There's a lot of sickness in the church. I heard some of those folks are out. I know Loretta's not feeling well, and Sharon's got sick. She's in the emergency room. And I don't know about our lady.

Let's begin our worship service with your hand out. Make sure that we're still praying for Jeanette, the woman with leukemia. Yeah, yeah. She's scheduling a bone marrow transplant. That's a risky deal. I know. It hasn't even worked. I hope it works for her. I told her all about it. It's a serious business when they get that far into that leukemia.

And happy birthday to Harlan this week. I need a hand out.

Hail Sovereign Love, Son of the King of the Doctrines. Here is Sovereign Grace.

? To hear a free and sovereign praise ?
? O may our kindness vary out ?
? Send forth His grace and mighty power ?
? It is true we are the words of clay ?
? Yet for God's presence now we sing ?

we will praise him for his grace we'll send Christ down to take our place now listen as he's been proclaimed the glories of the Savior's name

After scripture, your prayer, we'll sing hymn number six. If you have your Bibles, challenge me, please, to Romans chapter seven. Romans chapter 7. I'm going to take my text from verses 5 and 6. I'm going to read verses 1 through 6.

Romans chapter 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 a husband is bound by law to her husband so long as he liveth. But if the husband be dead, she is loose from the law of her husband. So then, if while her husband liveth she is 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."

Now, he's not talking about marriage here. He's talking about the believer's relationship to the law. That's what's up. He uses that analogy to set forth this truth.

Wherefore, my brethren, ye are also become dead to the law by the body of Jesus Christ. that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that ye should bring forth fruit unto God. For when we were 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 oldness of the letter.

Let us pray.

Our Father in heaven, we praise you and thank you for mercy and grace, for kindness shown to us daily, for new mercies every day. We praise you for who you are and your sovereign majesty. We thank you that you rule all things by the power of your greatness. that nothing is outside your control, that you do according to your will in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. None can stay your hand and say unto you, what doest thou? You declare the end from the beginning, bringing to pass things that are not. Speaking and it's done, purposing and it shall stand.

We ask the Lord today, that you might be pleased to give us worship. We pray for those of our company on congregations who are sick, going through these different colds and flus that are here. We ask, Lord, you'd be with them. Be with us as we gather here. For you said, where two or three are gathered in your name, you'll be in the midst of them. And help us now to worship you. You're worthy. Let our hearts sing praises of thanksgiving for all you've done for us. We know had you left us to ourselves, we'd be without hope and without help in this world. We are thankful that what you required of us, you accomplished for us. We thank you for the shed blood of Jesus Christ, for that perfect death that satisfied your law and justice, freed us from the law, married us to your son, we're no longer under the law, but we're under grace. We thank you, Father. Help us now, we pray in Christ's name, amen.

And number six, Come Thou Almighty King. O Thou Almighty King, help us, I beg to see, help us to praise. Father, how glorious, o'er all victorious, come and reign over us, ancient or day. Come Holy Comforter! Thy sacred witness kept in this prayer! Thou who almighty art, Thou who live in every heart, And in promise depart, To the Great One in Three, Eternal Praises Be! In serenor, His Sovereign Majesty, Many in glory sing, And to eternity love and adore.

The offering table is up here. If you want to give an offering after service, go ahead and put it in the table. We don't have an offering, but we'll still have an offering. Because I like to hear my wife play the piano.

You. you I invite your attention back to Romans chapter 7. Verses 5 and 6 says this, 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, and being dead wherein we were held, that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter."

Now in these two verses, Paul is talking about the believer's relationship with the law and the law's relationship to the believer. You'll note if you read the whole of chapter 7 that Paul, the apostle, says some wonderful things in this chapter that sets forth the fact that we can do nothing. and are nothing, and is not involved with sin, we are sinners. Our best prayer is worthy of sending 10,000 people there.

Here in this seventh chapter, he begins with talking about our relationship with the law and then ends it this way, having talked about this flesh and the motions of sin. He said this, with my mind, I serve the law of God. And he's talking about the word of God. But with my flesh, I serve the law of sin and death. Now that's just our life as a child of God. People talk about getting better as you get older. That just don't happen. The older you get, the blacker your heart is, the weaker you are in the flesh. You're more and more a failure every day of your life. People talk about progressive sanctification. It does not exist. It's the idea of a young believer who thinks that he's going to get better. But let him get old. Let him get tired. Let him get weak and frail. Let him get fear of heights. Guard him when he walks down the steps. Let his grinders, his teeth not do so well. Let the knees give out on him. He begins to see that he has no strength at all, save that which is spiritual strength.

Paul is dealing with a believer's relationship with the law. In the first four verses which I just read, the law is seen as the former husband who has died. and by death has freed his wife to be married to another, even the Lord Jesus Christ. The law was our husband. We were born under the law. Now Paul says in Romans 3 that whoever is born under the law is condemned by that. What the law saith, it saith to them that are under the law that every mount might be stopped and the whole world become guilty before God. That's what a person who is under the law. And anybody who tries, as a preacher, to bring a believer back under the law is committing an horrible abomination. Because a believer is back. And one who trusts in the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ and longs for His salvation is absolutely, completely, without a doubt, not subject to the law. to the law of God because that law has been fulfilled by the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul ends his words by describing the product of that relationship with Christ as bringing forth fruit unto God in opposition to that relationship with the law which brought forth fruit unto death. In verses 5 and 6 Paul is addressing the offspring of the fruit of these two relationships. relationship with the law, and a relationship with Jesus Christ. He's doing this to some degree to address those who believe that fruit can be brought forth by the relationship with the law. There are those who do. We were talking about that this morning, about a fellow who belongs to a church up in Canada, but it's a reformed church, and reformers are notorious for law keepers. And he belongs to a reformed church and he's not joyous there. There's no peace in his life. No peace because he don't believe that justice has been satisfied. When justice is satisfied, there's peace. That's why people talk about when they go on the street and riots and things, say no justice, no peace. Why? Because everybody wants justice. And the believer has it in spades. Justice was satisfied on Calvary's tree.

Verse 5 is specifically about the fruit brought forth from relationship with the law. He says this, for when we were in the flesh, the motions of sin, which are by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto them. Now those who do not understand what he is addressing sometimes confuse the words employed by Paul here, especially the words by the law and in the flesh. This often gives men pause. The first thing to realize is that Paul is addressing those who were once married to the law but are now married to Jesus Christ. In other words, they are born again. With the words we, he includes himself among those who were once in the flesh. And from this we can be sure that he's not referring to the dermis or the muscle or the bone. He is speaking of our former state as we are born in this world. As we are born in this world. And since we have not physically been changed by conversion, he speaks to the difference between being as we are born in this world and being as we are born again. in this world, born from above.

When we were in the flesh, refers to that time in our history when we were carnal beings only. We had one nature, and that nature was carnal. We know that nature produced nothing godward whatsoever. In fact, that nature, the heart of that nature, in Romans chapter 8, says that the carnal mind is enmity against God, is not subject to the law of God, neither it can be. It's enmity. What does that mean? It hates God. The car don't mind. Now people might say, well I don't hate God. You might not hate the God you don't know. You might not hate the God you think you know. But the fact is, if you ever meet God, and you are not perfect, you gonna perish. You say, how can that be? Not in yourself. Not in yourself. Perfection belongs to one person who walked on this earth, and that's the Lord Jesus Christ. And all who are in him are perfect before a holy and a righteous God.

We were in the flesh, refers to the time in our history when we were called beings only. That means we had no spiritual life. That means certain things were not in our capability to understand. The natural man, the carnal man, Paul told the Corinthian church, receiveth not the things of the Spirit. They are foolishness to him. Neither can he know them, nor discern them, because they are spiritually discerned.

In other words, a carnal man looking at this book, a person who is still in the flesh, who has not been born from above, born by the Spirit through the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, cannot ever get what this book says. He may go to seminary, he may have several letters behind his name and know all the scriptures so he can even quote it like the Pharisees did. But until he learns that this book is about one person from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22, one person, that person is Jesus Christ. And the only hope of salvation, the only hope of salvation is being in Him. There is no other righteousness that a man can possess than Jesus Christ. He's the only righteousness that exists in the universe. What men call righteousness is self-righteousness, which is hubris before a thrice-holy God.

If anyone is married to the law and is born under the law, that person is carnal and not spiritual. And he says that in verse 5. For when we were in the flesh, as we were born in this world, the emotions or the passions which were by the law did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. In our former state, when we were in the flesh, we were motivated by our passion and our lust. That's what Paul says in Ephesians chapter 2, and he's describing those who have been chosen to salvation through sanctification of spirit, belief in the truth. He calls them by the gospel of Jesus Christ. He's chosen for the foundation of the world, predestinated to be holy before God, adopted into Jesus Christ to the praise of the glory of His grace. All this has taken place, and he said, this is who God chose. Who did He choose? He chose those that were in the flesh. Out of this company of humanity, He chose people who were the worst of humanity, not the best. He came not to call the righteous, but to bring sinners to repentance.

He says, among whom also we had our conversation, our walk. This is how we walk. In times past, in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. So by nature, as we are born in this world, everybody in hell, Everybody is separated from God forever. Everybody is there for the worm died not and the fire did not quench. By nature, as we're born into the world, there is no difference. There's no difference in a believer and the children who are in hell except for the grace of God. That's the only difference. That's what grace teaches us. Grace did not come to nice people, to kind people, to righteous people. Grace is for the ungodly. Grace is for the sinner.

Our minds were carnal and we were minded and we thus minded the things of the flesh, according to Romans 8. We cannot at that estate please God. They that are in the flesh cannot please God. No matter how kind or generous or philanthropic they might be, they cannot please God. These emotions or passions, Paul said, were by the law. How can that be? He said they were by the law. By the law. What does that mean? Does it mean that the law causes men to sin? Well, that's not possible. Over in verse 12, it says, Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.

If not causing men to sin, does the law incite men to sin? That too is impossible. Verse 13 says, was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid, but sin that it might appear sin, working death in me, that which is good, that sin by the commandment might become exceedingly sinful.

Something about the law of God made sin exceedingly sinful. The law is not eternal. Twice, when the law is talking about it being, it entered, so it must not have been that before it entered, that sin might have found, and it was added because of transgression. That's why the law came in. The law doesn't make men holy. It's not designed to do that. It can't do that.

Now on this road, you have a speed limit that's 35 miles an hour. Once you get around the curve, they hardly ever obey that, but it's 35 miles an hour. Does that make people stop sinning, stop speeding? No. They go on speeding. What does it do then? What's the purpose of it? If they get caught speeding, then the law enters that sin might abound. The law enters the cause of transgression. Then the law has something to pull out. The law has no play in you. That's why Paul said to Timothy, when he wrote to Timothy, he said that those who are in Christ have nothing to do with the law. The law is not for the righteous man. In other words, the speeding law is not for you if you're not speeding. Can't commit murder or can't commit homicide? Has that stopped people from murdering people? Well, what's it there for? If you murder somebody and get caught, then the law enters into the picture. That's what the law is designed to do.

What does these words mean, by the law? These words have to do with what the law says about our emotions and our passions. what we love and what we choose to do. The law says that these things, our life, our existence, what we are passionate about, according to this passage and according to the word of God, is worthy of death. Is worthy of death. The law declares that our best is sin and worthy of death.

Paul says in this very same chapter, when I would do good, evil is present with me. I find a law, a principle, a truth in my bones that when I would do good, evil is present with me. He said, I want to do what's right, but I can't. But I can't. Read Romans 7, read it again and again. The law declares that our best is sin and worthy of death.

Remember that the law entered because of transgression and that sin might abound. The law entered to define sin, to show it for what it was, to assign blame, pass judgment, and explain exactly what and why you are what you are and what you are is worthy of death.

Here's what the law does. You're on the death row. Without Christ, you're already condemned. That's what the Bible says. He that believeth not is condemned already. Christ told that to Nicodemus. He that believeth not is condemned already. So you're already on death row. Well, no, you're already on the table. You're already strapped down. They got those needles put in your arm, but those three different chemicals are going to enter your body. You are soon going to die. Here's what the law says. It comes up to you and says, this is why we're killing you. This is why we're killing you. It doesn't say, if you'll straighten up and fly right, it's too late for that. You're already condemned. You're already on the table. It doesn't say, if you'll just keep me, I'll help you out. It doesn't say that. That's what the law says to everybody who lives on this earth outside of Jesus Christ. You are condemned, rightfully so, and what you do and what I do is worthy of death apart from Jesus Christ. Everything, breathing. worthy of death. That's what our law says about our emotion.

So wholesome judgment of us and our doings does not sit well with us. It galvanizes our decision to do what we want, when we want, and where we want to do it. If people understood the law, they would be so angry. People think I've got to have a law. I've got to have some rule of my life. There is a rule of life. Paul gave it in Galatians chapter 6. He said, God forbid that I should go and receive the cross of Jesus Christ by whom the world is crucified unto me and I am crucified unto the world. If a person lives by this rule, peace on him and on the Israel of God. That's the rest of my rule of life. It should be yours too. God forbid that I should blow it. Saved in the cross of the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The law entered through divine sin and showed what it was and revealed the judgment for it. We see the law as restricting naturally and its prohibitions are regarded by us as stifling and thus because of our carnality the motions of our ears and flesh are irritated and further inflamed to do evil when the law says we can't do it. You know that's true. You know it's true. You can do this with your own children, your own kids. Tell them not to do something. That was one sure way of me doing something. My mom and dad tell me not to do something. I tried to figure out a way to do it. Why? Because they said, the law says thou shalt not kill. We're all murderers by nature. That's our heart, according to what the Lord told his disciples in Mark chapter 7. We're murderers, thieves, by nature. Blasphemers have an evil eye. We're crooked and undone, full of iniquity. By nature, that's what we are. And when someone says, we can't do that, we say, you just sit and watch. This is how the motions of sin are by the law. By the law. Do not forget that the strength of sin, according to 1 Corinthians 15, the strength of sin is the law. The strength of sin is the law. Do not forget that.

It is imperative that we remember that the primary sin that has been thus far addressed is the sin of believing that one can be righteous by the law. That's sin. That's sin. So the passions that are by the law include those passions toward one's self-righteousness, which in truth are a driving force of the carnal nature. And you can be self-righteous about anything. Just listen to some of these clowns on TV. These babies that are running the government, these children, just listen to them. They're all saying, I'm gonna take my football and go home. I can't, you don't play my game. Self-righteous.

This has to do with the law, whether written in stone or written in natural arts, or the conscience. The conscience is by the law. The conscience operates in the realm of the law. The conscience operates in the realm of sin.

When does your conscience awake? When you've done something wrong. Isn't that right? And the conscience says, you better straighten out. So you try to straighten it out. And then the conscience says, that ain't enough. And so you're caught.

What will quiet a screaming conscience? The only thing that will quiet a sweetened conscience is if that conscience has no ground upon which it can accuse you. And the only way that ground for accusation is removed is by the blood and death of Jesus Christ. The perfect sacrifice quietens the screaming banshee in our bosom called our conscience.

That's why Paul said, in the Hebrew chapter 10, that if you're made perfect by the sacrifice, there's no more conscience of sins. No more conscience. Believe in Christ. Trust in Him completely. Your conscience will shut up immediately. And the wall will shut up immediately. Because if in Jesus Christ, by His sacrifice and because of His sacrifice, you are perfected before God. So much so that God will remember your sins no more.

If that has taken place for you, the law, the holy, just, inflexible, impeccable law of God can search you from the top of your head to the bottom of your foot to look inside your very soul and mind and heart, and the law will have to say, not guilty, I find no fault, innocent. I have no part with this person. I have nothing to do with her. That's it, Christ has died in your room, and it's dead, that's what you've got. That's the beauty and the wonder of it.

We work in the realm of self-righteousness naturally. Primarily, when we talk about self-righteousness, folks look more at what they don't do as indicative of righteousness. In general, that gives rise to the passion, because the self-righteous believe that what they don't do makes up for what they do. If I quit this, then I'm a better person. I used to think that. When I was in the service, I liked to drink Canadian Club, little seven ounce beers. They were lagers. And I'd buy six pack every day. I got to work, go watch TV and drink my, but when I got out of the service, I said, I'm not gonna drink no more. For 10 years, I didn't touch a drop. You know what I thought? I thought that somehow pleased God. How wrong I can be. That thought, That thought was 10 million times worse than if I was laying in a gutter drunk in my own body. That thought, that I can please God by something I don't do or I do, is vile. It's an abomination. The Lord said the prayers of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord. of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord.

These passions that Paul speaks of, working our members, moving our beings to bring forth fruit unto death, that which proceeds from the carnal man, that which proceeds from the relationship with our former husband, is not alive. It's a carcass. It's a putrefacting, putrefacting cartridge, carcass. It's nothing but corrupting putrescence fit to be buried out of sight. It's an unclean thing, the dead thing that is not to be touched. It is sin and it always ends in death. That's what Paul said when he, in 1 Corinthians, or 2 Corinthians chapter 3, when he was talking about the difference in 2 Corinthians chapter 3. He made a lot of statements concerning the law and called it a lot of things and called the Spirit a lot of things. He said, however, in verse 6, he said, who also, speaking of God, made us able ministers of the New Testament, not of the letter, that's the law, not of the letter, but of the Spirit. Why? Because the letter killeth. The law kills, but the spirit gives them life. Wouldn't you say there's a diametrically opposed difference between these two things, life and death? He says in verse 7, but if the ministration of death, that's the law, the ministration of death, that every minister who stands in the pulpit and tries to put people under the law of God, they are a minister of death. That's what he said.

The ministration of death written and engraved in stone, it was glorious under that old covenant. When the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of the countenance, which glory was to be done away. What's done away? That old covenant? That law? That's what the book of Hebrews was written about.

How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious or more glorious? For if the ministration of condemnation, that's the law, the ministration of death, the ministration of condemnation, if that's glorious, and some people say it is, and it was in its day and it served a purpose, but it's much more the ministration of righteousness exceeding glory.

For even that which was made glorious had no glory. In this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth. For that which is done away was glorious, and it was done away with. Much more that remained is much more glorious.

It's like the sun and the stars. The sun and the stars. We go out at night and there's these stars. Go up on Newfound Gap, stand there and look at them. You can almost touch the Milky Way. Magnificent. They're bright, glorious, wonderful. Then dawn comes. And another star arises. The day star. The sun. It comes up. How glorious it is. Lights everything around you. You feel its heat, its warmth. Boy, that's glorious. Those stars haven't lost their glory. But something excels their glory. This glorious sun that rises and suddenly you don't even see the stars. And when you see the son of righteousness arising with healing in his wreath that they saw arising in your heart, it's Jesus Christ. All the stars of the old covenant are gone. Can't see them. You can't see Him, for He is glory.

Verse 6 brings us back from our former carnal existence to a spiritual life by Jesus Christ. Back at our text. It says in the last part of verse 4 that we should bring forth fruit unto God. And then in verse 6, but we are delivered from the law. Now is that hard to understand? It seemed pretty simple to me. It seemed like very plain language. We are delivered, saved from the law. We are delivered from the law that being dead wherein we were held. We were held in death by the law. That we should serve in newness of spirit and not in oldness of the letter.

Christ our new husband does not judge us. He loves us. He always has. Our old husband, he was straight up and narrow. He told us everything wrong we did. Can you imagine being unmarried like that? That's what we were when we were under the law. The law said that ain't right. You need to be punished for that. Imagine being married to a husband like him. Comes home after work, puts on a white glove, checks the windowsill to see if there's any dust on it. Make sure you're dressed right, and you act right, and you talk right, and you think right. Do like he says or die. And then he dies. And home comes this other one. Beautiful. Comely. Chiefest among 10,000. Rogue and glory. He's dying for you. He didn't tell you, you have to die. He said, I'm going to die. And after he does that, he takes you to his bosom. And he tells you, lay down, sweetheart. Rest. I've done it all. I've finished the work of salvation. You don't have to do anything. And all you feel like doing is say thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. Praise you. Thank you. He never tells you to do something that he himself hasn't done for you. He tells you to love your brethren. How? As I have loved you. He tells you to forgive your brethren. How? As I have forgiven you.

He loves you. He shows you his love daily. He gives you peace of mind and heart. This is that new husband. That which held us is dead to us and we're dead to it. Our passions then are different and go in different directions. This is not to say that we do not sin, we sin all the time, but it's what we remember our sin, God doesn't remember it. I can't figure that out, ain't about to try.

We have a new husband, a new governor of our life. The intent of our life is to yield our members that once were by the law and brought forth fruit unto death and now yielded to Christ to bring forth the fruit of the God. Now we serve God in a newness of spiritual life, a newness of spirit. The Bible actually is understood. What is the difference between the two? One is the spirit, this is Jesus Christ, John 16. The other is the letter, Moses' Law, Exodus 20. One does not have to diligently consider or ponder these things to the nth degree. There can be no question here, life and death. You understand that. They're polar opposites. They're polar opposites.

The law is death. You want death? You want death? So what do you feel about it? I love the law. I do. And every time I preach what Jesus Christ has done, the gospel of Jesus Christ, I go to the graveyard and put flowers on the spray. It's dead to me and I'm dead to Him. I love it because it's honorable and true and right. It's dead and it can't touch me because it's dead. The law is death. Christ is life. Can't get much clearer than that, can you? The law is death. Christ is life.

A few verses of scripture. Deuteronomy 30 verse 19. that I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, and I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing, therefore choose life, that thou may and thy seed may live." Now, some people take that to say, well, you wouldn't want to choose between those two. He didn't say choose between those two. He didn't leave death as an option. He said, choose life. This is the commandment that you believe on Jesus Christ. He didn't mean to say it.

Ecclesiastes, chapter 9. Chapter 9, verse 7. Here's what the Lord says to you as a child of God. Go thy way. Eat thy bread with joy. Drink thy wine with a merry heart. For God now accepteth thy works. Wait a minute. Why does He accept your works? Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 10. We are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works. which God hath before or day, predestinated, that we should walk in them. What are we going to walk in as a child of God? Good works. What are they? Don't ask. Just be. Just be.

My wife does something for me and she does something for me. I'll guarantee you this never entered her mind. She doesn't say, Tim, I brought you a cup of coffee, or Tim, I fixed you a meal. She doesn't say, now that's a good word. Why does she do that? She loved me. As a child, you've got to do what you love. Act in love. Your works or your life. Getting up in the morning, going to sleep at night, whatever you do during the day. And God said, eat your bread, drink your wine, I've accepted your works. Because he's obeyed. We're not under the law. We're not under the law. The law's death. We're under Christ, who is our life.

Father, bless us to understand and pray in Christ's name. Amen.