The Use of "Law" in Romans September 11, 2011 Pastor Gordy Steck I. Last week's review of Sin Management and Grace A. Legalism, Antinomianism and Galatianism; the study of Romans, James and Galatians. Kevin Conner in "Law and Grace," quotes M. R. De Haan, in the book; Law or Grace: M. R. De Haan, in his excellent text, Law or Grace; mentions three errors, may we say extremes, in attitude toward the matter of salvation. These he spells out as: 1. Legalism (which teaches that men must be saved by keeping the Law). The epistle of Romans refutes such teaching, as we are not saved by the works of the Law, only by the grace of God in Christ. Rom 3:23-24 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; Rom 3:28 For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. Rom 4:2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about; but not before God. Rom 5:1 Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, Rom 5:8-9 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. 2. Antinomianism (which teaches that it makes no difference how we live, for salvation is all of grace). The epistle of James refutes this, for James teaches we are not saved BY works but after we are saved, we are justified by good works. James 2:21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? James 2:24-25 You see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone. And in the same way was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works, when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 3. Galatianism (which teaches that we are saved by grace but our salvation is kept by obeying the Law perfectly. we are saved by faith alone but our ultimate salvation depends on our works). The epistle to the Galatians deals with the mixture of law and grace taught by the Judaizing teachers from the church in Jerusalem. Gal 2:16-17 nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified. "But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? May it never be! Gal 3:11-12 Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, " The righteous man shall live by faith. " However, the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, "He who practices them shall live by them."
Gal 3:24 Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith. Gal 5:4 You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. B. The meaning of depravity (the first 4 points are from, "The Handbook to Bible Study; by Paul S. Karleen; the last 2 points come from, "Growing Kids God's Way"). This sinful nature is called depravity. Depravity consists of six things which are true of every individual when he is born. 1. He is completely void of original righteousness. Ps 51: Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me. 2. He does not possess any affection toward God. Rom 1:25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. (2 Tim 3:2-4) 3. There is nothing from without a man, that can defile him; but the things which come out of him; these are they that defile the man. Mark 7:15 there is nothing outside the man which going into him can defile him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man. (Mark 7:21-23) 4. He has a continuous bias toward evil. Gen 6:5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 5. He does not want to be controlled by another. Ps 2:2-3 The kings of the earth take their stand, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His Anointed: "Let us tear their fetters apart, and cast away their cords from us!" 6. He not only resist control from others, but if allowed to, will seek to control others. Isa 1:14 "I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, they have become a burden to Me. (From the Nelson Study Bible; God sarcastically refers to the feasts as your rather than My New Moons because the people had changed the spirit of God s ceremonial laws from love of Him to manipulation of Him.) (see also Jer 5:5; Gen 25:25-26; 27:36) C. From Wuest's Word Studies in the Greek New Testament Rom 7:14-15 For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. 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. Translation: for we know that the law is spiritual. But as for myself, I am fleshly, permanently sold under sin. For that which I do, I do not understand. For that which I desire, this I do not practice. But that which I hate, this I am doing. Paul has three words to describe man, natural 1. psuchikos, the unsaved man whose highest form of life is dominated by his reason and emotional nature, the soulicle man; carnal 1 Cor 2:14 But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.
2. sarkinos, the saved man who has not found deliverance from the power of sin in the fullness of the Spirit but is more or less still under the control of the evil nature; Rom 7:14 For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. 1 Cor 3:1-4 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, 3 for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men? 4 For when one says, "I am of Paul," and another, "I am of Apollos," are you not mere men? 1 Peter 2:11 Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. 3. pneumatikos (!"#$µ%&'()*) the spiritual man is one who walks by the Spirit both in the sense of Gal 5:16 and in that of 5:25, and who himself manifests the fruit of the Spirit in his own ways. Gal 5:16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. Gal 5:25-26 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. 26 Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another. According to the Scriptures, the 'spiritual' state of soul is normal for the believer, but to this state all believers do not attain, nor when it is attained is it always maintained. III. The use of "Law," in Romans (An Overview of Law In Romans; by; Kevin Conner, "Law and Grace;") It is almost impossible to understand Paul's epistle to the Romans without getting into his understanding of "Law." The epistle to the Romans is a law-book, the burden which is justification by faith and grace apart from works of the Law. The word "law" is a key word in Romans and it has a great bearing on our study of Law and Grace. The Greek word "nomos," translated "law" is used some 75 times. In the epistle Galatians, the same Greek word "nomos," translated "law," is used some 32 times. In other of Paul's epistles, Corinthians, Ephesians, Philippians and Timothy, the sum total use of the same word is about 15 times. The burden of Paul's references to "law" and his teaching has to be found predominantly in Romans and Galatians. It has been seen that man transgressed one law of God, thus bringing the whole human race under condemnation and death. The work of atonement is to bring man back to the obedience in which Adam fell, to bring them back into harmony with the law of God, the royal law of loving obedience, which alone is eternal life. In Romans, Paul refers to a number of various laws each of which need to be understood in order to help us understand what Paul meant when he wrote, "We are not under law, but under grace." We note these laws with a brief a suitable comment for clarification. 1. The Law (Rom 2:12) This expression is often used in a broad and general sense to designate the will of God. Only the context will help us. Rom 2:12 For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law; and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law;
1 John 3:4 Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. Rom 7:22 For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, 2. The Law of Conscience (Rom 2:14-15) The moment man sinned; this law began to operate (Gen 9:7-10). This is also called the law of our mind (Rom 7:23). Rom 2:14-15 For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness, and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, Gen 9:7-10 And as for you, be fruitful and multiply; populate the earth abundantly and multiply in it." Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying, Now behold, I Myself do establish My covenant with you, and with your descendants after you; and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you; of all that comes out of the ark, even every beast of the earth. Rom 7:23 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. 3. The Law of Works (Rom 3:27) A guilty conscience drove man to operate in the law of works in self-effort to cover himself and make himself presentable to God (Gen 3:7-10). Conscience drives men to seek to atone for their sins before God. Rom 3:27 Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. Gen 3:7-10 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings. And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?" And he said, "I heard the sound of Thee in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself." 4. The Law of faith (Rom 3:27) The sacrificial victim which provided Adam and Eve with coats of skin necessitated an operation of the law of faith; faith in the substitutionary death of another to cover themselves acceptably before God (Gen 3:21-24). Rom 3:27 Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. Gen 3:21-24 And the LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them. Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, lest he stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever"-- therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim, and the flaming sword which turned every direction, to guard the way to the tree of life. 5. The Law of Ten Commandments (Rom 7:7) This expressly speaks of the Law of God as contained in the 10 Commandments given to the nation of
Israel (Exodus 20). Until this time, God dealt with man under the law of conscience. This is why Paul said that sin was in the world from atoms to Moses, but the law entered under Moses to give him the more clear in full definition of sin (Rom 7:13-14; 3:20; 4:15). Rom 7:7 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." Rom 7:13-14 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, that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful. For we know that the Law is spiritual; but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. Rom 3:20 because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin. Rom 4:15 for the Law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, neither is there violation. 6. The Law of Sin and Death (Rom 7:23; 8:2) The law of sin entered man the moment he disobeyed God's law in his heart. The external act was only the outward evidence of an internal fall. The law of death followed as the subsequent penalty (Gen 2:17). Rom 7:23 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. Rom 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. Gen 2:17 "but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die." 7. The Law of the Spirit of Life (Rom 8:2) This is opposite to the law of sin and death. It was symbolized in the tree of eternal life which man forfeited but it is restored in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit (Gen 2:9; Rev 2:7; 22:14). Rom 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. Gen 2:9 And out of the ground the LORD God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Rev 2:7 'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.' Rev 22:14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. 8. The Law of Righteousness (Rom 8:4; 9:31). This law is also opposite to the law of sin. In Christ Jesus, the law of righteousness is put within man to overcome the law of sin and death. God's intention is to make an end of sin and bring in everlasting righteousness through Christ (Dan 9:24). Rom 8:4 in order that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according
to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. Rom 9:31 but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. Dan 9:24 "Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy place." 9. The Royal Law of Love (Rom 13:8-10; James 2:8-10). This is the highest law of God's Being, back to which redemption will bring redeemed mankind. The grace of God in Christ will restore man back to the law of loving obedience to the will of God. Love is the fulfillment of the law. Against love there is no law. The only answer to this problem is found in the Lord Jesus Christ. His redeeming grace deals with the law of sin, and brings man back to the law from which he fell. Rom 13:8-10 Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For this, "You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet," and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no wrong to a neighbor; love therefore is the fulfillment of the law. James 2:8-10 If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law, according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. Gal 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.