We come to a difficult passage that has often caused confusion. Note first the main point that Paul is making against those who would say, "Well it's all right to carry on sinning then!". His response to that is not that we oughtn't to, but that our position stops it! In asserting this he first says, "We died to sin". Note the past tense.

"When did it happen?" we might ask. The answer comes quickly, when we were baptised into Christ. The Scriptures talk of Christians being "in Christ", part of a mystical body united by the Holy Spirit. Paul also says we are "baptised into his death". In the Greek language the word "baptism" was used of vessels being immersed in liquid, or of cloth being immersed when it was being dyed. It really means to go down into, or in this context to go into and share in, so we share in Christ's death.

How? Well when we came to him we had to die to self and surrender our lives to him, just as he did when he went to the Cross. We died to the past. There is a sense, therefore, where we live in a permanent attitude of death to self and death to the old past life. It is in this attitude, this environment if you like, that there is no room for sin. In the environment of death sin has no place. But that, we'll soon see, is not all there is to it, that is not the end!

D. Application?

1. When I came to Jesus I gave up the past life of self, I died to it.

2. In this life now I am free from the power of sin.

Chapter: Rom 6

Passage: Rom 6:5-10

A. Find Out:

1. In what 2 ways are we united with Christ? v.5,8

2. What happened to our old self? v.6a

3. What effect has that had? v.6b

4. What does death do? v.7

5. What was the first effect of the resurrection? v.9

6. What was its second effect? v.10

B. Think :

1. How is unity with Christ essential to Paul's argument here?

2. Why are we freed from the power of sin?

C. Comment :

Remember Paul's main point in this section is that we have died to sin. His point now is that for the Christian, resurrection always follows death. He clarifies the point about death by saying, "our old self was crucified with him". This may be considered in three ways. First, that in coming to Christ we laid down our old self and gave it up to him. Second, Christ died for the punishment that our old godless self deserved, he carried our sin in his body at his death. Third, there is a sense that, because we are "in Him" or "in Christ" we are now part of his body, and what the body has experienced, we experienced.

The emphasis here is that because we have died, sin no longer holds sway over us. Once a body dies physically, the affairs of the world have no effect upon it. Similarly, if we have died to the old self, it no longer has power to lead us into sin.

But we also share something of Christ's resurrection life. Once Christ died and rose again, death no longer had power over him, and not only that the sin activity of the world about him no longer affected him. His life was now totally God conscious. The inference is obvious. If we died as we have been considering, the resurrection life we receive from Him means that we are now living in a different dimension and the old power of sin can no longer pull us.

D. Application?

1. Christ's life is mine. Galatians 2:20

2. Sin does NOT have power over this sort of life!

Chapter: Rom 6

Passage: Rom 6:11-14

A. Find Out:

1. How are we to consider ourselves? v.11

2. What are we not to let happen? v.12

3. What aren't we to do? v.13a

4. What are we to do instead? v.13b

5. Why is sin not to be our master? v.14

B. Think :

1. How is behaviour to follow understanding?

2. What is the negative aspect of this passage?

3. What is the very positive aspect of it?

C. Comment :

Christianity is very positive! People who say it is all "You mustn't" have never read the apostle Paul. Having first said our position is one of death to the old life, he says "Be positive, count yourself, or consider yourself, dead to sin", i.e. consider that sin has no effect upon you. This means that it can no longer rule or dominate you, so you rule over it! Indeed don't give your body any opportunity to be involved with sin. That was all the past life, the life when you were living by rules and regulations, that is in the past so consider it past.

Now let's come to the even more positive side of it. You are now "alive to God" through Jesus Christ, you now have access to the presence of God, to the experience of Him. Give yourself to Him, offer your body to be used by Him. You are under grace, under the rule of His love, so simply receive all His blessings.

Note also that we have to believe our position and act upon it. When we start to act in that way we will find our position is true, we ARE dead to (the power of) sin and we'll also find that we ARE alive to God. It's when we actually start to live like this that we'll realise it IS true. The Bible tells us that this IS our position but we won't know it until we seek to prove it. Let's do it!

D. Application?

1. As a Christian, I am dead to sin and alive to God and I must reject

Satan's lies to the contrary.

2. Wow, I don't HAVE to do wrong!

Chapter: Rom 6

Passage: Rom 6:15-23

A. Find Out:

1. What supposed question does Paul now address? v.15

2. To whom do you become a slave? v.16a

3. What are the two possibilities? v.16b

4. What have we become? v.18

5. What are we to do with our bodies? v.19

6. In what had the old life resulted? v.20,21

7. What does the new life result in? v.23

B. Think :

1. What two sorts of life are contrasted?

2. What are the consequences of each?

C. Comment :

Paul now takes another question that might be raised, "Can we sin now we're not under the law?". Paul's answer to that could perhaps be put, "Do you really want to when you think about it?"

First, he says if you give yourself to someone to obey them you are their slave, you are under their rule. Now, he says, you either give yourself to sin (if that's what you really want) or you give yourself to obedience to God, it's one or the other. You used to give yourself to sin but you left that to be obedient to God. The two lifestyles are mutually exclusive, you can have one OR the other, but not both.

Right, he continues, think of it in terms of what you do in a practical way. Previously you gave your lives to impurity and wickedness but now you give them over to acts of righteousness (again you can't do both at the same time, they're mutually exclusive!).

Lastly he gets them to consider the results of these two opposite lifestyles. The first produced death (which is separation from God). The second produces righteousness (being on right standing with God), holiness (separation to God and definitely different), and eternal life (the life of God's presence in us and with us for ever).

D. Application?

1. Sin and obedience to God are mutually exclusive, I can't do them both.

2. I need to commit myself to one or the other.

Chapter: Rom 7

Passage: Rom 7:1-6

A. Find Out:

1. When did the Law have authority over a man? v.1

2. How does this apply in marriage? v.2,3

3. How does this apply to us and the law? v.4

4. What used to happen to us? v.5

5. How have we been released from that? v.6a

6. With what result? v.6b

B. Think :

1. What is the main point that Paul is making here?

2. How does he use civil law to illustrate what has happened to us?

C. Comment :

From placing the emphasis on sin, Paul now places the emphasis on the law, that being the cause of so much of our failure. He first of all comments on civil, every day law and reminds us that it affects us only while we are alive. He uses the example of marriage to illustrate this and having done that he turns to the spiritual dimension.

In the same way that a dead man is impervious to the civil law, so we become impervious to the spiritual Law of the Old Testament when we die to the old life which was based upon rule keeping. That law had just created a sense of failure within us and, if anything, provoked us to give up and give in to sin.

Now, he says, we are in Christ, in that dimension where, instead of trying to do right by following the rules, we do right as the Spirit of Christ leads us. The power of sin, that hung over us as we sought to follow the rules, has been completely broken, because we are no longer trying to keep the rules but are just enjoying the wonder of God's love and being led by His Spirit. This is why Christianity is different from any other so-called "religion", because it ISN'T about following rules to try to be good, it's about being made good by God and then having an inner power to enable us to express that good.

D. Application?

1. The power of the law has been broken as we have been delivered from

"rule-keeping".

2. The Spirit now leads us into holiness.

Chapter: Rom 7

Passage: Rom 7:7-13

A. Find Out:

1. What did the Law do? v.7

2. How does sin react to the Law? v.8

3. What did the Law do in Paul? v.9-11

4. How does Paul describe the Law though? v.12

5. Why did the Law produce death in him? v.13

B. Think :

1. What question does Paul deal with now?

2. What had the Law done in Paul?

3. With what purpose?

C. Comment :

Having previously made a general comment that he has died to the law, for it only brought death (v.5), Paul now explains more fully by way of an answer to a possible question, "Is the law bad then?" He answers by the following means:

First, he says he wouldn't have known what sin was unless he had the law. He illustrates this by reference to coveting (desiring others' goods etc.). Until the law had said "Don't!" he hadn't thought about it, but as soon as was told "Don't!" he found every desire in him rising up to want to do it. This was sin within him (that rebellious, self-centred tendency that rejects God) and that then made him feel further from God, and feelings of guilt, shame, failure and more striving would have arisen, which he calls "death" i.e. the complete absence of God's life presence in it all.

So, he says, the command that is supposed to be good brings death. That which was said for my benefit actually pushes me further away from God. It's not the law that is wrong, it only goes to show up the sin in us. No, the law is good, you can't criticise or blame the law, it's the sin in me that reacts to it that is wrong. That's why we need a completely new life, and we need Jesus to bring it to us.

D. Application?

1. Have I learnt that concentrating on keeping the rules only creates guilt

and shame in me with the inevitable failure that I experience.

2. God knows I need a Saviour - Jesus!

Chapter: Rom 7

Passage: Rom 7:14-20

A. Find Out:

1. How does Paul describe himself? v.14

2. What did he find happened? v.15

3. What did he conclude about the law? v.16

4. What was it causing the problem? v.17

5. What opposing desire was in him? v.18

6. What, does he repeat, keeps happening? v.19

7. So what was his conclusion? v.20

B. Think :

1. Why does Paul say the law is good?

2. What was his problem?

3. What did he conclude about that?

C. Comment :

In these verses we find a summary of the conflict that so many people find; they want to do good but find they can't! This is the problem that faces every person who seeks to be righteous, a desire to do what is right but an inability to achieve it. Many of us have these longings to live 'good' lives but as we focus on trying to be good, we find we fail, in thought, word or deed. This is at the heart of the Good News, this facing the truth about our own inability to be truly good.

We really do need to face this truth in the same way that Paul faces it. We really do have a problem, especially when we really do want to be good. The man who desires to be righteous has an even bigger problem than the man who doesn't care. Verse 18 could perhaps we put, "I realise I'm bad inside. I want to be good but can't!"

Until we face the dilemma we will never really see the need that we have for a Saviour. The bad man clearly needs to be saved from his bad, but the "good" man, the man who at least desires to be good ALSO needs a Saviour, because the more HE tries to be good the more he becomes aware of that other side of him which lets him down. Yes, whether we are good or bad we all need a saviour.

D. Application?

       Have I realised that I am hopeless when it is just me trying to be good. I NEED Jesus!

Chapter: Rom 7

Passage: Rom 7:21-25

A. Find Out:

1. What 'law' was working in Paul? v.21

2. What was his desire? v.22

3. Yet what was happening? v.23

4. How did he describe himself? v.24

5. What was the answer? v.25a

6. What two things operated in him? v.25b

B. Think :

1. What, again, does Paul say is the problem?

2. What, however, does he say is the answer?

C. Comment :

We need to be quite clear as we look back over this set of Studies, that Paul is not advocating here a life of continual failure. The point that he is making strongly is that in himself he continually fails BUT with Jesus Christ there IS an alternative.

In chapter 6 he went to some lengths to describe our position, dead to sin. Now in chapter 7 he has been talking about sin rising up and overcoming us. How do the two things harmonise? Well, in chapter 6 the position he described involved us sharing the resurrection life of Jesus. Here he is emphasising our helplessness without Christ. We may have great desires to do good, to follow God's law, but if it's just us, then the old sin life rears up again and produces failure. No, it has to be a life where Jesus delivers us by His life within us.

That's what chapter 8 is all about, having the Spirit of Christ within us, setting us free from what Paul has just been describing. It is the power of the Spirit within, setting our minds on him, that enables us to live, not rule centred lives, but Christ centred lives. This is what the Gospel is all about, us having new lives, having a new focus, having a new freedom because of what Jesus has done on the Cross and by what he is doing in us by his Spirit.

D. Application?

1. I'm freed from law, freed from constant failure, freed to live by the

power of God in me.

2. Lord thank you!!!!!!!

RECAP: "Death to the Past" - Rom 6:1 - 7:25

SUMMARY :

In these final 8 studies we have seen Paul saying:

  - we have died to sin when we were baptised into Jesus

  - sin thus no longer holds sway over us

  - we also share in Jesus' resurrection life

  - because we are to dead to sin we are not to let it hold sway in us

  - we give ourselves either to sin or to obeying God

  - these are mutually exclusive & as we obey God there is no room for sin

     in us.

  - similarly, we have died to the law and it has no power to provoke sin and

     cause death in us

  - law just made him aware of sinful desires

  - he wanted to obey the law but of himself found he had no power to do it

  - it's only as we are lead by the Spirit of Jesus that we overcome

     these things

COMMENT :

These two chapters declare our position as having died to sin, the old life, and the law. If we concentrate on trying to keep the law we find sinful desires keep rising up in us. The law clearly shows us that we need a Saviour, Jesus. As we focus on him and allow him to lead us by his Spirit, we find we triumph over sin and keep the law automatically

LESSONS :

1. I died to my old life when I surrendered to Jesus and I am to live like that

continually

2. Sin therefore doesn't have power over me

3. Rule keeping accentuates wrong desires in me and leads to failure.

4. I need Jesus to save me from this failure.

5. I am to put Jesus, not the law, at the centre of my life

6. I am to commit myself to obeying him as he leads me by his Spirit

PRAY :

1. Worship Jesus, your Saviour today.

2. Praise him for the wonder of what he has achieved.

SUMMARY

In these first 7 chapters of Romans we have seen:

1. Paul's Introduction (1:1-17)

- Paul revealing himself, his Gospel and his readers

- Paul declaring the exclusive wonder of this Gospel

2. All Are Lost ( 1:18 - 3:20 )

- the foolishness of sin & the wrath of God on it

- none of us is excused, we are all guilty

- all are aware of what is right - and fail to do it

- Jews are just as guilty as Gentiles of failure

- God has a plan to deal with it

3. Righteousness by Faith ( 3:21 - 4:25 )

- God introduces a new righteousness

- this comes by believing in Jesus as God's Son who is Lord

and Saviour

- there is no room for pride, it isn't by effort

- we are "credited" with righteousness, like Abraham

- circumcision came after faith & wasn't the answer

- it is not by rule keeping but a gift from God

4. Fruits of Justification (5:1-21)

- are peace, hope and love

- is reassurance in that Jesus died for us while we were

sinners, we are accepted as we are

- Adam brought death by sin, Jesus brought life

- we are promised eternal life

5. Death to the Past (6:1 - 7:25)

- we have died to sin

- we have died to the old life

- we have died to the law

- we are alive to God

- we receive Jesus' resurrection life

- sin now has no hold over us

- in our own strength it overcomes us

- Jesus is our Saviour daily

- we are not law-keepers but Jesus lovers

- in that we triumph over sin and the law

CONCLUSIONS

As we conclude this set of studies let's note the following things that come out of this amazing letter from the apostle Paul:

1. The Predicament of Man

This letter, like virtually no other book in the Bible, reveals the extent human sin and shows the desperate state of man:

- First godless man, ignoring God gets into a worse and worse state as God

   gives him up to sin and its effects.

- Then there is religious man who tries to keep the divine rules but fails

   constantly.

- There is also righteous seeking man who hasn't heard of God's law but

    has his own standards, which he is unable to keep.

Every group fails and deserves punishment, every man NEEDS a saviour.

2. The Wisdom of God

First, it is a wisdom that is the expression of love, that reaches out to lost mankind and provides a way for man to be reconciled to God while man is still a sinner, and yet justice is seen to be done.

God provides One to take the punishment for any man who will avail himself of the offer. Thus any man's sin IS punished, while the man himself goes free.

It enables man to take his eyes off the law and trying to do good and places his eyes on One who loves him through and through. As man responds to the wonder of that love, and surrenders his life to the One who died for him, he dies to his old life and to sin.

When he does this he receives forgiveness and cleansing, and the Holy Spirit to live within, and thus is given a new life to live here on earth, and then into eternity. He is a new man! Who could have dreamt up such a salvation? Hallelujah, what a Saviour!