A Fruit-Bearing Life
Romans 7:1-6
Turn to Ephesians 1. As we have studied the book of Romans, it began by stating the true state of all men and women, that they did not worship God’s glory, but worshipped other things. In other words, they placed other things ahead of God. And we have learned that we have been sinful since birth, that our nature is sinful, and that we have actually sinned in Adam. This is the cause of our sinful attitudes, and it is a heart issue. And it can come to light in some of our outward acts of sin, or it can come to light by our inward acts of wrong thoughts and pride. So, Paul concluded (Rom 3) that none are righteous, and therefore, all men and women stand accountable and guilty before God. We also learned that all men and women, whether they are aware of God’s Law or not, are still guilty. For some have known the Law and disobeyed it, while some without the Law have judged others, and some, who did not have God’s stated Law, Paul said had a law written on their hearts. In other words, all men and women, wherever they have been born, whatever nationality, whatever church background, or whatever they have been taught, all stand guilty before a holy and perfect God, and therefore, all people will be punished under the wrath of God.
Well, if that was the end of the book of Romans, we might as well go home and work in our gardens, or go out for lunch, or just live it up however we want, as the book of Ecclesiastes says, for tomorrow we die. But we know that is not the end, for that is not the only message in Romans 1—6. Romans 3:21-22:
“But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe.”
Romans 3:21-22a (LSB)
Now, we who have grown up in church must not overlook how incredible this statement is, for without Paul’s teaching, we would likely read the poor state of we as human beings. And our first reaction, if we were concerned about our condition, would be to think, I had better start living right. And that would be a commendable reaction. I mean that kind of reaction will take us a long way in school, work, and at home. I remember in grade 10, I did not do all that well, as I sort of sailed through elementary school and grade 9 with good marks. But when I brought my grade 10 report card home, it was my Mom who said, “You had better smarten up,” and fortunately, I did. I am sure that most of us have been pushed by a boss here and there to get us moving, and the better effort and the harder work paid off. And we are all likely glad at some point for those who gave us a “kick in the pants,” maybe not at the time, but later.
I have told you about my boss, Mr. Black, as I was a produce manager at a grocery store in Stratford. I thought he was “never” satisfied with the presentation of that produce aisle. I mean, he was ruthless. And later, when I had to get a referral for another job, Mr. Black said, “I would hire Mark back in a second if I could.” And I thought, where did that come from? Now, seriously, I knew he liked me, and he really taught me so much about hard work and presentation. So, we know that effort means a lot, don’t we? Or even at home, where we realize that we have some great responsibilities to accomplish, or to realize that I need to start saving my money and work some extra hours. Those are all good reactions and usually always benefit us.
So, what about a spiritual “kick-in-the-pants”? Is that not helpful? Is it not helpful to get serious about devotions, Bible study, church attendance, and a greater involvement in ministry? Or thinking, I need to be more honest, hard-working, better to my spouse, careful of my lifestyle, to live purely. Or as the prophet Micah said, to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with my God. I mean, if we were counselling with someone, and they determined that they were going to give a much greater effort in living right, would we not commend them for that? Imagine Mom and Dad if your grade 10 got up earlier than normal in the morning and said, “Mom, I am going to be a better son or daughter. In fact, I would love to do some extra chores around the house, and I need to get a job so that I can contribute to all the food I eat.” Would we say, “No, that is not a good idea?” Of course not, we would probably say, “I can’t believe it!”
So, why does Paul never seem to go in this direction? As he continuously says things such as, apart from works, at least in Romans 1—6. When effort is commendable, and hard work is commendable. Digging your heels in and striving to be obedient is commendable. Yet when human effort collides with God’s salvation, it flies in the face of the gospel, because the gospel rescues someone who is “dead” and still in their sin. And though striving is commendable, Paul’s point is that effort cannot save. See, the Bible is very clear in teaching that even our righteousness falls short, let alone our sinfulness. Isaiah wrote that all our righteous deeds are as filthy rags. In other words, there is no way we can ever fix the human heart so that it would be eligible for salvation or acceptable before God. It is not like these efforts of ours are not good or commendable; it is just that they are not nearly good enough, that is the heart of the gospel. So, over these last number of weeks, we have been learning that the gospel is receiving something that is needed to gain eternal life, something that is given to us freely, apart from any good works on our part. And what we receive from God begins at salvation, as God gives faith to the one who is saved. Ephesians 2:8:
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.”
Ephesians 2:8 (LSB)
This means that a person is saved—receives eternal life—by grace. In other words, he or she is saved for reasons they did not deserve. And if you do not get it, Paul makes it very clear by saying, and this is not of yourselves. In other words, the moment we are saved, we need to look up and thank God for something that was not in us. Why? Because this “faith” is a gift from God. When a person by faith becomes right with God, this has been gifted to them, not based upon any works. And as we have been studying, the book of Romans calls this justification, as Paul will go to the end of Romans 5, clarifying for us this justification by faith, a justification that has been completely provided by God through Jesus Christ. And it provides two things for the one who believes. And this is something that each of us should have clear and straight in our minds. In other words, if someone comes up to you and asks, what does justification provide for the believer? Your response should include something like this:
- Justification provides complete forgiveness.
Jesus Christ took upon Himself the punishment for all those who would believe, because Jesus died for every sin ever committed, by every person, who would ever believe. Therefore, every sin you have ever committed, past, present, or future, the punishment for that sin has not been cancelled by God or ignored by God, but the punishment for that sin was placed upon Someone else, Jesus Christ. As God the Father was angry with the sinner, He chose to pour out His wrath on His Son, who willingly died in our place. Therefore, the one who, by faith, now believes, he now stands before God, not condemned, for the Father was satisfied with the death of His Son, and all our debts have been paid in full! Complete forgiveness. Secondly:
- Justification provides the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
Before we can get right before God, our sin must have been perfectly punished, and God’s perfect Law must have been perfectly obeyed. And all that was accomplished by Christ, as Christ obeyed every letter of the Law. And God, in His grace, imputes or credits that righteousness of Christ into the account of every person who believes. In other words, God the Father treated Jesus Christ as if Christ had committed every sin I committed, and God the Father now treats me as if I had lived the righteousness of Jesus Christ. And these two things happen at the moment of justification, as it provides complete forgiveness and provides the righteousness of Jesus Christ. So, if someone comes up to you and asks, “What has justification provided for you?” Answer, complete forgiveness and Christ’s righteousness. Maybe you can quiz someone during the fellowship time afterward.
So, because of these two things, we could say that justification is the act of declaring a person righteous, for they have been forgiven and they have received Christ’s righteousness. Now, what effort did you exert, Christian, to receive that? None! It was received by faith, by believing, as it really is outside of us, as God has provided everything for our justification. This whole explanation is given in Ephesians 1:
“[J]ust as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him in love, by predestining us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He graciously bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our transgressions, according to the riches of His grace.”
Ephesians 1:4-7 (LSB)
He chose us, God’s election, where unrighteous persons are declared righteous, and unworthy sinners are declared worthy of salvation, all because they have been chosen by God. That word “predestined” (vs 5), John MacArthur says that before the earth was formed, God sovereignly determined that every elect sinner would be saved. That no matter how bad they were, by trusting in Christ, they would be saved. And God’s choosing was not based upon any goodness or righteousness in the person himself, but was completely based upon the sovereign will of God. Do you understand the great difference here in what most would view about Christianity? Most would believe that Christianity is about improving my behaviour so that I can stand before God. If you do not think this is true, just walk into many mainline churches this morning, as many will preach that Christianity is some kind of reform, or turning over a new leaf, yet this has nothing to do with justification. Good works, being nice, or being more loving, contribute nothing towards your standing with God, for justification is based upon the actions of Someone else. So, what two things does justification provide? Complete forgiveness and the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
Now, we introduced last Sunday that justification results in something, as Paul taught that this wonderful justification resulted in sanctification, and Paul would likely understand this as well as anyone. Justification results in sanctification. And sanctification is a work of God in the life of the believer, bringing them into the likeness of Christ. It is an ongoing work that will be fully realized when we are glorified someday, when we stand before God. And the legal standing of justification—that God has declared us righteous—leads to the progression of our sanctification in this life. And we saw this back in Romans 6:22.
“But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you have your benefit, leading to sanctification, and the end, eternal life.”
Romans 6:22 (LSB)
Justification leads to sanctification, which leads to eternal life. Some have said that if you cancel out sanctification, there is no eternal life. Now, this does not mean that a person has lost his salvation; this only proves that a person was never saved to begin with. Now, before we get to Romans 7, we need to see here that Romans 7 is still an explanation of Romans 6:14-15.
“For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be!”
Romans 6:14-15 (LSB)
Paul then says that because of justification, you are no longer a slave to sin, but (vs 18) you have been freed, and now you are enslaved to God, which means that you are now on the road of sanctification. And we will discover that Romans 7 is a continuation of Romans 6, for look how Paul begins (Rom 7:1), “or do you not know.” In other words, Paul is giving us another argument.
“Or do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is master over a person as long as he lives? For the married woman has been bound by law to her husband while he is living, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning the husband. 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.”
Romans 7:1-3 (LSB)
Where is Paul going with this argument? Well, before we get to this question, I have to admit that when we study Paul, we are not only learning a lot about doctrine and truth, but we also learn a lot how to argue and debate, as Paul is always debating about something. Seriously, Paul is good at teaching us how to defend our faith, and to ask the obvious questions that may come up because of our faith. So, again (vs 1):
“Or do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is master over a person as long as he lives?”
Romans 7:1 (LSB)
Paul makes a very simple point, and again, we need to smile here at how he starts out his argument by saying, or do you not know. Or he could have said, do you not agree. My good friend Dale Groombridge, who passed away a few years ago, used to always start out a story with now, Mark, you are going to find this very interesting. And I used to always respond, “No, I’m not.” Well, I love how Paul begins, do you not know, and then his argument. That as long as a person is alive, he is under the Law. For the Law is only binding on a person if they are living. In other words, a person can only disobey the Law when they are alive.
“For the married woman has been bound by law to her husband while he is living, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning the husband. 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.”
Romans 7:2-3 (LSB)
This is simply an analogy to help us understand. And of course, the teaching here is that while the husband is still alive, his wife is bound to him. But, simply if he dies, then she is freed from the law concerning her husband. Sounds like a plot from an old 1950’s B&W movie where the wife plans to kill her husband. It would also be good to ask, why does Paul use this illustration? And before we answer that, I need to confirm what Paul means by stating the term “law,” as some may say that we are only dealing with the ceremonial law for the Jews, that they are now not under obligation to bring sacrifices and do all that the ceremonial law required. But I would have to strongly disagree, for Paul has been speaking about the Law as what reveals sin. He has never once mentioned the ceremonial law in his letter to the Romans. In fact, he even said the Gentiles had a law written on their hearts. So, it would be best to understand that Paul is referring to the general moral law that might be revealed in, say, the Ten Commandments, or the law written on the hearts of men and women.
So, why does Paul use this illustration? Well, one, the wife is to be submissive to her husband; in other words, she is to obey him and follow his lead. This would be the same relationship we have with the Law, that a person is to obey the Law. Secondly, Paul says (vs 3) that if her husband is still living and she is joined to another man, she is an adulteress. In other words, she has done what is wrong. This would be like if a person is still under the law, and Paul has argued that all men and women are under the Law, and they joined themselves to something else, in other words, if they are not faithful to that Law, either the written Law or the law written on their hearts, the result is that they sin. And (vs 2) if the husband dies, she is released from that law. The King James says she is loosed from the law, the Greek word katargeō. It is interesting that this word “released” is the same Greek word in Romans 6:6, which says that our body of sin might be done away with, King James, destroyed. So, when Paul says that she is released from the law. This really emphasizes how strongly Paul taught that the Law must be put away, as the word can be translated “put away” or “destroyed.” So, (vs 2) the wife is freed from the Law concerning her husband. Then (vs 3) that if she is joined to another man while he is alive, she is called an adulteress, but if her husband dies, she is free again to marry someone else.
Now, because we have been released from the Law, it does not mean that we are left in limbo, but that we are now joined into a new relationship. Yet before we could be joined to that new relationship, there had to be what? A death. And for our old relationship to the Law to have ended, there must have been a death. This is a bit of an aside here, but this emphasizes that if Jesus had not died, we would still be bound to the Law, think of that, either the written Law or the law written on our hearts. So, understand the seriousness of that. We would have been responsible for obeying every single letter of the Law or every single prodding of our conscience. And if one letter was disobeyed, ever, result, spiritual death and hell. Now, Paul is going to apply this illustration he has just given us, and Paul will do this by giving us an amazing verse. One that we do not always highlight, but what a verse!
“So, my brothers, 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.”
Romans 6:4 (LSB)
The Bible teaches that upon justification, we died with Christ. This is why it says here, “you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ.” In other words, just as when a husband dies, his wife is free to marry another, so too, we who are committed to the Law have now died with Christ, and therefore, we are no longer under its jurisdiction or no longer bound to it, as we are now united to a new husband, Christ, who now enables us (vs 4) to bear fruit for God, or our sanctification. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said this:
“We must be delivered from the power and the dominion of the Law if we are to produce fruit to God and that can only be accomplished by death.”
Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Now, when I go home for lunch, Anne is usually at home. But when Anne is not home, it is only Ted. And I will get lunch and possibly sit out in the backyard and make a few comments to Ted, but Ted does not say a whole lot. And after I am done lunch, I will say goodbye to Ted and go back to work. But when Anne is home, I will walk in and say, “Hi Oakie! What have you been up to?” And I will have a better lunch, and Anne will ask me about work. We might talk about what we need to do that night, or Anne will tell me about something she heard from one of the kids. But for that lunchtime, there is interaction because Anne is there. Anne is much more interesting than Ted.
My analogy is not as good as Paul’s. But Romans 7:4, says that we have died to the Law, so that we are free to join another. And that new union, Paul teaches, makes a world of difference. In other words, your lunch hour has greatly been elevated, for everything has changed. And the new union between Christ and the new believer is everything a person could ever imagine or dream of, and it produces in the new believer fruit for God (vs 4), and sanctification (6:22). And it is similar to a good marriage, for there is intimacy, closeness, joy, communication, and security, as everything has changed. As the sanctification that is being produced in the life of the Christian flows into things such as obedience to Christ, sacrifice for Christ and others, love for Christ and others, service for Christ and others, and Christ-likeness. And the overwhelming conclusions that we could make from Paul’s argument would be one, how could this person not begin to change or be sanctified considering this new union? Two, why would this person ever want to go back to be under the Law?
“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”
2 Corinthians 5:17 (LSB)
“For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death.”
Romans 7:5 (LSB)
Before I died with Christ, my whole life was destined for death and hell, as I was under the yoke of the Law, no matter how hard I worked and tried, I could never match its demands. And my life was controlled by sinful passions, which (vs 5) says were aroused by the Law, and in my rebellion, I did things that I knew were wrong. And the result was death, as no matter how much I worked, it amounted to nothing of eternal value, as everything I accomplished only contributed to my death, envy, pride, hate, self-pity, selfishness, and lust. But at justification, all those crimes were erased, and I was immediately given the righteousness of Jesus Christ, as only Jesus fulfilled everything the Law required.
“But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were constrained, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.”
Romans 6:6 (LSB)
What a contrast! Yet, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? (Rom 6:1). “What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace?” (Rom 6:15a). “Do we then abolish the Law through faith?” (Rom 3:31a). See, freedom from the Law does not give us freedom to sin, but it gives us freedom to what and this is important. For if we are no longer under the Law, then how are we to live? Well, Paul tells us in (7:4) we have been joined to Christ. In other words, we no longer obey the Law, but we now obey Christ, in order (vs 4) that we would bear fruit for God, so that (vs 6) we now serve in the newness of the letter. See, when a person receives Christ, Christ not only becomes the Christian’s Saviour, but Christ becomes the new believer’s Lord, as the new believer is now obedient to Christ. John MacArthur simply said that all who believe the Word of God will agree that Jesus is Lord. He wrote:
“He is Lord, and those who refuse Him as Lord cannot use Him as Saviour. Everyone who receives Him must surrender to His authority, for to say we receive Christ when in fact we reject His right to reign over us is utter absurdity.”
John MacArthur, The Gospel According to Jesus 233
And we serve (vs 6) in the newness of the Spirit. And the new believer is now able to produce fruit, not filthy rags, as the new believer has been forgiven, has been declared righteous, is now secure, is now free, and is now fruitful, amen? In closing, turn to Romans 10, as Paul prays:
1 Brothers, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them [speaking of the Jewish people here] is for their salvation.
2 For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge [i.e. a person can desire to have a relationship with God, but be way off track theologically, and therefore still be lost].
3 For not knowing about the righteousness of God [this is the gift of righteousness that has been offered through Christ] and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.
This goes back to our passage where Paul has been teaching that there is a righteousness that is based upon works in law-keeping. And is what he is referring to here as a righteousness they are trying to establish on their own as “they did not subject themselves to the righteousness” found in Christ. And as we have been learning, who is this Christ to the new believer? Christ is the new husband to whom the new believer is now subject to, and who provides the required righteousness. Why?
4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
Do you see Paul’s brilliant analogy here of the dead husband? Going back to place yourself under the law would be like your husband has died and you marry a new husband, but then you desire to go back to your dead husband. D. A. Carson comments here:
“Christ was what the law all along directed toward; and now that Israel has reached the finish line (the coming of Christ), the race (the law) has ended. The law no longer governs the people of God in the way it did before Christ.”
- A. Carson
He concludes by saying that this is true for both Jews and Gentiles, as Paul says here, for everyone who believes. And this in no way diminishes our obedience to Christ. No, a thousand times no! This should magnify our obedience to Christ, as we are now no longer loyal to the old law, but we are now loyal to our new Husband. Folks, serving Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour is the most fruit-bearing life we could ever live. Understand that, relish in that, and rejoice over that! The words, “Well done, My good and faithful servant,” should be every Christian’s goal and the Christian’s greatest reward. Let’s pray. Lord, there is no better place on earth than to be in Christ, serving Him as Lord, our new Husband. So, we thank You and praise You for the gift of forgiveness and the gift of righteousness to all those who believe. And all God’s people said, amen.