Sermon Notes - Romans 7 - Littleby Baptist Church - November 17, 2024

1.        Romans chapter 6 is one of those great chapters of the Bible.

a.        From telling us that we are no longer slaves to sin.

b.       To encouraging us to embrace being slaves to God.

c.        Moving from being an involuntary slave to what condemns us.

d.       To being a slave to our God who has given us the most amazing gift.

e.        The thing is we have to choose to follow God.

f.          Then fight each day to pursue Him.

g.        We are going to be slaves to one thing or another.

h.        One option holds us down and leads to a horrible eternity.

i.          The other sets us free and we get to spend forever with our God.

j.          We have to choose.

2.        Romans 7:1

a.        It sounds like Paul is targeting the Jewish audience.

b.       But it is believed that the Roman gentiles had a decent understanding of the OT Law.

c.        In this case, Paul is writing to the whole church in Rome.

d.       Jew and Gentile alike.

e.        They would have understood that the Law has an impact on a person when they are alive.

f.          But, has no impact beyond that.

3.        Romans 7:2-3

a.        Death freed the woman from what would have been sin.

b.       If she left her husband and married another guy, she would be an adulterer.

c.        If her husband passes and then she remarries, she is not committing the sin of adultery.

d.       Death severs the relationship to the law.

e.        It breaks the connection.

f.          Seems pretty straight forward.

4.        Romans 7:4

a.        Paul is using the example of death and marriage to help explain what we have been talking about the last couple of weeks.

b.       When we turn our lives to Christ.

c.        We die with Him.

d.       We are no longer under the Law.

e.        We are no longer a slave to sin.

f.          We are with Jesus.

g.        We belong to Him.

h.        We are slaves to God through the new life we have been given.

i.          Why?

j.          So that we may bear fruit for God.

k.        So that we may carry out the work He has created us to do.

l.          Starting with loving Him and loving others.

5.        Romans 7:5

a.        The sin in our lives brought about death.

b.       Without Jesus we were going to pay it on our own.

c.        Thankfully, Jesus has stepped in and paid that debt for all who repent and follow Him.

6.        Romans 7:6

a.        Through our faith in Jesus we have been released from the law, from our sin.

b.       We are not enslaved to it.

c.        We now serve the Holy Spirit.

d.       It is the Holy Spirit that guides us.

e.        We no longer live by our old lives, but instead we now live according to the leading of the sweat Spirit.

7.        Romans 7:7-8

a.        Paul continues to build on items he has already spelled out in his letter.

b.       The law multiplied sin, but the law itself is not sin.

c.        It helped us to understand what sin is.

d.       Helped us to see the things in our life that were sin.

e.        Sadly, when we know what sin is, our sin nature is drawn to it.

f.          The law multiplied trespasses or sin, but thankfully Grace overcame it and then some.

g.        The law has no power.

h.        Sin has no power.

i.          Grace though Jesus has overcome them.

8.        Romans 7:9-11

a.        When the commandment came… when a person began to understand the commandments.

b.       For a Jew this would have been when he began to understand what the Law was teaching him.

c.        For a gentile, it would have been when we started to learn right from wrong.

d.       What we might call the age of accountability.

e.        When the commandment came… we understand what sin is and it pulls on us.

f.          It becomes death to us; in that it leads us to sin.

9.        Romans 7:12

a.        The Old Testament Law is not sin.

b.       It is from God.

c.        It is holy.

d.       The commandment is Holy.

e.        It is just and good.

f.          If we could follow it perfectly, it guides us to live a righteous life.

10.   Romans 7:13

a.        The Law is not what produced the sin or death.

b.       The Law pointed it out, but did not cause it.

c.        Sin is part of who we are.

d.       Sin uses the commandments.

e.        Sin uses the good things that God has given us.

f.          Sin corrupts them.

g.        Distorts them.

h.        To cause us to sin.

i.          Leading us to death.

11.   Romans 7:14

a.        The Law is spiritual, it is of God.

b.       We are not.

c.        We are fleshly sinful beings.

d.       Left to our own, we are slaves to sin.

e.        It has been that way since the days of Adam.

12.   Romans 7:15-17

a.        Paul is not trying to pass the buck, saying he is not responsible for what he does.

b.       What he is saying, is that even as a believer with his desire to serve God there are times that he still sins.

c.        He wants to do what is right.

d.       He wants to follow the Law.

e.        He wants to do God’s will.

f.          But there are still times that he does what he does not want to do.

g.        Sin is living in him.

h.        There is conflict within him.

i.          He wants to live a perfect righteous life, but he cannot seem to do it.

j.          Can anyone relate?

k.        I wish I could walk with confidence with God each and every day.

l.          But I still have doubts.

m.     I still make the wrong choices.

n.        We are still going to sin.

13.   Romans 7:18-20

a.        Paul continues.

b.       He is a sinful being.

c.        We are sinful people.

d.       We may desire to do what is right.

e.        But instead of doing it, we end up sinning.

f.          As followers of Christ, we are still going to sin.

g.        We are going to do what we do not want to do.

h.       Thankfully we have Jesus.

i.          With an overflowing of Grace.

14.   Romans 7:21-23

a.        Here Paul is not talking about the OT Law.

b.       He is talking about the principle that he wants to do good, but he continues to sin.

c.        That sin is part of who he is no matter how hard he tries.

d.       Sin is a part of who we are, no matter how hard we try.

e.        We have died to our sin.

f.          Our old selves have died, and we are no longer enslaved to them.

g.        Those old sins no longer have power over us.

h.        We pursue righteousness.

i.          Yet, each day we still sin.

j.          Each day we are grateful for the overflowing grace.

k.        Each day we are thankful for new mercies.

15.   Romans 7:24

a.        What a wretched man I am!

b.       We tend to look up to Paul.

c.        Here he is admitting that he is a sinner.

d.       He is not worthy.

e.       We are in the same boat.

f.          We are wretched sinners.

g.        We are not worthy.

h.        Paul asked who will rescue him?

i.          Thankfully he and we know the answer to that question.

16.   Romans 7:25 (with emphasis)

a.       Thanks be to God!

b.       We have been rescued through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

c.        We have been redeemed.

d.       We have been saved by His blood.

e.        We may sin no matter how hard we try not to due to our sinful nature.

f.          But, as Paul states with his mind he is serving God.

g.        He is choosing to serve God.

h.        He is choosing to be a slave to God.

i.          As a follower of Jesus.

j.          We will still sin.

k.        We are NOT trapped in our old sin, but we are still going to falter and fall.

l.          Sin will be part of our life.

m.    But our choice each day should be to serve our Jesus.

n.        We need to make Him a priority.

o.        If we are to be a slave to something… we need to choose Jesus each day.

p.       We need to make time to talk to our God.

q.       Make time to study Scripture.

r.          Make it a priority to gather with fellow believers.

17.   While we look forward to the day we are completely free from the temptations of this world…

18.   Until then we need to choose to follow our Jesus.

a.        We need to fight to make Him a priority.

b.       Respond to the call in accepting Him as our Lord and Savior.

c.        Respond to the call to serve Him.

d.       Respond to the call to serve His people.

19.   If you are feeling the Holy Spirit move you to respond to a call.

a.        Whether it is to turn your life to Him for the first time.

b.       To repent of a sin, you are struggling with.

c.        Or to submit to His calling you to serve in a new way.

d.       Do not hesitate to follow the Spirit’s lead.

e.        Step out in faith.

f.          The altar is open.