Part 2"

But let us look closely at what is being taught.

In the previous chapter (Romans, Chapter Six), Paul had warned us sternly that if they continue to practice sin, saved, baptized Christians will die spiritually. The believer must choose to serve righteousness. If he chooses to serve God, the end result is a holy life. If he attains a holy life, the result is eternal life.

But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life (Romans 6:22).

So it is obvious that Paul would not state in the next chapter of Romans that it is impossible for us to live a righteous life. This would be inconsistent after what he taught throughout Chapter Six. Well then, what is Paul teaching in Chapter Seven of the Book of Romans?

First, let us recall that he is speaking to Jewish Christians in Rome who were being tempted, as were the Christians in Galatia, to combine the Law of Moses with the Gospel of Christ.

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? (Romans 7:1).

The seventh chapter of Romans is addressed to Jewish Christians, or to those who have been influenced by them, and is explaining that the Law of Moses and the Gospel of Christ are not to be mixed. Adding the works of the Law, such as circumcision, to the Gospel will not strengthen the believer. It will cause him to turn his eyes away from Christ and attempt to save himself by the works of the Jewish Law.

The argument in the seventh chapter is not attempting to persuade Christians that there is no point in repentance, in righteous living, in striving to please God and be obedient to God. Paul is not claiming that the Christian is doomed to walk in the sins of the flesh. This would deny his statements in the sixth and eighth chapters of Romans, as well as in many other passages.

Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God (II Corinthians 7:1).

In the seventh chapter of Romans, Paul is reasoning with the Jews concerning the effectiveness of the Gospel as compared with the Law of Moses. Paul is showing that the Law of Moses does not provide a satisfying solution to the problem of sin.

The person who is zealous of pleasing God in action, in speech, and in motive and imagination will discover that there is a law of sin dwelling in his flesh that deceives him into behaving in a manner contrary to the standards of behavior required by the Law—particularly by the Ten Commandments.

It is one matter to recognize that the human personality contains indwelling sin and that only the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is effective in delivering us from that sin.

It is quite another matter to interpret Paul’s teaching in Romans, Chapter Seven to mean that the believer is to forget about his conduct on earth because it is impossible for him to please God by his behavior. He is only to trust in the forgiveness of God through Christ. The human being is a debtor to the flesh as long as he lives. We are obliged to continue in our sins but we are saved by grace (defined as unconditional forgiveness).

If such is true, let us throw out the Books of First John, First and Second Peter, Hebrews, James, Revelation, and most of the writings of Paul. These books do not emphasize salvation through Christ’s forgiveness, although Christ’s forgiveness undergirds all writings of the new covenant. The books we have mentioned emphasize repentance and righteous conduct.

John goes so far as to warn us that if we are not keeping God’s commandments we have no part in the new covenant.

He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him (I John 2:4).

Was righteousness expected under the old covenant, or were the Israelites to continue in their sins, hoping they would be saved by grace when Christ came?

If you were an Israelite under the old covenant, how would you respond to the Word of God?

Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart. They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways (Psalms 119:2,3).

Did many Israelites serve God by doing His commandments and seeking His Presence? Of course they did. Did they "seek him with the whole heart"?

Yes, they did. Many of them did. Did they practice righteousness and walk in his ways? Yes they did—by the thousands!

Did such righteous Israelites ever sin?

Of course they did, and God made provision for them in the sin and trespass offerings.

Notice the testimony of Zacharias and Elizabeth:

And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless (Luke 1:6).

Did Zacharias and Elisabeth attain righteousness?

Yes, they did. How did they attain righteousness?

By walking blamelessly in all the commandments and ordinances of the Law of Moses.

What does Luke 1:6 above do to the teachings of grace that hold that no person was advised under the old covenant or is advised under the new covenant to attempt to behave righteously because this is an insult to the grace of God?

Luke 1:6 reveals the error of such teaching. It is not scriptural and it never entered the mind of Paul. It is the product of later teachers who misunderstood Paul.

What, then, does Paul mean by saying, "by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified (attain the standing of righteousness in the sight of God)"?

Paul means that now that the righteousness of God has been revealed in the death and resurrection of Christ, we no longer are to return to an inferior covenant, the Law of Moses, making the cross of Christ an unnecessary sacrifice on God’s part.

Paul does not mean that under the old covenant no person was able to please God, because that would contradict Luke 1:6.

Let us offer the following paraphrase of verses seventeen and eighteen of the second chapter of Galatians, in the light of Paul’s attack on the doctrine of the Judaizers who were attempting to persuade the Galatian Christians to be circumcised and to adopt other aspects of the Law of Moses as part of their salvation in Christ:

"If in the process of seeking to attain right standing in the sight of God through faith in Christ, we sin, does that mean that Christ endorses sin?

"God forbid that such a thing should be.

"If I return to a life of sin, building again the life of the natural man, I prove that I am a transgressor, a lawless person.

"It is true, rather, that I am dead to the Law of Moses, because the Law killed me. My death releases me to be raised from the dead in Christ so that I may live to God, not being obligated to attempt to please God by the laws to which I now am dead.

"Therefore Christ is not causing me to sin. Rather, He has enabled me to lay aside the Mosaic statutes and turn my attention to God."

Continuing with verse 20:

"Circumcision, the Ten Commandments, the laws of foods and the observances of days, no longer apply to me. I am crucified with Christ. As soon as a person dies the Law of Moses no longer applies. Circumcision, the Ten Commandments, the laws of foods and of religious days, have no authority over a dead person.

"The Law governs the living, it does not govern the dead. After death there follows resurrection and judgment, not a continuation of the requirements of the Law of Moses.

"I did not come back to life, bringing myself back under the Law of Moses. It is true that I am alive, but in actual fact it is not I who am living. It is Christ who is living in me. He did keep the Law of Moses perfectly, and then died so that the righteousness He earned under the Law might be applied to me, who was not able to keep the Law.

"Since my new life is Christ, and Christ observed the Law perfectly, I am righteous in Him.

"Christ loved me and gave Himself for me. Therefore I live by believing in Him, trusting in Him, relying on Him for every detail of my existence. Christ is my life. I am an eternal part of Him. For me to live is Christ.

"The Law of Moses no longer has any application to my life, any power to condemn me."

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