Okay, if you would, turn with me to Romans 7. Want to kind of continue what I was doing last week. Romans 7. I'm going to read the first six verses. Romans 7. 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? For the woman which hath no 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. 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, so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man. Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ, that ye should be married to another, even to him who was raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins which were by the law did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. 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."

My title is, Delivered from the Law. We hear people talk about, as I've mentioned many times, that the law being their way of life or their guide to life or something like that. So why would we need to be delivered from the law?

Paul says in Galatians 3.11, but that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God It is evident, for the just shall live by faith. Those who tout the law as their guide do this with the thought of somehow being acceptable to God. I know they won't say this, that keeping the law makes them acceptable to God, but for some it's how they progressively get better. Talked about it before. Acceptance with God is not progressive, it's absolute. But that's what they think about, that a believer, once they have been converted, can then begin to keep God's law. Nowhere do we read that in Scripture.

But I do want to say that even those who are not necessarily making mention of the Mosaic law are in the same boat. Even they believe that by their keeping of their church law that they will be justified before God. Colossians 2 20 through 22 we read, Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why as though living in the world are ye subject to ordinances touch not, taste not, handle not, which all are to perish with the using after the commandments and doctrines of men? This is their church law. Touch not, taste not, and handle not. Don't do this and do this, whatever it might be. They think if they abstain from this, it will make them acceptable to God. They think if they just do these certain things, it will make them acceptable before God. That is their doctrine and that is their gospel, which is no gospel at all because man has fallen. Man can do nothing to justify himself before God, and let me also say man can do nothing to sanctify himself or to glorify himself. Any doctrine that tells me I have to do something on my own is a false gospel and it is a lie.

When Paul says law here, he certainly is talking about the Ten Commandments, the Mosaic Law. But it means any law, not just the Ten Commandments. There is no law that can ever, ever, ever justify you before God.

We read from chapter 6 of Romans, which is where we were last week, but we read from verses 14 to 23. Just think of these words, and I'm going to mention some of these verses, but verse 14 in chapter 6. Verse 14, for sin shall not have dominion over you, for ye are not under the law, but under grace. Sin shall not have dominion over you because you're not under the law.

Is this under versus over, if you understand what I'm saying? When it comes to this flesh and us, the only thing that comes from us looking to the law is sin. That's what we do.

Verse 16 of chapter 6. Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey, whether of sin unto death or of obedience unto righteousness? Whether of sin unto death. The context is under law or under grace.

We see Another thing that comes from the law though there, and us trying to do it, death. The opposite side of that coin is obedience unto righteousness. And keep in mind here where it says, to whom ye yield yourselves servants. The law, if you yield yourself to it as your guide, it will be sin unto death. You can count on it.

Or you can obey righteousness, not be righteous, but obey righteousness. Not our righteousness, but that which is our righteousness, which is Jesus Christ.

Romans 10, 2-4 we read, "...for I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they, being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth." Do you see that? For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that obeyeth." And I know it says believeth there. But believing is obeying and obeying is believing. And this is done in faith. Do you obey His righteousness?

Back to chapter 6 verse 17. But God bethinked that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Ye were. Yes, at one time the law, whatever that law was in our mind, even if it was the law of Moses, we were servants to it. Yet people today, even those who say they are believers, want to be subservient to the law. But yet they cannot serve the law as much as they may want to, but they will get their reward from that, from doing so, death. That's a reward there that you don't want.

Verse 18, being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. We were made free from sin and made servants to Jesus Christ, who is righteousness. Now look at verse 20. For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. When we had the law as our guide, we were free from righteousness. And that's not a good thing, by the way. If you are free from righteousness, you are free from Jesus Christ who is righteousness.

Verse 21, What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. It just keeps saying this stuff right here in the scripture. All of those things bring forth death. And how does the chapter end? We have been made free from sin and servants to God. How do we serve God? We believe His record of His Son. And that was just catching us up from chapter 6 to where we are now in chapter 7.

So I want to know more about this deliverance from the law. Held in death and delivered from death. Those are my two points. So it says in verse 6 of chapter 7, that's where I want to concentrate on. But now we are delivered from the law that being dead wherein we were hailed that we should serve in newness of spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.

Now if you don't believe God that as we are born in Adam that we are born dead, no spiritual life, if you don't believe that, then first and foremost, you don't believe God because that's what it says right there. Now, this is in the positive sense, if you will, because it's talking about a child of God here. But all men are dead in trespasses and in sins, and if you don't believe that, then you do not believe God. If this is so, then nothing that I'm going to be saying to you is going to be agreeable to you. But if God's allowed you to see, to know that without God you are dead and in bondage to sin under the law, then maybe you will see what this passage is saying. And I can't say it in just the right way so you will truly see this. It's only God, if he opens your eyes to it, will you see it.

We are dead and the law, any law, but here Paul's talking about the law of God, the Mosaic law, You can see that as you read through this chapter. We cannot do the law. What do we read in Romans 7 in verses 12 through 14? Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. 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. For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin." The flesh is dead, sold under sin. We cannot keep the law because it is spiritual and we are carnal. But it's given to carnal men.

Now, I know some may say if we are spiritual by the working of God, can we then keep the law since it's spiritual and we are, by the working of God, spiritual ourselves? There's no need. If we are spiritual, we have been made so by God. The Spirit of God is what makes us spiritual and being made spiritual we have fruit. There is no law against that fruit. In Galatians you can read it. It is a matter to whom we serve because we have been freed from the law and who is it that freed us from the law? Jesus Christ.

The answer is no, we cannot keep the law. Because we are declared by God to be righteous when we believe him. We are declared righteous by the faith of Christ. We believe by faith which he gives. So when that faith which Jesus Christ is the author and finisher of is given to us, we believe God and he counts that for righteousness. Does that then mean we can then begin to keep God's law by believing God? Can we at least progressively get better at keeping the law?

First of all, I would say this. If you believe God and he counts that for righteousness, why would you want to do anything else? But second, the law was never given to give life, righteousness, sanctification or anything of God. We are in fact told that the law is not of faith. Faith does not produce law keeping. Faith does not produce the law, however you want to say it. Faith is of Jesus Christ, so Jesus Christ produced faith, if you will, if you want to say it. It might not be the best way to say it, but that faith is given to us that we might believe him, freeing us from the need of the law because our righteousness is right there in front of our eyes by faith. What is wrong with do this and live? There's nothing wrong with it if you can do it. But a dead man cannot do this and live because he's already dead. We need freedom from that edict. There's only one way we will ever see that freedom. There's only one man who can free us from that edict and that one is the one who died. He died for me so that I might be dead to the law which held me in death."

So next, delivered from death. In the book of Romans, the English word death is mentioned 20 times. And I may have got the counts a little wrong, so forgive me if I did, but the word died is mentioned seven times. So it's pretty important, I would think, this subject of death. Either we die in and of ourselves, which is not a good thing, or Jesus Christ died for us in our stead so that we might have eternal life.

We read it in our text in verse 4. Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ, that ye should be married to another, even to him who was raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. We were delivered from something that held us in death. This was done by the death of Jesus Christ our Lord. When he died, we died. When that transaction happened, we were freed from the law. It could no longer hold us in death. Then the one who freed us from that law raised again from the dead and so did we raise with him.

Why do God's people talk about being with Christ? God's people don't often speak of going to heaven, if you've ever noticed, and I'm not saying it's wrong to say that, but God's people talk about being with Christ. The reason is his people know that Jesus Christ is their life. They have nothing without him. They are nothing without him.

Here in Romans 7, it starts out with Paul saying, for I speak to them that know the law. So if you know the law, you know it says this. As long as the husband liveth, she is bound to him. This analogy or example given by Paul is speaking of God's people at one time bound to the law of God. They were at one time bound to the law. And we have, as we've said many times, but we've said the law never died. It's still very much alive, if you will. The difference for those who are loose from the law is death. The law did not die, but we died to it by the body of Christ. The death was brought about by one man and that man was Jesus Christ. The law was not dead. I'll repeat it. We are dead to it, as it says here, by the body of Christ.

Paul says the same type of thing several times here in Romans. The previous chapter says it. We heard that last week. By the body of Christ, we are dead to the law, but not just dead, dead that we might be married to another. That's why believers don't talk so much about heaven as they do Christ. Like Walter said last week and his message hit me, it just hit me. Christ is our reward. Is there any better reward than that? Guess what? He did everything to make it so. I had nothing to do with it other than being the one being under the law and held under it. I couldn't get out from under it on my own because it held me there in death, as it says right here in God's word.

We are told in the previous chapter in verse 5 of Romans 6, for if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection. We have life because of him and it's just like the Shulamite says. And if you would turn over to Song of Solomon, this is God's people, this is how God's people talk. Song of Solomon 5. And it's just before Isaiah, if you can find Isaiah. Song of Solomon 5, this is very familiar to you. And starting in verse 10,

my beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among 10,000. His head is as the most fine gold, his locks are bushy and black as a raven. His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters, washed with milk and fitly set. His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers, his lips like lilies, dropping sweet-smelling myrrh. His hands are as gold rings set with the burl. His belly is as bright ivory overlaid with sapphires. His legs are as pillars of marble set upon sockets of fine gold. His countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars. His mouth is most sweet, yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.

Chapter six. Whither is thy beloved gone, O thou fairest among women? Whither is thy beloved turned aside, that we may seek him with thee? My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies. I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine. He feedeth among the lilies.

Sounds like she just keeps going on and on and on. And so do we. He is who we want to talk about because I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine and he is my friend. He made it so by giving up his life for me, then raising to life that I might have life in him. If I have Jesus Christ, I have everlasting life.

It says, 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 living. We serve by something we cannot see. By his spirit in faith we see him and worship him and obey him. We do not serve in ordinances, those things we can see.

Colossians 2.14, it says, blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross. The law is against us because of us. There's nothing wrong with the law, but the ordinances were against us. And that's what we just read. But Jesus Christ took that letter with all its ordinances and nailed it to his tree. The law was contrary to us. And it just amazes me even though it should not because I was there at one time thinking I could do something towards God. But I could not because the law was contrary to me. The law could give life if one could obey the law but we cannot obey the law.

Why do so many people want to run back to the law? Because they love death and darkness. But we can, by his grace, obey him and believe him because of his faith saved me. He gives me that face so that I will believe him and serve him as my beloved. Those who are God's, they don't have time to talk about thou shalt not or thou shalt. God's people are too busy thinking about and talking about their beloved who delivered them from that law. We are too busy talking about our reward.

We were at one time consumed with keeping the law and thereby held in death because of sin. because we could not do it. And it was crushing to those who were gods. But then our beloved came along and said, here I am. I'm taking you from, from, from the law. The way some talk about the law, you would think that scripture says somewhere that he delivered us to the law so that we can then keep it. And let me tell you something. We have kept the law in our sovereign head, Jesus Christ. I've actually paid the debt of not keeping the law in my sovereign head, Jesus Christ. The law cannot do that. It exposes our problem but it cannot fix our problem which is death. I'm righteous before a thrice holy God in Jesus Christ. I'm perfected forever by Jesus Christ who has delivered me from the law and not to the law.

Either you are married to the law or under its dominion. Or Jesus Christ has freed you from that law that you should serve him. And if he has done this, it will be a delight to do so, to serve him because his grace makes it possible. Nothing is possible with man. Man in and of himself will ruin everything but all things are possible by God, with God. The only question is, is he willing? Is he willing to make me free from the law and its ordinances to serve him? I pray it is so with me and so with you and so to anyone who hears this.

If He comes to you to let you know that by His death that you died with Him and raised again that you might have life, that crushing weight of the law coming off of you will be liberation. Not liberation to serve the flesh, but to serve in newness of spirit, God giving you faith to believe Him and trust Him for everything. God's people trust God to do everything because we know if God led us to ourselves, we will begin that downward spiral as Walters mentioned before. No, I want my eyes to always be kept by God on Him. Lord, increase my faith. Help thou mine unbelief.

Knowing full well that God in his word has said you cannot keep his law. He told the children of Israel that, you know that? He told them you will not keep it. Yet they said they would. Man always does the opposite of God. But God bethinked he sent his son to deliver us from breaking that law. He freed us from it and to himself. It's like Earl used to say, I wish I could just drill a hole in someone's head and pour this truth in so they would get it. But we cannot. Our words mean nothing if it's just words from us. But if he speaks these words to you, it will mean everything to you. But he has the power to open blind eyes, to open deaf ears, to give and open a new heart, to give life from the dead wherein we were held. Has he done these things for you? Scripture says he delights to show mercy. Come to him.

Maybe we shouldn't have favorite passages, but here are two that come to my mind right off that God has made me come to love. One is three words. It is finished. Done, finished, paid in full, nothing else to do. The other passage is this. Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Are you laboring? Are you heavy laden? If you can come to him, and you can if he makes it possible, but he will show you that he has delivered you from the law to serve him. And there's nothing but rest there. Amen.

Dear old God, thank you for allowing us once again to Just not only speak words of you, dear Lord, but to hear words of you, dear Lord. It's comforting to our soul to hear of you, our beloved, dear Lord. Don't let us forget that, dear Lord. All these things we ask in Christ's name, amen.