This post will almost conclude our study in Romans 7… we will have to step back into Romans 7 to set our context for our study in Romans 8 🙂

Yesterday we learned that the Law of God is good, righteous, and holy. We learned that the Law helps us see how very sinful our sin really is. Without the Law we would convince ourselves that our sin was really not that bad. Especially when we compared our sin to others. We can always find someone whose sin we think is worse than ours. However, what we learn from the Bible is that all of us are equally judged by the Law of God and none of us can keep it. That is why we need Jesus.

Today we are picking up our study in Romans in Romans 7:14-25. Today we will see that even after we are saved we are still at war with sin.

That’s why God gave us armor. Before we study today take a moment to go read Ephesians 6:10-18. Let’s put our armor on and pray that God would help us understand His Word and help us obey it. 

Now let us begin today’s study with reading Romans 7:14-25.

Romans 7:14-25

14 For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin.

15 For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.

16 But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good.

17 So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.

18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.

19 For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.

20 But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.

21 I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.

22 For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man,

23 but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.

24 Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?

25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.

Read Romans 7:14. 

What do we learn about the Law?

It is __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

What do we learn about ourselves?

I am of __ __ __ __ __, sold into __ __ __ __ __ __ __ to __ __ __

Read Romans 7:15 very slowly. Fill in the blanks below to complete the verse.

For what I am doing,

__   __ __   __ __ __   __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but

__  __ __  __ __ __ __ __ the very thing I __ __ __ __

THINK ABOUT IT…

Have you ever felt like Paul in Romans 7:15? Have you ever wanted to do the right thing, because you knew it was right, but instead you did something that knew was wrong? Maybe you told your mom or dad or brother or sister or even your best friend that you hated them, when you know you don’t, but when your feeling were hurt or you were angry it just came out. Then you felt really bad for saying it… and feeling it.

Read Romans 7:16. What does it show about us, when we know that something we did was wrong and we really hate that we did it?

it shows we  __ __ __ __ __  with the  __ __ __ ,

confessing that the  __ __ __  is  __ __ __ __

Now if we confess that the Law is good and the problem is us, not the Law of God. And, if we have confessed Jesus as Lord and we have been united with Him in His death, burial, and resurrection (remember Romans 6:3-4). Why do we still sin?

Let’s read Romans 7:17-19 very slowly to find out. Fill in the blanks below to complete the verses as you read.

So now, no longer am __  the __ __ __ doing __ __, but __ __ __ which __ __ __ __ __ __ in __ __

For I know that __ __ __ __ __ __ __  __ __ __ __  dwells in __ __, that is __ __   __ __ __ __ __

for the __ __ __ __ __ __ __ is present in __ __, but the __ __ __ __ __  of the __ __ __ __ is __ __ __

For the __ __ __ __ that I __ __ __ __, I do  __ __ __  do, but I __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ the very __ __ __ __ that I  __ __   __ __ __  want

Read Romans 7:20. What is the cause of all this struggle inside of us? 

the __ __ __ which __ __ __ __ __ __ in me

THINK ABOUT IT… 

Do you know any Christians who got a new body after they were saved? No? Me either. I still have my old one too. When we become Christians and Jesus comes to live in us, our sin is still in us too. The difference is that now that sin is no longer our boss. Jesus is. So now we have Jesus to help us fight sin and to help us not sin. When before we were Christians, we had no power over sin. We may not even have recognized that some things were a sin. So now as Christian, we have a struggle with this flesh of ours that still wants to do bad things sometimes, and our hearts that want us to do the good and right things that please God. 

Go to a computer and put this link in your search bar, it’s a video from Candace that kind of helps you see this struggle in action.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iq6Cbd5YxA

Read Romans 7:21. What does this struggle reveal to us? 

1. __ __ __ __  is present in me
2. but I want to  __ __     __ __ __ __

Read Romans 7:22. Where do we joyfully concur (or agree) with the law of God?

in the __ __ __ __ __    __ __ __

Read Romans 7:23. Where do we see the different law (the law of sin)?

in the members of my __ __ __ __

Read Romans 7:23 again. What is happening between the different law at work in the members of our body and  the law of our mind that knows God’s law is good?

they are at  __ __ __

THINK ABOUT IT…

Do you think that even as a Christian you could go a whole week and never sin?

Read Romans 7:24. What conclusion do we come to when we try not to sin and to keep the Law of God? 

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ man that I am!

Do you know what “wretched” means? It means poor, miserable, despicable, absolutely pitiful! 

The harder we try to keep God’s law on our own, the more we realize we can’t. 

Read Romans 7:24 again. What question is asked?

__ __ __  will set me  __ __ __ __  from the body of this  __ __ __ __ __?

Read Romans 7:25. Who is the “Who” that will set us free?

__ __ __ __ __

WOW! Jesus saves us today from the power of sin and the effects of sin, and one day He will save us from this body of sin as well. We will learn more about this in Romans 8. Right now let’s just stop here for the day and spend some time thanking God for Jesus. Why not sing the first part of Amazing Grace as a praise to God right now.

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Now we will be digging into Romans 7:7-13…

Romans 7:7-13

7 What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “You shall not covet.”

8 But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead.

9 I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died;

10 and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me;

11 for sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.

12 So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.

13 Therefore did that which is good become a cause of death for me? May it never be! Rather it was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by effecting my death through that which is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful.

Romans 7:7 begins with more questions. What are they?

1. What shall we say then?
2. __ __   the  __ __ __    __ __ __?

Read Romans 7:7 again. What is Paul’s answer to these questions?

__ __ __    __ __   __ __ __ __ __   __ __!

What does Paul say that he would not have come to know had it not been for the Law?

__ __ __

THINK ABOUT IT…

How does knowing the Ten Commandments help you know when you are sinning? When you tell a lie, take something that is not yours, disobey your parents, or even want something that belongs to someone else… are you reminded of what God says about that by the Ten Commandments and other verses you have learned from the Bible?

Read Romans 7:8-11. This might be hard to understand as you read it. So go ahead and read it two times.

Now maybe what Romans 7:8-11 is saying is that, before you knew God’s Law, you probably thought you were pretty good. When you heard God’s Law the first time, you might even have thought you could do a pretty good job of keeping it. 

Look up and read Matthew 19:16-22. You will read about a man who thought he could keep all the commandments too.

According to Matthew 19:21 what did Jesus say that the young man still needed to do?

__ __ __ __ all his __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

and come,  __ __ __ __ __ __    __ __

What commandment or commandments do you think the young man was unable to keep? Write your answer below.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

THINK ABOUT IT…

As you read Romans 7:7-11 and you read about the young man in Matthew 19:16-22 do you think that the Law is bad since it was because of the Law that sin was woken up in you? 

Go back and read Romans 1:18-20, Romans 2:12-16, and Romans 3:19-20.

What did these verse teach us about the Law of God? 

So is the Law good or is the Law bad? Explain your answer to the adult that is helping you with this study.

Read Romans 7:12. What does this verse tell us about the Law of God? Fill in the blanks below with the answer.

the Law is __ __ __ __

the commandment is __ __ __ __

and __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

and __ __ __ __

Read Romans 7:13. How does this verse begin? Unscramble the letters to get your answer.

HTREEFROE     __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

Remember when there is a “therefore” we need to find out what the “therefore” is there for. This “therefore” is referring back to what we just learned, that the Law is good.

Read Romans 7:13 again. 

What is Paul’s question?

did that which is good become a cause of __ __ __ __ __ for __ __?

What is the answer to this question?

__ __ __    __ __    __ __ __ __ __    __ __!

Read Romans 7:13 again. What is it that causes death in us. Circle your answer.

Law                    sin

Read Romans 7:13 one more time. What good thing does the Law do for us?

it makes sin __ __ __ __ __ __ __    __ __ __ __ __ __

Whew! That was a lot! We will stop here and think about all that we have learned. Let’s end today’s study with talking to our God. Let’s thank Him that we are saved by faith in Jesus and not our ability to keep the Law.

It’s time to begin digging into Romans 7…

Romans 7:1-6

1 Or do you not know, brethren (for I am speaking to those who know the law), that the law has jurisdiction over a person as long as he lives?

2 For the married woman is bound by law to her husband while he is living; but if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning the husband.

3 So then, if while her husband is living she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man.

4 Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.

5 For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death.

6 But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.

Read Romans 7:1. How does it begin?

__ __ do you not know,

THINK ABOUT IT…

How many complete thought sentences do you know that begin with the word “or”? “Or” is a conjunction word. This means it joins together two sentences, or two thoughts by either comparing, contrasting, or conjoining them. If Romans 7 begins with the word “or” then we need to find out what two sentences or thoughts are being joined together. So let’s go back and begin reading at Romans 6:20.

Read Romans 6:20-7:1. How long does the law have jurisdiction over a person?

__ __    __ __ __ __    __ __    __ __    __ __ __ __ __

Read Romans 7:2-3. What example does Paul give us to explain how the law was over us? Unscramble the words to get your answer.

MIRAREGA      __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

THINK ABOUT IT…

Have you ever been to a wedding? When the couple getting married says their wedding vows, or wedding promises to one another, that promise ends with “until death do us part”

The husband and wife are supposed to keep these promises to one another and make them with no one else. These promises to one another are for life.

But if one of them dies, then the promises are able to be made to someone else.

Paul is trying to show us here that we are bound to the law until we die in Christ like we learned happens Romans 6. 

It’s kind of like we are married to the law. But when we die in Christ, the law does not matter anymore, because we are now free to be married to Jesus. 

Read Romans 7:4. What usually happens when people get married? Look at the picture below to get your answer.

They have __ __ __ __ __ __

Read Romans 7:4 again. If we have died to the law and have been married to Christ what should we be doing for God?

__ __ __ __ __ __ __     __ __ __ __ __

Remember what we learned in our Romans Part One Study?

Go back and read Matthew 7:16-20 and John 15:1-8. Then answer the question below.

How do we know if we belong to God?

We should bear  __ __ __ __   fruit for __ __ __

Read Romans 7:5. When we were in the flesh what did our bodies bear fruit for? 

__ __ __ __ __

Read Romans 7:6. When we were bound to the Law we served in the oldness of the letter. No matter how hard we tried to keep the Law, we just couldn’t. Now in Jesus we are dead to the Law. How do we serve now?

in the __ __ __ __ __ __ __  of the __ __ __ __ __ __

Read Galatians 5:22-23. This passage describes to us what our fruit should be when we serve in the Spirit. Fill the tree below with the fruit of the Spirit. 

Now for the rest of Romans 6…

Romans 6:12-23

12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts,

13 and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.

14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be!

16 Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?

17 But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed,

18 and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.

19 I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.

20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.

21 Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death.

22 But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We learned in Romans 6:1-11 that we were baptized into Jesus Christ, which means that…

 – when He died, we died

 – when He was buried, we were buried

 – when He was raised, we were raised

 – death is no longer master over Him 

 – sin is no longer master over us

• and since Jesus lives to God, so should we

Now we are going to begin digging into Romans 6:12-23…

Read Romans 6:12. What word does it begin with?

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

Remember that when we see a “therefore” we need to look back at the verses before it to see what the “therefore” is there for. Read Romans 6:8-11 to find out what the “therefore” is there for.

Read Romans 6:12 again. What command does God give us in this verse?

Do not let __ __ __ reign in your mortal __ __ __ __

Read Romans 6:13. What command are we given in this verse?

Do not go on presenting the members of your body to

__ __ __  as instruments of unrighteousness

Read Romans 6:13 again. Who and what are we to present ourselves to?

to  __ __ __  as those alive from the dead,

and your members as instruments of

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __   to God

Read Romans 6:14. How are we able to present our body to God as an instrument of righteousness? 

For __ __ __ shall __ __ __ be master over you

Read Romans 6:14 again. As a Christian, sin is no longer master over you and death is no longer master over you. So according to this verse what are we under? Circle your answer.

law               grace

Read Romans 6:15. If we are under grace and not law, does that mean that we can sin whenever we want to? 

May it  __ __ __ __ __  be!

Read Romans 6:16-22. Now that we are freed from sin, does that mean that we are slaves to noone and nothing? Read through these verses and answer the questions below.

If you have been freed from sin, what are you now a slave to? (hint:look at Romans 6:18)

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

If you have been freed from sin, Who are you now enslaved to? (hint:look at Romans 6:22)

__ __ __

When you were a slave to sin, you obeyed sin. What does the Bible tell us is the result of obeying sin? Read Romans 16:16 to find the answer. 

__ __ __ __ __

When you become a slave to God, you obey righteousness. What does the Bible tell us is the result of obeying righteousness? Read Romans 16:19 to find the answer. 

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

When we become a Christian we get a new heart and a new master. This changes the way we live and the choices we make. Have you ever seen “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas”?

Type this link into your computer search bar: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eulSbXIjzk and watch the video clip.

Or if you have the movie at home, why not watch it with your family.

THINK ABOUT IT…

How did the Grinch change when his heart changed? Did his actions change? Did he get strength to do the right thing?

Romans 16:16-22 explains to us the difference in obeying sin and obeying righteousness. When we obey righteousness we learned the result is our sanctification.

Sanctification is a big word! It is a big and important word. As a matter of fact it is what Romans 6 – 8 is all about. So what exactly is sanctification?

Sanctification is the purification of our heart and life. Justification is when God forgives us and declares us not guilty of sin because Jesus paid our debt for us. Sanctification is when God begins to make us look and act like His children. 

Read Romans 16:22 again. What is the outcome of sanctification?

__ __ __ __ __ __ __        __ __ __ __

Read Romans 16:23. Right this verse out below. This one you need to memorize.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

THINK ABOUT IT…

Did you first begin the process of sanctification (making yourself pure) by obeying righteousness (keeping the law) and then earn your justification (pardon from sin) from God and receive eternal life?

Is it even possible for us to do that?

No it’s not.

That’s why eternal life is a gift from God. 

Remember Jesus is a gift to us from God (John 3:16). Justification is a gift to us from God in Jesus (Romans 3:24). Righteousness is a gift to us from God through Jesus (Romans 4:3). Sanctification is a result of the gifts of God to Jesus (Romans 6:22).

We can’t make ourselves good enough for God… God has to do that for us. 

How about we take a moment to tell God thank you!

I just realized I never posted Romans 5:12-21 🙂

Romans 5:12-21

Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned

13 for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.

14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.

15 But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.

16 The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification.

17 For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

18 So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.

19 For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.

20 The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,

21 so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Read Romans 5:12. Through how many men did sin enter the world? Circle your answer.

3       2       1       7

Read Romans 5:12 again. What entered the world through sin? 

__ __ __ __ __

Read Romans 5:12 one more time. How many men did death spread to? Circle your answer.

few       some      couple      several       all

Read Romans 5:13. What came first the Law or sin?

__ __ __

Read Romans 5:14. What reigned from Adam to Moses to prove that sin came first?

__ __ __ __ __

Did people die before God gave Israel the Law (Ten Commandments)? Circle your answer.

Yes            No

Read Romans 5:15-21. These verses compare and contrast two different men and two different events. We will learn about a man named Adam and a man named Jesus. Let’s do some background work.

Who is Adam? Read Genesis 1:26-29 and Genesis 2:15-25 to find out.

Who is Jesus? Read John 1:1-5, John 1:14-18, and John 3:16 to find out.

What happened because of Adam? Read Genesis 3:1-24 to find out.

What happened because of Jesus? Read John 14:1-31 to find out.

Adam disobeyed His Father. He sinned and had to leave the garden of his Father. He was unable to return.

Jesus obeyed the Father. He never sinned and has come to take us back to the Father with Him! He is the way back to the Father’s house for all who believe.

Now let’s turn back to Romans 5:15-21 and see what else we learn about Adam and Jesus and what they mean to us.

Read Romans 5:15. Complete the sentence below by filling in the blanks.

But the free gift is __ __ __ like the transgression.

What is the free gift. Look back at Romans 3:24 to find out. Fill in the blanks with your answer.

being __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

The free gift is being justified and receiving life. It is receiving the free gift of the grace of God.

The transgression is being condemned and receiving death. It it receiving the due penalty of the wrath of God.

These are two very different things aren’t they?

Read Romans 5:15-17 again and answer the following questions.

Who is “the one” who caused “the many” to die by transgression? 

__ __ __ __

Who is the one who caused the grace of God to abound to “the many”?

__ __ __ __ __

Read Romans 5:18-19. Look at the chart below. I have filled in the “what” and “results” section for you. I need you to fill in the “who” section.

Read Romans 5:20. Why did the Law come?

So __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __  would

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

Remember Romans 3:20? What comes through the Law?

the __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ of sin

Remember Romans 3:10-18? How many of us do good? Circle your answer.

some of us        all of us         none of us

Read Romans 5:20. What abounded all the more as sin increased?

__ __ __ __ __

Read Romans 5:21. Fill in the blanks below.

Sin reigned in __ __ __ __ __

Grace would reign in __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __  to eternal __ __ __ __ through __ __ __ __ __

THINK ABOUT IT…

Are you wondering, how does the Law make sin increase and how does an increase in sin lead to more grace? Those are good questions to wonder about.

When we read the Law and the rest of God’s Word we learn about His standard and His holiness. We learn what He says is good and right. 

When we learn what He says is good and right and then we compare our actions, thoughts, and words to His we realize that we are great sinners. We realize that we disobey. We realize that we are just like Adam in the garden. 

And if we are just like Adam then we realize that we under condemnation and the wrath of God.

When we realize this we have two choices.

We can stay where we are and continue to love sin.

We can cry out to God for help and believe on Jesus and be saved. In Adam all die. In Christ all who believe live.

Let’s close our study in Romans 5 by filling in the chart below with pictures to help illustrate the difference between Adam and Jesus.