Death to the Law

In one paragraph

Pastor Mark opened on Father's Day by working through Romans 7:4-13 and previewing the difficult passage that follows, asking the congregation to sit with a hard question: do you recognize your own experience in Paul's wrestling with sin? C.S. Lewis opens his book "Mere Christianity" by pointing out that human beings argue by appealing to a shared standard of right and wrong, even when they have...

Read together

1. Jeremiah 32:17 opening verse spoken before worship: 'Our sovereign Lord, you've made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.'
2. Romans 5:20 quoted to show that the law came in so that transgression would increase, but grace abounded all the more
3. Romans 6:14 quoted to establish that sin shall not be master over the believer, who is under grace not law
4. Romans 7:4-6 main passage: death to the law through Christ, released to serve in newness of spirit
5. Romans 7:7-13 Paul's transitional experience: the law revealed sin, coveting as the example, sin using the good command to bring death
6. Romans 7:14-25 previewed as the controversial passage about the inner war with sin, ending with thanks to God through Jesus Christ
7. Acts 15:6-11 Peter's speech at Jerusalem council on whether Gentile believers must follow the Old Testament law, arguing all are saved by grace through faith

Talk about it

1. C.S. Lewis argues that when people quarrel, they appeal to a shared standard of right and wrong that everyone already knows. Do you agree that people behave this way? What does that suggest to you about human nature?
2. Pastor Mark walked through the grammatical idea that Paul uses a subjunctive mood when he says we 'can' produce a harvest of good deeds, meaning it is possible but contingent on our will. What does it mean to you practically that God has made something possible but has left your will involved in whether it happens?
3. Paul says the law aroused his covetous desires, that the forbidden becomes the most desired. Where have you seen that dynamic at work in your own life?
4. Pastor Mark listed several possibilities for who the person in Romans 7:14-25 might be: someone who does not believe in Jesus at all, someone under conviction but not yet persuaded, a struggling Christian, or a mature believer still at war with sin. Which of those descriptions feels closest to your own experience right now, and why?
5. Pastor Mark pointed out that in Romans 7:14-25 neither Christ nor the Holy Spirit is mentioned, and he suggested that trying to win the internal battle on your own leads only to frustration. What difference does it actually make in day-to-day life to bring Christ into that struggle rather than fighting it alone?