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Paul talks about the marriage covenant being done away,
not the Ten Commandments
Fred R. Coulter—August 14, 2021
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Greetings, everyone! Welcome to Sabbath services! We're going to have a very interesting Sabbath today.
- How do you find out how to understand something difficult?
- What steps do you take?
We're going to cover Rom. 7, which is one of the most difficult Scriptures of the writings of Paul to understand. We'll find out about that in a minute.
I just want to cover a few things before we begin. We're still sending out lots of the vaccination exemptions. If they give you a rough time, you just ask them:
- Are you above the Constitution?
- Are you above the Supreme Court? The Supreme Court voted that you can't do this!
- Did the Legislature pass a law? No!
- Was it signed by the President? No!
- Does the CDC have the power to make law? NO!
Don't back down to them! You make them back down to you!
You can tell them that they have no authority, because whatever authority that 'you assume that you have' has not been properly given by Congress, nor has it been voted on by the people.
Article: Gravitas: A 'Superhero vaccine' that changes your genes
{https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/world/gravitas-a-superhero-vaccine-that-changes-your-genes/vp-AALYwEA}
A Stanford scientist is developing a 'Superhero vaccine' that will prevent death from heart diseases, strokes, liver problems. The jab will be based on the DNA of Olympic athletes, and will change your genetic make-up forever.
So, behind the closed secret doors of some of these place where they say that they are the wise and intelligent, and that they know more than anyone else, who have rejected God, rejected common sense, they are actually working straight out for Satan the devil to control this world.
This will also give you a good understanding as to why when Christ returns He has to virtually destroy everything everywhere! You read in Rev. 16 that all the cities of the earth collapse. Think about the job that's going to create.
The jab will be based on the DNA of Olympic athletes, and will change your genetic make-up forever.
If you're on Zoom you're owned by China! I would like you to stop and think about—I'm not going to spend any time on it—what has happened to us and look it at from the Chinese point of view. How much have they accomplished to conquer America to date without ever firing a shot! The #1 thing they've done with the closedown is to kill the Christian church, and that's a stroke of God. We'll find out why in a minute.
Where do we begin, because as we will see, in Rom. 7—we won't go there now—there are at least seven mentions of law or the law. The Protestants totally misinterpret that. Let's begin with the basis of all law! When you have a law, you also have free moral agency, and if someone goes against the law you have to have some kind of penalty; it's automatic!
Just like if you're walking along and you trip and fall and scrape your knee, whatever happened there—though it was an accident—you broke the law of walking and fell on your knee and it's automatic.
Most people, especially Protestants, don't understand that the Law is always working on everyone everywhere in the world, regardless of where they are.
The basis of law comes from God! He's the One Who made it, created it and it's a reflection of God's character, a reflection of Who He is.
Because they—the scribes and Pharisees—were always asking which is the greatest commandment, because they wanted to know if any of their traditions were greater than the things of God.
Matthew 22:35: "And one of them, a doctor of the Law, questioned Him, tempting Him, and saying, 'Master, which commandment is the great commandment in the Law?'" (vs 35-36).
Here it is right here. Protestants always say that they love God, but 'we don't keep the Law.' That's like saying that we have water but don't drink it.
Verse 37: "And Jesus said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God… [based on love; notice what it involves]: …with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind'"—and all your strength! That shows that it envelops everything about you physically, mentally and emotionally.
Verse 39: "And the second one is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"
What else did Jesus tell us to do as disciples? Love one another as I have loved you! And we're to love our enemies. That's the basis of all law.
Let's see some other things concerning the laws of God, whether they are good. They're all good, but the Protestants think they're evil. Not true!
Let's find out something about Jesus Christ, what was prophesied that He would do. We will see that Jesus did not say that He came to do away with the Law. We will see that that is diametrically opposite of the Truth.
Isaiah 42:21: "The LORD is well pleased for His righteousness sake…" This is talking about Jesus Christ!
Let me just mention concerning Isaiah; it's a very difficult book to understand and read, because it has so many different prophecies.
- some for the time that they were living in
- some for the end of the age
- some for the immediate future
- some for a little further in the distance
- some for the Gentiles
- some for Israel
- some for the Jews
And many things directly, personally, to each person. They're not listed in any chronological order; they can be mixed up into things to where you don't understand them. That's why you've got to know God's plan, His Holy Days, so you can know where they fit.
Here's what Jesus said that He would do; "…He will magnify the Law and make it glorious" (v 21)—or spiritual! The King James says 'honorable.' That's one of the main things that Jesus was going to do.
What did Jesus say about the Law? Let's remember what Jesus said when He was being tempted by Satan the devil. Satan came along and said that 'if you're God, command that these stones become bread. What did Jesus say? Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God! Think about that with the Protestants.
- Does that mean some of the words of God?
- All of the words of God?
- What does that mean?
If there is a change in the Law, which there was— we just read it 'to make it honorable' or 'glorious'—by elevating it.
You had the letter of the Law without the Spirit of God, and they couldn't keep the letter of the Law. Now Christ comes and He makes it spiritual and what does He give us to do it? The Holy Spirit!
Here's another key thing for everything in the Bible, especially the New Testament:
John 6:63: "It is the Spirit that gives life; the flesh profits nothing…."
Stop and think about it; He's talking about the Holy Spirit here, but every human being in the world has the spirit of man—man and woman! Every human being has free moral agency. Every human being when they reach a certain age—around 16-19—both male and female think they know more than their parents! Then comes about age 30 they understand that their parents were right.
- Why waste 12 years?
- Why not understand when you're 18 that there's a God?
- that He made you and has a purpose for you?
- that He has a plan for you?
But He's given you free moral agency, so if you want to run down the road and do whatever you want to do, you can do that. Consequences will come with that, that's how it works out!
Here's the main thing about the Word of God: Who was Jesus before He came in the flesh? The Lord God of the Old Testament!
John 6:63: "It is the Spirit that gives life; the flesh profits nothing…."
How many accounts in the Bible do we have showing that the most evil people always come to nothing?
If you watch American History Channel, it seems as though they run about Adolf Hitler over and over again. But:
- Did he come to nothing?
- Did Stalin come to nothing?
- Did Mao come to nothing?
- Did Mussolini come to nothing?
- Did Tojo come to nothing?
"…The words that I speak to you, they are Spirit and they are Life" (v 63).
Everyone wants to live. Everybody feels, inside of them, that they're not going to die, even though people die all the time. Go by a graveyard that has nothing but crosses for the veterans and think 'Oh my, they sacrificed their life.' But you think nothing about your life.
When you get as old as I am—87—you know it's coming! But how far down the road? I don't know! A lot of that will depend on me, but most of it depends on God. I better take care of myself, and if I don't that's not God's fault. I have to be careful. "…The words that I speak to you, they are Spirit and they are Life."
The Protestants use Rom. 7 to do away with the Law. It says, 'you're cleared from the Law.' I heard this minister say, 'You're cleared from the Law and you appropriate righteousness from God.'
Does anybody take anything from God? Think about it! You go to God and say, 'God, give me this…' He's not going to do that!
Now, here's a very difficult Scripture to understand. I already talked about love:
John 14:15: "If you love Me, keep the commandments…"
Someone will say, 'Lord, which?' The answer is, 'all that happen your way!'
"…—namely, My commandments" (v 15).
Let's back this up with some more. The Protestants believe in Jesus.
- Do they call on Jesus' name?
- How many times do you hear them talk about the Father? Very little!
- What did John write about that? You have to have the Father and the Son!
- IF you don't have the Father, you don't have eternal life!
- IF you don't have the Son, you don't have forgiveness!
The Protestants rely mostly on Jesus; the Jews and Judaism reject everything in the New Testament! Yet, they fail to understand that there 356 prophecies in the Old Testament about Jesus.
Luke 6:46[transcriber's correction]: "And why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord'… [Isn't that what they do?] …but you do not practice… [this is more than keeping, because practice is habitual keeping] …what I say?"
- What are the three words that we have found in the Old Testament that apply all the time?
- The key three words that God wants us to remember? Obey My voice!
- What do we have in Matthew, Mark , Luke and John? The words of Jesus!
- Do you want to know what they are?
- read them
- study them
- pray about them
- do them
The thing they want to do away with more than anything else is the Sabbath Day!
If you go on Wikipedia and they write up about Sunday as the Lord's Day, and the eighth day as if it were the most natural thing to do. They save clear to the end that some counter arguments will know that there are a lot of people who keep the Sabbath the 7th day, etc.
Remember: "And why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord' but you do not practice what I say?" Let's read what He said:
Mark 2:27: "And He said to them, 'The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath; therefore, the Son of man is Lord even of the Sabbath'" (vs 27-28).
- Which day is the Lord's day?
- Do you want to know what they do to proclaim the Lord's day?
Some translate Rev. 1:10 as 'I was in the Spirit on Sunday…'—so therefore, we're keeping the Lord's day! NO!
Revelation 1:10: "I was in the Spirit on the Day of the Lord…"
The Day of the Lord meaning the day in which all the events coming to the end are going to come upon us! Not Sunday!
- What happens if you don't keep the Word of God?
- What is that called? Sin, iniquity, wickedness!
Let's see what it is! Let me just say this:
When Jerome translated the Bible for Constantine, he took the General Epistles of the apostles—because they're Jewish—and put them toward the end. They should follow the book of Acts. Why? Because these epistles tell us what we are to do after we're baptized! How do we live our lives? The Epistle of 1-John tells us all about this!
1-John 3:4: "Everyone who practices sin…" That means living in sin!
What is sin? The KJV translates it as 'transgression of the Law.' That's a pretty good translation, but it's even more; it covers more.
"…is also practicing lawlessness…" (v 4). There are many kinds of lawlessness!
- little fudging over here
- rejecting complete commandments over there
- being against God always
"…for sin is lawlessness" (v 4).
Has anyone ever come to God—all you popes and cardinals out there, listen up; or those of you who believe in them—and all your 'genius philosophers' every thought of something that was so important that it had to be taken up by God personally?
- Is God perfect?
- Is God righteous?
- Is God Holy?
- Does God have all knowledge?
- Is God love?
- Is God merciful?
- Is God forgiving?
YES! And He's still God!
Since God is eternal and lives forever, and has perfect knowledge, how can a man who has temporary life that came from God—yet, it's only physical with a physical mind with the philosophy of the world—add a single thing to the Word of God?
That's exactly what the Catholic Church has done! And what the Protestant Church has done! "…sin is lawlessness" (v 4).
It's amazing! Sometimes I've been doing this in working on the Interlinear, what we had to do is re-typeset all of the Greek. I have to edit the Greek and the English at the same time. I'm amazed how easy it is to forget about studying Matthew, Mark Luke and John, because 'we're advanced'—so-called—in the knowledge of God. No, we're not! That's when you get yourself in trouble.
Matthew 7:12: "Therefore, everything that you would have men do to you, so also do to them; for this is the Law and the Prophets."
When you're talking to someone, ask them: How would you like to live in Perfectville? It's a wonderful little town. They have no police. Isn't that what they want? 'Don't fund the police.' They don't have locks on the doors. All the children are loving and obedient; they're not gangsters. There are no drugs.
- What's the secret?
- How do they do it?
It's really very simple! Everyone there lives by the Ten Commandments! They have the right God, no idols, don't take His name in vain. And the most important: remember the Sabbath Day! Then you have honor father and mother, shall not murder, shall not commit adultery, shall not steal, shall not bear false witness, and shall not covet.
- nobody steals
- no murder
- no adultery
- everybody is honest
- Wouldn't you like to live in Perfectville?
- Why are you against the Ten Commandments?
Verse 13: "Enter in through the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter through it."
Get out a history book and see how many civilizations ended in destruction, wars, fighting, killing, assassinations, abortion, whatever you want to name.
Verse 14: "For narrow is the gate and difficult is the way that leads to life, and few are those who find it."
Here's what He talked about how many times? How many times did Jesus talk about this:
Verse 15: "But beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, for within they are ravening wolves."
Did we see that happen in the Church? Yes, we did! Since you don't know their thoughts and you can't read their heart, but you can observed what they do.
Verse 16: "You shall know them by their fruits. They do not gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles, do they? In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a corrupt tree produces evil fruit. A good tree cannot produce evil fruit, nor can a corrupt tree produce good fruit" (vs 16-18).
From man's way—which is the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil—what do we have? There is some good! But remember that the same sap that feeds that tree also feeds the evil. That's why the good can never prevail!
You hear people say that 'if all good men will get together… They have probably said that through ever generation down through time.
Verse 20: "Therefore, you shall assuredly know them by their fruits."
What do they produce? I just read to you about scientists in Stanford who are trying to find the ageless gene that they're now going to vaccinate everyone with and you will live forever.
Isn't that interesting? Even the most evil people in the world—some of the highest scientists and smartest of all—want to live forever. But if you gave them the Bible, they'd throw it out. Why? Because they're better than the Bible! Wait until they're resurrected! Won't that be nice when we're spirit beings, and they're resurrected and we look at them and say, 'Now what do you think?' That will be something!
Verse 21: "Not everyone who says to Me 'Lord, Lord' shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but the one who is doing the will of My Father, Who is in heaven."
There it is again! Why don't you do what I say? Jesus did everything the Father told Him to do. Everything the Father showed Him to do. Jesus said, 'I didn't come to do My own will, but the will of Him Who sent Me.' the one who is doing the will of My Father, Who is in heaven."
Now look at what's going to happen. The greatest surprise of all. I thought about this: Just suppose I had an opportunity to speak to a room full of Sunday-keeping ministers, and to tell them that they are the cause of all of our troubles, because of their lawlessness! Right away I would probably be dead on the spot!
How do I tell them that the most important thing that they need to do is what they hate: keep the commandments of God and the Sabbath Day! "…but the one who is doing the will of My Father, Who is in heaven." And they will talkback to Him:
Verse 22: "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy through Your name?…. [Did you speak it in truth?] …And did we not cast out demons through Your name?….'"
Remember that even in Jesus' day, the disciples came to Jesus and said, 'We saw some who were casting out demons in Your name and we forbade them.' Jesus said, 'Those who are not against us, are on our part.' That doesn't mean they have conversion! They're just not against us.
I saw some of the meetings that they have in Africa or India, and they can have up to 200,000 there. They get up there and are casting out demons and falling backward and waving their hands praising the Lord. They will come up and say, 'Look at what we did.'
Jesus will say, 'That was not of Me.' Well, we did it in Your name! 'You didn't keep My commandments.' Well, we were meaning to do good! 'You can't do good if you reject My commandments. Just because some had demons cast out of them, that doesn't mean that you are anything.'
"'…And did we not perform many works of power through Your name?' And then I will confess to them, 'I never knew you. Depart from Me, you who work lawlessness'" (vs 22-23).
Let's look at how vital the Laws of God are. There is a lot of New Testament in Psa. 19.
- Who wrote this Psalm? David did!
- Is He going to be in the Kingdom of God? Yes, he is!
Remember that the Protestants don't even open the Old Testament enough to come to find out this one basic first, and this one little sentence. That would start to cure everything that they're doing.
Psalm 19:7: "The Law of the LORD is perfect…"
They say it's hateful! Why? Because they're only looking at sin! They're not looking at the true fruits of righteousness.
"…restoring the soul… [everything about your whole body] …the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple" (v 7).
Do you want to be wise in the Lord? or Wise in the world? If you're wise in the world, you're stupid and a fool!
Verse 8: "The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandments of the LORD are pure… [nothing evil about them] …enlightening the eyes." In other words, giving you a clear vision of what things actually are!
Verse 9: "The fear of the LORD is clean… [keeps you out of trouble and harm] …enduring forever; the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether,"
This is before the salvation of the New Testament. How much is it worth?
Verse 10: "More to be desired than gold, yea, much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover, by them Your servant is warned…" (vs 10-11).
How do you get warned? Read the Word of God! The words are spiritual and God's Spirit is with you!
"… in keeping them there is great reward. Who can understand his errors?…." (vs 11-12).
- Do you really know your human nature?
- Do you really understand how evil it really, really is?
God Word and Spirit will reveal it to you! For what purpose? So you can repent! That's what God wants, and that's why conversion is in the mind!
- What does it say in Heb. 10 about the laws and commandments of God?
- Where are they going to be?
- Is God going to send you a tablet of stone written with His finger, saying 'Here are the Ten Commandments'?
- Where does God want them?
Right here written in the heart and in the mind!
Why? Because it's perfect, it's righteous, it will help you in the way that you need to go!
Psalm 119:18: "Open my eyes…"
- How much can God show you spiritually? Whatever He desires!
- Who is He going to show it to? Those right back where we started at the very first who love Him!
"…so that I may behold wondrous things out of Your Law" (v 18).
Verse 30: "I have chosen the way of Truth…" Think about that! God's Law is Truth, every bit of it. There's no lie in it!
"…I have laid Your judgments before me. I cleave to Your testimonies; O LORD, do not put me to shame…. [notice how David keeps the Laws of God] …I will run the way of Your commandments for You shall enlarge my heart…. [notice what happens with that] …Teach me, O LORD…" (vs 30-33)
Do you every ask God to teach you when you're studying His Word alone and you're on your knees praying asking Him to open your mind, your heart and help you?
"…the way of Your statutes, and I shall keep it unto the end. Give me understanding, that I may keep Your Law and observe it with all my heart…. [sounds like Matt. 22] …Make me to walk in the path of Your commandments, for I delight in them" (vs 33-35).
Those are some very important things to remember!
Now, we will get into Rom. 7 and see if we can understand that most difficult chapter in the Bible, because some people wonder, after reading it the first time, was Paul ever converted? Quite a question!
(break@40:36)
Remember where we read in Luke 6, 'Why call me Lord, Lord and do not practice what I say.'
Matthew 5:17: "Do not think…"
What do you think that means? Don't let it enter into your mind!
"…that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets… [now comes a slight of hand] …I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill" (v 17).
So, they say that when He fulfilled it, it's no longer required. Has everything in the Law and the Prophets been fulfilled? NO! They are in the process of being fulfilled! Notice how long the Law and the Prophets are going to be:
Verse 18: "For truly I say to you, until the heaven and the earth shall pass away…"
- Have they passed away?
- You don't exist; you're not here?
We know that it's going to (Rev. 21 & 22). But what will we have? The New Heaven and the New Earth where righteousness dwells! Remember what I brought out about Perfectville; it'll be perfect!
"…one jot or one tittle… [parts of writings of the Old Testament] …shall in no way pass from the Law until everything has been fulfilled. Therefore, whoever… [man or woman] …shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but whoever shall practice and teach them, this one shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. For I say to you, unless your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees…" (vs 18-20).
Why did He say that your righteousness has to exceed what they do? Everybody in Protestantism and Catholicism believe that what Judaism practices is the Old Testament! Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!
It's their own traditions! Jesus said, 'Full well you reject the commandment of God that you keep your traditions.' Like one rabbi told Roy Assanti. Roy said, 'You would be just like us if you didn't have your traditions.' The rabbi said, 'If we didn't have our traditions, we would have nothing.'
That tells you what they think about the Law of God! If you teach the Truth of God and the love of God, you're teaching a righteousness that is greater than the scribes and Pharisees. Then you'll be in the Kingdom of God!
If you're confronted with a Protestant sometime, ask: What is sin? After Paul explains that, through:
- repentance
- baptism
- the blood of Christ
- being justified
- having contact with God
Romans 6:1: "What then shall we say? Shall we continue in sin so that grace may abound?"
Remember that sin is the transgression of the Law and lawlessness!
Verse 2: "MAY IT NEVER BE!…. [Why?] …We who died to sin, how shall we live any longer therein?"
Verse 23: "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord."
Romans 7:1: "Are you ignorant, brethren (for I am speaking to those who know law)…" That is all law in general, meaning:
- the laws of God
- the laws of the land
How they work and so forth!
"…that the law rules over a man for as long a time as he may live?" (v 1).
If it rules over you, what are you under? You're under the law!
Romans 6:14: "For sin shall not rule over you because you are not under law…"
Does the law rule over everybody regardless of where they are, whether they know God or not?
Sidebar: If you don't believe that some of the laws in overseas' countries are strict, watch Locked Up Abroad sometime. That will teach you a lesson.
Your relationship with God is not just the commandments.
- Why?
- Is it that you know the commandments and keep the commandments? Yes, you do!
- How do you keep them?
- Why do you keep them?
- What is it that you have that the world doesn't have?
Some of them keep some of the Laws of God, but:
- What about you?
- What do you have?
The Spirit of God from God the Father and Jesus Christ (John 14)! That is under grace!
- you have the Spirit of God
- you live by the words of God
- you pray to God
- God leads you
You're under grace!
There is no person who is going to come to God and say, 'I've done this and You must give me eternal life.' Then you're telling God that you've earned it. If you don't believe that is true, study the book of Job. Everything that Job did was what God laid out that he should do.
So, what Job was doing was not his own, but he thought it was his own, his own righteousness. He was so stubborn and so convinced that he was right that he had to go through all of these trials and then for God to come and speak to him personally before he understood: Yes, Lord, I'm vial! Yet, Job was the most righteous man in the world.
"…but under grace" (v 14)—you have direct contact with God the Father and Jesus Christ! It does not mean that you can break any of the Laws of God you want and you're not held accountable.
Romans 7:2: "For the woman who is married is bound by law to the husband as long as he is living…" One single law!
That's not all the laws in the Book of the Law. But that's what the Protestants believe.
"…but if the husband should die, she is released from the law that bound her to the husband. So then, if she should marry another man as long as the husband is living, she shall be called an adulteress; but if the husband should die she is free from the law…" (vs 2-3).
Right there is where the Protestants come and say that you are free from the Law, the Ten Commandments! I heard it myself. They never ask which law? The law of marriage! Not all the Laws of God. If a husband dies, you say you can now break all the laws and not be held accountable??? Some might, who knows!
If you're married to a real mean man, you'd be happy. Of if you were married to a real mean woman, you'd be happy. But it doesn't mean that!
This is what it means (added for clarity): "…that bound her to the husband…" (v 3). That's the law; not all the Laws of God!
"…so that she is no longer an adulteress if she is married to another man" (v 3).
The parallel is that Paul brought this marriage out because he was talking to Jews at Rome. What were the Jews under? The Old Covenant, which the Lord said that He was the husband of Israel!
A covenant is such that you can't get rid of it by abrogation. It doesn't happen! A covenant is bound that both parties give a pledge of their death (Gen. 15 & 22—God and Abraham). When you have a covenant you are bound by that covenant until one of the participants dies.
Since all of Israel were many, many people, God had a choice. In order to end the covenant, the means of that covenant, all the descendants of Israel had to die or God could come and be a human being and die. That's what God chose to do! You cannot have two simultaneous covenant affected by the same sacrifice.
Verse 4: "In the same way, my brethren, you also were made dead to the marriage law of the Old Covenant…"
You are not dead to the Law, meaning that you don't have to keep it. That's the way the Protestants look at it.
"…by the Body of Christ…" (v 4).
Why? Because He was God Who instituted the covenant! One of the parties of the covenant must die in order to terminate it. Rather than kill all the children of Israel—and God did this for the whole world—He came and died.
That loosed them from the covenant that was given at Mt. Sinai. That didn't change the Laws, but the trick of the problem is that was always called the Law!
"…in order for you to be married to another…" (v 4).
Christ died, rose from the dead and what is the goal of the Church? To marry Christ!
"…Who was raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit to God. For as long as we were in the flesh, the passions of sins, which were through the law, were working within our own members to bring forth fruit unto death" (vs 4-5).
This is talking about living under the covenant that God gave at Mt. Sinai. They had all the laws, but what did they have within them? They had another law that Paul describes as the law of sin and death! The only way we overcome the law of sin and death is with the Spirit of God!
Verse 6: "But now we have been released from the law…"
The minister I listened to was really eloquent saying, 'you're released from the law and you don't have to keep it. Just be nice.'
- they don't tell you was niceis
- they don't tell you about the Spirit of God the way it should be
IF you tell a carnal person that they're released from the law, you don't have to worry about the law—just live your life any way you want to—they're going to do that! Especially if they say that 'God loves me unconditionally; it doesn't matter what I do.' They never stop to think about the Lake of Fire!
Verse 6: "But now we have been released from the law, because we have died…"
Here's another key: Christ died, shed His blood! We die! How do we die? We pledge our death in baptism!Symbolic death! We die! When you're baptized, you die! But you're still living in the flesh, because God gives His Spirit and He wants you to grow and overcome. The outcome of it will be at the resurrection. That's the key that's important.
Verse 6: "But now we have been released from the law because we have died to that in which we were held so that we might serve in newness of the spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter."
I didn't here the minister I listened to read that! What is "…newness of the spirit…" rather than "…oldness of the letter"?
- What do you hear from Protestants?
- What do they tell you? No one can keep the whole Law!
- Really?
- Why do they say that? Because they don't have the Spirit of God and they don't keep the Law!
IF you have the Spirit of God, it will do some things for you. IF you're walking in the Spirit and doing the things that God has said, that's exactly what God wants! "…so that we might serve in newness of the spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter."
Verse 7: "What then shall we say? Is the Law sin?…." Never heard them read that! What did Paul say?
"…MAY IT NEVER BE!…." (v 7).
Remember Psa. 19 how the Law helps. Here it is right here. The Law defines what sin is IF break the Law. The Law itself is not sin!
"…But I had not known sin except through the Law…. [that's what the Law is to tell us] …Furthermore, I would not have been conscious of lust, except that the Law said, 'You shall not covet'" (v 7).
That's what the Law is there for. When it's written in your heart and mind, what's going to happen? You go along and do something that isn't right, it's going to come into your mind that you haven't done what is right! You can repent right then of it, right at that point! That doesn't happen to people in the world.
Sidebar: if you want to watch another interesting program, watch I Almost Got Away with It!
They have no conscience of right and wrong; wrong, to them is right. They don't have the Spirit of God! Only the Spirit of God in you can convict you sin within!
Verse 8: "But sin, having grasped an opportunity by the commandment, worked out within me every kind of lust because apart from Law, sin was dead."
In other words, if there wasn't a law there wouldn't be any sin! That's what Paul wrote in Rom. 3. But sin, when it's alive and well, and working, look what it produces. Look at all the mess!
Paul was a Pharisee before he was called of the strictest sect, and he said that in the flesh he was blameless (Philip. 3). You couldn't have been any more 'righteous' than Paul. He was so 'righteous,' he was taking Christians out and locking them up in jail and killing some of them. To the high priest, that was a good deal.
Verse 9: "For I was once alive without law; but after the commandment came, sin revived, and I died."
What Paul is saying is that when he was a Pharisee, he wasn't really following the Laws of God, but all the traditions of men. He did those things willed by the flesh! Now you know why God had to knock him down on the road to Damascus. What could have awakened him? Nothing else!
He was knocked down on the ground and 'a bright light' was shinning, and Paul said, 'Who is this?' Jesus said, 'This is Jesus Whom you are persecuting!' Paul said, 'Yes, Lord, what do You want?' That was a quick conversion!
"…sin revived, and I died" (v 9).
How did Paul die? Baptism! Ananias came three days later—Paul was blind for three days, couldn't see a thing—and God told Ananias to go see Paul. Ananias said, 'Lord, do You know what he's doing to all the saints?' Christ said, 'I've called him, now you go over, he's a chosen vessel for Me.'
So, Ananias goes over and baptizes Paul to take away his sins. He died! When you go under the water, you are pledging your death, and it is a symbolic death. Every minister I know has always brought everyone up out of the water. But if you weren't brought up out of the water, you would die.
Verse 10: "And the commandment, which was meant to result in life, was found to be unto death for me."
Paul didn't understand that all the righteousness that he was doing was based on sin! He didn't understand that. But afterward, when he looked back on it he could understand it.
Verse 11: "Because sin, having taken opportunity by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me."
How many times have you deceived yourself. Go down through your life and think about all the times you have done wrong, deceived yourself and think it's just fine. Well, it's not just fine! When you sin you're as good as dead unless you repent. That's what Paul means here with this.
Verse 12: "Therefore… [notice what he says about the Law, far from doing away with it or getting rid of it] …the Law is indeed Holy… [because it comes from God] …and the commandment Holy and righteous and good. Now then, did that which is good become death to me? MAY IT NEVER BE!…." (vs 12-13).
It brought Paul to his senses is what he's saying, to understand right and wrong from God's point of view and not his point of view.
"…But sin, in order that it might truly be exposed as sin in me by that which is good…" (v 13).
That's what the Law of God written in your heart and mind does. That is good, and it will expose to you're your thoughts. Whenever evil thoughts come in, you need to get rid of them. The problem that we have here is that the law of sin and death is working within us, and it's a struggle sometimes.
"…was working out death; so that by means of the commandment, sin might become exceedingly sinful. For we know that the Law is spiritual… [working all the time] …but I am carnal… [without God's Spirit; but we still have carnality we have to fight against] …having been sold as a slave under sin" (vs 13-14).
That's the way it is. Sin rules over people! Today what happened with the election? Why did it go so wrong? Because when the good times were rolling, everybody had their pleasures! So, God took it away!
- How many repented? Very few!
- What's happening now that it's getting less? They're going back to their sports and their pleasures rather than to God!
Verse 15: "Because what I am working out myself… [me, myself, without God] …I do not know…."
Have you ever said to yourself, 'Why did I do that? That was stupid!'?
"…For what I do not desire to do, this I do; moreover, what I hate, this is what I do" (v 15).
You get some thoughts in your mind that you know you shouldn't have; where do they come from? We've got a multitude of things to get sin in our mind: television, radio, smart phones, all of that. Kids watching all of these kids' things; watch them, they're all sinful! Every movie is sinful today. Hollywood is in the grips of Satan the devil! Some of these things will come into your mind. You ask yourself: where did it come from?
Well, it came from the sin that's still dwelling in you, which is going to be in you until you're resurrected!
Verse 16[transcriber's correction]: "But if I am doing what I do not desire to do, I agree with the Law that it is good."
The Law is still good, even though the evil thought came into your mind. Who is exposing it in your mind? God is with His Spirit!
Verse 17: "So then, I am no longer working it out myself; rather, it is sin that is dwelling within me; because I fully understand that there is not dwelling within me—that is, within my fleshly being—any good" (vs 17-18)—separate from God's Spirit!
But with God's Spirit, whatever is evil in you God is going to bring that out so you can repent! That's all a part of grace.
Verse 19: "For the desire to do good is present within me… [everybody desires to do good] …but how to work out that which is good, I do not find. For the good that I desire to do, I am not doing; but the evil that I do not desire to do, this I am doing."
Paul doesn't define or tell us what it was. But this is telling us that sin is still within us with the law of sin and death, and we have to over come it. That's why God is revealing these things to us. To do away with the Law does not do away with the sin, because the Law cannot be done away with.
But with the Spirit of God and repentance, that can be overcome. There's no other way to overcome it.
Verse 20: "But if I do what I do not desire to do, I am no longer working it out myself, but sin that is dwelling within me."
If that was within the Apostle Paul, what do you think is within all of us? That's just the way it is! That's why God has given His Spirit and this Truth to understand it, so that when sin comes up in our mind we can repent. Don't say, 'I thought this thought and I'm supposed to be converted. It should never come up.' Well, it's there! Everything you've ever done, every sins that has ever taken place in your life is in your brain. That's why those things come up!
Verse 21: "Consequently, I find this law… [another law] …in my members, that when I desire to do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the Law of God according to the inward man; but I see another law within my own members, warring against the law of my mind…" (vs 21-23).
Isn't that what it is? Those thoughts come into your mind and you wonder what it is. How did that come in there? If the Apostle Paul had to go through this, he's letting us know that all of us go through the same thing. That's the only way to get rid of the sin within!
Everybody can have good behavior out here, but what is in the mind is what counts! If the Spirit of God is there then there's repentance. Then there's forgiveness and you will be able to overcome it.
Verse 24: "O what a wretched man I am! Who shall save me from the body of this death? I thank God for His salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of this, on the one hand, I myself serve the Law of God with my mind; but on the other hand, with the flesh, I serve the law of sin" (vs 24-25).
What Paul is saying is that sin is going to be there; it's going to come. If there's a flash of that coming into your mind, or a thought coming into your mind that is not good, you need to repent of it right then! God will help you do it!
There are times some will have obsessions with sex, some with morbid things or various different kinds. That's all part of the sin that's within us.
Verse 25: "I thank God for His salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of this, on the one hand, I myself serve the Law of God with my mind… [you still have the Spirit of God but it's being cleansed] …but on the other hand, with the flesh, I serve the law of sin."
Now, Rom. 8 gives the solution. This happens, and you don't need to condemn yourself or say, 'I've committed the unpardonable sin.' If you committed the unpardonable sin you wouldn't care about God; you'd throw everything away and just go off and never come back.
Romans 8:1: "Consequently, there is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus… [which we are with the Spirit of God] …who are not walking according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit… [that's the motivation for us, the Spirit of God; that's what it is] …because the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus has delivered me…" (vs 1-2).
The KJV says, 'set free.' That's not true. God didn't remove the law of sin and death from us. But we have been delivered. How have we been delivered?
- with the Spirit of God
- with the mercy of God
- with the forgiveness of God
- with repentance toward God
That's how we're delivered from it!
People in the world can't be delivered from it. They have obsessions and they go off and do things, commit murders and all kinds of heinous crimes. They have no way to stop it. We do, with the Spirit of God!
"…the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus has delivered me from the law of sin and death…. [that he says that is still in our members] …For what was impossible for the Law to do…" (vs 2-3). The Law standing by itself can't make anybody do anything!
"…in that it was weak through the flesh, God having sent His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin condemned sin in the flesh" (v 3).
- What does that mean?
- What did Jesus take upon Himself when He was conceived in the womb of the virgin Mary? The law of sin and death!
That comes by inheritance!
Why did He receive that? So that He could live a perfect life and not sin! Being God in the flesh, His sacrifice could pay for every single sin of everyone who repents!
Think about how great that is; that God would do this! That He being perfect in righteousness and truth, would take upon Himself human flesh with the law of sin and death in Him to save mankind!
"…in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin condemned sin in the flesh… [How? With His death!] …in order that the righteousness of the Law…" (vs 3-4).
Look at this! How can you say that it's done away? The true righteousness!
"…might be fulfilled in us…" (v 4).
What is the greatest thing that happens? Getting rid of the acts of the law of sin and death within us!
"…who are not walking according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit" (v 4).
That's the meaning of Romans 7! Quite an intense chapter, indeed! One that every Christian needs to know!
Understand this: if you're a Sunday-keeping Christian, you cannot receive the Spirit of God to be within you! The Spirit of God may be with you to lead you. But will you follow that lead unto repentance? true baptism? true obedience afterward?
It says in Rev. 22 that 'blessed are those who keep the commandments, that they have the right to the Tree of Life!
If you want to keep the commandments, you better get on God's side!
- He'll help you!
- He'll bring you there!
- He'll bring you along!
That's what Rom. 7 means!
Scriptural References:
- Matthew 22:35-37, 39
- Isaiah 42:21
- John 6:63
- John 14:15
- Luke 6:46
- Mark 2:27-28
- Revelation 1:10
- 1 John 3:4
- Matthew 7:12-18, 20-23
- Psalm 19:7-12
- Psalm 119:18, 30-35
- Matthew 5:17-20
- Romans 6:1-2, 23
- Romans 7:1
- Romans 6:14
- Romans 7:2-25
- Romans 8:1-5
Scriptures referenced, not quoted:
- Revelation 16
- Hebrews 10
- Revelation 21; 22
- Genesis 15; 22
- Romans 3
- Philippians 3
FRC:bo
Transcribed: 8/19/21
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