and begin this evening in chapter
seven, Romans chapter seven. Let me read the first six verses
in this chapter, Romans chapter seven. Know you not brethren,
for I speak to them that know the law, Now that the law hath
dominion over a man as long as he liveth, for the woman which
hath a 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, you also
are become dead to the law by the body of Christ, that you
should be married to another, even to him who is raised from
the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. For when
we were in the flesh, that is, when we were lost in the flesh,
the motions of sin, 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 latter. In this chapter, the Apostle
Paul continues to show how foolish it is to think that the truth
of being justified by faith would lead a man or cause a person
to live in sin, that it would promote a sinful lifestyle, teaching
that we are justified, declared righteous before God, not by
works of righteousness, which we do, but solely by faith in
the person and work of Jesus Christ. I think Romans chapter
three and verses 24 and the first part of 25 are the most concise
statement on this wonderful truth of justification. Being justified freely. I like that word freely, don't
you? Being justified freely by His grace. Through the redemption
that is in Christ Jesus, always it must be through his work,
through his person and work, be justified freely by his grace
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God has
set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood. God
set forth his son to be the propitiation, the atonement for the sins of
his people, for all those who by faith look to Christ. It's
foolish, it's foolish to think that by God saving sinners, by
grace through faith, that that's going to promote a sinful lifestyle. Because the truth is these two
doctrines, or two truths, justification and sanctification, they always
go together. And the scripture says, let not
man separate what God hath joined together. And God hath joined
justification and sanctification together. Together, by justification,
the righteousness of Christ is imputed unto us, and by our in
sanctification, the righteousness of God is imparted to us. We become partakers of the divine
nature, the scripture says in 2 Peter. In other words, we have
a new nature. We're given a new nature in salvation. And that new nature loves God
and loves Christ and loves the things of God. Now, Paul begins
chapter seven with what we realize is a well-known truth about the
law and a woman and her relationship to her husband. If you notice
in verse one, Paul says, no, you're not brethren. Now some
believe that when Paul uses this word here, because he says, I
speak to them that know the law, that he is only speaking to Jewish
believers. He's only speaking to Jewish
believers who knew the law of Moses. The Gentile believers,
they had no knowledge of the law of Moses, but That may be
true, but if you look back in chapter one, Romans chapter one and verse 13, now I would not
have you ignorant brethren. Oftentimes I purpose to come
unto you. Now that is written to the believers
in the church at Rome, which was made up both of Jews and
Gentiles. Now in chapter nine, Romans chapter
nine, Paul says this in verse three, and here, definitely,
he only means Jewish brothers because he said, my brethren,
my kinsmen according to the flesh. My kinsmen according to the flesh. Well, they would all have been
Jews because he was a Jew. The word brethren or brothers,
it's a family relationship that is mentioned here. And everyone
who is born again of the Spirit of God, we all are members of
God's household, of God's family. I want you to keep your places
here, but turn over with me to Ephesians. Ephesians chapter
two. And I want us to see here, beginning
with verse 11, how he uses three analogies concerning believers. Beginning with verse 11, wherefore
remember that you being in time past Gentiles in the flesh who
are called uncircumcision by that which is called the circumcision
in the flesh made by hands. That means that you Gentiles,
you're called uncircumcision by those who were circumcised,
by the Jews. They had that law of circumcision. That at that time, you were without
Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers
from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God
in the world. But now, in Christ Jesus, You
who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace who hath
made both one, both Jew and Gentile one, and hath broken down the
middle wall of partition between us. Having abolished in his flesh
the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances, for
to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace, and
that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross,
having slain the enmity thereby, and came and preached peace to
you which were far off and them that were nigh. For through him
we both have access by one spirit unto the Father. Now therefore,
you are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens
with the saints and of the household of God, and are built upon the
foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself
being the chief cornerstone in whom all the building fitly framed
together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord, in whom you
also are builted together for an habitation of God through
the Spirit. Do you notice he says that believers
are fellow citizens, Now, fellow citizens, we're all fellow citizens
of this country, of this nation. And so that's the first analogy.
As believers, we're all members of the kingdom of God, the kingdom
of God, that blessed kingdom of God, that nation that is blessed
of the Lord. But then next, you see, not only
are we fellow citizens with the saints, but we are of the household
of God. Now that's a family of God, isn't
it? We're brothers, we're sisters, brothers and sisters in Christ.
But then he goes a step farther and tells us that we are also
stones in this building, this building of God. We're living
stones, just as Christ is the foundation stone, everyone who
is built upon him is given life. And we think of the church in
these ways. I love to think of the church
as a building, don't you? And I believe it's in the Old
Testament prophecy of Zachariah, which declares that when that
capstone is brought into this building, and I like, I think
of that as the last one that's going to be saved. One of these
days, one of these days, God's going to call the last one of
his lost sheep to be saved. And when that building, that
capstone, is brought forth, it says, with shoutings of what? Grace, grace from the stone that's
laid in the very beginning, whether it was Abel or whoever, Adam
or whoever, all the way, every member, every stone of this building,
the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, everyone saved in the
same way by grace. For by grace are you saved through
faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. My brethren, Paul, back here
in Romans chapter 7, my brethren, know you not, brethren, for I
speak to them that know the law. Now, it is true that the nation
of Israel had the law of God, the mosaic covenant. The Gentiles
didn't have this law unless they became proselytes to Judaism. Then they were under the law
also. They put themselves under the law. But this is a well-known
truth about every law, every law that's ever been made. A law only has dominion over
a person while that person is alive. Let's say, as an example,
a person is picked up for robbery, and he's put in jail waiting
for trial, and he's guilty of robbery, and the law says he's
going to be punished, but he dies. He dies while he's in jail. They don't go on with the trial. No. Why? because the law only
has dominion over a person while that person is alive. Now, if you look back in chapter
six and verse 14, we saw this earlier, that believers are not
under the law, for sin shall not have dominion over you, for
you are not under the law, but under grace. How did this come
about? How did this come about that
we are no longer under that law, that covenant of works? It has
come about by being in union with our head, that is with Christ. In him we died. The law only
has dominion over a man that's alive. We died, we were buried,
we rose, and we have ascended on high in Christ. We've become
dead to that law. This is what the Apostle Paul
tells us in Galatians, for I through the law am dead to the law. I'm dead to the law, Paul said,
that I might live under God. When some people hear this, they
automatically think, well, you're just saying that a person can
live any way they want to if they're not under the law. I
like what my brother Walter said one time, I wish I could live
like I wanted to. If I could live like I wanted
to, I would never sin. Amen? Now, being free from the
law, some people are so afraid that if they don't say the believers
still under the law, the moral law, but the problem is that
men divide the law. The law was one. And there's
parts that's moral, parts that's ceremonial, part that was civil
for the nation of Israel, but it was all one law. We're not
under that law. We're dead to the law. We're
dead to the law. How did we become dead to the
law? By dying in our representative head, a Christ. Paul said, for
I through the law am dead to the law that In order that, when we read that
word that, in order that, I might live unto God. I'm crucified
with Christ, Paul said. I'm crucified with Christ. I
died with Christ. When he died on the cross, I
died on the cross. It's true of every child of God,
every believer. I'm crucified with Christ, nevertheless
I live, yet not I. But Christ lives in me, and the
life that I now live and the flesh I live by the faith of
the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. It was, as Paul uses this example
of marriage, it was as though we were married to the law. We
were all married to the law. We were under its dominion. By
the body of Christ, the death of Christ, we have become dead
to the law. Notice that in verse four. Wherefore,
my brethren, you also are become dead to the law by the body of
Christ, by his dying and us being in union with him. And Christ, our head, our representative. Think about this, the law. The
law found everything that it could and did require in Christ. Let that sink in. The law of
God found everything in Christ that it could require and demand. The law demanded holiness of
nature, found it in Christ. He was holy,
harmless, undefiled. The law demanded obedience of
life. Found it in Christ. He was obedient
unto the law in every jot and tittle. The law demanded satisfaction
for sinful offenses. It found that satisfaction in
Christ and his death. The law has nothing more to demand. It has lost its power to curse
us and damn believers, for we are dead to the law. Just like
the man in the illustration who died in jail waiting for trial. The law can't punish him. It
cannot punish him. No, he's dead to the law. Now
take his body out and bury it. They can't punish him, he's dead
to the law. Now Paul pictures the believer
being dead to the law by a wife whose husband dies. Now she's
free. She's free to be married to another. Only remember in 1 Corinthians,
the apostle did write into believers, say this, only in the Lord. A believer, a child of God, should
not marry, should not marry an unbeliever, not knowingly. I
know it happens, but not knowingly. A believer should not do that.
And, you know, I've been around long enough to see a lot of God's
children suffer because of that very thing. Unequally yoked with
an unbeliever. I mean, for a child of God, worshiping
God is our life. And if you're married to a partner,
a person who has no interest in loving God and worshiping
God, that's sad. That's sad. But if a husband dies, the wife,
she can't go and marry someone else while he's alive. Paul said
she would be called an adulteress. She would be an adulteress. But
if her husband died, then she's free to marry. But again, as
I said, only in the Lord. Well, he pictures this as Christ. He's our bridegroom now. We were
married to the law. and we brought forth fruit unto
unrighteousness. But now, being married to Christ,
we are to bring forth fruit unto God. See that in verse four. Wherefore, my brethren, you also
become dead to the law by the body of Christ, that you should
be married to another. Who is this other one? Christ.
We love to think of that marriage relationship that believers have
with Christ. I think I mentioned in the message
this morning, before the foundation of the world, we were betrothed
to Christ. In time, we come into union with Christ. That verse in Ezekiel
16, when the infant remembers is chunked out there into the
field and God passes by, what does he say? It's a time of love. A time of love. And he spread
his skirt over her. This is something that takes
place in time, isn't it? We come into a realized union
of Christ. I know the union is eternal.
I understand that from before the foundation of the world.
But in time we experience the reality of this union by faith,
our faith in him and his spirit in us. We are in union with Christ. He's our bridegroom. And one
day, one day, we're going to be at the marriage supper of
the lamb, aren't we? By God's grace, we're going to
be at the marriage supper of the lamb. What a day that's going
to be when all of God's saints, oh. To the Corinthian believers,
Paul wrote, I'm jealous over you with a godly jealousy. For
I have espoused you to one husband. Now what does he mean by that?
That's that marriage again. That's what I was saying that
we experienced in time. Paul said, I'm jealous over you
because I have espoused you to one husband." In other words,
Paul had preached the gospel to them, and they had heard and
believed the gospel. They'd been espoused to one husband,
that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. The husband-wife
relationship is a figure, it's a type of the mysterious union
which exists between Christ and his church, the bridegroom and
his bride, the head and the members of his body. Now, what is the
result of being married to Christ? Is it that man may live a life
of sin? That's what some people think.
Well, if you teach free justification, that's what's going to happen.
The result of being married to Christ is just the opposite.
It is, as he says in verse four there at the end, that we should
bring forth fruit unto God. Now, the fruit that believers
bring forth, we know about the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy,
peace, longsuffering, temperance, kindness, goodness, faith. Yes,
but also the fruit here is good works. Good works. Which God, according to that
verse in Ephesians 2, which God hath before ordained that we
should walk in them. For by grace are you saved through
faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus unto, what? Good works. good works, which
he hath before ordained, that we should walk in them. Now,
in Titus 2, in verse 14, we read,
who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity
and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. Zealous of good works. Now good
works, what God considers good works are impossible until a
person comes to Christ, until a person is in union with Christ
by faith and his spirit is in us. Augustine, you know he's
called one of the fathers, Augustine, he called the good works before
being in union with Christ's splendid sins. That's all they
were, splendid sins, good works before a person is in Christ. Because before a person is in
Christ, his works are not done in faith. And without faith,
it's impossible to please God. And they're not done in love
and out of gratitude unto God. and they're not done for the
glory of God. You know, some of these wealthy men, and I'm
thankful, philanthropists, you go down to the medical center
and you see a big wing of a hospital there, go to some college and
you see that somebody's giving a lot of money. They want recognition
too, don't they? But if they'd done that for the
glory of God, or were they seeking their own glory? Well, that's
their motive, we don't know. But I know this, a person will
never do a good work for the glory of God if he's not in union
with Christ. Because in John 15, our Lord
said, I'm the true vine, and my father is the husband, and
every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh away, and
every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth, he purgeth it. that it may bring forth more
fruit. Now, having said what I've said
so far, I want to ask this question. Does this mean that there's no
place for a preacher or in the scriptures
to exhort believers to live for God's glory? Is there no place
Some people would at least intimate that we should never talk about
good works. We should never encourage man
and preach to cause people, by the grace of God, to do good
works. Is there no place in scripture
which exhorts believers to live for the glory of God? Is it just
because we're married to Christ, then we're going to bring forth
good works, we're going to do good works, and there's no need
whatsoever for any exhortation? Well, look in Ephesians chapter
5. You know the answer, of course,
is there is cause. There is a place. And this is just one example,
but here in Ephesians 5, In verse one, Paul exhorted these believers
in this church to good works. Be you therefore followers of
God, as dear children, and walk in love, as Christ also hath
loved us and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice
to God for a sweet-smelling savor. But fornication, and all uncleanness,
or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh
saints. Those things do not become a
child of God." They're not becoming. They're not becoming. Neither filthiness, nor foolish
talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient, but rather giving
of thanks. For this you know, that no whoremonger,
nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater hath
any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no
man deceive you with vain words, for because of these things cometh
the wrath of God upon the children of disobedient. Be not you therefore
partakers with them. And look over a couple of pages
to Titus, very end of the very short letter that the apostle
Paul wrote to Titus. Chapter 3 and verse 14. And let ours also, ours, he's
talking about believers, right, Christians. Let ours also learn
to maintain good works for necessary uses, that they be not unfruitful. Yes, there's a place for exhortation,
for teaching, how we should conduct ourselves
and how we should bring forth good works or do good works rather. We'll go back to chapter seven
and let me finish with this. What does Paul mean in verse
five when he said, For when we were in the flesh, that is before
we were converted, before we were saved, 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. Is he saying there that the law
was responsible for the motions of sin in us when we were lost. Well, we recognize that that's
something that is true of lost men. When they hear that God's
law forbids something, that's just true of human nature. If
I were to preach sermon after sermon against eating Hershey
candy bars, This is the law. You cannot eat Hershey candy
bar. Do you know what all of us would
do before we got home? We'd stop at a convenience store
and get a Hershey candy bar. We never wanted a Hershey candy
bar before. But the law, and here's the point
that Paul is making, the law is just, wholly just and good. The problem is with us, with
our depravity. He said the motions of sin in
us, they're provoked, they're provoked, they're increased by
the law's prohibition of them, which the law itself cannot be
charged with fault. I remember Pastor E.W. Johnson
many years ago illustrating this in a message one time. He lived
in Arkansas, pastored there for a long time. He said, if I left
my home and I told our two children, we're going to be gone for a
couple of days, and whatever you do, don't open that hall
closet door. Whatever you do, don't you open
that door. He said, I know before we got
25 miles from home, they would just have to open that door.
Now, John Gill illustrated it like this. Here you have the
sun, the pure rays of the sun, and it's shining upon a dunghill,
heating that dunghill up, and all the stench that comes from
it. The fault is not in the sun. The law, what I'm saying here,
the law As Paul says in this chapter, it's holy, it's just,
it's good. But it is because of our fallen
nature that it promotes our desire to break it. To do the very thing
that the law tells us not to do. The motions of sin, that's
the word he uses here. The motions of sin. For when
we were in the flesh, that is, we were lost the motions of sins
which were by the law. The law stirred it up. But not
because the law is bad. The problem is in human nature,
isn't it? Well, I pray the Lord would bless
this thought and this message. And what a wonderful truth that
believers, we have a husband, who is our Maker, who is our
God, who is our Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ.