Bible Reading
Romans 7:1-25 “Or do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage. Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress. Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. 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. But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code. What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, 'You shall not covet.' But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. 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. So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure. For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.”
[40:37]Exodus 20:17 “You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.”
[01:03:41]1 Corinthians 15:57 “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
[01:13:56]Observation questions
- In Romans 7:1–6, what changes in the believer’s relationship to the law, and what is the new relationship meant to produce? [56:25]
- In Romans 7:7–13, what does the command against coveting reveal about Paul’s heart? What does he identify as the problem: the commandment or sin? [01:08:21]
- In Romans 7:15–23, what does Paul want to do, and how do his actions conflict with that desire? [01:10:07]
- How does Paul move from distress to gratitude in Romans 7:24–25, and where does he locate his hope of deliverance? [01:13:01]
Interpretation questions
- Romans 7:4 connects belonging to the risen Christ with bearing fruit for God. How does this help explain the difference between doing good works to earn acceptance and doing them because a person already belongs to Christ? [57:11]
- How does the speed-limit illustration help explain why God’s law is good even when it exposes a person’s sin? What can the law reveal that a person might otherwise overlook? [59:56]
- Why does Paul’s description of indwelling sin in Romans 7:17–20 not remove his responsibility for his actions? What is the difference between honestly naming the struggle and using it as an excuse? [01:11:37]
- How do Romans 7:24–25 and 1 Corinthians 15:57 give a struggling believer grounds for hope without suggesting that obedience will become effortless? [01:14:05]
Application questions
- When you have had a spiritually “good” week or “bad” week, how has that affected your sense of God’s acceptance? How might remembering that good works follow salvation—not purchase it—change your response? [57:15]
- What possession or lifestyle do you find yourself comparing with your own? How might you recognize when a reasonable desire is becoming covetousness? [01:05:32]
- When you notice yourself dwelling on what you lack, what specific provision from God could you give thanks for instead? How could you make room for that gratitude this week? [01:16:03]
- Where do you most recognize the gap between wanting to do right and actually doing it—in your thoughts, words, attitudes, or habits? What would taking responsibility look like without falling into either excuses or hopelessness? [01:11:20]
- Think of a situation that regularly tests your patience, such as traffic or a difficult interaction at work. What might one small step toward Christlikeness look like the next time it happens? [01:15:30]
- God has not left you to face sin alone. In the struggle you have identified, what could depending on his Spirit and his Word look like this week? How could this group support you through prayer and encouragement? [01:14:37]
