Know: Understand that Paul is calling for a shift away from a law-sin-death identity to a new identity as one united with Christ.
Feel: Revel in the reality of his or her marriage union with Christ and in the knowledge that the Spirit will be fully operative in such a union.
Do: Bear fruit to God in a way never before possible outside of union with Christ.
Learning Outline:
Know: Jesus Will Not Share You.
If the law is holy, righteous, good, and spiritual, why does Paul keep moving his readers to identify themselves anew around Christ instead of the law?
Why can’t we be married to both Christ and the law? What might Paul be afraid of if we tried?
Feel: Death and Remarriage
What does it mean to “die” to something so that you can “live” for something (or Someone) else?
Why is marriage such a fitting metaphor for being joined to Christ?
Do: Spirit Obedience
What is the difference between serving in the new way of the Spirit and serving in the old way of the written code (Rom. 7:6)?
In reference to the previous question, is the content of such obedience different, the same, or a little bit of both?
Summary: Romans 7 expands on the contrasts in Romans 6 but more fully explains how the struggle between the two experiences—law/sin/death versus Christ/Spirit/obedience/life—then is played out in our personal lives.
Learning Cycle
STEP 1—Motivate
Spotlight on Scripture: Romans 7:1–14
Key Concept for Spiritual Growth: As good as the law is, it has failed to produce the obedience and corresponding life expected of God’s people. In a sense, it seemed to aggravate the sin problem. Paul carefully sets out to replace the law as a primary source of identity, all the while affirming and defending it, and, instead, links his readers to their new identity in Christ. The results are Spirit, life, and, ironically, true obedience to the law.
Just for Teachers: As a church, we’ve echoed many of the Pauline affirmations of the law but, at times, have found Paul’s negative assessment of the law difficult to explain. Listen carefully to how Paul describes the phenomenon of the law in Romans 7, and guide the class in allowing Paul to explain himself.
Opening Discussion: If you are a Seventh-day Adventist, criticisms can come fast and furious from other Christians, such as: “You are still living under the Old Covenant”; “We’re saved by grace, not the law”; “The commandments were nailed to the cross”; “You’re a legalist”; “Paul says this and Paul says that”; and on and on it goes. So, how do we answer?
When it comes to others using Paul’s negative comments on the law against us, the temptation is simply to start popping out law-affirming verses from Paul, John, James, or Jesus. But this tactic only pits parts of the Bible against itself. What can leave a more lasting impression on our listeners is if we go to the very texts others are using against us and then explain in context what those verses actually mean. This approach is especially crucial in dealing with Romans 6 and 7.
Questions for Discussion:
In addressing controversies concerning the law, why is it more effective to stick with Paul’s arguments rather than pulling verses from other books?
Though Romans 7 is currently controversial, do you think it was controversial when first read to the Romans? Why, or why not?
STEP 2—Explore
Just for Teachers: Romans 7 is an expansion of Romans 6; so, look for parallel ideas that Paul may repeat and expand on. Also, glance at Romans 8 because many of the strands of Paul’s thinking come together there, and you want to be sure your conclusions match those found in Romans 8.
Bible Commentary
I. A Funeral and a Remarriage (Review Romans 7:1–4 with your class.)
Paul connects two metaphors together (death and marriage) to explain a profound transition that has taken place as a result of the arrival of the Messianic Age. The illustration contains two husbands and a wife, but the interpretation is conceptually tricky, because the one who dies (“You also have died”) is the same one to remarry (“So that you may belong to another”). This meaning contains the idea that the “you” is the wife married to one husband. In other words, the other husband is the one “raised from the dead” (Rom. 6:9), i.e., Jesus. So putting it all together, Paul says that you have died so that you can remarry. In context, the dying “you” is the same as the one who “died to sin,” the “old self was crucified,” so that the “body of sin” could be destroyed (Rom. 6:2, 6, ESV). But in the same way as we die with Christ in His crucifixion, we also live through His resurrection (Rom. 6:4). So, it has already been introduced that the same person can die but also live. Therefore, being both a dead wife and a living wife is not so odd.
Some have mistakenly deduced that the law is one of the dead husbands. But the law is what the individual died to. The law itself did not die but our relationship to it did. The law in the illustration is the binding influence that held the woman to her first husband. Death was the means by which that bond was broken for the purpose of remarriage to Christ. It is a subtle but crucial difference.
So, what does all this nuance mean, and what is Paul’s main point? First, notice whom he is addressing: “I am speaking to those who know the law” (Rom. 7:1, ESV). These are Jews and/or Jewish proselytes. Their identity, both ethnic and religious, is completely bound to the law in a way that would be difficult for twenty-first century, modern Gentiles (like the majority of us) to conceive of. However, in this Man from Nazareth, God has displayed the greatest revelation of His saving righteousness, and though witnessed to by the law, this revelation is “apart from the law” (Rom. 3:21, NKJV).
What Paul is wrestling with, in a sense, is the “good becoming the enemy of the best,” as it were. Making the transition from law-keeping as a source of national identity (with its temple services, types, covenant signs [such as circumcision], and so on) to a new identity revolving around the dying and risen Messiah proved difficult. But Paul knows that God’s people are in the Messianic New Testament age now, and the story of Israel has moved to its last chapter. He wants to encourage them to keep up with God’s dynamic, prophetic movements.
Consider This: How does keeping the story of Israel in mind help one understand some of Paul’s arguments? Remembering Christ’s teaching on the law, what kind of life can the Christian expect when married to Christ?
II. Sin Exploits the Law. (Review Romans 7:5–14 with your class.)
Another reason, not often emphasized, that Paul gives his readers for the necessity of having “died to the law” (Rom. 7:4, ESV) is this developing theme that sin takes advantage of the law for its own ends. Notice the progression of verses along this line: “the law came in to increase the trespass”; “our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death”; “sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness”; “the very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me”; “for sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me” (Rom. 5:20; 7:5, 8, 10, 11; ESV). But how could something as good and holy as the law (Rom. 7:12) appear to be complicit in sin and death?
The answer lies in an assumption Paul makes clear in at least three verses: (1) “For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death” (Rom. 7:5, ESV, emphasis author’s); (2) “For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin” (Rom. 7:14, ESV, emphasis author’s); (3) ”For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do” (Rom. 8:3, ESV, emphasis author’s). When the flesh—a flesh that is radically antagonistic to the law (Rom. 8:7, 8)—is confronted with the law, sin and death result, and it may appear that the law is causing both. But this conclusion is not the reality, and Paul emphatically denies that the law is culpable. “By no means,” he says, is the law sin, and “by no means” did that which is good bring death (Rom. 7:7, 13; ESV). The blame must fully lie on sin’s doorstep; that is to say, though the law plays a role in the dynamic between sin and death, it is innocent.
Paul anticipated that these unexpected connections between sin and law would raise eyebrows. As a result, Romans 7 stands as the strongest apologetic (defense) of the law in the entire Pauline writings.
Consider This and a Discussion Question: In your own words, explain the dynamics of the law, sin, death, and flesh that are operating in Romans 7. Why must Paul so vigorously defend the law in light of his own arguments?
STEP 3—Apply
Just for Teachers: If there is a strong legalistic constituency in your church, shifting one’s identity from rules to a relationship with Christ is essential. On the other hand, with the antinomian age we live in, Paul’s defense of the law is entirely appropriate, as well. Know your audience and minister accordingly.
Application Questions:
What connections do you see between the two husbands (in the beginning of the chapter) and the inner struggle described at the end of the chapter?
What does Romans 7 have to say to the soul that feels dominated by sin?
STEP 4—Create
Just for Teachers: Paul is not always easy to read. But he often likes to say the same thing in many different ways. If we don’t understand one way, there is still hope later on in his writings. Show an example of this repetition and restatement in his writings and encourage your students to persevere with Paul.
Activities:
Think of Romans 7 as a commentary on Romans 6, or vice versa, and see how many verses you can find from one chapter that inform verses in the other.
Read Romans 1–8 in one sitting with some friends and share what insights emerge from seeing the big picture rather than from a reading of isolated verses.
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Key Text: Romans 7:4–6
The Student Will:
Learning Outline:
Summary: Romans 7 expands on the contrasts in Romans 6 but more fully explains how the struggle between the two experiences—law/sin/death versus Christ/Spirit/obedience/life—then is played out in our personal lives.
Learning Cycle
STEP 1—Motivate
Spotlight on Scripture: Romans 7:1–14
Key Concept for Spiritual Growth: As good as the law is, it has failed to produce the obedience and corresponding life expected of God’s people. In a sense, it seemed to aggravate the sin problem. Paul carefully sets out to replace the law as a primary source of identity, all the while affirming and defending it, and, instead, links his readers to their new identity in Christ. The results are Spirit, life, and, ironically, true obedience to the law.
Just for Teachers: As a church, we’ve echoed many of the Pauline affirmations of the law but, at times, have found Paul’s negative assessment of the law difficult to explain. Listen carefully to how Paul describes the phenomenon of the law in Romans 7, and guide the class in allowing Paul to explain himself.
Opening Discussion: If you are a Seventh-day Adventist, criticisms can come fast and furious from other Christians, such as: “You are still living under the Old Covenant”; “We’re saved by grace, not the law”; “The commandments were nailed to the cross”; “You’re a legalist”; “Paul says this and Paul says that”; and on and on it goes. So, how do we answer?
When it comes to others using Paul’s negative comments on the law against us, the temptation is simply to start popping out law-affirming verses from Paul, John, James, or Jesus. But this tactic only pits parts of the Bible against itself. What can leave a more lasting impression on our listeners is if we go to the very texts others are using against us and then explain in context what those verses actually mean. This approach is especially crucial in dealing with Romans 6 and 7.
Questions for Discussion:
STEP 2—Explore
Just for Teachers: Romans 7 is an expansion of Romans 6; so, look for parallel ideas that Paul may repeat and expand on. Also, glance at Romans 8 because many of the strands of Paul’s thinking come together there, and you want to be sure your conclusions match those found in Romans 8.
Bible Commentary
I. A Funeral and a Remarriage (Review Romans 7:1–4 with your class.)
Paul connects two metaphors together (death and marriage) to explain a profound transition that has taken place as a result of the arrival of the Messianic Age. The illustration contains two husbands and a wife, but the interpretation is conceptually tricky, because the one who dies (“You also have died”) is the same one to remarry (“So that you may belong to another”). This meaning contains the idea that the “you” is the wife married to one husband. In other words, the other husband is the one “raised from the dead” (Rom. 6:9), i.e., Jesus. So putting it all together, Paul says that you have died so that you can remarry. In context, the dying “you” is the same as the one who “died to sin,” the “old self was crucified,” so that the “body of sin” could be destroyed (Rom. 6:2, 6, ESV). But in the same way as we die with Christ in His crucifixion, we also live through His resurrection (Rom. 6:4). So, it has already been introduced that the same person can die but also live. Therefore, being both a dead wife and a living wife is not so odd.
Some have mistakenly deduced that the law is one of the dead husbands. But the law is what the individual died to. The law itself did not die but our relationship to it did. The law in the illustration is the binding influence that held the woman to her first husband. Death was the means by which that bond was broken for the purpose of remarriage to Christ. It is a subtle but crucial difference.
So, what does all this nuance mean, and what is Paul’s main point? First, notice whom he is addressing: “I am speaking to those who know the law” (Rom. 7:1, ESV). These are Jews and/or Jewish proselytes. Their identity, both ethnic and religious, is completely bound to the law in a way that would be difficult for twenty-first century, modern Gentiles (like the majority of us) to conceive of. However, in this Man from Nazareth, God has displayed the greatest revelation of His saving righteousness, and though witnessed to by the law, this revelation is “apart from the law” (Rom. 3:21, NKJV).
What Paul is wrestling with, in a sense, is the “good becoming the enemy of the best,” as it were. Making the transition from law-keeping as a source of national identity (with its temple services, types, covenant signs [such as circumcision], and so on) to a new identity revolving around the dying and risen Messiah proved difficult. But Paul knows that God’s people are in the Messianic New Testament age now, and the story of Israel has moved to its last chapter. He wants to encourage them to keep up with God’s dynamic, prophetic movements.
Consider This: How does keeping the story of Israel in mind help one understand some of Paul’s arguments? Remembering Christ’s teaching on the law, what kind of life can the Christian expect when married to Christ?
II. Sin Exploits the Law. (Review Romans 7:5–14 with your class.)
Another reason, not often emphasized, that Paul gives his readers for the necessity of having “died to the law” (Rom. 7:4, ESV) is this developing theme that sin takes advantage of the law for its own ends. Notice the progression of verses along this line: “the law came in to increase the trespass”; “our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death”; “sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness”; “the very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me”; “for sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me” (Rom. 5:20; 7:5, 8, 10, 11; ESV). But how could something as good and holy as the law (Rom. 7:12) appear to be complicit in sin and death?
The answer lies in an assumption Paul makes clear in at least three verses: (1) “For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death” (Rom. 7:5, ESV, emphasis author’s); (2) “For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin” (Rom. 7:14, ESV, emphasis author’s); (3) ”For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do” (Rom. 8:3, ESV, emphasis author’s). When the flesh—a flesh that is radically antagonistic to the law (Rom. 8:7, 8)—is confronted with the law, sin and death result, and it may appear that the law is causing both. But this conclusion is not the reality, and Paul emphatically denies that the law is culpable. “By no means,” he says, is the law sin, and “by no means” did that which is good bring death (Rom. 7:7, 13; ESV). The blame must fully lie on sin’s doorstep; that is to say, though the law plays a role in the dynamic between sin and death, it is innocent.
Paul anticipated that these unexpected connections between sin and law would raise eyebrows. As a result, Romans 7 stands as the strongest apologetic (defense) of the law in the entire Pauline writings.
Consider This and a Discussion Question: In your own words, explain the dynamics of the law, sin, death, and flesh that are operating in Romans 7. Why must Paul so vigorously defend the law in light of his own arguments?
STEP 3—Apply
Just for Teachers: If there is a strong legalistic constituency in your church, shifting one’s identity from rules to a relationship with Christ is essential. On the other hand, with the antinomian age we live in, Paul’s defense of the law is entirely appropriate, as well. Know your audience and minister accordingly.
Application Questions:
STEP 4—Create
Just for Teachers: Paul is not always easy to read. But he often likes to say the same thing in many different ways. If we don’t understand one way, there is still hope later on in his writings. Show an example of this repetition and restatement in his writings and encourage your students to persevere with Paul.
Activities: