead us out of our “old covenant” way of thinking? Why is this thinking as dangerous, or more so, as other forms of outward disobedience?
Thursday: Saved From Death
The only way to reach the Jews, who were struggling with their identity, was to show them who they really were. They must see themselves as sinners, just like everyone else. No matter how well they may have thought they were keeping God’s commandments, Paul reminded them that their inward yearnings indicated that the man of sin still needed to be overcome.
Paul aptly describes the battle that we all have with self. The “law of sin” (in his members, where our sinful desires often appeared openly) battles with the “law of God” (in his mind, but sometimes unable to result in outward actions). The Jews who read his letter must have felt that, at last, someone recognized how hard they had been struggling to keep God’s law, and how apparently impossible their task was without God’s help.
Finally, after describing this “wretched man”, Paul offers them the answer to their dilemma. Only God can make sense of their awful struggle and give them any hope of conquering their sinful desires.
Discussion Questions: Read Romans 7:21-23, 6:13, 19, Galatians 5:17 and 2 Corinthians 4:16. How are the mind and our body both instruments of righteousness and unrighteousness? Does Paul see this as a hopeless situation?
Read Romans 7:24, 25, 8:2 and 1 Corinthians 15:54-58. Are we to just wait till death to win the victory over our sins?
Read Romans 7:25. Since Paul refers to himself with a mind to serve the law of God, how is he trying to reach those converted Jews in Rome, who read his letter? How can one, who’s been converted, still struggle with the intensity Paul describes in this chapter?
Summary
This week we explored…
- the meaning of the story of the widow who remarries (Sunday)
- why Paul used the law as a bridge to the Jewish believers (Monday)
- the reasons why the law was holy, just, and good (Tuesday)
- the man of Romans 7 having an “old covenant” experience (Wednesday)
- who, not what, saves us (Thursday)
Final Thoughts
A greater question to be asking ourselves may not be who the man of Romans 7 is, but who are we?
- Our old identity may not have been when we outwardly disobeyed God, but when we inwardly detested His restrictions, based on the law.
- Our new identity must be based on grace, but also on obedience to the law, which only grace makes possible.
What kind of obedience are we offering to God now? That is the question to consider daily.
“By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain…and through it he being dead still speaks” Hebrews 11:4 NKJV
We must have Abel’s faith, which enabled him to obey God, even though it meant his life.
Next Week: No Condemnation
To read the Sabbath School Lesson Quarterly or see more resources for its study, go to https://www.absg.adventist.org/
All Outlook blogposts by Teresa Thompson, are at http://outlookmag.org/author/teresathompson/
