The Frustration of Trying to Follow God's Laws on Our Own / Romans 7:1-8:2

Well, as you’re sitting down, go ahead and pick up your Bibles and turn to Romans chapter seven. We are cruising through this book. If you’ve been here for the last couple of weeks or even months, you know we’ve gone through the first few chapters which are all about salvation. Now, as we’ve moved into chapter five, six, seven, and the first part of chapter eight, we are talking about sanctification—understanding how we can live out this new life we have in Jesus Christ. How can we live the way God intended us to live?

It’s been so awesome. I know some of you have said to me over the last couple of weeks, “Boy, thanks for the kick in the face.” You know what I mean? It’s like you got kicked and you kind of liked it. I understand that, because I feel like I’m being kicked in the face at the same time. As I go through these passages myself, I’m thinking, “Oh my goodness, this is good. I need to hear this.”

In chapter six, we were hit with the reality that a lot of times the reason we still struggle with sin is simply because we don’t want to stop. That’s hard to admit, but it’s true. We like certain sins. But then we found out that we aren’t slaves to sin anymore; we’ve run out of excuses. Last week, we realized sin is a much bigger deal than we think it is.

But this week, I want to talk to the people who have been hit in the face and said, “Yes! I hate sin! I understand who I am now. I’m a slave of God, not sin. I see the devastation sin brings and I don’t want to do it anymore!” We are determined to follow God, and yet, we still fail. Why is that? I’m talking about the “us” people who desperately care about doing what God wants, and yet we still stumble.

Sanctification is one of the most important areas of the Christian walk, yet so many of us have no idea how to do it. We think maybe it just can’t be done until we die and go to heaven. Or we think we just need more information—more knowledge of God’s laws and more willpower. But many of us have tried that and we continue to fail.

The DIY Trap: Trying to Do It Alone

I moved here to Fresno with my wife, Sherry, about three years ago. A couple of months after we arrived, we bought a house. It had been a rental for years, so it needed work. We made a list of all the projects we were going to do. It was 104 projects. I looked at that list as a challenge. I was going to do the whole DIY thing. I was determined to do it on my own.

I did a number of things myself, and for the things I didn’t know how to do, my best friend was YouTube. I loved it. You could search for anything and find a professional right there with you. I’d pause the video, go back, and watch. I got through a lot of projects that way. It was slower than an expert, and I made mistakes, but I was determined.

However, there were some projects where I’d look at the instruction manual and, right at the top in big letters, it said: “Not recommended to do alone.” Whenever I saw that, I took it as a personal challenge. Sherry hated me during this time! I was so frustrated. I actually got hurt doing a couple of those projects because they weren’t meant for one person. They took way longer and had way more mistakes.

Then there were projects that didn’t just “recommend” a partner; they said this cannot happen unless you have more than one person. I remember blowing insulation into my attic. That is a two-person job. Someone has to be outside making sure the machine is feeding properly, and someone has to be in the attic blowing it into the right place. I actually tried to figure out a way to do it alone. I couldn’t. Finally, I called a friend. As soon as I had help, it was so much easier.

As I was looking through Romans 7, I thought, “Oh my goodness, I am the problem here.” In the “project” of my life—sanctification—it is not a DIY job. Every page of God’s word is screaming in big red letters: “NOT ABLE TO DO IT ON YOUR OWN.”

If anyone had enough information and determination to sanctify themselves, it would have been the Jews. They had God’s laws memorized. They had the manual. They had the “YouTube videos” of their day. They had the information and the determination, and yet they couldn’t do it. We think if we just know enough rules and try hard enough, we can do it. Then, when we fail, we think we just weren’t determined enough. But you can’t be more determined than the Jews were.

A New Marriage: Dying to the Law

In chapter seven, Paul turns his attention from the Greeks—who didn’t care about the law—to the Jews. The Jews were probably thinking, “Way to go, Paul! Tell those Greeks they need to follow God!” But Paul turns to them and says, “You guys have a problem, too.” The Greeks needed to realize they were dead to sin; the Jews needed to realize they were dead to the law. The law could not sanctify them.

This rubbed the Jews the wrong way because they had a covenant with God. There are unconditional covenants, like the one God made with Abraham, where God does the work regardless of the person. But the Mosaic Covenant—the law—was conditional. God said, “If you follow these laws, great things happen. If you don’t, bad things happen.” The people agreed to it and then proceeded to break it for the next fifteen hundred years.

Paul comes along and says that the old covenant is gone. The Jews thought covenants lasted forever, but Paul uses a specific example to show that isn’t always true.

Romans 7:1 (NASB)

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?

He gives the example of marriage. It’s a covenant that lasts as long as both people are alive.

Romans 7:2 (NASB)

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.

If the husband dies, the woman is released from that law.

Romans 7:3 (NASB)

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.

Paul is telling the Jews, “It’s okay. I know you feel like you’re committing adultery against the Mosaic covenant, but that covenant is over. You aren’t being disloyal.”

Romans 7:4 (NASB)

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.

There has been a death. You died to the law through the body of Christ so that you could be joined to another—to Jesus. You aren’t alone anymore. You are joined with Jesus so you can bear fruit for God. The law only showed sin; it didn’t solve it. It didn’t change hearts. But being joined to Jesus changes everything.

Life in the Flesh vs. Life in the Spirit

Paul then describes our old life.

Romans 7:5 (NASB)

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.

Let’s talk about that term “the flesh.” In the Bible, it can mean a few things. Sometimes it just means your physical body, skin, and bones. But a lot of times—and especially here—it means “on my own power.” It refers to life apart from the Spirit of God. It’s me using my own techniques, my own abilities, and my own way of doing things. When I see “in the flesh,” I mentally click over to “on my own.”

Paul asks, “Do you remember when we were on our own?” Before Jesus, all we had was our flesh. We didn’t have the Spirit. And when we are on our own, we depend on sin, which only results in death. The law showed the problem, but it didn’t solve it.

Romans 7:6 (NASB)

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.

This is the New Covenant mentioned in Jeremiah and Ezekiel. God said He would give us a new heart and put His Spirit within us.

Ezekiel 36:26-27 (NASB)

’Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ’I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.

God says, “I’m not just going to give you laws externally; I’m going to go inside and put my laws on your heart. I’ll change you from the inside out so you can walk in my ways.” It’s not about memorizing a bunch of rules; it’s about serving in the “newness of the Spirit.”

Now, notice that Paul doesn’t mention the Spirit again until chapter eight. He sets it aside for a moment to show us what happens when we don’t rely on the Spirit. Even though we have the Spirit, we can still choose to act on our own. We can still choose to try and handle things with just our determination and knowledge. Paul wants to show us that this will always lead to slavery to sin.

Why the Law Can’t Save Us

The Jews might have asked, “Paul, are you saying there is something wrong with the law?” It would be like me looking at a DIY manual and saying the instructions are bad just because I can’t do the project alone. Paul clarifies this.

Romans 7:7 (NASB)

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.’

The law is great. It has a purpose: it gives us the knowledge of sin. But look what happens when we try to follow it on our own.

Romans 7:8-14 (NASB)

But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin [is] dead. I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died; and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me; for sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. 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. For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin.

There is no problem with the law, but there is a major problem with us. Sin is not intimidated by laws. In the United States, we have 4,500 criminal laws. Israel only had 613. Do we have less sin? No, we have more. Why? Because every time a law is created, sin sees an opportunity to make a sinner.

You put up a “Do Not Walk on the Grass” sign, and suddenly everyone wants to walk on the grass. Sin loves God’s laws because they provide a launching point for rebellion. The law was meant to show sin, and it does a great job. But if it’s just the law and me, I’m going to lose every time. Sin is way too powerful, and I am way too weak. That is the truth. Sin wasn’t made powerless at the cross; I was the one who died. Sin is still devastatingly powerful, and if you try to handle it in your flesh, you will succumb.

The Battle and the Beatdown

This leads to the passage that feels like it was ripped out of our diaries.

Romans 7:15-23 (NASB)

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. But if I do the very thing I do not want [to do], I agree with the Law, [confessing] that the Law is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. 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. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. 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. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, 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.

Paul is saying, “I want to do good, but I don’t. I hate the sin I’m doing, but I do it anyway.” If this is your life, it’s a warning light on the dashboard. It’s telling you there is a problem. If you are trying really hard and keep failing, it’s not because you aren’t determined enough. It’s because you are trying to handle sin on your own.

Paul mentions two universal laws here: the Law of the Mind (I want to follow God) and the Law of Sin (which wages war against the mind). A lot of people look at Romans 7 and think, “I need to fight harder!” But if it’s just you against sin, it’s not a battle; it’s a beatdown. It’s a 50-pound guy against a 450-pound wrestler. The Law of Sin always wins against the Law of the Mind when we are on our own.

Romans 7:24 (NASB)

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

Paul isn’t saying, “Good luck, pull up your sleeves.” He’s saying, “I am wretched and hopeless! Who will set me free?” He realizes he can’t do it. Then, he can’t hold back the answer any longer.

Romans 7:25 (NASB)

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.

He summarizes the problem one last time: with his mind, he serves God, but with his flesh, he serves sin. If he stays there, he will never do what his mind wants.

The Law of the Spirit

Never read Romans 7 without reading Romans 8. If you stop at chapter seven, you leave hopeless. But chapter eight introduces the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:1 (NASB)

Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

There is no condemnation. God isn’t going to punish you because your flesh is weak. He knows you can’t conquer sin on your own. He doesn’t expect you to.

Romans 8:2 (NASB)

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

This is the best news I’ve ever read. The Law of the Spirit of life has set you free from the Law of Sin and Death. The Law of the Spirit overpowers the Law of Sin.

My friend Rick Taylor gave me a great example of this. Think about the law of gravity. If you are 1,000 feet in the air and let go, you are going to fall. You will succumb to gravity no matter how strong you are. But there is another law: the law of aerodynamics. If you are 1,000 feet in the air inside a plane operating by aerodynamics, you overcome gravity. You don’t just stop falling; you fly!

Aerodynamics doesn’t make gravity go away. Gravity is still there, pulling on the plane. But by operating in a different law, you overcome what gravity would normally do to you. In the same way, the Law of the Spirit allows us to find victory. We don’t have to live in the cycle of Romans 7.

We need to learn what it means to walk by the Spirit. Sanctification isn’t about more determination or more rules; it’s about continued dependence on God. We know we need Him for salvation, but somehow we think that after that, it’s all up to us to pay Him back. That’s not how it works. He is never going to be done doing the work in us.

If there is an area of your life where you continue to fail despite trying really hard, maybe the problem is that you are trying too hard on your own. The secret of victory over sin isn’t determining to say “no” to sin as much as it is determining to say “yes” to God. It’s about humility and continually presenting yourself to the Holy Spirit who lives within you. That is the secret of sanctification.

Closing Prayer

Lord, thank You for this reminder. I pray that over this week, we would begin to understand not just what sanctification is, but how it happens. How can we, who are so weak in our flesh, have victory? We thank You that the Law of the Spirit overcomes and sets us free from the Law of sin and death.

God, this week, I pray we would examine our lives and be honest about the areas where we are still trying to do it on our own. I pray we would see our need for You in sanctification just as much as we saw it in salvation. In the name of Your Son we pray, Amen.