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The Just Shall Live by Faith

“Freedom From the Law” Romans 7:1-25

Date:January 5, 2025
Author: Wayne J. Edwards

Introduction:

This Sunday at 6:00 PM, we will return to our study of Paul’s incredible letter to the Christians in Rome. In this sermon, we will examine Romans 7:1-25 under the heading “Freedom from the Law.”

Think about the glorious truth of this passage: Romans 7:6 – “But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.”

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The Just Shall Live by Faith
“Freedom From the Law”
Romans 7:1-25

In our study of the first six chapters of the Book of Romans, we addressed two of the greatest doctrines of the Christian faith.

  • The doctrine of Salvation – we are saved by grace through faith plus nothing – “Sola Gratia!”
  • The doctrine of Justification – we are declared righteous before God by our faith alone in Christ alone – “Sola Fide!”
  • “For by grace you have been saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.” – Ephesians 2:8-9

In chapter seven, we introduce the third great doctrine of the Christian faith:

  • The doctrine of Sanctification – that process of spiritual development that begins with our new birth and ends when we are conformed to the image of Jesus Christ.
  • “For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to become conformed to the image of His Son.” Romans 8:29

Examples or illustrations of Sanctification:

  • John 17:15-19 – “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.”
  • Psalm 119:9 –11 – “How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word. With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.”

   Robertson McQuilkin, former President of Columbia International University once said:

  • “In regards to the doctrines of our faith, it is much easier to live on either end of two extremes than in the center of biblical tension!”
  • When a biblical truth is pushed to the extreme, it becomes legalism.
  • To say we are “saved by grace” and no longer under God’s law, i.e., therefore we can live as we please, is GRACE pushed to an extreme, which is license.
  • To say we are “saved by grace”, but we must live under God’s law in order to please God is the LAW pushed to an extreme, which is legalism.

   “When we take anything that God has set for as an example or illustration of a guideline of what it means to have a closer walk with Him, and we make it a requirement for, or the evidence of genuine salvation, that is a truth pushed to the extreme, which is legalism!”

  • Legalism is to believe that we can become holy and please God by our obedience to God’s laws, or by living up to a list of spiritual disciplines.

1. The Authority of The Law – Romans 7:1-6 – Vs. 1 – “Do you not know, brethren, that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives.”

The illustration of marriage:

  • When a man and woman marry, they are united for life, or as long as their mates are alive.
  • When either partner dies the other is free from the law of that first relationship and can marry another.
  • Before a person is saved, he is bound by the law of the flesh, and had it not been for Christ, he would have been condemned by that same law.
  • When a person trusts Christ as his Savior, at that time he also died to the old law of God, just as he dies to the sins of the flesh.
  • Therefore, he is then bound to Christ, and able to walk in the newness of life.
  • God’s grace gives us both the desire and the power to do God’s Will.
  • Therefore, the law has no more power or dominion or authority over us!
  • The greatest day of your walk with the Lord will be the day you realize that you no longer have to measure up to God’s expectations to be accepted by Him.
  • All that has ever been or shall ever be required for us to be saved has been done through our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.

2. The Ministry of The Law – Romans 7:7-25 – Vs. 7 – “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, 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.”

Paul lists four things the law does for us:

  • The law reveals sin – Vs. 7
  • The law arouses sin – Vss. 8-9
  • The law kills – Vss. 10-11
  • The law shows the sinfulness of sin – Vss. 12-13

Paul lists three things the law can’t do for us:

  • The law cannot change us – Vs. 14
  • The law cannot help us do good – Vss. 15-21
  • The law cannot set us free from sin – Vss. 21-25

Beloved, when Jesus sets you free, you are free indeed!