Intro:

Wouldn’t it be just like Satan to try to confuse you about God’s Word, and how much greater success if he could do it through the messages of supposed followers of God. Today we are going to untwist, a frequently twisted part of Paul’s writings, which Peter said would be twisted in the last days:

(2 Peter 3:15-16 NKJV) “…our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable [people] twist to their own destruction, as [they do] also the rest of the Scriptures.”

There are in the Scriptures some things which are hard to be understood and which, according to the language of Peter, the unlearned and unstable wrest unto their own destruction. We may not, in this life, be able to explain the meaning of every passage of Scripture; but there are no vital points of practical truth that will be clouded in mystery. — 2T,692.

Whenever the study of the Scriptures is entered upon without a prayerful, humble, teachable spirit, the plainest and simplest as well as the most difficult passages will be wrested from their true meaning. The papal leaders select such portions of Scripture as best serve their purpose, interpret to suit themselves, and then present these to the people, while they deny them the privilege of studying the Bible and understanding its sacred truths for themselves. The whole Bible should be given to the people just as it reads. It would be better for them not to have

Bible instruction at all than to have the teaching of the Scriptures thus grossly misrepresented. — GC 521

So what portion of the Bible is misinterpreted?  

Today we are going to go to Romans 7 — a misunderstood portion of scripture that many Sunday keeping churches use in order to sustain their worship on the false Sabbath.

Which verse is it?

(Romans 7:6 KJV) But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not [in] the oldness of the letter.

• What does it mean to be delivered from the law? Which law?
• What does is mean to serve in the newness of the spirit and not in the oldness of the letter?
• Does this mean we don’t need to keep the Ten Commandments? Is the law done away with, and nailed to the cross, as some Protestants and Catholics claims? How do we understand this difficult portion of Paul’s writings?

Principle #1 in Bible Interpretation— You never take a difficult passage and interpret the rest of the Bible based on a single difficult passage. Rather you interpret difficult passages based on the clear understanding that arrises from the rest of the Bible. — Take every clear text you can find on a subject and then you use that understanding to guide you in understanding the difficult passages.

Don’t fret when you come up against difficult passages — simply put it aside until you have a stack of clear texts on the subject that is unclear. Don’t let difficult Bible texts rattle your faith!

So what does the Bible clearly say about the law (Let’s look at 5 clear texts and one from Paul): (1 John 2:4 KJV) He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

(John 14:15 NKJV) “If you love Me, keep My commandments.

(Matthew 5:18 NKJV) “For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.

(James 1:25 NKJV) But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues [in it], and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

(James 2:10-12 NKJV) For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one [point], he is guilty of all. For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty.

Now here is a clear one from Paul:

(1 Corinthians 7:19 NKJV) Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God [is what matters].

Now we take this clarity and re-read the scripture with the Bible truth that God wants us to keep the commandments as our guide:

(Romans 7:6 NKJV) But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not [in] the oldness of the letter.

We are going to get to get to the Spirit and the Letter in just a moment, but first thing we can say is that this verse CAN NOT mean that the law is done away with. Why? Because the Bible doesn’t allow us to interpret it that way.

Then how are we delivered from the Law? — Well the verse says “having died to what we were held by” and what are we held by that we are supposed to die to?

Paul calls it by many names: (1) The Old Man (2) The Body of Sin (3) The Old Husband (4) The Carnal Mind (5) Law of Sin…. (6) Sin

It is not the Law, but our sinful self that must die — The old carnal nature that must die if we are going to be free to truly keep God’s holy law.

(Romans 7:14 NKJV) For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin.

(Romans 7:12 NKJV) Therefore the law [is] holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.

The problem isn’t with the commandments, it is with me! The problem is that the Law condemns me in my sin, for the law says:

(Romans 6:23 KJV) For the wages of sin [is] death.

(1 John 3:4 KJV) … sin is the transgression of the law.

My relationship with God’s law  will change based on who is living in me: The Old Man or Jesus

Christ.

Listen to how Paul begins Romans 7 and describes our relationship with the law

(Romans 7:1-3 KJV)  Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?  

Paul is speaking to the Jews (Those who know the law) and what does it mean for the law to have “dominion over a man”?

(Romans 6:9 KJV) … death hath[G2961][G0] no more dominion over[G2961] him.

(Romans 6:14 KJV) For sin shall[G2961][G0] not have dominion over[G2961] you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

Three things that we are powerless to: (1) We are powerless to defeat or overcome the law of death. (Hebrews 9:27 KJV) And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:” (2) We are powerless to defeat or overcome the law of sin. (John 8:34 NKJV) Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. (Romans

7:19-21 NKJV) For the good that I will [to do], I do not do; but the evil I will not [to do], that I practice. Now if I do what I will not [to do], it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good.” (3) We are powerless to overcome, or escape, or change the law of God. (James 2:10 NKJV) For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one [point], he is guilty of all.

• Death holds dominion over us because we are not the author of life — we have borrowed life from God and can neither cause ourselves to come into existence, nor can we keep ourselves from facing our mortality.
• Sin holds dominion over us because our very nature is in harmony with sin — meaning we crave the very path that sin wants to lead us down, so that we are controlled by sin in us — Sins end is death.
• The law of God holds dominion over us as it does over all things and is unchanging because it comes from God who is unchanging. It’s power over us is that it either vindicates us or condemns us — It is the standard of righteousness and because it does not change and because it came from God not us, it unavoidably stands as an impartial witness either against us or for us in the day of judgment.

There is one exception to all three of these — Death, Sin, and God’s law only have dominion over someone who is alive. Dead persons don’t die again, Dead persons don’t sin, and dead persons are not condemned by the law.

So what it that must die so that we can be free? Free from death, sin, and the condemnation of the law? What must die?

The Great Deception of our time: taught by many Protestant and Catholic leaders is that the law must die for us to be free… They say (it was nailed to cross), It has been abolished. The Law, that’s Old Testament, we are New Testament Christians who not under the law but under grace…  

And if you could change or destroy God’s law — would it have dominion over you any longer?

Could God’s law condemn you if it was destroyed? — No it couldn’t. If you could destroy God’s law, would there be sin? (Romans 7:9 NKJV) “I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died.” — sin exists because of God’s law, because sin is the transgression of God’s law — if there was no law to break, there would be no sin to bear… If there is no speed limit, can I get a speeding ticket? — No… For where there is no law, there is no sin… It is because there is a law, that there is sin… and if there was no law, and thus no sin, guess what?  there would also be no death! Because death is the result of sin, and sin is the result of breaking God’s law. — The Christian world is trying to deal with the problem, that Paul is addressing in Romans 7… What is that problem? (Sin, Death, & The Law have Dominion over us)

But I want you to notice something — if you kill God’s law, what is it, that can continue to exist? — The Carnal Man, The Old Man of Sin, The Unconverted, unchanged, unrenewed heart filled with evil passions and desires. Murder can continue, because there is no law that condemns me. Theft, burglary, arson, violence can all continue, because the law is done away with. You can continue in slavery to sin if the law does not exist. You don’t have to change at all if you can change the law! This may seem like good news to some, but because the law was given by a changeless God and is a transcript of His character — to change the law or destroy God’s law is to declare that God Himself is not changeless and that His righteous character is not sufficient or complete. To attack the law of God you inevitably attack the author of the Law, and to destroy the Law, you inevitably destroy its Author.

Thankfully this is not what Paul had in mind — and the Bible as a whole confirms that the law is not what needs to die — It is the Old Man of Sin that is enslaved to sin that must be die!

Jesus put it this way: “You must be born again” — John 3:7; and He said (John 3:3 NKJV) “… unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Peter said you must: (Acts 3:19 NKJV) “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out…”

Repentance, Conversion, Being Born Again — All terms that indicate that it is ME who needs to change, not the LAW! Paul illustrates this with an allegory — A story that communicates a message.

(Romans 7:2-3 NKJV) For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to [her] husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of [her] husband. So then if, while [her] husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man.

Now who is bondage in this story? — The Woman, right? She is bound by the law to her husband! This is clear in the 10 Commandments (The 7th Commandment says you shall not commit adultery, meaning you are bound the one whom you commit to marry). But why does Paul say “The Woman” is bound?

In v. 1, Paul doesn’t say the law binds a woman, he says it binds a man: (Romans 7:1 NKJV) Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives?

Why does he switch now to talking about “The Woman” in v.2? The reason is that, “The Woman” is a common image used throughout the Bible, and used by Paul himself, as symbolic of the people of God.

Now who is the woman bound to? — The Bible says “The Husband”, which is the man. Now Paul is using this story to show what we in the spiritual realm are truly bound to — So who is the Husband? If the Woman represents the People of God, who does the husband represent?

Notice a couple clues: #1 Paul says the woman is “bound”… And the unspoken meaning is that she should be free, wants to be free, but is unable to be free. #2 Only when the husband dies can she be free.

Interesting that the word for “bound” in greek can mean to be “Fastened about with chains”, and can also be used to describe one who is “possessed or controlled by Satan”… This same greek word is used to describe Satan as “bound” during the 1,000 years…  

Now put that together with what Paul says in the previous chapter (6):

(Romans 6:6 NKJV) knowing this, that our old man was crucified with [Him], that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.

What is Paul saying here? — The Old Man, The Body of Sin, must dies in order for me to be unbound and freed…

and in Romans 7 — The Husband must die in order for the woman (God’s People) to be “unbound and freed” from him (The Old Man of Sin)… Paul is illustrating that just as the law

(the seventh commandment) forbids us to break our marriage vow unless our spouse dies — So also we bound to follow our sinful natures which lead to death unless our own sinful nature itself dies… Listen to how he puts it:

(Romans 7:5-6 NKJV) For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not [in] the oldness of the letter.

Now earlier we talked about what the Spirit & the Letter are?

Those who take the position that the Law is what is done away with will tell you, the new Spirit is the Holy Spirit and the Old Letter is the 10 Commandments, and this is only partly true.

(2 Corinthians 3:6-8 NKJV) who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. But if the ministry of death, written [and] engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which [glory] was passing away, how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious?

The Newness of the Spirit = THE NEW COVENANT

The Oldness of the Letter = THE OLD COVENANT

The misunderstanding and confusion comes when ministers say that the New Covenant does away with the Law, and the Old Covenant is keeping the law… What is the New Covenant? (Hebrews 8:8, 10 NKJV) Because finding fault with them, He says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel … “For this [is] the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

The New Covenant — is not doing away with the Law of God, but on the contrary it is embedding the law of God so deep within us through the Holy Spirit that it is engraved in our Mind and written in our heart.

The Old Covenant/ The Letter of the Law — is when the Old Man of Sin tries to keep the Law of God… We can’t! When the Law is written outside of us on Stone and we try to keep that Law in our fallen natures, we can’t. This is the Oldness of the Letter…  

(Zechariah 4:6 NKJV)…’Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the LORD of hosts.

So the Newness of the Spirit is when the Law becomes a part of us — lived out in us through the Holy Spirit. This is why Paul says we must be “married to another” — The first Husband of “The Woman” (Our Sinful Unrenewed Heart) must die, and only then can we be free to marry another “Jesus Christ” and find through His Holy Spirit victory over sin — because His Law is written in our hearts.

(Romans 7:4 NKJV) Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another–to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.

Paul says “(Romans 7:24-25 NKJV) O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God–through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.

When Paul says “with my mind I serve the law of God, but with my flesh the law of sin”, you have to understand that He is talking about two separate positions you can be in. The Converted and the Unconverted… You can serve the Law of God with your mind when your mind is under the control of the Holy Spirit, but if your mind is not under the control of the Holy Spirit then you will serve sin with your flesh. When Paul says “Mind” he means a converted mind, and when Paul says “Flesh” he means an unconverted mind.  

How does an unconverted person become converted?

#1 — The Old Man must die

(Colossians 3:8-10 NKJV) But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new [man] who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,

Put Off — Old Man / Put On — New Man  (The insinuation is that this is a conscious choice that we make: and the Bible calls that conscious choice CONFESSION, REPENTANCE, & FAITH) — This is how we Crucify the OLD MAN!

1. We confess our sins
2. We repent, making a conscious effort to turn away from sin
3. We place our Faith in Jesus Christ to deliver us — believing that we will be free

When we confess our sins, and turn from them, and place our faith in Jesus Christ — The Holy

Spirit who is leading us, also empowers us and the Old Man is crucified and the New Man Jesus Christ takes up residence in us!  

Paul says — “The Woman” is bound to her “Husband” as long as he lives… Christians are bound to their sinful natures as long as they let their sinful natures live… meaning that a Christian can not be joined to Christ while they allow their sinful natures (The Old man) to live

— In order to be married to another, the Old Man of sin must die… How does it die? Through Confession, Repentance, and Faith.

This is why it is the greatest lie being perpetrated today among Protestant and Catholics that the law of God has been done away with — because they are saying just the opposite of what

Scripture is saying:

The Bible says: Our old man must be crucified that Christ might reign in us

The Apostate Christian World says: No the Law must die so that Christ can live in my Old Man

Do you see it? Scripture has been twisted!

(Romans 6:6 NKJV) knowing this, that our old man was crucified with [Him], that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.

(Galatians 2:20 NKJV) “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me…

The law was not nailed to the Cross, it was “I” who was nailed with Christ to the cross! And that happens the moment I confess my sins, am intentional about forsaking my sins, and place my faith in Christ to overcome my sins… Then and only then can we truly walk in the Newness of the Spirit and not in the Oldness of the letter.

(Galatians 5:22-25 NKJV) … Against such there is no law. And those [who are] Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the

Spirit.

Appeal: Today Christ calls upon you to crucify self, repent of your sins, and receive the Holy Spirit. Do you have unconfessed sins? Do you have sins you have not made a conscious effort to turn from? Have you placed your faith in Christ to victory and eternal life? What would keep you from doing that just now as we pray?