Understanding Sin and the Power of Christ
Summary
In our study of Romans 7:8, we delve into the Apostle Paul's profound argument regarding the law and sin. Paul anticipates a misunderstanding that might arise from his teachings, specifically the notion that the law itself is sinful. He refutes this by explaining that the law is not sin; rather, it is through the law that we gain a true understanding of sin. The law, particularly the commandment against coveting, reveals the depth of our sinful nature by showing that even our desires can be sinful in God's sight. This realization is crucial because it leads us to recognize our need for a Savior.
Paul further explains that the law cannot sanctify us; in fact, we must be delivered from the law to be sanctified. This is not because the law is evil, but because sin uses the law as a base of operations, a fulcrum, to provoke and magnify sin within us. Sin is not merely the absence of good; it is a powerful, active force that can even manipulate God's holy law to achieve its ends. This understanding of sin's nature is vital for comprehending the necessity of Christ's sacrifice and the power of His resurrection in overcoming sin.
The implications of this teaching are profound. It challenges modern notions of morality and the belief that education or culture alone can address the problem of sin. It also highlights the futility of attempting to uphold Christian ethics without the foundational doctrines of the faith. Ultimately, it points us to the power of Christ's blood and the necessity of being in Him to overcome the dominion of sin.
Key Takeaways:
- Understanding Sin's Nature: Sin is not merely a lack of good but a powerful, active force that can manipulate even God's law to provoke more sin. Recognizing this helps us understand the depth of our need for salvation through Christ. [16:30]
- The Law's Role: The law reveals sin but cannot sanctify us. It serves as a mirror to show our sinful nature, driving us to Christ for deliverance and sanctification. [02:05]
- Rebellion Against God: Our innate rebellion against God is aggravated by the law, which sin uses to incite further disobedience. This highlights the necessity of a heart transformation through Christ. [24:16]
- Modern Morality's Shortcomings: Attempts to address sin through education or cultural change without acknowledging its true nature are futile. Only through Christ can we find the power to overcome sin. [40:09]
- The Power of Christ's Sacrifice: The Christian ethic without the doctrines of faith is powerless. True transformation and victory over sin come only through the power of Christ's sacrifice and resurrection. [44:09]
Youtube Chapters:
- [00:00] - Welcome
- [00:12] - Introduction to Romans 7:8
- [00:33] - Misunderstanding the Law
- [01:11] - The Law and Sin
- [02:05] - The Law Cannot Sanctify
- [02:27] - Deliverance from the Law
- [03:12] - Positive Role of the Law
- [04:14] - The Law Reveals Sin
- [05:19] - Sin's Use of the Law
- [06:39] - Sin as a Principle and Power
- [07:33] - Sin Taking Occasion
- [08:10] - Sin's Base of Operations
- [09:25] - Sin Using the Law as a Fulcrum
- [11:15] - The Power of Sin
- [16:30] - Understanding Sin's Nature
- [24:16] - Rebellion Against God
- [40:09] - Modern Morality's Shortcomings
- [44:09] - The Power of Christ's Sacrifice
Study Guide
Bible Study Discussion Guide
Bible Reading:
- Romans 7:8
- Genesis 6:5
- Genesis 8:21
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Observation Questions:
1. According to Romans 7:8, how does sin use the law to provoke sinful desires within us? [06:39]
2. What does Genesis 6:5 reveal about the state of humanity's heart before the flood, and how does this relate to the concept of concupiscence discussed in the sermon? [13:23]
3. How does the sermon describe the law's role in revealing sin, particularly in relation to coveting? [03:45]
4. What is the significance of the Apostle Paul using the metaphor of a fulcrum to describe sin's manipulation of the law? [09:25]
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Interpretation Questions:
1. How does the understanding of sin as a powerful, active force challenge modern views of morality and human nature? [16:30]
2. In what ways does the sermon suggest that education and culture are insufficient in addressing the problem of sin? [40:09]
3. How does the sermon explain the necessity of being delivered from the law to achieve sanctification? [02:27]
4. What does the sermon imply about the relationship between the law and our innate rebellion against God? [24:16]
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Application Questions:
1. Reflect on a time when you felt rebellious against a rule or command. How did that experience help you understand the sermon’s point about our innate rebellion against God? [24:16]
2. The sermon suggests that modern morality falls short without acknowledging the true nature of sin. How can you ensure that your moral decisions are grounded in a biblical understanding of sin? [40:09]
3. Consider the idea that sin can manipulate even good things for its purposes. Can you identify an area in your life where something good has been twisted by sin? How can you address this? [23:10]
4. The sermon emphasizes the power of Christ's sacrifice in overcoming sin. How can you more fully rely on Christ's power in your daily struggles with sin? [44:09]
5. How does understanding the law as a mirror to our sinful nature change your perspective on your need for a Savior? [02:05]
6. The sermon discusses the futility of trying to uphold Christian ethics without foundational doctrines. How can you deepen your understanding of these doctrines to strengthen your ethical decisions? [44:09]
7. Identify a specific area in your life where you feel the weight of sin's power. What steps can you take this week to seek deliverance and transformation through Christ? [45:38]
Devotional
Day 1: Sin's Manipulation of the Law
Sin is not merely the absence of good but a powerful, active force that can manipulate even God's law to provoke more sin. Recognizing this helps us understand the depth of our need for salvation through Christ. Sin uses the law as a base of operations, a fulcrum, to provoke and magnify sin within us. This understanding of sin's nature is vital for comprehending the necessity of Christ's sacrifice and the power of His resurrection in overcoming sin. The law, particularly the commandment against coveting, reveals the depth of our sinful nature by showing that even our desires can be sinful in God's sight. This realization is crucial because it leads us to recognize our need for a Savior. [16:30]
Romans 5:20-21 (ESV): "Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
Reflection: In what ways have you noticed sin manipulating good intentions or rules in your life? How can you seek God's grace to overcome these manipulations today?
Day 2: The Law as a Mirror
The law reveals sin but cannot sanctify us. It serves as a mirror to show our sinful nature, driving us to Christ for deliverance and sanctification. The law is not sin; rather, it is through the law that we gain a true understanding of sin. Paul explains that the law cannot sanctify us; in fact, we must be delivered from the law to be sanctified. This is not because the law is evil, but because sin uses the law to provoke and magnify sin within us. [02:05]
Galatians 3:24-25 (ESV): "So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian."
Reflection: How does viewing the law as a mirror change your perspective on your own shortcomings? What steps can you take to rely more on Christ for sanctification?
Day 3: The Aggravation of Rebellion
Our innate rebellion against God is aggravated by the law, which sin uses to incite further disobedience. This highlights the necessity of a heart transformation through Christ. The law, while holy, becomes a tool for sin to exploit our rebellious nature, leading us to further disobedience. This understanding emphasizes the need for a transformation that goes beyond mere rule-following, pointing us to the necessity of a heart change that only Christ can bring. [24:16]
Ezekiel 36:26-27 (ESV): "And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules."
Reflection: In what areas of your life do you feel a rebellious spirit? How can you invite God to transform your heart in these areas today?
Day 4: The Futility of Modern Morality
Attempts to address sin through education or cultural change without acknowledging its true nature are futile. Only through Christ can we find the power to overcome sin. Modern notions of morality often fail to address the root of sin, which is a powerful, active force. Education and culture alone cannot change the sinful nature of humanity. This teaching challenges the belief that human efforts alone can solve the problem of sin, pointing instead to the necessity of Christ's intervention. [40:09]
Jeremiah 17:9-10 (ESV): "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? 'I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.'"
Reflection: How have you relied on cultural or educational solutions to address sin in your life? What would it look like to rely more fully on Christ's power instead?
Day 5: The Power of Christ's Sacrifice
The Christian ethic without the doctrines of faith is powerless. True transformation and victory over sin come only through the power of Christ's sacrifice and resurrection. The law cannot sanctify us, and human efforts are insufficient to overcome sin. It is only through Christ's sacrifice and resurrection that we can experience true transformation and victory over sin. This teaching underscores the importance of foundational Christian doctrines in living a life that overcomes the dominion of sin. [44:09]
Colossians 2:13-14 (ESV): "And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross."
Reflection: What areas of your life need the transformative power of Christ's sacrifice? How can you actively invite His resurrection power into these areas today?
Quotes
What he is doing here is to refute that suggestion. The suggestion arises because of what he says in verse 5: for when we were in the flesh, the motions of sin, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. He's got to clear up that particular point. [00:58:36]
The law can never sanctify anybody. No man can ever become sanctified, delivered from the power of sin, in other words, by the law alone. As no man can be justified by the law, no man can be sanctified by the law. That's his fundamental proposition. [01:48:19]
Far from saying that the law is sin, he says, I say that I had not known sin but by the law. I'm profoundly grateful to the law. It was the law that really gave me a knowledge of sin, and in particular, he says, the tenth commandment, which puts its emphasis upon coveting. [03:40:51]
Sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. That's his statement. What's it mean? Well, perhaps the best way of approaching this is to take the various expressions one by one. Let us, for instance, start with sin. [06:36:56]
Sin is not merely something negative. Now, there are many people who teach that about sin. The whole doctrine of sin is most unpopular today. There are people who say that the whole notion of sin ought to be dismissed, that it's done a lot of harm, that it made people condemn themselves. [17:00:48]
Sin is something positive and not only positive, it is something powerful. It is something which is terribly powerful. It is something that can take occasion. It is something that can have a base of operations. It's something that can use a fulcrum. It is something that really can move great weights. [20:16:55]
Sin is as powerful as this, that it can even use God's own holy law to its own ends. I don't know a greater estimate of strength and of power than that. God gave His holy law through Moses. Oh yes, says Paul, but you know sin was too strong. [23:06:00]
We are all born rebels. We are all born with an antagonism to God within us. That's a fundamental postulate of the Bible. Does anybody dispute it? Well, listen to Paul in the next chapter, in chapter 8, saying this in verse 7: because the carnal mind is enmity against God. [24:36:44]
The moment a man hears the law, he reacts against it. Who is this who is speaking to me? He defies him, and already, you see, the position that he was in is aggravated. Now, sin does that. Here was sin always present. Right, the law comes in with its prohibition. [30:00:84]
Sin using the commandment as a fulcrum wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. How? Well, like this: it put ideas into my mind which were not there before. There I was, as it were, sitting down. Everything's all right. I suddenly am confronted by a law which tells me don't do so and so. [33:10:39]
The whole of the Biblical teaching concerning salvation is based upon a clear understanding of what sin really is, its nature. There is no hope of our understanding anything apart from this. You'll never see why you've got to die to the law if you don't understand the nature of sin. [37:24:52]
The Christian ethic without the Christian doctrines is valueless. It is the most hopeless thing of all. Why? Because it provides you with no power, and our greatest need is power that's great enough to counteract this other power that can even use God's holy law as a fulcrum. [44:49:31]
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