ROMANS
CHAPTER 7
Law of Moses is fulfilled in Christ—Paul delights in the law of God after the inward man."#0448FC"
1 KNOW ye not, brethren, [ First his audience is those who are Jewish Christians in Rome. Paul is talking about the great things that he's heard about the saints in Rome. Unlike most of the other epistles that we're going to read throughout the rest of this year, Paul had never ministered to these individuals before. This is kind of a blind contact as it were. He had heard things. He knew about what those saints were doing in Rome and he had never personally met most of them. And so writing this epistle might seem impersonal at first. It might seem like he's just writing into the dark or into the void and hoping something will stick with these individuals, but he wants to make sure that they know that the good things that they've done have been recognized by him. we're looking probably in the late '50s A.D. so, Paul's within the last half to full decade of his life. This is towards the end of his third mission, so that the big mission that's going to take him throughout most of the Mediterranean and all's likely in Corinth, which is in modern day Greece, not too far outside of the city of Athens. Why is he writing to the Romans. If he's never been there, if he doesn't know them like the other epistles he's talking to friends that he converted? 1) it's because of their faith; 2) He is also trying to bring together those who come from a Jewish background into Christianity and those who come from a Christian background into the Gospel of Christ. ] (for I speak to them that know the law,) [ Talking to those who are Jewish Christians. It's kind of like keeping track of a dialogue. Okay, so he now is addressing Jewish Christians in Rome. So we need to read chapter 7 through that lens. ] how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? [ Paul emphasizes the temporal nature of the law that when you're living your mortal life, during your life, the law is what is over you. “Paul was an absolute genius at devising illustrations to drive home his gospel teachings. Here he compares Israel’s allegiance to the law of Moses with that of a wife to her husband. As long as her husband lives, a wife is bound to him, must obey his laws, and if she be with another, she is an adulteress. But when the husband dies, he can no longer direct her actions, and she is free to marry another; she can no longer be subject to him that is dead.
“so with Israel and the law. As long as the law lived, and was therefore in force, Israel was married to it and required to obey its provisions. If she went after other gods, or followed other religions, it was as adultery. But now the law is fulfilled; it no longer lives; it has become dead in Christ; and Israel is married to another, even to Christ, whose gospel law must now be obeyed.
“As a matter of fact, whenever the Melchizedek Priesthood—which ‘administereth the gospel’ (D. & C. 84:19)—was found in ancient Israel, the law of Moses was dead, and the people were alive in Christ. Hence, we find Nephi saying, some six hundred years before Christ, ‘Notwithstanding we believe in Christ, we keep the law of Moses, and look forward with steadfastness unto Christ, until the law shall be fulfilled. For, for this end was the law given; wherefore the law hath become dead unto us, and we are made alive in Christ because of our faith; yet we keep the law because of the commandments.’ (2 Ne. 25:24–25.)” (McConkie, DNTC, 2:253–54.). I think that maybe Paul is trying to bring the point forward in this chapter of "When we go into a marriage we do not fully understanding the background that our spouses had in their lives? The family traditions and cultures and such, and some of them can be opposite of what your family did. For example one spouse might have been in a family where the entire extended family got together Christmas Eve, while the other spouses family hada tradition of just relaxing at home in new pajamas. Which tradition is right? well neither however they could cause some conflict aas they are in opposition to each other. I think that this is were Paul finds himself traditions of the Jews and Gentiles, as well as cultures are different and they must come together. So he applies the concept that divorce is not an option here, we must figure it out and move forward." ]
2 For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband.
3 so then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; [ We're getting this idea that Paul is giving us an idea of what it is like to be a Jewish Christian by talking about who your spouse is. Referring to the Jewish law here, the woman was free to be able to marry again after her husband died. Now, Paul knows that this is a complicated situation and he is aware that someone will most likely read it and say, "Are you telling me the law is dead?" ] so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.
4 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; [ Imagine what that would be received as and say, "Whoa, wait a second. No, I grew up with the law. This is everything that I did in my life. Are you saying all of my years with the law were wasted?" That is not what Paul is saying at all. What he is saying is this: the law is dead in the fact that it has served it's purpose. It's not the law that has died. It's the individual who has died as pertaining to the law. ] that ye should be married to another, [ So why are you leaving the law? You're not leaving the law because the law doesn't have a purpose and that it wasn't good. You're leaving the law because Christ has now asked you to, because he's given you a new law, a new commandment, and that that is the focus of what your life should be now. Your focus is now the new law that Jesus Christ has given. And because Christ came and died, you are dead to the old law and you're now expected to follow the new one.] even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.
5 For when we were in the flesh, [ We came to earth to get a body of flesh, and then with that body we were to learn to subdue the flesh, to make it yield to the spirit and not the other way around. ] the motions of sins, [ Or the desires of the flesh, those carnal things to which the body craves naturally. This is what we have tp learn to overcome if we are to become like God. Does our spirit define our character? or Does the passions of our body define our character? Our father in heaven knew what we needed to be able to learn in order to become like him. We needed a body and to be able to overcome the lusts of that body that would be naturally there. He also knew that each of us would make mistakes and so he provided an atonement, a way out, a way to recover from those mistakes but in order to do so it would require action on our part. That action is the change of character. So our contribution to the atonement is to love God and love our fellow man. 1st we need to recognize that we need God, then we need to try to become like God. We come to this life in a way with a perfect spirit (Moses 6:54; D&C 93:38) and God provides us with an imperfect body, one that is subject to death, sickness and the desires of the flesh. when this life is over we are told that we will have a perfect body so the only thing that remains to differentiate us is our spirit. What did our spirit become in this life, what is our character? How close is it to God's character. So if our bodies are perfect then it will be out spirit that decides the kingdom where we will feel most comfortable. ] which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.
6 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.
[ Paul is telling these Roman saints, "The law basically told us what was right and what was wrong. It delineated what was right and what was wrong. And so it told us when we were sinning and when we were not sinning. Christ does more than that"? He says, now we are verse six, "We're serving in the newness of spirit and not in the oldness of the letter." So Christ has maybe changed why I don't sin, why I live the commandments? ]
7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: [ Or it is through the law that we learn right and wrong. The law teaches us proper character traits, the knowledge of God would have us do to be like him. ] for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.
[ ISV: "What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin but by the law. For had I not known lust except the law had said thou shalt not covet." But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law, sin was dead." ]
8 But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. [ If we take it directly from Greek it would read: "it had wrought in me all manner of covetousness." ] For without the law sin was dead.
9 For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.
[ Or the commandments are there to teach us where we are going wrong. They provide guilt and it is through guilt that we learn to repent or not. Guilt instructs us that a change needs to be made. With the law, we have sin, but without the law, sin is dead. Or before you(remember this audience here are primarily the Jews who have and have lived by the law) lived the law, but the law is not what binds you to God going forward. It's the Atonement of Jesus Christ." And so, you need to be loving kindness. You need to show loving kindness and grace to those Gentile Christians who aren't coming from that same background. What does this even mean? Jacob gives us the answer in 2 Nephi 9:25-26 "Wherefore he has given a law. And where there is no law given there is no punishment. And where there is no punishment, there is no condemnation. And where there is no condemnation, the mercies of the Holy One of Israel have claim upon them because of the atonement, for they are delivered by the power of him." What Paul's trying to say in these verses is that Jacob told the ancient Nephites is, "If you don't know the law (Hebrew the word for law generally is Torah. And then the word for the law, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy is Torah.), you are not held accountable by it." Now for us as Latter-day Saints, we go, "Yes, that makes sense. That's awesome." But for a Jewish audience that was hard to get their mind around because the Jews of the day believed that Torah was universally binding on everyone regardless of who they were. God's law was to be bound on all people regardless of whether they knew it or not. some commentators on this verse think that maybe Paul's gusto and real fire to be faithful, we think about Paul's experiences as Saul where he is persecuting the saints. We could go to Philippians where Paul says, "I was circumcised on the eighth day." It's kind of like somebody today maybe saying, "I was baptized at midnight on my eighth birthday."
"The very second I could be baptized, I was baptized. That's how zealous I was." But some people wonder, did Paul maybe fall away from Judaism for a while. As Paul is getting ingrained in the world, was there a time that he felt alive without the law once? That he stepped away from it? "But then when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. I realized that I needed to sacrifice the only thing I can sacrifice to God, which is my will to follow his commandments."
And so, maybe Paul is really sympathetic for those that are his Jewish Christian audience in these verses because he said, "I know what it's like to go without the law for a while and then to come back and to try and figure this out." And I think this is something for all of us that if there are times in our lives where we have lost commitment or maybe fallen away, that Paul is another example of many, many people who have felt a revival to come back. It's never too late. ]
13 Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.
14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
[ ISV: "For we know that the commandment is spiritual. But when I was under the law, I was yet carnal, sold under sin." Robert J. Matthews wrote, 'As rendered in the KJV, Paul is sinful, carnal, and wicked even after years in the apostleship and knows not how to do good or even what is good. The JST rewords the passage in such a way as to show the difference between Paul's life while under the law of Moses and his life after he failed and obeyed the gospel of Christ. In the Joseph Smith translation, Paul explains that when he was living under the law of Moses, he was carnal. But through the gospel, including receiving its covenants and ordinances, he has become spiritual. Most important that Joseph Smith translation states that it is only in Christ that he learned how to be a good man and that through the assistance of Christ, Paul subdues the sin within him'." ]
15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
[ ISV: "But now I am spiritual. For that which I'm commanded to do, I do. And that which I am commanded not to allow, I allow not." ]
16 If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
[ ISV:"For what I know is not right, I would not do. For that which is sin, I hate." So in summary the law of Moses was helpful because it helped us to be able to know what we should and shouldn't do. But it was carnal because going back to verse 1, it was temporal. It was just, "How do we live in this life? How do I live my day-to-day life? When Jesus Christ came, he came to elevate our focus from a temporal focus to a spiritual focus." And now the laws are about spirituality. "What am I doing to become?" Abinadi did a great job teaching this in two verses at the end of Mosiah 16, because he came and asked the wicked priest, "What are you teaching?" And they said, "The law of Moses." "Well, why don't you keep it?" And he lectured him on what the law is. So MOsiah 16:14 says: "Therefore, if ye teach the law of Moses, also teach it is a shadow of those things which are to come." And then the next verse, "Teach them that redemption cometh through Christ the Lord who is the very eternal Father. Amen." ]
18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
[ Paul continues with the law of Moses by asking the question, "Who's going to redeem me from both physical and spiritual death? If the law is temporal, then it was only meant for our mortal life, but what does that mean for me when this life is over?" Paul has been coming down pretty hard on his audience here, trying to correct years and years of training. And so to be able to say, "I know your hearts. I know that you're good people. I've heard nothing but good about you. Please do not take this as me simply saying, "You're wretched.” because I know that I am the wretched one, I admit it. But I also know your hearts and I think that you like me want to do what is right. And so please understand that I'm writing this, and it is difficult to write when I cannot see your faces and how you are taking things. So my message is: "Hey, I'm reassuring you, I'm like you. I know this. I've been where you are. I'm here to support you." It's so important because he's trying to build unity in what seems to be an difficult situation. So Paul; their leader is telling them "Hey I am not perfect, as a matter of fact I have done some terrible things as well, but I am trying to change." Nephi gives a similar message in 2 Nephi 4 ]
25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; [ OR "I know the natural man is an enemy to God. I know I'm wretched. I know that I have a propensity to want to sin, but I myself am going to serve God." This is Paul's Joshua moment. "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." He's saying, "My body wants to serve sin, but I'm going to serve this." In the dead sea scrolls that were found there was written the community rule. On those scrolls: 1QS, column 11, lines nine through 15, they read, "As for me, to evil humanity and the council of perverse flesh do I belong. My transgressions, evil sins and corrupt heart belong to the council of wormy rot and those who walk in darkness. Surely a man's way is not his own. Neither can any person firm his own step. Surely, justification is of God. By His power is the way made perfect. All that shall be He foreknows. All that is, His plans established. Apart from him is nothing done." "As for me, if I stumble, God's loving kindness forever shall save me. If through sin of the flesh I fall, my justification will be by the righteousness of God, which endures for all time. Though my affliction breakout, he shall draw my soul back from the pit and firm my step on the way. Through his love, he has brought me near. By his loving kindness, shall he provide my justification." ] but with the flesh the law of sin. [ The Joseph Smith translation continues with these last two verses. Ending chapter 7 on a more positive tone than it ends here in the KJV. JST Verse 26: "And if I subdue not the sin which is in me, but with the flesh serve the laws of sin, Oh, wretched man that I am. Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord, that so with the mind, I myself serve the law of God." While it is just a little change it makes a significant difference. ]